inscriptions in the hassan district

INTRODUCTION. XXI
as long as Yama, the moon and sun and earth remain, and as long as the
story of Rama is in the world. The meaning of which sloka, it says, is as
follows, but no meaning is given. On. 179 of 1190, says that Ballala was a
lion to the elephant the Malava king, the uprooter of the Gurjjara king's
kingdom, putter down of the pride of the Andhra king, a thunderbolt to the
rock the Ahira king, a rana-bhairava to the Varala king. In order still farther
to sow seeds for the growth of his glory, he prepared the ground by conquest,
and from Soratur as far as Belvola manured it with the bodies of the myriads
of brave warriors of the Sevuna army, thus making it fit to be turned up by the
ploughshares of the cultivators. The fortified places he rapidly took were—
Virata-raja's city, Kurugodu, the Matariga hill, Dhorevadi, Gutti, Guttavolalu,
Uddhare, Kaladi, Bandanikke, Ballare, Soratur, Erambarage, Haluve, Manuve
and Lokkigondi, all of which are in the Bombay country or the north-west
of the Mysore. The composer of this inscription was Jannayya. Bl. 204 and
Ak. 6, both of 1194, describe the attacks on Kurugod and Lokkigundi. The
latter was defended by Jaituga (the yadava king), and seemed invulnerable,
with high ramparts and lofty bastions on which were mounted astonishing flagstaves.
Bl. 112 says that Ballala was as powerful as Nriga, Nala, Nahusha,
Yudhishthira, Sagara, Bhagiratha, Dilipa, Purukutsa, Ayuh, Gaganachara,
Bharata, Rama and others ... va in which ? Vikkeya was, Hanngal in which
Kovana was, Lokkiguiidi in which Pokkili-Saivunas l) were firmly established, the
great Pandya's hill, considered impossible to capture,—these like letters written
on water, the wind of Poysala's march blew away. Ak. 118 also of 1194, shews
the king had taken up his residence in Baguli. Through the excellent management
of the general Madhuha or Madhusudana the kingdom was in a state of
great prosperity. The treasury was filled with wealth; the city with elephants,
horses, women and jewels; the agraharas and puras with learned Brahmans;
and all the land with wealth of cows, increase of grain, and crowds of
population. The composition of this inscription was revised by the great poet
Trivikrama, who is also mentioned in others. Ak, 104 of 1196, shows the king
living at Erambarage (Yelburga in the Nizam's dominions). On the east he
had shaken Kanchf, on the west he had made the ocean roar, while the great
Chira country rose up and fled, and the whole of the Pandya king's country
took refuge in forests, entering even those with fear. Ak. 23 of 1197, repeats
this. Next year, according to Bl. 77, he was living in Kukkanur-koppa.
Moistening his sword with the blood of his enemy the Pandya king, he whetted
it on the grindstone the head of Billama, and sheathed it in the mouth of
Jaitugi. The following year he was living at Huligere (Ak. 103). The priest
of the temple in this inscription was a son of Nagarasi-pandita, described as a
1) This designation seems to be of special interest in connection with Shikarpur 154 (see
Ind. Ant. XIX, 144).