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No. 27.] PURLE PLATES OF INDRAVARMAN : THE (GANGA] YEAR 149.
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son of Khandichandra-Bhogika ; and Aditya, the son of Vijayachandra, is stated to have engraved the Chicacole grant of Indravarman, dated 128. The Chicacole grant of Indravarman, dated 146, is stated to have been engraved by the state Bhögika, probably Aditya. The office of the engraver appears to have been hereditary, like that of the ajfiapti.
The composer of the grant was the Minister-General' Sāmbapura-Upādhyāya, the son of Dharmachandra, the chief of the elephants (Hastyadhyaksha).
Of the localities mentioned in the grant the following require mention :
Dantapura.-The royal residence from which the grant was issued was evidently in the kingdom of Kalinga.
Dantapura is mentioned in the Daladavansa. It is said that the left canine tooth of the lower jaw of Buddha was brought by one of his disciples to Kalinga and a large stupa was built over it. In course of time a large city rose round the stúpa, and it was called Dantapura. The Buddhists all lived in a village close by. The people of Ceylon, attracted by the miracles worked by the tooth, established a colony not far from Dantapura. Ultimately, when the stūpa was destroyed by the malice of the Brahmans, the tooth was taken away to Ceylon.
On the way from Chicacole to Siddhāntam (Siddharthaka-grāma, a Buddhistic village) and close to the latter place a large tract of land is shown as the site of the fort of Dantavaktra. Valuable jewels, inuages of all kinds, coins and such other articles used formerly to be found there by the cultivators. Even now the people believe that there was once immense wealth there. About twelve miles north of Siddhantam and on the same side of the Någāvali is the village Hiramandalam, which name is only a corruption of framandala (the Tamil Ila-mandalam), the ancient name of Ceylon. Siddhāntam must have been the village where the Buddhists lived. These facts prove that Dantapura stood on the place which is now shown as the site of the fort of Dantavaktra.
Koraka rashfra has, perhaps, given its name to the village of Kurchavalea, about four miles north-west of Siddhantam. Rashtra properly means ' a kingdom.' As parts of the Kalinga kingdom were termed vishayas in the Rāgolu Plates of Saktivarman" (Kalinga itself was a vishaya and Varahavartini was a vishaya of Kalinga), why is this district here called a rashtra P Perhaps, this was at first an independent kingdom, but was subsequently conquered and subdued by the kings of Kalinga.
Bhukkukurs is Bukkur in the Palakonda Taluk and is opposite to Purle on the river. It was on the Bukkur bank of the river that the plates are said to have been discovered.
From the position of Kurohavalsa and Bukkur it may be seen that the Karaka rashtra corresponds to the modern P.lakonda Taluk.
Tirilinga is clearly Trilinga.
TEXT.
First Plate. 1 पों' स्वस्ति विजयवतो दन्तपुरवासकामहिन्द्राचखशिखरप्रतिष्ठि. १ तस्व चराचरगुरोमकलभुवननिर्मापेकसूपधारस्य भगवतो मो. 8 वखामिनचरणकमलयुगलप्रणामाहिगतकलिकलो मा4 शामलकुलतिलकस्खासिधारापरिस्मन्दाधिगतसकलकतिहाधि. Bp. Ind. Vol. XII, No. 1.
This is expressed in the original by the symbol of
sytral.
