MEDICAL ALLUSIONS IN THEINSCRIPTIONS OF ANDHRA PRADESH*

byB. litAMA RAO

In this article some inscriptions, which were briefly referred to or mentioned inearlier writings, are discussed with all details. These are arranged in chronologicalorder.

1. Jaggayyapeta Inscription:

This inscription in Sanskrit is found in Jaggayyapeta in Nandigama taluk ofKrishna District. The inscription is found below a sculpture of Buddha and a lotus.H mentions that Jayaprabhacarya was the disciple of Bhadanta Nagarjuna and thatCandraprabhacarya was the disciple of Jayaprabhacarya. The record is supposed tobelong to the iksvaku dynasty about second century A. D.

Since Nagarjuna is associated with Susrutasamhita and alchemy and also withAndhra Pradesh, location of this sculpture with the inscription found in this regionadds some significance to medicine in this part of the country.

2. The Visnukundi Charter from Tummalagudpm :

The charter from Tummalagudem in Ramannapet taluk of Nalgonda districtis in Sanskritverse and prose. It commences with siddham symbol followed bysvasti and a verse in adoration to Lord Buddha. Tben the Ruling king MaharajaGovindavarman is introduced as the son of Maharaja Madhavavarman and grand-son of Maharaja Indravarman of Vi~~ukuJ?gi kings, noted for protecting theirsubjects.

The charter refers itself to the grant, on the full moon day of vaisakha in the37th regnal year of the king. of two vi lIages, named Erlapadu and Perikaparru infavour of a monastery. The gift was made by the king Govindavarman. who wasdesirous of making a gift for the enjoyment of Buddhist sangha, for the merit ofhis parents and of all living creatures. The monastery was built by Paramamahadevi.the chief queen of the king.

It mentions tbat tbe grant was made for maintaining the continuity of theroots of merit like d1pa. dhiipa etc., and also bhaisajya (medicines). This showsthat the grant was meant for providing medical facilities to the inmates of tbe

* This article is the second instalment in the series. The first was published in Bulletin Vol. V,No.4, pp. 198-206.

A plate from Tummalagudem charter, containing the reference to bhaisajya,Courtesy: Dvp art.n ' ~y & MW4IM.11~

GOlit. of Andhra Pradesh;

A plate from the Kaluvacheru inscription

Medical Allusions in lnscriptions=-Rama Rao 29monastery also. In these days. it was considered a meritorious deed also to providemedicines to the inmates of the monastery.

3. Kollipara Inscription :

The inscription is in Sanskrit engraved on copper pia tes which are secured bya ring bearing a circular seal with the emblems of boar. the moon and perhaps alsothe sun; below is engraved the superscription Arikesari. The language is not entirelyfaultless.

The record refers itself to the grant by king Arikesari, son of VinayadityaYuddhamalla of the Chalukya family to Mugdhasivacarya, The king is said to havebelonged to the lunar family and his geneology is given. Arikesari, the donor of thegrant is mentioned as a learned and just monarch, proficient in grammar. law.gajatantra (science of elephants) and medicine. The relevant passage runs thus:

Vyakaranath (dh) armavid dviradatantra daksassada nyaya nipuno dhanur-viditasik~aya visrutaJ?, ayat! mupeyivan jagati vaidyasastra (e) dhikam".Arikesari I is known to have ruled from 775_800 A. D. According to some scholarsthe genuineness of the record is doubtful.

4. Daksarama Inscription III :

This inscription in Daksarama in East Godavari district is in Telugu andrecords the gift of some cattle by Muddanarya for the maintenance of a perpetuallamp to the Lord Bhimejvara. Muddanarya was employed to perform the abhyagga

. (anointing the head and body with oil and massaging) to Kulottunga Choda Gonka,The record belonging to 1154 A. D .. shows the importance attached to abhyaJigaprescribed in Ayurveda in daily regimen.

5. Akkalpudi Grant:

It is a copper plate inscription belonging to the period of Mummudinayaka,who ruled from Korukonda near Rajamahendravaram on the banks of Godavari.

It records the grant of SiIigayanayaka on the srava~a solar eclipse in saka 1290.corresponding to 13(;8 A. D. SiIigayanayaka donated the village Akkalapiidi to thephysician Parahitacarya of his court. who was equal to a minister in status. Thephysician belonged to the family of Kalanathabhatta,

6. Ponnupalli Inscriptions:

• The Ponnupalli grant I of Pedakomati Vemareddy belongs to saka 1326.corresponding to 14C4 A. D. It records the gift of a village named Ponnupalli on

30 Bulletin hId. tn«. Hist. Med. Vol.V.I

the southern bank of river Krishna on the solar eclipse in the pau~a month oftarana year, in the presence of Lord SomeSvara in velanati region near Kondavjdu.The donee was Bhaskar arya. who was called the Dhanvantari of the world and wasa prince of scholar.physicians, He was born in a family called Parahita, a titlewhich was acquired by a predecessor on account of his saving the life of a snake.in whose throat a bone of a frog was stuck up and was causing intense suffering andrisk to life. He belonged to apastamba siitra and kiisyapa gotra. He was the son ofParahita and was a pious man.

The Ponnupalli grant II is dated saka 1330 corresponding to 1408 A. D. Thiscopper plate inscription records the gift of a village, also called Ponnupalli, situatedon the bank of Krishna in the Velanandu and Divi region of Triligga, The gift wasmade on the day of solar eclipse in the asvayuk month of sarvadhari year by Peda ,komati Vema, the king of kings. The village which was the abode of all materialwealth was given ritually with all the eight aisvaryas and eight bhogas.

The donee Sitiganarya was a great physician and erudite scholar. He was thegrandson of Pedavilla, embodiment of meritorious qualities and also of Bhattabhas;kara, who was well versed in all the vedas and their branches and was an expounderof vedas and their meaning. The father of the donee was Vi11ayarya, proficient ineighteen branches of learning and in the vedas and vedatigas. Sitiganarya was ofkasyapa gotra and was a quiet man and a devotee of Siva and a scholar in yajur.,veda. He was deeply learned in the science of Ayurveda with all its eight branchesand also in the mahabhasya of Pataiijali and mimamea and tarka-sastra.

7. Kaluvacheru Inscription:

The record is inscribed on four copper plates. The size of the plates is1l~"x5!". The connecting ring bears the seal of the King and figures of nandi, thesun and the moon. The language of the record is Sanskrit, in a fluent style. Therecord contains 76 verses.

The beginning is devoted to. obeisance to several Gods, description of theorigin of the four castes, Bharata country, Trilitiga region and names of its variousrulers.

Vema was one who belonged to the Panta family. He had three sons. Anitalli,the donor of the present record is the grand daughter (daughter's daughter) of jheeldest son.

Medical Allusions in Inscrtpttons=-Rama Rao 31

The record refers to the gift of the village Kaluvacheru, after renaming it asAnnavaram, to the physician called Parahitacarya in the presence of srisailildhipaRarnesvara. The gift was made in saka 1345 (1423 A. D.). The details of the physi-cian are narrated as below:

There was a great physician called Parahita (one who does good to others.)He helped all creatures in the world, was pure like the river Ganga, and was aperformer of good deeds of merit and was noble. The great physician Mallinathawas the father of Parahita. Grandfather of the donee, Parahita, was also calledParahita, who was proficient in the treatment of snakes. (He once) saw, near ananthill, a snake, which was stuck up deep between the two jaws. The kind physi,cian, without any fear approached the snake and treated it. The snake, having lostits pain in a short time, gave abhaya to the physician. Thus having done a gooddeed, beneficial to other creatures, his name Parahita became well deserved. Parahi,t acarya was a scholar in all the agamas and performed the treatment of snakes andhence the word Parahita became a title for him.

To Parahita was born sri Ramanatha who Was also a great physician and hadthe best name. Ramanatha had three sons, who were bright like the three sacred firesand equal like the three vedas. They were Parahita, Devaniirya and Kalanatha,The last i. e. Kalanatha had four sons by name, Ramaya, Parahita, Devanarya andVarada. Out of them Parahita was a Kamadhenu (a heavenly cow yielding alldesires) for the good people, abode of good qualities, the sun for the lotus lake ofAtrigotra and was also benevolent. The son of Kalanatha i. e. Parahita, was adevotee of Siva and was a staunch performer of the Vedic rites, ready always forthe help of the distressed, and had good intellect. He was learned in Ayurvedaand Yajurveda, had a spotless name, was charitable, well versed in arts and was anabode of wealth and firmness. Parahita was unparalleled in the treatment mentionedin Samhitas and Rasasastra and in works by demons and siddhas and in all Samhi,tas composed by human beings. gods. etc., which are applicable to the humanbeings. The two sons of Kalanatha were liked by the people, were reputed for lifesaving power in their hands, were experts in the attainment of the good results ofmedicine and were resuscita tors of good people. worshippers of siva and were greatfigures in the Atreya school. The younger brother of Parahita viz., Devana, was anembodiment of good qualities, with spreading fame. and an insight of tbe self andan abode of the meanings of the holy scripture, veda. He was also impressive andpure. Another brother. Devanarya, was a Saiva. had peaceful mind, dexterous inarts, was the foremost in the Yajurveda, and performed the treatment of mental

31 Bulletin Ind. Inst. Hist, Med. Vol. VI

and bodily diseases. He was liberal in charities to good people and was wise,pure. brave. and good. He was good-hearted, blessed and learned and was loved bythe distressed. Varadarya, son of Kiilanatha, had a mind full of knowledge, was res,pected highly for the modesty, was fortunate in having good brother, and was thewell-wisher of good people and was a devotee of the feet of Lord siva.

The revered Anatalyambika along with her husband. was impressed with theprofessional eminence of Parahita (son of Kalanatha] and honoured him in thevillage, in the presence of good people, The physician Parahita is praised as agood person, devoid of likes and dislikes and sorrow and as having knowledge ashis wealth and meritorious and as physician following the vedic path.

Anatalyambika gifted in tbe presence of srilsailadhipa Ramesvara, on theVisnu day in the black fortnight of Srjivana month in the auspicious sobhak~t yearof 1245, saka era, the village Kaluvacberu to Parahit acarya. She gifted the villageafter renaming it after her, as Annavaram with the eight bhiitis.

After this the boundaries of the village are mentioned.

8, Kondavidu Inscription:

This inscription is found in the deserted temple in the fort of Kondavidu inGuntur district. Some words are lost at some places. It is dated 1546 A. D., on thejyestha month of prabhava year, during the reign of Sadaaivadevaraya of Vijaya;nagara. It records the gift of land to several panditas, Some names-Ramarajayyaetc. occur, but it is net clear who was the donor. The record mentions the gift ofsome land in the villages like Betapiindi, Kesaripati and Pedaraviiru etc. The namesof the donees include Parahitapanditulu Somapanditulu, Laksmjpatipanditulu,Asvavaidya Laksmanapanditulu, Timmapanditulu, etc. The first name Parahita ,panditulu may be an epithet or name of physician. The suffix, pandita was also usedmostly to scholar-physicians during this period. Laksmanapa ndita is mentioned asan asvavaidya, an expert in treating tbe diseases of horses. Land measuring12! khaudrikas was donated to him in Pedar aviiru and 13 kbandrikas in Degat,abetapiindi was donated to Parahitapanditulu.

The later portion of the record appears to mention the donation of some landin some villages by Parahitapanditulu for the Gopikavallabha of Kondav idu.

Though the purport of the record is not clear, it mentions one physicianParahitapandita and another asvavaidya Laksmanapandita. The land donated to

MetlicQ/- Allusion8 i" Insc,lplltms-R"ma Roo

both the physicians appears to be considerably vast and suggests that they held highposition in the society.

* * *The five inscriptions described above under items 5 to 8 pertain to the physi-

cians, belonging to the families of Parahita. The Kondavidu inscription mentionsParahitapandita but other details about him are lost.

The difference between the earliest and the latest of the first four excludingthe Kondavl du inscription is only 55 years. Apart from this tbe four grants origi,nated from the ruling families of the region between Kondavjd u and Rajamahen;dravaram. These things suggest that all the records may be pertaining to tbe mem-bers of the same or closely related families. But the donees of two records i.e, Akka-lapiidi and Kaluvacberu are of atreya gotra. whereas the donees cf the otber twoi.e. Ponnupalli I and II, belong to kasyapa gotra. The gotra of the Parahitapanditaof the Kondavj du record is not known. The difference in the gotra makes thefamilies definitely different. Another important point is that the identical story ofrelieving the suffering of the snake is attributed to the ancestor of both thefamilies. *

The donee Parahitacarya of Akkalapiidi grant belonged to the family ofKalanatha*.. The geneology of the donee of Kaluvacberu grant mentions oneKalanatha and four Parahitas. The families of these two records may be the same.

The Parahita families produced many physicians of great repute in treatmentand a school of parahita appears to have flourished during this period in Andhraregion. However, only one book has come down to us, that too only partly. It isParahitasamhita by Srlnathapandita. Unfortunately no details about the autbor athis date are available. The name of tbe treatise suggests that he might have belen-

• One possibility may be that a member of a family might have been adopted by another family. andhe might bave studied medicine under his own father or a member of his original family and thestory might have been narrated to get a good name to him as well a. to give credit to his ancestor.

*. The I<aluvaeberu inscription was collected from Kalanathabha~la Subrabmanyam. resident ofAryavata village in Kakinada taluk of Godavari district. The family name Kalanathabhatla mighthave been so called after one of the predecessors. named Kalanathabhatt.a. This may be the name ofa family deity of a Very famous predecessor and might have been conti~ued to be used for namingthe members for some generations and later it might have become a family name itself. One Kala-llitha is found in the geneology mentioned in this record. The family was still practising medt-cine at the time of the collection of the records.

B4 .~~ : - B1,lllet{n'Ind. Imt.1!ist~ ltfed. Vol.}q

ged to the parahita family of physicians and .it is supposed to have been compiledin IS-I6th·centuries. . -

SUMMARY

The article deals with the following inscriptions

1. Jaggayyapeta inscription of about 2nd century A.D. mentions Bhadanta Nagiir_juna and his disciple Jayaprabhacarya,

2. Vi~I,luKundi Charter of Tummalagudem mentions the grant of 2 villages byMaharaja Govindavaram of Vi~I,luKundi dynasty to a monastery for main-taining the continuity of the roots of merit including medical aid to theinmates of the monastery.

_ 3. Kollipara inscription: It is a grant by Arikesari I (775-800) of Chalukyafamily to Mugdhasrvacarya. The king Arikesari is mentioned as learned inmedicine and grammar etc.

4. Dak~iirama inscription III : It is a gift in 1154 A. D. by Muddanarya, whoused to perform the abhyajiga (oil massage) of king Kulottungachoda Gonka,

5. Akkalapiidi grant : It records the gift of a village to physician Parihitacarya.The donee was in the court 0; Siilgayanayaka. who was equal to minister instatus. The record is dated 1868 A. D.

6. Ponnupalli inscriptions: The first inscription records a gift by PedakomatiVema in 1404 A.D. to Bhaskararya, a descendent of Parahita, who treated asnake. The Ponnupalli II record mentions a gift in 1408 A.D. to Siilganarya.learned in Ayurveda and other branches of medicine.

7. Kaluvacheru inscriptions: This records the gift. in 1423. of a village toParhitacarya, who was a great physician. His predecessor Parahita treated asnake.

8. Kondavldu inscription: This is partly lost and it mentions the gift of land tosome Pand itas (scholars or physicians). Among them are ParahitapanditaAsvavaidya Laksamana Pandita. The record is dated 1546 A.D.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The author is grateful to Dr. D. V. Subba Reddy, Honorary Editorial Consul-tant. Indian Institute of History of Medicine, for his suggestions.. His grateful

'tJetiical 'A llusionsin .Inscriptlons » Bama Rao~ ••• ~ •• ~ •• "" .,- •• -- ~ , .•••••• -, •• _>. --~.::';'--

_ thanks are also due to Dr. V. Sankara SastrY,who gave the texts :of some of therecords of Parahita, - -.., .:

. . -" -'REFERENCts- - ,- :

1. Jaggayyapetaloni Nagarjunacharyula gurinchina 'sasauam, Sri Dhanva~ta:rj.Vol. 19, No. 12, 1956, pp. 554-555.

2. Krishna Sastry, H.: South Indian Inscriptions (T~xtS),' Vol. IV.' Madras,Superintendent, Government Press, 1923.

3. Ramayya Pantulu, J.; Anitalli Kaluvacharu Sasanam. Andhra Sahitya Pari-shad Patrika, Vol. II. No.1, Pramadi year and Chaitra month, pp. 93_96.

4. Rangacharya, V.: A Topographical List of Inscriptions of Madras Presidency(collected tilt 1915). Madras. Superintendent. Government Press, Vol. I, nand III, 1919.

5 Parahita Samhita-s-Srinatha Pandita (A Sanskrit Medical treatise of ParahitaF~mily) with introduction by D. V. Subba Reddy, Tirupativ S. V. University,1972.

6. Venkataramanayya, N, : _The Chalukyas of L(V) emulawada, Hyderabad;Archaeology Department. -Government of Hyderabad, 1953.

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