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ORISSA PLATES OF VIDYADHARABHANJADEVA.
273
dbh and mbh (o.g. in -vikshobha-dakshan, 1.1, pargga, 1. 10,-Digbhasjadêvasya, l. 12, -udbhaat the end of line 4, and -Stambhadeva-, 1. 36). There is a special sign for final t, in dnyat, 1. 18, nyat, at the commencement of line 19, yavat, L 21, and rådhdt for Orodhdt, 1. 22. Of initial vowels the text oontains orly a (for d), and , in achandrá°, 1. 21, iva, 11. 5 and 6, iti, I. 33, Upamany[s], 1. 23, urtkirnna, 1. 38, and étad', 1. 19. As regards medial vowels, & is sometimes denoted by a short sa persoript stroke or by a small hook on the right of the consonantrigo, as in labhafijao at the commencement of line 13, and in Bhanjámala°, 1. 14; and there are two signal of the subscript , one of which may be seen e.g. in jayatu, l. 1, and bhuvana', 1. 2. and the other in-sura', 1.7, tipu, 1. 10, Vakjuluakd-, 1. 8, and avvahubhiru, 1. 37, etc.; the formar of the two signs is used also to denote medial 4, for which there is no separato sign in these plates. Two forms of medial & may be seen e.g. in Sésháhér-
a vayê, . 4. and pra(prá)ldydchalas, 1. 5; and similarly two forms of medial 6, e.g. in kirttayo vilbo, 1. 35. The sign of an undra is sometimes placed after the consonant-sign, as in opadani yathdrhan, 1. 17. The signs of virama and avagraha do not ocour, and a sign of panctuation is found only in lines 20 and 25 (where in either case it is out of place) and at the end of the grant. The language of the inscription is Sanskrit. There are two verses in lines 1-8, and four imprecatory Terses in lines 27-85; the rest of the text is in prose. As regards orthography, the sign for
denotes both and b; visarga at the end of a word is ten times omitted ; and single consonants are used instead of doable ones in chatusima- for chatussimd-, l. 19, -anurodha cha for
anurodhach-cha, 1. 26, and five or six times in the words data and dati for datta and datti. (lines 25, 28, 29, 31, 32 and perhaps 23). There is besides some confusion of the short and long vowels, especially in the case of i and, where i is used instead of i no less than nine times (e.g. in nikasha, 1.3, ripu, 1. 10, salila, 1.21, etc.); and 4, as has been already stated, is everywhere written by the sign for #. A few times the writer or engraver has omitted an akshara, ws in Vidyadhabhañjao for Vidyadharabhanja', 1. 15, the chief name of the inscription which is correctly given on the seal; and altogether the grant has been written rather carelessly.
The inscription is one of the devout worshipper of Mahsvara(Siva), the ornament of the spotless family of the Bhanjas,' the Maharaja Vidyadharabhsñjadêva, also called king Dharmattalasa(P), who was a son of Sil&bhañjadêva, grandson of Digbhasjadêvs, and great-grandson of Ranabhasjadeva; and its object is to record & grant which was issued by the king from Vañjulvaka. Like the Gamsör grant of Natribhsõjadáva Kalyapakalala, it opens with two verses which glorify the (third) eye of Hara (Giva) and invoke the protection of the waves of the divine Ganga. In lines 15-27 the king informs the Samantas, Bhàgings and others, tho [lords of ] vishayas, and the people generally who dwell in the Ramalavva, vishaya, that with pouring out of water he gave the village of Tupdurava in that district,
1 Which of the two signs is ased, depends on the consonant to which the sign is attached; thus, k and Juw take the carve-shaped sign and p and always the straight or book-shaped sign. In line 17, where the curve-shaped is attached to p, the akshara intended to be denoted is pd (of pijayatt), not pw; the same romark
polic to the of wirddhita (for wirdd dtao) in line 11. Bat in the case of bu and M, and are both denoted by the same (curve-shaped) sign.
Compare a. Gangdmalakulatilaka, above, Vol. III. p. 18, L 12, and Kadawod(mod) walakulatilaka, ibid.
p. 228, 1. 22.
In line 6 of the Gaijâm plates mentioned in Mr. Newell's Liste of Antiquities, Vol. II. p. 88, No. 218 (and of which Dr. Fleet has given me an impression), the name is spelt Bildbhajadboa. Above, Vol. III. p. 868. 1. 83, . place sudbhaijapatt, which was in Odradlia (Orisus), is mentioned.
The name Digbhanja slao occurs in the Bimangbått plates of Ragabhafijs, where there can be no doubt about the reading of it.
The original has ojaye-Vakijeloakde.
Compare ag. abovo, Vol. VI. p. 208, 1. 18: -dmanta-blogika-vishayapati-; ibid. p. 142, 1. 25 (in one of Dnodimehhdorfo grunta) we have the term bribadblogin.
