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No. 5.)
RAGHOLI PLATES OF JAYAVARDHANA II.
41
with the appartenances, with the proceeds of the punishments for) faults and the ten offences, with (the right to) forced labour as it arises, with the assessment in grain and gold.
(LI. 56-59.) "No hindrance should in the slightest degree be caused by any one to him while enjoying (this village), allowing (others) to enjoy (it), cultivating (it), causing (it) to be cultivated, or assigning (it) to another, in accordance with the manner of a gift to a Brahmana. Likewise, this My gift to a Brahmana should be assented to, just as if it were their own gift, by the good kings of the future, whether My descendants or others, bearing in mind that the fruit of a gift of land is common (both to the grantor and to the preserver)."
[L. 59 f. and vv. 24-26 contain the usual admonitions to future ralers.]
(V. 27.) This praiseworthy panegyricl was composed by the illustrious Trivikramabhatta, the son of Nômaditya (and) serving the feet of Indraraja.
No. 5. - RAGHOLI PLATES OF JAYAVARDHANA II.
BY HIRA LAL, B.A., M.R.A.S.; Nagpor. These plates were kindly sent to me by Mr. C. E. Low, I.C.S., Deputy Commissioner of the Balaghat district, Central Provinces. They were found in the village Ragholi belonging to the Saletekri Zamindari, now under the Court of Wards and included in the Baihar tahsil of that district, by a cultivator while ploughing the field. There are three copper-plates, of which the second and third bear writing on both sides; the third plate has only two lines on the reverse side. The plates are broader in the middle than at the top or at the bottom. At the broadest part they measure nearly 6 inches, and the average height is 5)". They are held together by a ciroular ring, 2/" in diameter, which is somewhat thicker and rugged at the place where the two ends are soldered together. A circular seal with tasselled borders is attached to the ring and was put on it before the ends of the ring were soldered together. The seal has in two lines the legend Sri-Jayavardhanadévasya, which is enclosed by ornamental circles running round the bottom of the tassels. The ring was cut and resoldered by Rai Bahadur V. Venkayya, who kindly took for me the impressions which are reproduced on the accompanying Plate. The copper-plates were found when Mr. Low was writing the Gazetteer of the Balaghat District, in which an extract from my translation has already appeared. .
The language of the inscription is Sanskrit, written in characters belonging to the northern class of alphabets. The average size of the letters is about ". They are badly formed and somewhat difficult to read. The first 20 lines of the inscription (excepting the opening words Or wasti Srivardhanapurdt) and again lines 35 to 45 are in verse. The rest is Sanskrit prose. Final forms of t occur in lines 1 and 38, and one of m in line 45. The letter b is not distinguished from v. A notable orthographical peculiarity occurs in lines 32 f. and 40 £.where we find my written for m in tamura and kamvala. On the other hand b is omitted in Kufumina (1. 24) for loufumbínal, but regularly expressed by v in dalamon (1. 41). The letters with a répha at the top sometimes assume & very peculiar shape such as in sarua (1. 25) and varsha (1. 37). At other places they have the usual form, as in survva (1. 29). There is also a tendenoy to change the final forms of nasals into anusvdra in contravention of the accepted grammatical rules, as in pramukhdin (1. 24) and purusharh (1.25). The ka of kampala in line 40 f. has a peculiar form and differs from other kas ocourring in the inscription.
The word prafautd is here evidently used in the mme sense m prabanti.
