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EPIGRAPHIA INDICA.
[VOL. III.
No. 13.- UDAYENDIRAM PLATES OF THE BANA KING VIKRAMADITYA II.
By F. KIELHORN, Pı.D., C.I.E.; GÖTTINGEN. An edition of this inscription, or rather, of these fragments of two different inscriptions, of the Bana king Vikramaditya II. has already been published by the Rev, T. Foulkes in the Indian Antiquary, Vol. XIII. pp. 6 ff. and in the Manual of the Salem District, Vol. II. pp. 388 ff. For my revised text I have nsed excellent impressions received from Dr. Hultzsch, to whom the original plates, which are at Udayêndiram, in the Gudiyatam tåluka of the North Arcot district, were lent by the Acting Collector of the district, Mr. F. A. Nicholson, I.C.S.
The copper-plates are four in Dumber. Three of them, the first of which is inscribed on one side only, are the first second, and third plates of a grant of which the concluding part is missing. And the fourth plate, which, like the second and third plates, is inscribed on both sides, is an odd, probably the third, plate of another grant, of which both the beginning and the end are missing. Each plate measures about 8" broad by 315" high, and all have raised rims to protect the writing. The odd plate closely resembles the others, the only difference being that the ring-hole is about *" nearer to the right margin than in the other plates. The plates are held together by a ring, about 4in diameter. This ring, which is cut, holds a circular seal, about ' in diameter. The seal bears in relief & recumbent bull, which faces the proper right, reclining on an ornamental pedestal, and having a lamp on each side. At the top is a parasol between two chauris. The engraving is good, and the writing is almost throughout in a perfect state of preservation. The size of the letters is between 1" and ".- The characters are Grantha, with the exception of the Tamil word pugalvipparar (Plate iii. a, line 39), which is written in Tamil characters. As a photo-lithograph of the inscription is published herewith, I need not attempt a detailed description of the Grantha characters; but I may state that I have found it difficult to distinguish between the superscript i and 1, which in the original are very similar to each other; and that also more than one I have failed to recognise in the impressions the superscript of conjunct consonante.-The language is Sangkrit. Of the inscription on plates i-iii. lines 1-44, excepting the introductory svasti fri[], are in verse, and lines 45-51 in prose. Line 1 to nearly the middle of line 13 of the odd plate give the verses in lines 32-44 of the other plates, while the remaining lines contain & prose passage which differs from the corresponding passage at the end of plate iii. As regards orthography, attention may be drawn to the promiscuous use of the letters t and d, t being employed eighteen times instead of d, and d six times instead of t; to the employment of the conjunct tsh instead of ksh, which occurs five times; to the incorrect use of the Grantha final m instead of the anusvåra at the end of words; and to the frequent omission of the sign of visarga. In respect of grammar, it may be pointed out that line 5 of plate i. contains the wrong word mathitum-manas (for mathitu-manas, which would not have suited the metre).
Plates i-iii. contain the commencement of an inscription which recorded a grant made by the Bâna king Vijayabahu Vikramaditya in favour of some Bråhmans residing at Udayêndumangala. The inscription, after two verses invoking the blessings of the gods Siva and Narayaņa (Vishnu), gives the following genealogy of the donor :
First there was the regent of the Asuras, Bali (line 11); his son was the foe of the gods,
Båņa (line 15); and in his lineage was born Bånadhiraja (line 17). When Bans
1 The same word occurs on the odd plate (l. 8), where it is written in Grapths characters, except the letter 1, which is peculiar to the Tamil alphabet and language.
