________________
No. 18.]
THREE COPPER-PLATE GRANTS OF CHAHAMANA KELHANA.
207
abont 7 miles from the Erinpurā Railway Station, while the foundations for a building were being dug...... and I secured them from a Brāhmana of the place, named Rama."
A.-BAÅNËRA PLATE OF KËLEANA: [VIKRAMA.) SAMVAT 1220.
The inscription is on a single plate inscribed on one side only. Judging from the impressions, the plato varies from 71" to 8" in length and from 41" to 5' in height. In the middle of the topmost line there is a hole meant for a ring to hold tbo seal. Nothing, however, is known about the ring or the seal.
The inscription consists of 9 lines of well preserved writing and with the exception of two customary verses it is in prose. The characters are Nāgari, and the language is incorrect Sanskrit, mixed with local words. The rules of Samdhi have not been observed in many places; these and other mistakes occurring in the text are corrected in the foot-notes. Instances of Prakritism are seen in the forms of the proper dames -Kuumarasiha., 1. 3; Ajayasihēna, ll. 3 f. ; - Punasiha-, 1.5; and perhaps in isi-, 1.4 (Skt. rishi). The following rare words may be noted :-dohalika,! 1. 2, is a local word meaning ' a piece of land granted to Brāhmaṇas, Svāmins, Sadhus and others.' Ogamaniyo,? 1. 4, is also a local word which means on the east.' Vadaharā, 1. 5, is probably a form of the Marwart word baļērn, which signifies 'an old man.' Asădita-, l. 4 (Skt. Ašāditya), and Vaida-, l. 5 (Skt. Vaidya), appear to be proper dames. The abbreviation da°, 1. 9, stands for dütah. As regards orthography it is sufficient to note that the sign for v is used to represent b also; ri is once used for the vowel ri in rishi-hatya-, 1.7.
The inscription opens with the benedictory syllable on and refers itself to the reign of Kelhaa, the son of Maharajadhiraja fri-Alhaņadēva [of the Chahamana line of kings]. The object of the inscription is to record a grant of land mado to a Brāhmans named Nārāyana, son of Samdhirana, on the occasion of a solar eclipse, on Wednesday, the 15th of the dark fortnight of Srāvana in the year (Vikrama-] Samvat 1220. The grant was made at Kõrētaka by Ajayasiha, son of the great Rajput (maharajaputra) Kumarasiha. The specification of the boundaries of the land granted is given in lines 4 and 5 and is followed by two customary verees. The last line records the approval and sign-manual (svahasta) of prince (Rajaputra) fri-Kirtipāladēva and gives the name of the messenger (data) as Chamundarāja. .
The inscription is of some historical importance inasmuch as it informs us that the Cbābamāna prince Kölhana was reigning in the month of Srivann of the year V. S. 1220. The earliest record of Kalhans that has hitherto been published is dated on the 2nd of the dark half of Māgha of V. S. 1221. The present record thus gives us a date for Kolhana about a year and a half earlier than any known bitberto. Sri-Kirtipāladova referred to in the last line of the inscription is doubtless the same as the younger brother of Kelhana who is already known from his Nadol plates dated in V. S. 1218 as well as from other inscriptions of the Chāhamana dynasty. From the present inscription it appears that Kirtipäla enjoyed a share
See Rhandarkar, loc. cit., p. 53.
? For the meanings of this and some other words peculiar to Rajputana occurring ia these three inscriptions I am indebted to Mr. D. R. Bhandarkar.
Cf. padaharaka, above, Vol. XI, p. 27. . Above, Vol. XI, p. 46 f.
The Nidol copper-plate inscription tells us that twelve villages appertaining to [the] Naddu 41 ratrict were assigned to Kirtipäla by his father Alsana anu bis brotber Kelhana (above, Vol. IX, p., text lines 17 and 18). In the Sundha hill inscription Kirtipals is described as having defeated a Kisiakūta chief named Asu! and routed an 5...y of Turushkas at Kisahrada (Love, Vol. IX, p. 77, v. 36). was the founder of the Sönigarā branch of the Chahamanas (abuve, Vol. XI, p. 73).
