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Honnur Image Inscription of the reign of Ballāla

A joint donation of land and a house to support a Jaina temple and its ascetics
Introduction

The Old Kannada language epigraph reported from Honnur, Kolhapur district, Maharashtra, is incised on the abhiṣeka stand of a standing tīrthaṅkara Pārśvanātha idol. Engraved in three lines of Old Kannada script, it documents royal patronage for Jainism. 

The inscription registers a joint royal endowment by mahāmaṇḍaleśvara Ballāḷadeva and Gaṇḍarādityadeva who donated two hundred kammas of land along with a house spanning six cubits for the purpose of providing food and shelter to the ascetics living at the basadi. This temple was commissioned by Bamagāvuṇḍa. He is identified as a lay disciple of Rātrimatikanti, who belonged to the Punnāgavṛkṣamūlagaṇa, a monastic subdivision of the broader Mūlasaṅgha.

 

edit-icnEditor's Comment:
The inscription highlights the specific usage of the Kannada term “kamma” to denote a unit of the land measure.
Original Text
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    1. siddham | svasti | śrīmūlasaṅghada punnāgavṛkṣamūlagaṇada rātrimatikantiyara guḍḍaṃ bamagābuṇḍaṃ mā-

    2. ḍisida vasadige śrīmanmahāmaṇḍaleśvaraṃ vallāladevanuṃ gaṇḍarādityadevanumāhāradānake biṭṭakammabi-

    3. nnūrakkamārugayi mane… …|

    १। सिद्धम् । स्वस्ति । श्रीमूलसङ्घद पुन्नागवृक्षमूलगणद रात्रिमतिकन्तियर गुड्डं बमगाबुण्डं मा-

    २। डिसिद वसदिगे श्रीमन्महामण्डलेश्वरं वल्लालदेवनुं गण्डरादित्यदेवनुमाहारदानके बिट्टकम्मबि-

    ३। न्नूरक्कमारुगयि मने… …।

    siddham | svasti | śrīmūlasaṃghada punnāgavṛkṣamūlagaṇada rātrimatikantiyara guḍḍaṃ bamagābuṃḍaṃ māḍisida vasadige śrīmanmahāmaṇḍaleśvaraṃ vallāladevanuṃ gaṇḍarādityadevanumāhāradānake biṭṭakammabinnūrakkamārugayi mane… …|

     

    सिद्धम् । स्वस्ति । श्रीमूलसंघद पुन्नागवृक्षमूलगणद रात्रिमतिकन्तियर गुड्डं बमगाबुंडं माडिसिद वसदिगे श्रीमन्महामण्डलेश्वरं वल्लालदेवनुं गण्डरादित्यदेवनुमाहारदानके बिट्टकम्मबिन्नूरक्कमारुगयि मने… …।

     

Translation

    Success! Hail! The illustrious mahāmaṇḍaleśvara Ballāladeva and Gaṇḍarādityadeva have donated two hundred kammas and a house of six cubits … … … … for the purpose of providing food to the ascetics of the basadi (temple) constructed by Bamagāvuṇḍa, the guḍḍa (disciple) of Rātrimatikanti of the Punnāgavṛikṣamūlagaṇa belonging to the illustrious Mūlasaṅgha.

Dynasty: Śilāhāra
Source:
Ruler: Ballāla
Place: Honnur
Donee: Ascetics of the Mūlasaṅgha, Punnāgavṛkṣamūlagaṇa
Language: Kannada
Deities: Pārśvanātha
Nature of grant: Religious endowment
Purpose: To provide food for ascetics of the basadi built by Bamagāvuṇḍa
Provenance of inscription: Honnur, Kolhapur, Maharshtra
Type of Inscription: Stone inscription
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