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274
EPIGRAPHIA INDICA.
[Vol. IX.
rent-free, to the bhaffa Darakhandi- son of Saridėva(P) and grandson of Gaurichandra of the Upamanya gåtra and Bahvricha sdkha (of the Rigvôda); and he enjoins futare kings (rdjaka) to protect this gift, and (in lines 27-35) quotes four imprecatory verses from the dharmasastras.
The inscription in lines 35-38) ends with four statements, introduced severally by the participles láfichhitam, pravésitam, likhitam, and utkirnam. Abont the meaning of the two last there can be no doubt : the grant was written by the sandhivigrahika (or minister of pence and war) Khambha, and engraved by the akshasdlin (or goldsmith) KumArachandra. The term pravésitam I have not found in similar surroundings in any other grant; but since this word takes the place here of the phrase svayam-ddishtô rdjid datakó-tra of the Gumsor grant of Natribhañja and of the earlier grant on these very plates (where that phrase in both Cases appears in company with láfichhitam, likhitam and utkirņam), I think that it must likewise be taken to refer to the business of the dataka and that the words pravésitants Késavena must be translated brought (to the donee's) home by (the messenger) Kesava.' The passage commencing with lánchhitam I am unable to explain properly. According to Dr. Fleet, above, Vol. VII. p. 227, lafichhana denotes the device used on the seals of copper-plate charters, etc., and anchhita thorofore probably means 'furnished with puch a device or marked with & seal' (mudrayd mudritam). We find the word in the Buguda plates of Madhavavarman above, Vol. III. p. 46, 1. 50, lafchhitan Jayasisighêna; in the Gañjâm plates of Prithivivar madeva, abovo, Vol. IV. p. 201, 1. 35, láthíchhitam-cha fri-md(ma) hadtvyd; in the grant which was originally engraved on these plates, above, p. 272, láfichhitan [ra]jfi-fri-Manikyamahadevyd, 'marked with & seal by the queen, the glorious MÅpikya-mah&devi;' and it occurs also in the Gumsur grant of Nêtribhanja, where the words by which it is followed cannot be made out with confidence. In the present case our text appears to give us láfichhitan fri
Trikalinga-mahadevyd, marked with a seal by the glorious Trikalinga-mahadevi,' which would be similar to what we find in the earlier grant on these plates; but these words are followed by tējadikóna, which may be corrupt and the meaning of which is quite obscure, and after that again we have the instrumental fribhatfa-Stambhadeva-mantrind, by the minister, the bhafta Stambhadeva, which, for want of the meaning of the obscure word, I see no way of connecting with what prooedes. It is ourious that in at least two of the passages where the word lánchhitat occurs the marking with the seal is stated to have been performed by a queen.
Our inscription contains no date of any kind, and for the present it seems impossible to fix its age even approximately, because we know nothing that is certain about the chiefs of the Bhañja family during the Middle Ages, and possess no dated inscriptions with the same alphabet. With all due reserve I would say that the inscription may perhaps be assigned to the 12th or 13th centary A.D.
In the prording of the grant the expressions which are charaoteristic of the locality to which the grant belongs are sambandha (In line 19, used in the sense of sombaddha), saliladhdrd-puranaariya vid kind, and akaratodus (for which by mistake baratoina has been engraved). Compare eg. above, Vol. III. p. 45, 1. 86, and Vol. VII. p. 101. .
On this word, which in Sanskrit is generally spelt akshardlin (0.g. in Ind. Ant. VoL XIIL p. 276, L. 24, and Yol XVIIL. p. 145, L 26), we now Prat, Iultusch, above, Vol. VII. p. 107, note 4
See above, p. 972 and note 2. • According to Yajfinvalkys I. 819, the deans of a king should be ramudrapariginitam (.e: 90-mudrayd Garuda ardhddi-ndpay-Spari dati ekidnitewaskitam). And above, Vol. III. p. 302, 1. 74, there is a verse according to which a charter becomes faultless when it is wdrd-fuddha, faultlen as regards the seal,' ato.
See above, p. 372, note 2 Similar name are CM610maldddol and Ganga-malddbol. In the Gamedr graat of Netfibhafija tho blatta, the illustrious Stambhaden, i mentioned dataka.
traditional data in the sales your 754 (A.D. 832) is given for one of the Bhaija (Bhunx) chick in Mr. Bowell's List of Antiquities, Vol. I, p. 8.
