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No. 23.]
THE BANGARH GRANT OF MAHI-PALA I: THE 9TH YEAR.
rim, supported and surrounded by arabesque work. On the top of this circle is a conch (sankha). Inside the area of the circle is divided into two equal parts, the upper half bearing a representation of the Buddhist wheel of law (dharma-chakra) on a pedestal, surmounted by an umbrella and with a deer couchant on each side, while the lower half bears the name of the king śri-Mahipala-Devasya in raised letters, supported by arabesque work.
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The plate bears sixty-two lines of writing, thirty-four on the first side and twenty-eight on the second. After the Om Svasti in 1. 1 the first twenty-four lines contain twelve verses, which describe the genealogy of the Palas from Go-pala I. to Mahi-pala I. The rest of the record, with the exception of the seven imprecatory verses and the two verses giving the name of the dütaka and the account of the mason, is in prose. The text is generally correct, and the majority of the mistakes is to be found in the prose portion of the record. In addition to the usual employment of va for ba, we find that the mason or the author had a predilection for the palatal in the place of the dental sa. In one or two cases, on the other hand, sa is used in the place of sa; e.g. in saila and sikhara in 1. 25. The doubling of consonants with a subscript or superscript r is rare, e.g. Maittrim (1. 1), -atapattrā (1. 10), tair-jjagatim (1.11), air-jjaladki (1. 15).
The characters of the inscription show well-developed Bengali forms in the initials of a and u among vowels and among consonants ka, kha, ga, cha, dha, va, and ha. The rest of the alphabet shows forms gradually advancing to the Bengali alphabet of the 12th century A.D. In one case at least the complete Bengali form of ja is used, i.e. in jitva (1. 3). This is really the proto-Bengali alphabet, while the 12th century alphabet of the Deopärä inscription of Vijaya-sena, which Bühler termed proto-Bengali, is in reality the fully developed Bengali alphabet. Final forms of ma and na are used, e.g. in bhubhṛitām (1.7) and -gunan (1. 13). The sign of avagraha is inserted in the majority of cases. The language of the record is Sanskrit.
The inscription refers itself to the reign of the Emperor Mahi-pala I. of Bengal, whose titles are Paramesvara, Parama-bhaṭṭaraka and Mahārājādhiraja, and who mediated on the feet of the Parama-saugata, Mahārājādhiraja Vigraha-pala-dēva (III.). It records the donation of the village of Kurata-pallika, with the exception of the Chuta-pallika, in. the Gōkalikā mandala of the Kōṭivarsha vishaya of the Punḍravardhana bhukti, by the Emperor, after a bath in the Ganges on the occasion of the Vishuva-samkranti, to a Brahmana named Krishṇāditya-sarmman, son of Bhaṭṭa-putra Madhusudana and grandson of Bhaṭṭa-putra Hrishikesa, who is an immigrant from the village of Hastipada, an inhabitant of the village of Chavați, of the Parasara gotra, Sakti, Vasishtha and Parasara pravaras, a student of Vajasaneyin branch of the Yajurvēda, and well-versed in grammar (vyakarana), logic (tarka-vidya) and the sacred philosophy (mimämsä). The grant was issued from the royal camp or residence of Vilasa-pura, on the 12th day of Phalguna of the 9th year of the king's reign. The dutaks of the grant was the minister (mantrin) Bhatta Vamana. It was incised by the artisan (silpin) Mahidhara, son of Vikramaditya, an inhabitant of Pōshali. The Amagachhi grant was incised by Sasideva, the son of this Mahidhara. The record is here re-edited from the original.
TEXT.1
[Metres: v. 1, Sragdhara; vv. 2-3, Sardalavikridita; v. 4, Vasantatilaka; v. 5, Arya; v. 6, Sardalavikridita; v. 7, Vasantatilaka; v. 8, Sragdhara; v. 9, Indravajra; v. 10, Vasuntatilaka'; v. 11, Mandakräntä; v. 12, Malini.]
1 From the plates and impressions.
