Dear Friends, I got the South Indian Inscriptions Vol IV, however this volume is in Tamil only, ASI has not done the English translation this yet. Hence I did not get much on the inscriptions in cave 2. However this gives an option to all those members who are efficient in Tamil, to give a translation as per their understanding. This will be really interesting to how different people translate/deduce this inscription. This is my kind request to all those who can do this translation in English, to please do this at this link: http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/ZP2GvurxOjih2Lu0I9CNRA?feat=directlink
Mamandur and its twin village, Narasapalaiyam, has four caves in total. One cave has inscription of Mahendravarman I, while another cave has a Chola inscription. Sankar will talk more on this Mahendra inscription as there is a mention of Valmiki (author of Ramayana) in this. There is one cave where circumambulatory path was tried, though not completed.
Could someone verify and expand on my attempt at translation?
137: Fourteenth year of Rajaraja (first 10 lines are Meikeerthi - Hail! Prosperity! so on and so forth). The place is described as "Kaliyur kottam, Chittiramekathadagam, Thiruvekambam, Uttamacholisvarapuram, Narasingamangalam" (I can't make out the exact divisions in that syntax).
To the Mahadeva of Valiswaram in that place, a man named Thiyangudaianam Paniraman gave a lamp. He also gave 46 goats, who's milk was to be used to to light the lamp (presumably by making it into ghee). Ends by saying that "anyone who tries to eat one of these goats will be cursed for his foul deed in all lands between Ganga and Kumari".
Inscription 138: 15th year of Parakesari Varman, To the Mahadeva of Valisvaram, the merchant Nattatiyan, son of Adibujanga Chetty and Mandrudi Chattakutti Viran gave lamps, and gave 46 (and a half?) goats. Ends with the same clause as above warning errant non-vegetarians of dire consequences.
At least, that's what I think it says. It's filled with Grantha characters in a lot of places, interspersed with Tamil characters in the same word, on top of the archaic language. I'm about 70% confident that this is correct.