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EPIGRAPHIA INDICA.
[VOL. XIX.
been made by Bhativarman (named Mahābhūtavarman in the second plate of these inscriptions) who was the great-great-grandfather of Bhaskaravarman; and it was only renewed by the latter in favour of the descendants of the original donees. The locality of the grantMayurasālmal-agrahara in the district of Chandrapuri -I am unable to identify. While in my former article nothing was known of the doneese we find now that actually there was a host of them of different Vēdas and götras--apparently the successors on the sons' and probably also on the daughters' side of those Brāhmaṇas who had got the original grant from King Bhūtivarman. A tabular statement of these, shewing the Vēdas and the götras and shares, is given at the end of this article. The total of these shares comes to 977, which, with the addition of seven shares more for bali-charu-satra' (worship, oblation and hospitality) comes to 104 2. Certainly the land could not have been divided into 1047 shares, involving the fractional part of an ama. It is not impossible that the rumour about another missing plate may be true, or that there may be something wrong in my interpretation of the terms like götreāṁsa.
These two plates, namely, the third and the penultimate plates, have great importance as they contain information about a good number of Brāhmaṇas of many a different götra, and it is expected that this will throw a flood of light on the history of the Brāhmaṇas in this part of India.
Bhāskaravarman is known to have ruled over Kamarüpa during the first half of the Beventh century A.D., and if we calculate four rulers in a century, his great-great-grandfather Bhūtivarman must have flourished by the end of the fifth or the beginning of the sixth century. It is remarkable that while in the neighbouring province of Gauda (Bengal) the alleged import by Adi-Sūra of five Brāhmaṇas from Kanauj or the mythical creation of the Saptašati (700) Brāhmaṇas is not attributed to a period earlier than the eighth century A.D., there should be so many Brāhmanas found in a single village in Kamarüpa two centuries earlier.
It will not be difficult to understand why the grant was made to such a large number of Brāhmaṇas at a time. We learn from the accounts of Yuan Chwang that while the neighbouring kingdoms were full of Buddhist monasteries, the country of Kamarūpa was altogether free from them." They (i.e., the people of Kamarupa) worshipped the Devas and did not believe in Buddhism. So there had never been any Buddhist monastery in the land. The Deva temples were some hundreds in number and the various syetems had some myriads of professed adherents * * * * His Majesty (Bhāskaravarman) was a lover of learning and his subjects followed his example; men of abilities came from far lands to study here." If such was the state of things in the Kimarüpa of Bhāskaravarman's time, we might safely surmise that the condition of Kāmarūpa was the same also in Bhūtivarman's time. Bhaskaravarman was only maintaining the tradition of his illustrious predecessors whose excellent qualities are recorded in these inscriptions. A party of Brāhmaṇas probably
That this grant was a resowal after the burning of the original plates is known from the list vorse on the last plato (above, Vol. XII, p. 76).
In fact in the opening verse of the inscriptions plurality of the Brihmaņas was indicated by" Walimalan drijas manam" which was then looked upon 28 a case of honorifio plurality.
• Bali means offerings to gode as flour, fruits, rioo, otc. (uncooked): charu signifies 'cooked offerings '; and aatre indicates distribution of food to the guests and the poor'. This would show that there was a shrine or common place of worship in the locality for which a provision was made by allotment of these 7 shares
. Above, VOL. XIII, pp 287 and 228. Watters : Yuan Chwang, Vol. II. p 186.
