Early Indian epigraphy Quotes

“Wikipedia: Early Indian epigraphy”

“In the Magha Saka 1200, the “Mighty Armed” Hoysala Emperor Sri Narasimha granted the revenues amounting to 645 Varahas or Nishkas [coins] a year of a village named Hebbale to the pilgrims of Varanasi and to offer various sevas to Lord Sri Vishveshwara. The grant also included the purpose of enabling the pilgrimage to Kashi so that the pilgrims could pay off the tax levied by the Turukas [or Turushkas or Muslims]. The pilgrims covered under the grant hailed from the entire country of Karnata [Karnataka], Tamil, Telugu, Tulu, Malayala [Kerala], Tirhut [Tirabhukti or the general Mithila region], and Gauda [Bengal region].”

“…we have numerous Kannada inscriptions both in and outside Mysore which are excellent specimens of poetical composition though their authors are unknown. These, too, deserve the attention of the Kannadigas. They only have to be brought to their notice to be appreciated by them. Being however imbedded in bulky volumes such as the Epigraphia Carnatica…Epigraphia Indica, the Indian Antiquary…these records are not easily accessible to the people… [Moreover] few can afford to spend the time and labour involved in wading through them…I have therefore put together…extracts from some selected inscriptions in order to give to the Kannadigas a taste of the style and beauty of these compositions of their own countrymen, which cannot but arouse a feeling of pride in them… The importance of the inscriptions is not merely confined to their literary merit. They… throw considerable light on the political, social and religious condition of the times to which they relate. The historical information…is of great value. The references to certain customs and practices in vogue in that [period] are full of interest.”

“The Mysore Archeological Department…came under the Mysore University… Dr. M.H. Krishna became its Director in 1929. From then onwards till 1948, he continuously included details of new inscriptions and coins in its annual reports. He incessantly strove to write learned works on the Chalukya and Hoysala sculptures. He commissioned and himself did field work at Chandravalli, Brahmagiri and other archeological sites… He had resolved to write scholarly works on the history of Mysore numismatics, and endeavoured to publish volumes 13, 14 and 15 of Epigraphia Carnatica. But after his retirement, the department began to rust. A few years later, the [ancient] gold coins in the Museum were stolen under the watch of its Director… The Archeology Department has not published a single annual report in the last sixteen years… now the Department does not have a full-time Director…no new epigraphical research has been done in Karnataka over the last several years… from the past thirty-two years, Archeology Research was a compulsory subject in Kannada and History Honours… now, the Honours degree itself has been dropped.”

“What is the benefit of studying archeology and epigraphy? The foremost duty of epigraphy is to unearth truths. But no matter how much information we discover about the past, is it really possible to pronounce an unambiguous verdict on the life and lifestyle of our people in ancient times? To what extent can we learn about our culture through lifeless epigraphic or archeological fossils? Things like the mind and Atman are not “research topics” in the true sense. The human body is a collection of fluids that don’t cost more than five rupees. However, what is known as Ātma-samskr̥ti (culture of the soul) is invaluable. In that case, this question arises: to what extent can epigraphy reveal this Ātma-samskr̥ti ? Archeology and epigraphy rely on the aids provided by the physical sciences. However, unlike these sciences, one cannot arrive at definitive conclusions solely through epigraphy. Epigraphy is thus also an art in and by itself. The study of epigraphy will not attain fruition by merely collecting facts and information from inscriptions as some people claim. The researcher must also be an artist. Along with collecting artefacts, he must also expound upon their real meaning that informs the intellect and ennobles the emotion.”

“We, the assembly of Sivachulamanimangalam, alias Sri-Vikramabharana-chaturvedimangalam [Ukkal] ordered as follows: “To the god of the Puvanimanikka-Vishnugriham in our village shall belong, as a divine gift (deva-bhoga), the village called Sodiyambakkam, a hamlet (Pidagai) to the north of our village, including the great flower-garden which belonged to this (temple) previously. The site of the village, the tank, the wet land, and dry land, and everything within its limits, on which the iguana runs and the tortoise crawls, for the worshippers of the god of his Puvanimanikka-Vishnugriham, for the requirements of the worship, for oblations (Tiruvamridu) at the three times of the day, for two perpetual lamps, for rows of lamps at twilight, for festivals, for the bathing of the Murti at solstices, equinoxes and eclipses, for offerings (Sribali), for supplies to the store-room of the temple, and for all other purposes. We shall not be entitled to levy any kind of tax from this village… If we utter the untruth that this not as stated above, in order to injure the charity, we shall incur all the sins committed between the Ganga and Kumari.[12] We, the assembly, agree to pay a fine of one hundred and eight kanam per day, if we fail in this charity through indifference.”