SureshAcharya at 22:48, 27 February 2026

2026-02-27T22:48:03Z

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{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2019}}
{{Infobox historic site
| name = Kappe Arabhatta
| image =
| caption =
| location = [[Badami]], [[Karnataka]], [[India]]
| coordinates =
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| map_relief =
| built =
| elevation =
| architecture= inscription consists of five stanzas written out in ten lines
| area =
| nearest_city =
| governing_body =
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}}
[[File:Cliffs overlooking lake badami.JPG|thumb|right|1880s photograph of cliff overlooking the Bhutanatha temple on the eastern end of the artificial lake in [[Badami]]. The ''Kappe Arabhatta'' inscription is carved on a cliff overlooking the ''northeast'' end.]]
'''Kappe Arabhatta''' ({{langx|kn|ಕಪ್ಪೆ ಅರಭಟ್ಟ}}) was a [[Chalukya]] warrior<ref>{{Harvnb|Narasimhia|1941|p=355}}</ref> of the 8th century who is known from a [[Kannada language|Kannada]] verse inscription, dated to c. 700 CE, and carved on a cliff overlooking the northeast end of the artificial lake in [[Badami]], [[Karnataka]], India. The inscription consists of five stanzas written out in ten lines in the [[Kannada script]]. Stanza 2 (Lines 3 and 4) consists of a [[Sanskrit]] ''[[Shloka|śloka]]''.<ref>{{Harvnb|Narasimhia|1941|p=363}}</ref> Of the remaining stanzas, all except the first are in the ''[[tripadi]]'',<ref>''i.e.'' lines 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10</ref> a Kannada verse [[meter (poetry)|metre]].<ref name="Narasimhia 1941 358">{{Harvnb|Narasimhia|1941|p=358}}</ref>

Stanza 3 (lines 5 and 6), which consists of twelve words of which nine are Sanskrit words in Kannada,<ref>{{Harvnb|Narasimhia|1941|pp=346, 329, 323, 295, 286, 320, 278}}</ref> is well known in a condensed version,<ref name=wellknown>{{Harvnb|Sahitya Akademi|1988|p=1717}}</ref> and is sometimes cited as the earliest example of the ''tripadi'' metre in Kannada.<ref>{{Harvnb|Sahitya Akademi|1988}}, {{Harvnb|Kamath|2001}}</ref> However, neither stanza 3 nor stanza 4 strictly conform to the precise [[Tripadi#Definition|rules]] of the ''tripadi'' metre; they each have more than 18 [[Mora (linguistics)|mora]]s in line two, in excess of the allowed 17.<ref name="Narasimhia 1941 358"/>

==Location==
According to {{Harvnb|Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency|1884|p=558}}, the Kappe Arabhatta inscription overlooks the artificial lake (on the south-east corner) of Badami town, and: {{Blockquote|Cut on the cliff, ten or twelve feet from the ground, on the north-west of the hamlet of Tattukoti, on the north-east corner of the lake, is an undated inscription of the sixth or seventh century. The way to the cliff is on the left going up from the reservoir by the rear or east ascent to the Bavanbande-kote or north fort and about half-way up to the shrine of Tattukoti Maruti. The writing covers a space of 3 feet 4½ inches high by 2 feet 10⅓ inches broad. The meaning is not clear, but it seems 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, handing from it.}}

==Kappe Arabhatta inscription text==
[[File:Kappe Arabhatta inscription at Badami.JPG|thumb|right|250px|upright|The 7th century Kappe Arabhatta inscription]]
The following is the text of the five lines written out in ten lines in the inscription.<ref>{{Harvnb|Narasimhia|1941|p=267}}</ref> The meanings of the words are provided in the footnotes below the text. Lines 3 and 4 consist of a [[Sanskrit]] sloka, and is not translated. Here <nowiki> | </nowiki> denotes the end of each line of the ''[[tripadi]]'' [[Meter (poetry)|metre]] and <nowiki> || </nowiki>, the end of the stanza:
{{blockquote|''c. 700 A. D. Taṭṭukôṭi Inscription I. A. X. 61'' 1. ([[Kannada]]) Kappe1a-Arabhaṭṭan1b Śiṣṭajana1c priyan1c 2. kaṣṭajanavarjitan2a kaliyugaviparītan2b<nowiki> || </nowiki> 3. ([[Sanskrit]] sloka:) varan-tējasvino mṛittyur na tu mānāvakhaṇḍanam- 4. Mṛttyus tatkṣaṇikō duḥkham mānabhamgam dinēdinē <nowiki> || </nowiki> [[Tripadi]]: 5.([[Kannada]]) Sādhuge5a Sādhu5b mādhuryange5c mādhuryam5d '''<nowiki>|</nowiki>''' bādhippa5e 6. kalige6a kaliyuga2b viparītan2b '''<nowiki>|</nowiki>''' mādhavan6b ītan6c pe''r''an6d alla6e '''<nowiki>||</nowiki>''' [[Tripadi]]: ([[Kannada]]) 7. oḷḷitta7a keyvōr7b ār7c polladum7d ada''r''amte7e '''<nowiki>|</nowiki>''' ballittu7f kalige6a 8. viparītā2b purākṛtam8a '''<nowiki>|</nowiki>''' illi8b samdhikkum8c adu8d bamdu8e '''<nowiki> || </nowiki>''' [[Tripadi]]: ([[Kannada]]) 9. kaṭṭida9a Simghaman9b keṭṭodēnemag9c emdu9d '''<nowiki>|</nowiki>''' biṭṭavōl9e kalige6a vi- 10. parītamg2b ahitarkkaḷ10a '''<nowiki>|</nowiki>''' keṭṭar10b mēṇ10c Sattar10d avicāram10e '''<nowiki> || </nowiki>'''}}

==Dictionary for Translation of inscription==

'''1a''' "Kappe," Kannada, "a frog; that which hops" and has cognates in related languages: Telugu "kappa - a frog;" Tulu "kappe - a frog, probably from 'kuppu' - to hop, or 'kappu' - to cover;"<ref name=nara-p-294>{{Harvnb|Narasimhia|1941|p=294}}</ref> '''1b''' "A''r''a" and "bhaṭṭa" are both Prakrit words: the former means "virtue," the latter, itself derives from Sanskrit "bhartā."<ref name=nara-p-294/> '''1c''' ''Śiṣṭajana priyan'': Beloved of the good people. Sanskrit. priya,<ref>{{Harvnb|Narasimhia|1941|p=340}}</ref> 
'''2a''' ''kaṣṭajanavarjitan'': avoided by evil people, adj. s. m. sg. nom. qualifying Kappe-Arabhattan. Sanskrit. ''kaṣṭa'', ''jana'', ''varjita'';<ref>{{Harvnb|Narasimhia|1941|p=296}}</ref> '''2b''' ''kaliyugaviparita'': an exceptional man in the kaliyuga. Sanskrit, ''viparita'' adj. s. m. sg. nom qualifying Kappe-Arabhattan;<ref name="Narasimhia 1941 295">{{Harvnb|Narasimhia|1941|p=295}}</ref> 
'''5a''' ''sadhuge'': to the good people. Sanskrit sadhu, s. n.;<ref name=nara-346>{{Harvnb|Narasimhia|1941|p=346}}</ref> '''5b''' ''sadhu'': Good, kind, person. Sanskrit. s. m.;<ref name=nara-346/> '''5c''' ''madhuryamge'': to the sweet. s. m. sg. dat Sanskrit. madhurya-;<ref name=nara-329>{{Harvnb|Narasimhia|1941|p=329}}</ref> '''5d''' ''madhuryam'': sweetness. s. m. sg. nom. Sanskrit;<ref name=nara-329/> '''5e''' ''bādhippa'': causing distress, fut. p. of badhisu - to cause distress, from Sanskrit bādh - to harass.<ref>{{Harvnb|Narasimhia|1941|p=323}}</ref> 
'''6a''' ''kalige'': to the kali age. s. m. sg. dat. Sanskrit . kali-; kali - hero.;<ref name="Narasimhia 1941 295"/> '''6b''': ''Madhavan'': Visnu, Sanskrit. Madhava - s. m. sg. nom.;<ref name=nara-329/> '''6c''': ''ītan'': this man, dem. pron. m. Telugu: ītadu - probably i + tān - this self (speaker) or ī + tan - this of mine;<ref>{{Harvnb|Narasimhia|1941|p=286}}</ref> '''6d''': ''peran'': another. From pera - outer place; the outside. MK hera; NK hora; Tamil: piran - a stranger; Malayalam: piran - another; Telugu: pera - another;<ref>{{Harvnb|Narasimhia|1941|p=320}}</ref> '''6e''' ''alla'': is not, neg. pr. of intr. ''al'' (to be fit); Tamil ''al'', ''alla-'': no, not; Malayalam ''alla'': no, not.<ref>{{Harvnb|Narasimhia|1941|p=278}}</ref> 
'''7a''' ''oḷḷitta'': what is good (adj. s. n.); '''7b''' ''keyvōr'': those who do; '''7c''' ''ār'': who (inter. pron.); '''7d''' polladum: The evil also. adj. s. n. sg. nom. + um (NK holladu, hole)—Tamil: ''pol''—to agree with, negative of this is ''pollā''. Tamil: ''pollā'', ''pollāda'': bad, vicious (neg. of pon: to shine), Malayalam: ''pollā'' - to be bad, evil; ''pollu'' - hollow, vain, useless; Telugu: ''pollu'' - useless; Tulu: ''polle'' - slander, backbiting.<ref>{{Harvnb|Narasimhia|1941|p=322}}</ref> '''7e''' ''ada''r''amte'' - like that (adv.) (''adara'' stem. pron.) ''amte'': adv. p. of ''an'': to speak.;<ref name="Narasimhia 1941 274">{{Harvnb|Narasimhia|1941|p=274}}</ref> '''7f''' ''ballittu'': Strong adj. s. n.; 
'''8a''': ''purākṛtam'': the ancient karma (Fleet); the deeds done in the past. Sanskrit;<ref>{{Harvnb|Narasimhia|1941|p=319}}</ref> '''8b''' ''illi'': here.<ref>{{Harvnb|Narasimhia|1941|p=104}}</ref> '''8c''': ''samdhikkum'': '''8d''' ''adu'' - it (pron);<ref name="Narasimhia 1941 274"/> '''8e''' ''bamdu'' - having come (adv. pp. of bar - to come. Tamil vandu; Malayalam vandu; Telugu vacci; 
'''9a''' ''kaṭṭida'' - bound pp. of kattu - to bind; Tamil: kaṭṭu, Malayalam: kaṭṭu; Tulu: kaṭṭu - to bind; '''9b''' ''simghaman'' The lion. Sanskrit. simgha-, s. n. sg.; '''9c''' ''keṭṭodē'': harmful thing; '''9d''' ''en'' what (intl pron.) '''9e''' ''biṭṭavōl'': in the same way as releasing. adj.; 
'''10a''' ''ahitarkkaḷ'': the enemies (Sanskrit. ahita- ); '''10b''' ''keṭṭar'' : were ruined; '''10c''' ''mēṇ'': and (conjunction, Middle Kannada (MK) ''mēṇ'' and ''mēṇu'': what is above, from ''mēl'': above. Malayalam: ''mēṇ'': what is above; superiority; ''menavan''—a superior ''śudra'' (modern Malayalam ''mēnon''), replaced by ''mattu'' in Modern Kannada. '''10d''' ''sattar'': died; past pl. of sā - to die. Tamil cā - to die, past. Sattān. Malayalam cā - to die; Telugu - caccu - to die; pp. caccina. Tulu sāy, sāi - to die, pp. satta-;<ref>{{Harvnb|Narasimhia|1941|p=343}}</ref> '''10e''' ''avicāram'': without foresight. (Fleet translates as "without doubt.") Sanskrit. ''avicāra''.<ref>{{Harvnb|Narasimhia|1941|p=279}}</ref>

==Literal translation==
'''1''' Kappe1a Arabhata,1b beloved of the good people1c 
'''2''' avoided by evil people,2a an exceptional man in ''[[Kaliyuga]]''2b 
'''5''' To the good people,5a good;5b to the sweet,5c sweetness;5d <nowiki> | </nowiki> causing distress5e 
'''6''' to the kali age,6a an exceptional man in ''Kaliyuga'',2b <nowiki> | </nowiki>[[Madhava (Vishnu)|Madhava]] (or [[Vishnu]]),6b this man6c another6d is not6e<nowiki> || </nowiki> 
'''7''' What is good7a those who do7b who7c the evil7d like that7e <nowiki> | </nowiki> strong7f 
'''8''' exception to (or opposite)2b the ancient karma8a <nowiki> | </nowiki> here8b ''samdhikkum''8c it8d having come8e <nowiki> || </nowiki> 
'''9''' Bound9a the lion9b harmful thing9c what9d <nowiki> | </nowiki> in the same way as releasing9e (Translated in {{Harv|Narasimhia|1941|p=242}}, "In the same way as releasing the bound lion, saying 'What is the harm to us?'") 
'''10''' exception to or opposite2b the enemies10a <nowiki> | </nowiki> were ruined10b and10c died10d without foresight (or without doubt)10e <nowiki> || </nowiki> (Note: 10c, 10d, and 10e are translated in {{Harv|Narasimhia|1941|p=239}} as "And they died undoubtedly (for want of foresight)")

==Popular version of Stanza 3 in Kannada script==
A condensed version of Stanza 3 seems to be well known, both in the Kannada script:

{{langx|kn|'''ಸಾಧುಗೆ ಸಾಧು''' 
'''ಮಾಧುರ್ಯಂಗೆ ಮಾಧುರ್ಯಂ''' 
'''ಬಾಧಿಪ್ಪ ಕಲಿಗೆ ಕಲಿಯುಗ ವಿಪರೀತನ್''' 
'''ಮಾಧವನೀತಂ ಪೆರನಲ್ಲ!'''}}

and in the English poetic rendering:<ref name=wellknown/>

<blockquote>
"Kind man to the kind, 
Who's sweet to the sweet, 
Very cruel to the cruel 
He was not unlike Lord Vishnu in this regard"
</blockquote>

==See also==
*[[Badami]]
*[[Chalukya dynasty]]
*[[Kannada literature]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|2}}

==References==
*{{Citation | last = Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency| first = Volume XXIII | title = Bijapur | publisher = Bombay: Government Central Press. Pp. 694 | year = 1884 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=87PQDQ4E0KkC}}
*{{Citation| last = Narasimhia | first = A. N. | author-link=A. N. Narasimhia | title = A Grammar of the Oldest Kanarese Inscriptions (including a study of the Sanskrit and Prakrit loan words | year = 1941 | publisher = Originally published: Mysore: University of Mysore. Pp. 375. Reprinted in 2007: Read Books. Pp. 416 |isbn = 1-4067-6568-6 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=LvkODkXF2-AC}}
*{{Citation| last = Sahitya Akademi | author-link=Sahitya Akademi | title = Encyclopaedia of Indian literature - vol 2 | year = 1988 | publisher = New Delhi: Sahitya Akademi |isbn = 81-260-1194-7}}
*{{Citation| last = Kamath | first = Suryanath U.| year = 2001 | title = A Concise History of Karnataka from pre-historic times to the present| publisher = Bangalore: Jupiter books, MCC (Reprinted 2002)}}

==External links==
*{{cite web |url=http://www.kamat.com/kalranga/kar/literature/history1.htm |title=History of Kannada Literature, Dr. Jyotsna Kamat|access-date=2006-11-12 }}

[[Category:Chalukya people]]

[[Category:Badami Chalukya inscriptions]]
[[Category:Indian warriors]]
[[Category:7th-century Indian people]]

Kappe Arabhatta - Revision history

SureshAcharya at 22:48, 27 February 2026