________________
177
No. 23.] RAJAPURA COPPER PLATES OF MADHURANTAKADEVA.
them from the poorer classes of Hindus, procuring them either to the order of the Khonds or on speculation, and they moreover constantly sell as victims their own children and children of whom as relatives they are the guardians. Khonds when in distress, as in times of famine, also frequently sell their children for victims, considering the beatification of their souls certain and their death for the benefit of mankind, the most honourable possible. The Meriah grove, a clump of deep and shadowy forest trees, usually stands at a short distance from the village by a rivalet which is called the Meriah stream. It is kept sacred from the axe and is avoided by the Khonds as haunted ground." Bearing these remarks in mind, I now proceed to examine in how far they can throw light on our inscription. The italics in the above extract are mine, and they should be borne especially in mind, while considering what follows. In 11. 26 to 28 it is stated that "no body enters the chhuriprabandha. There is no place for the preceptor of yoginis. For this purpose this village is taken with a view to do good to all living beings." From this it is plain that the grant was not made for any spiritual purpose such as the increasing of the religious. merit of the king and his ancestors, but with a practical earthly aim, vis., in order to secure the welfare of the general public including cattle and other animals. The grant was not made to a Brahmana but to a Mêḍipôta (11. 12 to 14) who is styled "Pâtra 12," and to whom 70 gadyanaka gold were given in addition to the village, with the mu ual consent of the king, the queen, the prince and officers of State as stated in the grant, evidently in order to make the transaction an out-and-out purchase. Had the donee been a Brahmana, we should have expected a mention of his parentage, gôtra and caste, but no such information is forthcoming in this grant. In 1. 25 Mêdipôta is called chhurikára, which is probably used in a technical sense having reference to the chhuriprabandha referred to above, and not in the ordinary sense of a knife-maker (blacksmith). I am unable to say what chhuriprabandha really means, but from the context it appears to stand for something like narabaliprabandha, apparently on account of the great importance of the chhuri or knife in the sacrifice.
With regard to the epithet "12 pâtra " I am inclined to believe that Mêḍipôta, whether this word is a proper name or the name of an office, was the head of the 12 persons employed in the work of procuring victims. So late as 1884 A.D., when an investigation was made in Bastar in connection with kidnapping persons for sacrifice, it was believed that there were 12 villages given rent-free to kidnappers of 12 families, with whom the stipulation was that in case they could not procure victims from elsewhere, they must supply them from their own family in consideration of the free grant they enjoyed. Of course the existence of a grant for such a purpose could not be proved, as the sacrifices had been stopped long before the institution of the investigation. But the tradition of 12 families of melliahs or kidnappers of victims is significant and points to a practice which evidently existed in the days of these sacrifices. I am further inclined to think that Mêḍipôta was an office, Médi being the same as Méli or Melli vulgo Melliah or Malia, the word pota, which in Telugu means a sacrificial victim, being dropped for
1 The Kalika Purana says:
If a human sacrifice is performed without the consent of the prince, the performer incurs sin (see Budhirádhydya in the Asiatic Researches, Vol: V. p. 383).
[The text has chhurtpravadham, which might perhaps be translated "killing with a chhuri."-S. K.] [The passage in question (1. 14) can also be translated," Receivers 12 Médipótas, in their hand property was received." The Chhurikára of 1. 25 would then be a special Mêḍipôts.-S. K.]
Capt. MacVicar says:
The Meriah offering, whether so called Toki Poojah or Noroboli (Narabali), is essentially the same in object as the boli (bali) of the Doorga Poojah, and to this day the ritual of the Khond is annually celebrated by the Borisoloo or Maliah Pater (Pâtra) at Pooramari, the capital of Chinna Kimedi, on the conclusion of the Dasserah festival-a goat now being substituted for the more precious victim." Mark the italics, which are mine. (See Report by Capt. MacVicar, 1851, in the History of operations for the suppression of human sacrifice in the hill tracts of Orissa, 1854). It would appear that Melliah (the procurer) and Meriah (the victim) were identical terms, the procurers being regarded in 2 A
