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94
EPIGRAPHIA INDICA.
[Vol. IX.
(the members of the village assembly) might provide the requirements) day by day for a long time without any) obstruction.
No. 11.-MADRAS MUSEUM PLATES OF VAJRAHASTA III. ;
SAKA-SAMVAT 984.
BY STEN Konow, Pg.D.; CHRISTIANIA. This inscription is found on a set of copper-plates which have been deposited in the Madras Museum. I do not know where they have been originally found. I pablish the insuription from excellent ink-impressions supplied by Rai Bahadur V. Venkayya, M.A., who describes the plates as follows:
"The plates are five in number. The first bears writing on the inner side only. The last is completely blank; it was evidently put in to protect the single line of writing on the second side of the fourth plate. The plates have slightly raised rims (though in certain places these are either beaten down or worn away) and are strong on a ring, the ends of which are soldered into the lower part of a round seal. About the middle of the seal is a seated Nandin, whose tail extends to the bottom of the seal. From either side of the hind part of the Nandin proceed what may be taken for lotus buds. On the proper left of the Nandin are two flag-staffs placed one by the side of the other, with a bowl above them; and on the proper right of it are a conch, a lampstand and a dagger. The ring was cat by me. It is not quite circular. The diameter varies between 5 and 41. The thickness of tho ring is g". The seal is roughly 2}" in diameter. The following measuromonts of the plates show that, as regards breadth, they are slightly bigger in the middle than at the ends, while, as regards height, the reverse is the case :
Average breadth of plates . . . . . . . 91" 91" Average height of plates
91" . . . . . . 41"
. The foarth plate is comparatively small in height, measuring 44" at the ends and almost 4" in the middle."
The inscription consists of 54 lines. The greater part is in a good state of preservation. The fourth plate, however, is rather corroded, and some passages of it can only be read with difficulty.
The alphabet is Nägare of the same kind as in the Nadagâm plates of Vajrahasta of Śaka-Samvat 979. The class nasal, and not the Anusvara, is used before class mutes. Exceptions from this rulo are vid in 1.9, and do in 1. 48. Consonants are doubled after 1, except in "faforar, 1. 26. 9 is written for 4 throughout. Thas been substituted for in hele, 1. 25, and orao, 1. 49. On the other hand, we find for p in stan, 1.21, vita, 1. 39, and Caru, 1. 54. A nasal with a following guttural or palatal is written in the same way as in the Nadagam plates. Note further such writings 88 , ll. 7 and 24, Haufen instead of warf, 1.3, and water instead of quan, 1. 19.
3
41"
The word wiyadi is apparently synonymous with nifadam which occurs frequently in the Tanjore inscriptions, and with miladi in the Trichinopoly cave epigraph of Varaguna (Director-General's Annual fur 1908:4, p. 275, text line 19).
* In later inscriptions the phrase nedua-galamum is replaced by the Sanskrit chandradityavat, as long as the moon and the sun (endure).'
* Since the above was written, I have had an opportunity of inspecting the original plates together with Mr. Venkayya.
. Above, Vol. IV. p. 1839.
