Domlur is a locality in the eastern part of Bengaluru city in India. Domlur is a historic places as indicated in the 18 inscriptions spanning the period 1200-1440CE found there. Of these, 16 inscriptions are at the Chokkanathaswamy Temple dedicated to the deity Chokkanathaswamy or the Chokka Perumal [the Hindu God Vishnu]. Of these eleven inscriptions are from the period 1200-1440 CE and have been documented earlier in Epigraphia Carnatica, Vol 9, [1] these are mostly donatory inscriptions for the deity Chokkanathaswamy and for the Someshwara temple (non-existent).
Domlur has been referred to variously as Tombalur, Dombalur and Desi Manicka Patanam in the inscriptions. All the inscriptions barring one are located in the precincts of the Chokkanathaswamy Temple. The earliest mention of "Domlur" can be found in the Chokkanathaswamy Temple 13th century CE Tripurantaka Perumal Enbe Devar Tamil inscription, it mentions Domlur in the Tamil form as Tombalur, proving the existence of Domlur at least since the 13th century. [2] The Karnataka State Gazateer, Part 1, 1990, records the discovery of an 8th-century Bhairava idol in Domlur by S R Rao, renowned Archaeologist of ASI in 1975. This suggests that Domlur may have held significance as a settlement even during that time. Unfortunately, neither the idol nor S R Rao's documentation concerning it can be traced today. [3] [4]
The inscriptions were first documented in the Epigraphia carnatica and later in successive archaeological reports and journals, Notably, R Narasimhachar in the Mysore Archaeological Report 1911 records that he found the Chokkanathaswamy temple in ruins, he undertook the excavation of its ruins, leading to the discovery of five inscriptions during that period. Subsequently, the temple was restored. However, details about the individuals or groups involved in the restoration, along with a timeline, are presently unavailable. A painting from 1947 exhibited within the temple premises depicts the temple in its previous state of disrepair, thereby indicating that temple was restored post 1947. [5] The Epigraphia carnatica alone records 11 inscriptions found in the temple and 7 more are recorded in the Quarterly Journal of the Mythic Society. Most of the inscriptions are inscribed on temple walls and Pillars.
It is a Tamil Inscription in the Grantha script dated to 20-Feb-1302CE and written in the reign of the Hoysala king Veera Ballala and is a donatory inscription commanded by the king to be standardised which includes loom tax, revenue, customs tax and other taxes to be given to the pooja, food and other offerings and all the taxes and the rights from the dry and wet lands of Domlur excepting the properties of god Somanatha deva to be given to the deity Chokka Perumal. This inscription is one among the other inscriptions in Madivala Someshwara, Gunjur Someshewara, Ivar Kandapura Dharmeshvara, Nandi Kamateshwara, Shivara Gangadareshwara and Dodda Kallahalli temples that was instructed by the Hoysala king Veera Ballala reviewing grants to many temples in the Bengaluru, Kolar region and instructed "standardised" inscriptions to be engraved in those temples. This inscription is mentioned in the Mysore Archeological Report 1911, However the exact text of the inscription has not been published. The Quarterly Journal of The Mythic Society has documented and published this inscription. [6]
Though the inscription was mentioned in the Mysore Archeological Report 1911, [7] the text of the inscription had not been published. In April 2022, the Mythic Society Bengaluru Inscriptions 3D Digital Conservation Project team identified the inscription in the temple and 3D scanned it. The inscription was subsequently read by Soundari Rajkumar & Pon Karthikeyan using the digital images produced from the scan. The (Roman calendar converted) date of writing of the inscription is 20 February 1302 CE.
The inscription is 19 cm tall and 1658 cm long, with characters 4.3 cm tall, 3.4 cm wide & 0.3 cm deep.
The inscription is written in three lines in the Grantha and Tamil scripts and Tamil language. The exact transliteration of the inscription in modern Tamil, Kannada & IAST are as follows (line numbers are not part of the original inscription, including them is a default practice with inscriptions).
Modern Tamil | IAST | Modern Kannada | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | ஸ்வஸ்தி ஶ்ரீ ஶ்ரீ மத் ப்ரதாப சக்ரவத்தி ஶ்ரீ ஹொய்சாள வீரவல்லாளதேவன் ஹேஸர குந்தாணி ராஜ்யம் விரிவி நாடு மாசந்தி நாடு முரசுனாடு பெண்ணையாண்டார் மட நாடு ஐம்புழுகூர் நாடு எலவூர் நாடு குவளால நாடு கைவார நாடு சொக்கனாயன் பற்று இலைப்பாக்க நாடு முன்னான எல்லா நாடுகளிலுள்ள தேவஸ்தானங்களில் மடபதிகளுக்கும் ஸ்தானாபதிக்கும் விண்ணப்பஞ் செய்யப் (பெற) கலியுக வருஷம் 3679 இதன் மேற் செல்லா நின்ற ஸகாப்தம் 1224 ஆவது ப்ல வருஷத்து மார்கழி மாஸம் 22 ௳ திங்கட்கிழமை நாள் இந்த ராஜ்யத்து தேவதானன் திருவிடையாட்டம் மடப்புறம் பள்ளிச்சந்தமான தான மான்யங்களில் இறுக்கும் ஸித்தாயங் காணி | svasti śrī śrī mat pratāpa cakravatti śrī hŏycāl̤a vīravallāl̤atevan hesara kuntāṇi rājyam virivi nāṭu mācanti nāṭu muracunāṭu pĕṇṇaiyāṇṭār maṭa nāṭu aimpuḻukūr nāṭu ĕlavūr nāṭu kuval̤āla nāṭu kaivāra nāṭu cŏkkanāyaṉ paṟṟu ilaippākka nāṭu muṉṉāṉa ĕllā nāṭukal̤ilul̤l̤a tevastāṉaṅkal̤il maṭapatikal̤ukkum stāṉāpatikkum viṇṇappañ cĕyyap (pĕṟa) kaliyuka varuṣam 3679 itaṉ meṟ cĕllā niṉṟa sakāptam 1224 āvatu pla varuṣattu mārkaḻi māsam 22 ௳ tiṅkaṭkiḻamai nāl̤ inta rājyattu tevatāṉan tiruviṭaiyāṭṭam maṭappuṟam pal̤l̤iccantamāṉa tāṉa mānyaṅkal̤il iṟukkum sittāyaṅ kāṇi | ಸ್ವಸ್ತಿ ಶ್ರೀ ಶ್ರೀ ಮತ್ ಪ್ರತಾಪ ಚಕ್ರವತ್ತಿ ಶ್ರೀ ಹೊಯ್ಚಾಳ ವೀರವಲ್ಲಾಳತೇವನ್ ಹೇಸರ ಕುಂತಾಣಿ ರಾಜ್ಯಂ ವಿರಿವಿ ನಾಟು ಮಾಚಂತಿ ನಾಟು ಮುರಚುನಾಟು ಪೆಣ್ಣೈಯಾಂಟಾರ್ ಮಟ ನಾಟು ಐಂಪುೞುಕೂರ್ ನಾಟು ಎಲವೂರ್ ನಾಟು ಕುವಳಾಲ ನಾಟು ಕೈವಾರ ನಾಟು ಚೊಕ್ಕನಾಯನ಼್ ಪಱ್ಱು ಇಲೈಪ್ಪಾಕ್ಕ ನಾಟು ಮುನ಼್ನ಼ಾನ಼ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ನಾಟುಕಳಿಲುಳ್ಳ ತೇವಸ್ತಾನ಼ಂಕಳಿಲ್ ಮಟಪತಿಕಳುಕ್ಕುಂ ಸ್ತಾನ಼ಾಪತಿಕ್ಕುಂ ವಿಣ್ಣಪ್ಪಞ್ ಚೆಯ್ಯಪ್ (ಪೆಱ) ಕಲಿಯುಕ ವರುಷಂ 3679 ಇತನ಼್ ಮೇಱ್ ಚೆಲ್ಲಾ ನಿನ಼್ಱ ಸಕಾಪ್ತಂ 1224 ಆವತು ಪ್ಲ ವರುಷತ್ತು ಮಾರ್ಕೞಿ ಮಾಸಂ 22 ௳ ತಿಂಕಟ್ಕಿೞಮೈ ನಾಳ್ ಇಂತ ರಾಜ್ಯತ್ತು ತೇವತಾನ಼ನ್ ತಿರುವಿಟೈಯಾಟ್ಟಂ ಮಟಪ್ಪುಱಂ ಪಳ್ಳಿಚ್ಚ |