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No. 20.]
GARRA PLATES OF THE CHANDELLA TRAILOKYAVARMAN.
The records belong to the well-known Chandella dynasty of Bundelkhand, called Chandratreya in the inscriptions. Opening with a panegyric of the family, they next refer to Jayasakti and Vijayasakti, two early heroes of the family, and proceed to describe the grant of two villages by the Parama-bhattaraka Maharaj-adhiraja Paramesvara, the glorious Trailōkyavarma-dēva, who meditated on the feet of the P. M. P. Paramardi-deva, who meditated on the feet of the P. M. P. Madanavarma-deva. Encamped at a place called Vadavada, the king Trailokyavarma-deva granted the village of Kadōha in the Pāņiüli territory (vishaya) on Friday the second (tithi) of the bright fortnight of Vaisakha in Samvat 1281 by the first copper-plate and the village of Lōhasihani in the Vikraupil territory (vishaya) on Friday the second (tithi) of the dark fortnight of Vaisakha in Samvat 1261 by the second copper-plate. In both grants the donee was the Räüta Samanta or Savanta of the Bharadvaja götra, son of Rauta Pape, who was killed at Kakaḍädaha in a battle with the Turushka (Turks), grandson of Räüta Sahanapala and great-grandson of Räüta Ranapala. The object of the grants is unusually interesting, being the bestowal of villages by way of maintenance for death,' unquestionably that of the father of the donee, on the field of battle.
As regards the equivalents of the dates given in the records, we find
(1) Saaivat 1261, Vatsakha Sudi 2, Sukra
Northern Vikrama current: Tuesday, 15th April, 1203. Northern Vikrama expired: Saturday, 3rd April, 1204. Southern Vikrama expired: Friday, 22nd April, 1205.
(2) Samvat 1261, Vaisakha Vadi 2, Sukra Northern Vikrama current :
Pauraimanta: Monday, 31st March, 1203. Amanta: Tuesday, 29th April, 1203.
Northern Vikrama expired :
Paurpimanta: Friday, 19th March, 1204, Amanta: Sunday, 18th April, 1204. Southern Vikrama expired :
Paurnimanta: Tuesday, 7th April, 1205. Amanta: Friday, eth May, 1205,
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The first date is thus Friday, 22nd April, 1205 A.D.; the second may be either Friday, 19th March 1204, or Friday, 6th May, 1205. But, as all our evidence points to the fact that the two grants must have been recorded almost simultaneously, we are justified in believing that the former solution must be rejected and Friday, 6th May, 1205 A.D., must be the true equivalent of the second date. We thus have here instances (which are comparatively rare) of North Indian epigraphical dates calculated as southern expired Vikrama years, with amanta months (vide Ind. Ant., Vol. XIX, pp. 181-2).
The present records give us the earliest known dates for Trailokyavarman, the only certain inscription of his so far known being dated eight or nine years later. On the other hand, our dates bring us within two years of the date of the death of Paramardi, Trailökyavarman's predecessor, and the fall of Kalanjar and Mahoba (April 1203 A.D.). Let us see whether the present records throw any light on the fortunes of the Chandellas after the disaster which overtook them in 1203.
Mr. Vincent Smith observes in his paper on the History and Coinage of the Chandel Dynasty (Ind. Ant., 1908, p. 146) that the history of the Chandel dynasty, as one of the powers of
[The reading does not seem quite clear: should it be Viauni ?-F. W. T.] 2 Canningham, 4. S. Reports, Vol. XXI, p. 50.
