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No. 17.]
THE NALANDA COPPER-PLATE OF DEVAPALADEVA.
Sankarshana which was dug out of the same site and the newly discovered statue of Tără. It again occurs not only in some Jaina writings but such an old work as the Dighanikāyas. However, it seems to be noteworthy that none of these works called Nalandà a university but only a prosperous town though Hinen Tsang describes it as if it were a University. The way in which it is described in our plate would'sbow that it was really a centre of Buddhist learning.
As to the remaining place-names mentioned in this document, I think, Srinagara or Srinagara-bhukti inust be identified with modern Patna, which as a district, includes Rajagriba (Rajgir) and, as a division or commissionership, comprises the district of Gaya, even now. It is true that in the Khalimpur grant of Dharmapaladeva, which has been referred to above, the name given for the city is Pataliputra and not Srinagara or Nagara, still, I think, there were two designations, the one, viz., Pataliputra, which meant the whole town and the other, viz., Srinagara, the main part of it, like the Bankipore of to-day. Nagaia means the chief town generally, but in this case it meant the town, the prefix Sri implying prosperity or wealth of the town. In other words Patalipatra was the pattana and the seat of Government, especially in earlier days during the supremacy of the Mauryas or the Imperial Guptas, lay there, and Srinagara was its principal portion where the office of the bhukti or division was situated. One was concerned with the whole government but the other only with eight hundreds villages coming in its jurisdiction or bhukti. Thus Srinagara must have been a part of the whole which was termed Pataliputra. That, apparently, is the reason why the latter and not the former appellation of the town is to be met with in literature.
That Rajagriha and Gaya are respectively the Rajgir and Gaya of to-day requires no demonstration. The latter is a district still, though the former has now dwindled into a ruined town of the Bihar subdivision of Patna.
Regarding the villages which formed the object of the grant or endowment registered in the charter, we are told that Nandivanaka and Manivaṭaka were situated in the Ajapura-naya subdivision, Națikä in the Pilipipka, and Hastigrama in the Achala-naya or subdivision of the Rajagriha vishaya or district, and that Pälämaka was situated in the Kumudastra vithi, a subdivision of the Gaya district. If similarity of sound can be depended on, I would propose the following identifications to which proximity of Nalanda will lend a great support. The Ajapura 'naya' or subdivision of the inscription may possibly be represented by the Ajaipur village in the Ajai Hisse Chaharam Mauza in the Bihar Thana and the two villages Nandivanaka and Mapivātaka, granted in it, would be the Nediune or Naunvsn and Manianwan villages of these days, which are included in the Bihar Thana. Pilipinks I am inclined to identify with the Pilkhi or Pilkee Mauza and the Națika village with the Nsi Pokher of to-day, both lying in the Silão Thana. Though I am unable to offer any identification for the ancient Achala yet, I fancy, the village Hasti or Hastigrama of the grant might be the Hetboa Bigha village of the Bihar Thanä if not the Hathi Tola of the Maner Police subdivision. The old village directory of the Gaya district available to me does not, apparently, give any name
1 See my Annual Report of the Central Circle, (Patna), for 1921, p. 6 and J. B. B. O. R. S., Vol. X, pp. 30 ff. Vol. I. pp. 1 & 211-12.
6
. '; Bharata quoted in the Sabdakalpadruma under Nagara.
1. Cf. पलनं यत राजधानी स्थिता and नगरमध्यतचानमध्ये तद्द्व्यवहारस्थानम् : Yasodhars in his Jayamangaldon the Kamasutra of Vatayayana (N. 8. Edition), p. 44.
Even in the Kbalimpur grant the frimejjaya skandhätära, or royal camp or headquarters' lay at Pataliputra. For the meaning of this expression ef. V. Smith; Early History of India, p. 898 and footnote &
Similarly, I would identify the magara-bhukti of the legend on the seal, which, Dr. Spooner discovered during his explorations of the site (see his A. P. R. (E. C.) for 1916-17, p. 48) with the Srinagara-bhukti of this
document.
1 Village Directory of the Presidency of Bengal, Vol. XXVI (Patna District). Village Directory of the Frseideney of Bengal, Vol. XXVII (Gaya District).
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