Kashmir, Tamilnadu, Panini, Abhinavagupta, etc.

[DEVARAKONDA VENKATA NARAYANA SARMA]

NAGARJUNKONDA/POTALAKA -1

In the time of ikSvAku kings what is now called nAgArjunakoNDa could have
been known as siripavata. In one of the inscriptions obtained here it is said

        "ziripavatE vijayapuriya puvadisAbhAgE vihArE culadammagrIyaM
        cetiyagharaM."
                                        EI, vol XX, No.1

nAgArjunakoNDa is a part of the zrIparvata range and therefore there is
nothing strange in its being called zrIparvata. vijayapuri was the capital
of ikSvAkus.
On nAgArjunakoNDa there are temples dedicated to puSpabhadra(ziva), mahAsEna
(skanda), aSTabhujasvAmi(viSNu) and harIti(sakti). These are besides the
buddhist caityaAs and vihArAs.

Very close to nAgArjunakoNDA is waterfalls called "etti pOtala". The word
"pOtala" means waterfalls and "etti" means "lifted high". Perhaps the
naGarjunakoNDA mountain was also known among bhikkus as "pOtalaka", a mountain
in the vicinity of "pOtala" (=waterfalls) "ka" being a  sanskrit pratyaya
hiving the meaning "related to". This is the identification I am proposing.
This waterfalls can be seen from the nAgArjunkoNDa is only a few kilometers
from it.

regards,

sarma.