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212
EPIGRAPHIA INDICA.
[VOL. XXI.
The characters are proto-Bengali of the type found in Lakshmaņasēna's grants, K, , n, m, y, v and sh have already assumed the forms of the modern Bengali characters. The forms of some individual letters call for special remarks. V is not always uniformly written (cf. 11. 7 and 9). Sometimes p and y (11.5 and 7), v and (11.7 and 9), and r and c (11. 4 and 11) are indistinguishable. The forms of the letters in this inscription and that on the Anulia plate are not always identical. Special attention is drawn to the conjunct letters nd, and tth.
The language is Sanskrit. The inscription is written both in verse and in prose. Lines from 1 to 17 and from 50 to 58 are in verse, with the exception of om namo, etc., at the commencement, the date at the end and the lines 17 to 50 which are in prose. As regards orthography, the letter u denotes both vand b. The word duḥkha is written as dukha (1. 3) as in the Anulia plate. Tripurārinātha is written as Tripurārināha (1. 57-58). The consonant following the superscript ris doubled, as for example, svargga, or=vasudha (1). 51, 52, 54), etc. The words buddhva and dattvā are respectively written as buddhā (1. 56) and dattā (1. 12).
The inscription records a grant of Lakshmanasēna, the son of Vallālasēna, grand-son of Vijayasēna, and the great-grand-son of Hēmantasēna. The Deopara inscription of Vijayasēna tells us that Samantasēna was the father of Hēmantasēna. Hēmantasēna was the first king of the family. The same inscription* mentions Hēmantasēna's wife as Mahārājñi (the great queen). The Barrackpur inscription of the same king designates Hēmanta as Mahārājādhiraja. Nothing is known from our inscription regarding the military achievements of Lakshmanasēna. But the Madhainagar copper-plate of the king records that when he was a crown-prince, he seized the fortune of the King of Gauda, defeated the Kings of Kalinga, and Kāsi and subdued Kämarüpe.
The object of the inscription is to record that King Lakshmanasēna, on the occasion of & solar eclipse, granted to a Brāhman named Kuvēra 89 droņas of land, comprising a part of Nimāpātaka, and the whole of the five pātakas of Rāghavahatta, Vārahakõņā, Vāllihitā, Vijahārapura, and Dämaravadā, all situated in the Kumārapura-chaturaka, in the Madhugirimandala, attached to Kumbhinagara, in the Dakshiņavīthi of Uttara-Rādha, in the Kankagrāmabhukti. The lands comprising Värahakona, Vällihită, Rāghavahatta, and part of Nimāpāțaka were contiguous, and were bounded in the east by the extensive lands of Mälikundā along with Aparājöli; in the south by Bhāgadikhandakshētra, in the west by the cow-track of Achchhamā and in the north by the Mõra river. The two pāļakas of Vijahārapura and Dāmaravadā which were off from the above lands, were again contiguous. They were bounded on the east by Chākaligājõli; on the south by Vipravaddhājālī, on the west by Langalajöli, and on the north by the cow-track of Parajāņa. The income of all the lands granted was five hundred (Kapardala-puranas). The inscription tells us that the above grant was made in exchange of Kshētrapotaka, which yielded five hundred (Kapardaka-purānas), and which had been given by King Vallālasēna to the Gayālo Brāhman Haridāsa on a previous occasion. It appears from this that on the aforesaid day of the solar eclipse the king, through mistake, gave Kuvērs the Kshetrapataka. But shortly after, when it was brought to his notice that the latter had already been given by his father to Haridāsa, he annexed to Government (köshthikritya) the above-mentioned six pātakas, which were of equal value with the previous grant and made them over to Kuvėra in exchange of the Kshetrapätaka.
1 Above, Vol. I, pp. 305 ff. and Inscriptions of Bengal, Vol. III, p. 50. • Toid., p. 62. • Ibid., p. 62, L. 23. • Ibid., p. 114.
Though not specified, this unit of money may be supplied from other Inscriptions of the period, • The pronta at Gayi are still known by the name of Gayal or Gayaval Brihmane-Ed.]
