Notes on Koppal Inscription of Ashoka

Contents of this post are extracted from South Indian Epigraphy notes belonging to a friend Shilpa Vernekar. These were notes jotted down in S.B. Hiremath Sir’s classes conducted in 2004 & 2005 at Kannada Research Institute, Karnatak University, Dharwad. The transcription and translation featured in this post are available in Epigraphia Carnatica.

Introduction

Koppal town is capital of Koppal district in Karnataka state. Earlier Koppal was in Raichur district and it was a Nizam state. In ancient times, Koppal was known as Kopaṇā Mahātirtha or Kopaṇā Drāndra. Kavirajamarga mentions this place by fixing the boundary of Karnataka from Kaveri to Godavari. He fixes original/pure Kannada speaking areas in Kopana, Puligere and Kisuvolal.

• Puligere is modern Lakshmeswara
• Kisuvolal is modern Pattadkal
• Okkunda is modern Bailhongal

These four places- Kopana, Puligere, Okkunda and Kisuvolal - were the pure Kannada speaking areas. These four places were called Thirugannada Nadu from IX Century onwards. But history of these places is available from Ashokan period. But they existed in prehistoric times too. Pot shreds, beads of stone have been found belonging to the Prehistoric, Neolithic and Megalithic period. We find that this place existed in prehistoric times and was also called Moriyara Angadi, a peculiar name.

In the eastern side of the town is Gavimath, behind this is a hill range. It’s in a cave. Besides it, there are 3 natural caves. The present inscription is in the 4th cave's rock bed. Its’ a natural cave.

It is a 18' x 20'. It’s written in 8 lines. Since Ashokan inscription is found here, In that period it must have been a Buddhist center. Later it was occupied by the Jainas. There are plenty of Jaina Samadhis found in the rock beds. Their sculptures are carved [Kayat Saska or Pratimayoga] i.e. standing or cross legged posture and inscriptions are written below. Even kings and queens sculptures are found as even they took Samadhis. They are called Niṣidhi stones. There are 110 Niṣidhi stones in Sharavanabelagola; nearly 40 in Koppal. Inside the fort, broken inscriptions were found. After Jainas, came the Lingayats.

Koppal inscription was discovered in 1931 by the head of Lingayat Math. He informed N B Shastri of Koppal because he was trying to know the history of the place. Since it was in Nizam state, Shastri sent a message to Hyderabad saying that there are inscriptions in Tamil writing. The office took action and sent Syed Yusuf, Assistant Director. He took estampage after surveying and found that it was Ashokan inscription. Later the director Yazdhani surveyed and confirmed that it was Ashokan.

They are the minor rock edicts in Karnataka. Whereas in Brahmagiri, Jating Rameshwar, Siddapur, the inscription is in two parts and is engraved on the same rock, in Nittur and Uddengolla the two parts are engraved on two rocks. Gavimath and Maski are nearby.

Purpose of the Inscriptions

These inscriptions were not intended to record historical facts or to glorify Emperor Ashoka, nor to give a record of his achievements as an emperor. Ashoka’s main aim in these inscriptions was to appeal to the people of his empire and the future generations. His appeal was to follow the great moral truths and those moral truths were his own feelings. His feelings are a part of his spiritual history after the Kalinga war. And he wanted the future generation to know it as well.

Transcription

1. Devānaṁpiye āha sātirekāṇi aḍhātiyāṇi vasāṇiyaṁ sumi upā-
2. sake ṇo cu kho bāḍhaṁ pakaṅte saṁvachare sātirekeyaṁ me saṅghe upeti bāḍhaṁ
3. came pakaṅte se i māyaṁ velāyaṁ jaṁbudipasi amisā devā samāṇā
4. mānuse hi se dāṇi misā kaṭā pakamasa esa phaleṇo hi eyaṁ mahate ṇevaca
5. kiye pāpotave khuḍakenapi pakama miṇena vipule picakiye swage ārādhayita ve e-
6. tāya ca aṭhāya eyaṁ sāvaṇe khuḍhakāca uḍārāca pakamaṁtu ti aṁtā pica jāṇaṅtu ciraṭhi-
7. tike ca pakame hotu eyaṁ ca aṭhe vaḍhisiti vipula (le) ca vaḍhisiti diya
8. ḍhiyaṁ pica vaḍhisitī ti

Translation

1. (Devanampiye - as Ashoka calls himself) Beloved of Gods, (aha) orders like this. (sumi) I became a (upasake) upsaka and since then (adhatiyani satirche) more than two and half years (vasani) have passed .

2. (no cu kho badham) In the beginning, I was not very zealous [(pakante) efforts]. (samvachare) It’s been more than a year (yam me sanghe) since I visited sangha [(upeti) visit]. [(badham) increase] (came pakante) My zeal has increased after visiting sangha. [Sangha indicates a group/community]

3. (se i mayam) During that time (velayam) when he was visiting the Sangha, he observed in his empire (Jambudipasi) that (amisa deva samana) gods were not mingling with the people.

4. (se dani misa kata) He made men mingle with Gods. It happened because of his constant efforts (pakamasa esa phalen). This is the fruit of my zeal because they thought it was only for (mahate) high class people. Ashoka convinced them that this is not correct.(no hi eyam mahate nevaca)

5. (kiye papotare) Even low class (picakiye) can attain (swage) heaven Swarga. Small people (lower castes) can attain zeal with their efforts if they do Aradhana (aradhayita) prayers with shraddha or devotion.

6. For this reason, this proclamation has been (savane) declared. (khudtakaca) Low class and (udaraca) high class (ca) should both be zealous and put in efforts (pakamantu). This (arita) (janantu) reality should be known even to (ti aṁtā pica) people living in the borders of his empire. This understanding should be everlasting (cirathitike)

Before this they wrote on perishable material. So there are no records. He says that if even a  few people understand this, they can continue to tell others and this knowledge increases at least two and half times.

Koppal Inscription has the first part only, unlike the Brahmagiri Inscription which has two parts.

Differences between Koppal and Brahmagiri texts

When compared with Brahmagiri, Koppal Gavimath inscription is similar but a few words are different. The same draft of Ashoka is copied is different places. In some places, words are charged as per the dialect. There is a distance of 50 miles between the inscriptions and language changes.

Koppal	Brahmagiri
Has 8 lines and 1 part only	Has 13 lines and 2 parts
Writing is regular and letters are uniform	Writing is irregular and letters are not uniform
‘ra’ is straight	‘ra’ is zigzag
aḍhātiyani	adikāni aḍhātiyani
vasāṇiyaṁ	vasani yahakaṁ
saṁvachare	savachare
me saṅghe upeti bāḍhaṁ	maya saṁghe upayīte bāḍhaṁ
mānuse	munisā
vipula (le) ca	vipulaṁ
Author’s name is not given	Author’s name is given - Chapaḍā
Tour topic is missed

 In both inscriptions only the king’s second name is mentioned. The writer of Koppal inscription was an expert. Palki Gundu and Maski inscriptions are by the same person. It is called the Maski version.

For the reader's benefit below are the photographs of the locations.

To see more pictures visit Gavimath Edict and Palki Gundu Edict.

Regards to Shri. S.B. Hiremath and thanks to Shilpa Vernekar for sharing the notes. Shilpa is currently doing PhD in Linguistics at Karnataka University, Dharwad.

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Ashokan minor rock edict of PalkiGundu, Koppal

During my previous visit to Koppal and Male Mallesvara Devastana, a board next to the temple had confirmed that Palki Gundu is located on this hill - Indrakeela Betta. I put off climbing because I was hungry and tired.

June 23, 2012
We arrived at Male Mallesvara Devastana by 8-15 AM. We were three of us- Ravi, Malatesh and I. We took the tractor-trailer trodden dirt path behind the temple. Previous night's rain had done some good, we could see puddles of water in our path. Indrakeela Betta looked fresh and clean. The climb on our right looked fine and we headed in that direction. The hill, as you see, is bolder ridden. We have to find a way up using these boulders as steps.

On reaching a plateau about half way up the hill, Koppal fort and lake came into view. The lake water level seemed to have dipped slightly in 3 months.

We were climbing the 2nd stage of his hill, slightly steeper. We found a line of arranged boulders which looked like a base of a wall. Perhaps a plan to build another fort here was abandoned for some reason. Malatesh and I realized Ravi was a superfast climber. He walked as though this was plain land while I was panting and sweating like crazy.

Malatesh and Ravi pose before a boulder art. Badami, Koppal and Anegundi are few places I know where one can see such delicately balanced rock formations.

We reach the summit and come to the edge of a cliff, Koppal town comes into view.

We reached the hill top but where is PalkiGundu? Important hint: its right at the edge of the hill, visible from the road below. Let's move ahead and check on the left. A little further, we could see a rock shelter. We decided to check it.

An ideal spot for monks to meditate. Malatesh is sitting cross-legged next to a doorway to an inner chamber.

It was really comfortable sitting here. Right next to Malatesh are two pairs of feet engraved on the floor.

These are Jain images. Perhaps Jain monks mediated here. Similar engraving were found at the hooded rock shelter with Ashoka's edict behind Gavimath.

Few more rock shelters.

When we were here, either Ravi or Malatesh saw a painted arrow mark on one of the boulders. We move in that direction.

Yeah, found it! This massive rock is a wonder... see how its balanced on two ends. Ravi was the first to go up..

..followed by Malatesh. Close to where I stood was a stub & base of a metal stand. Perhaps a board was placed here for easy identification. I wonder when people learn to respect public property.

The rock is a massive umbrella, convex top and concave underneath. Malatesh and Ravi standing just outside the shelter. See left of Ravi- how small the contact patch is. The other end is about the same size. Three feet to Malatesh's right is a 30 feet vertical fall. Monks love heights and edges.

"OK, lets look for inscriptions." Nothing but a pair of concentric circles was found- marked A in this photo. The board at Gavimath edict had mentioned that Palki Gundu inscription has faded.

I cross over to this side to check for the inscription, remember telling Malatesh that you need trained eyes :) B is the position of the inscription.

The other end of the rock, contact area is larger here. This truly is a wonder.

When seen from East, a pair of feet are visible within the circles.

Part of Ashoka's edict of peace in Prakit language.

A closer look at the text.

I'm standing just outside the rock umbrella; Koppal fort is out of view. The fort wall we saw on this hill earlier during the climb continues beyond the stretch of massive boulders we are standing on. The wall continues eastward next to the pond in the middle of the picture. We had gone down there to explore the plateau. I remember during my previous visit to Male Mallesvara temple, one of the locals had mentioned there are ancient shops here. We couldn't find any structure but this place certainly looks like a nice place for group of people to inhabit.

I come back inside and get a shot at Koppal fort and the small dark mound just above it is Bahadhur Banda fort. This hill gives a good view of Koppal fort, a boon for enemy commanders. I guess this was the reason for planning a fort on this hill.

This rock formation resembles the Akka-Thangi rocks of Hampi. These rocks are attractive but dangerous at places. Happy about having seen Palki Gundu we decided to head back. Descending was less tiring but we had to be careful.

These hills are a source of stones for construction activities, we could see plenty of small scale quarries. Back at Male Mallesvara Devastana, Malatesh and Ravi went in. On the way back to Koppal, while still on this hill Malatesh noticed a Uda, a monitor lizard. We both got out of the car and a got a good look at it but slipped into rocky gaps in seconds leaving is no chance to get a shot. The grey colored scaly skinned reptile was less then 2 feet long with long claws jutting out from small feet. I was trying to imagine how it would be scaling vertical faces during nights. Ravi missed it completely. We were trying to explain how soldiers used Uda to scale hills and enemy forts.

We stopped on NH63 to get a shot at Palki Gundu. It doesn't look like an umbrella from here.

We had breakfast at Koppal and move towards Anegundi in search of Onake Kindi, a prehistoric site with rock paintings.

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