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No. 13.) BAIGRAN COPPER-PLATE INSCRIPTION OF THE (GUPTA)-YEAR 128.79
mrodati in 1. 23 and pachyate in l. 22). This form of è is to be found with the letter & also, as, for example, in casēt (1. 23). The sign for the lingual ! is used in nalābhyān (11. 18-19). The form of the final t and ne, often found joined with the preceding letters slightly below the top line, as, for example, in casit (I. 23), rasundharam (1. 22), is also noteworthy. The numerical svinbols for 100), 2, 8, 10 and 9 are found used in line 25 and those for 3 and 2 in line 18.
The language of the inscription is Sanskrit prose excepting in the three imprecatory verses found in lines 21 to 25. As in some of the Damodarpur plates (Nos. 1 to 4) and the Faridpur plates (Nos. A, B and C) the superfluous k is found in this inscription also, as in kiristalka and Prsittika (1. +). Sandhi has been neglected in some places, as in nayā acadhrin (1.10) and cha akshaya in line 17
As regards orthography the following peculiarities require attention : (1) Consonants are usually doubled before y, as in divärikkya (1. 6) (but in the same word in line 12 k seems to be single) and pādānuddhyātah, (1.1). (2) The consonants k and I are doubled before the subscript r; e.g., likkrayö (11. 6 and 12) and kshetra (11. 5 and 11). (3) The consonants k, 9, 1, th, d, y and v are doubled after the superscript r; e.g., "chandrārkka (11. 5 and 11), srargge (1. 23), vartta. māna (1. 20), vājārttha (1. 12), chaturddisa (1. 19), samryarahāryya (1. 20) and pūreva (1. 23) respec. tively.
The inscription is dated in Samrat 128 on the nineteenth of Māgha. This samrat evidently refers to the Gupta era and the record undoubtedly refers to the reign of the Gupta monarch Kumāragupta I whose dates, known from coins and inscriptions, range from 113 to 136 G.E. Consequently the year given in the inscription must correspond to the year 147-18 of the Christian era. It may be noted here that one of the Damodarpur plates of Kumāragupta I is also dated in this very year, viz., 128 of the Gupta era. The use of the Gupta samvat was current in North Bengal during this period. The name of the reigning king is omitted in this inscription as well as in the Pāhāļpur plate. Evidently the words Bhataraka-pāda in lines 1 and 13 refer to the reigning sovereign, viz., Kumäragupta I.
The object of the inscription under publication is to record the purchase of three kulyarāpas of revenue-free khila (fallow) fields and two droņas of sthala-västu (homestead) land belonging to the State and lying in two localities connected with Vāyigrāma, viz., Trivšitā and Srigōhālī, by two persons named Bhõyila and Bhāskara for the purpose of making a donation, to meet the expenses of flowers, perfumes, etc., required for daily worship and occasional repairs to the temple of Govindasvāmin which was founded by their father Sivanandin. The name of the place whence the charter was issued was Panchanagari, possibly the district (vishaya) headquarters. The administrative officer, who was in charge of the district court (vishay-ādhikarana) and approached by the two intending purchasers of the State land, was named Kulavsiddhi and had the title of Kumārāmātya. The application was granted and the land was sold to them in accordance with the decision of the Government record-keepers (pustapālas) arrived after the land was properly surveyed and measured by means of the nalas in use there. The members of the vishay-ūdhikarana, the other Government officers, as well as the chief householders of the villages concerned were addressed by the head of the vishaya regarding this sale of the land by the Government after having received its price at the fixed rate of 2 dināras per kulyavāpa which was in vogue in that rishaya. These persons were directed to maintain the grant as a permanent endowment according to the principles of akshaya-nivi.
It is not unlikely that like the Kotivarsha of the Damodarpur grants and the Khādātājpāra of the Dhanaidaha plate, the Panchanagari of the inscription under publication was one of the vishayas of the old Pundravardhana-bhukti ; but I am unable to identify it, uor am I able to locate Trivritā and Srīgāhāli. I cannot say for certain if the village named here as Vāyigrama
