BADAMI INSCRIPTION
(kappe arabhTTana shaasana,
700 A.D.)
Badami Inscription is well known because it
celebrates the virtues of an unknown warrior of Karnataka with admirable qualities.
This is a bi-lingual inscription using Kannada as well as Sanskrit. However the
stanzas praising kappe arabhaTTa are composed in Kannada using Tripadi an
ancient indigenous Kannada meter which can claim Dravidian ancestry. These are
the earliest tripadis found in the language.
Kappe arabhaTTa has precious little to do with frog
the English equivalent of ‘Kappe’. It is variously interpreted as kappeyara
bhaTTa (T.N.Srikataiah) and Kappadi yara BhaTTa. . (M.M.Kalburgi) Both these etymologies are inspired by his family name.
The inscription may be summarised thus: ArabhaTTa is
avoided by villainous persons and liked by good people. This warrior is good to
those who are good to him and extremely cruel to those who inconvenience him.
In this quality he is none other than Lord Vishnu. There are people who indulge
in evil deeds consequent of their karma of the previous lives. These
thoughtless people will die a miserable death like those who unwittingly
release a caged lion.
This inscription is cut on a cliff ten to twelve feet
above the ground, over looking the artificial lake on the south-east corner of
the Badami town. The writing covers a space of 40 1/2 inches high and 34 1/3 inches broad. The
meaning is not clear, but it seems to be a record of Kappe Arabhatta, a saint
of local fame. Below the inscription and covering a space of about 3 feet 7
inches is cut a round band with a floral device apparently a ten-leaved lotus
inside it, and with what seems to be a fillet, with a ribbon crossed in a
double loop, hanging from it.
The Kannada used in this
inscription points to a stage when ancient old Kannada was gradually making way
to old Kannada. Some of the morphological and syntactic evidences bear ample
testemony to this.
Hence Badami inscription
is important for prosodic, lingustic and literary reasons.
THE
TEXT OF THE INSCRIPTION IN KANNADA
ಕಪ್ಪೆ ಅರಭಟ್ಟನ್
ಶಿಷ್ಟಜನಪ್ರಿಯನ್
ಕಷ್ಟಜನವರ್ಜಿತನ್
ಕಲಿಯುಗ ವಿಪರೀತನ್
ವರನ್ತೇಜಸ್ವಿನೋ
ಮೃತ್ತ್ಯರ್ನತು
ಮಾನಾವಖಣ್ಡನಂ ಮೃತ್ತ್ಯುಸ್ತತ್ಕ್ಷಣಿಕೋ
ದುಃಖಮ್ ಮಾನಭಂಗನ್
ದಿನೇದಿನೇ ಸಾಧುಗೆ
ಸಾಧು ಮಾಧೂರ್ಯ್ಯಂಗೆ
ಮಾಧೂರ್ಯ್ಯಂ ಬಾಧಿಪ್ಪ
ಕಲಿಗೆ ವಿಪರೀತನ್
ಮಾಧವನೀತನ್ ಪೆರನಲ್ಲ
ಒಳ್ಳಿತ್ತ ಕೆಯ್ವೊರ್
ಆರ್ ಪ್ಪೊಲ್ಲದುಮ್
ಅದರನ್ತೆ ಬಲ್ಲಿತ್ತು
ಕಲಿಗೆ ವಿಪರೀತಾ
ಪುರಾಕೃತಂ ಇಲ್ಲಿ
ಸನ್ಧಿಕ್ಕುಂ ಅದು
ಬಂದು ಕಟ್ಟಿದ ಸಿಂಘಮನ್
ಕೆಟ್ಟೊದ್ ಎಮಗೆನ್ದು
ಬಿಟ್ಟವೊಲ್ ಕಲಿಗೆ
ವಿ[]ರೀತ ಅಹಿತರ್ಕ್ಕಳ್
ಕೆಟ್ಟರ್ ಮೇಣ್ ಸತ್ತರ್
ಅವಿಚಾರಮ್
ENGLISH
TRANSLITERATION
kappe arabhTTan
shiSTajanapriyan kaShTajanavatjitan kaliyuga vipareetan varantEjasvinO mrutyu
na tu mAnAvakhandanam mruttyustatkaNikO dukham mAnabhngan dinEdinE sAdhuge sAdhu mAdhUryyange mAdhUyyam bAdhippa
kalige kaliyuga viparItan mAdhavan Itan peRanalla oLLitta keyvor Ar ppolladum
adaRnte ballittu kalige viparItA purAkrutam illi sandhikkum adu bandu kaTTida
singhaman keTTod En emagendu biTTavol kalige vi[p]arItan ahitarkkaL keTTar mEN
sattar avicAram