Epigraphia Indica Vol 21

Author(s): Hirananda Shastri
Publisher: Archaeological Survey of India

Page 52

No. 8.)
NIVINA COPPER-PLATE GRANT OF DHARMARAJADEVA.
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in the text are evidently Prākritic. The portion showing the boundary of the gift village is written in a vernacular which appears to contain a mixture of Telugu and Oriya.
As regards orthography the following points may be noted. Ba and va are not distin. guished. A consonant is usually doubled in conjunction with a superscript r, but exceptions are also found : e.g., dayalur-narapatir- (1.22), pradarpäd (1. 30), kala( kālē)yair-bhūtao (1.18), etc. Final n is changed into m in -vaktrām (1. 23), prāptavāṁ (1. 27), -bhāvā (1. 30), etc. ; n is used in prānsu (1.6), Kalinga (1. 8), etc., side by side with m in vamse (1. 15), kalanka (1. 16), etc. Vowel ri is wrongly used for ri in samspitas-Trivaro (1. 31), tribhuvana (I. 5), dharitri (1. 15), etc. Répha has been dropped in many places and in all such cases the following consonant has invariably been left undoubled : as, e.g., kõmalai va(ba)ddhão (II. 1-2), and dulalita (1. 18). Visarga has been wrongly used in ivah (1.1), vyatikarah (1. 3), api(1. 11), and worngly dropped in kanikā (1. 3), -vā(ba)hu (1. 7), bhuvo (1. 9), arādhita (1. 10), prabhu (1. 12), -āsidhāra (l. 18). etc. Other errors and peculiarities have been noticed in the foot-notes accompanying the text.
The grant was issued by the Paramabhattaraka-Mahārājādhiraja-Paramëśvara-SrimadDharmarājadēva alias Mānabhīta of the Sailodbhava family from the fortress (kõta) of Alatalanghapura in the Köngöda-mandala. Its object is to register the gift of the vihage Nivinā, situated in the Khidingahāra-vishaya, to a Brāhman Savaridēva Dikshita of the Vachchha (Vat8a)-götra, the Pancharshi-pravara and anupravara, Chhandögya-charana and the Kauthuma school (of the Samavēda). Lines 42-46 give in detail the boundaries of the gift village. In l. 47 an additional grant of two limpiras (of land ?) seems to have been made. The Dutaka seers to have been an akshapatalika but his name is not preserved. The seal was fixed (lāñchhita) by Jayasimgha. The name of the engraver is not legible.
Besides the present grant only five other complete records of the Sailodbhava kings are known.' They are (1) the Ganjam Plates 8 of the time of Saśārkarāja, (2) the Khurdā Plates of Madhavarāja, (3) the Buguda Plates of Madhavavarman, (4) the Pärikud Plates of Madhyamarājadēva and (5) the Kōndēdda Grant 7 of Dharmarāja. Of these, the first two are written completely in prose and the rest, like the present record, are composed partly in prose and partly in verse. Many of the verses found in this record also occur in the Buguda, Pärikud and the Kõndēdda Plates.
In the grant under publication, the portion containing the date (1. 47) reads : Samvat Vai). Aakha-sudi-prathama-paksha-dvitis yā). Probably we have to restore the commencement as Samvat 19*1. From an examination of the plate it becomes clear that the broken space would not allow any numerical sign to be incised before Vai", the whole space being covered by the partly
The word occurs also in the Párikud Plates (1. 44) in the form timpira which Banerji read as timmira. Its meaning is not clear. The expression dvidasa-timpira-pramanal in the Parikud Plates suggests that the word refers to measurement of land.
* There are also two incomplete records of this dynasty, viz., (1) Puri Second Plate of MadhavavarmanSaingabhita alias Srinivasa, (the Bengali monthly) säkitya for the year 1319 (B. S.), p. 895 and pl. and (2) Tekkali Plate of the time of Madhyamarāja (III) (J. B. O. R. 8., Vol. IV. pp. 165 ff.). The latter mentions four other rulers after Dharmaraja. I may mention here in passing that the Plate shows the reading pailivyozlaparāja in l. 19. Thus the name should be Allaparāja who was the unclo's son of Ranakshobha and rot & son of Madhya. marija (II), as understood by H. P. Shastri. cf. Yr. V. Slisra (J. B. 0. R. S., Vol. XV. g. 179 f.) and Mr. S. Rajaguro (1». Hist. Quart., Vol. VII, pp. 165 ff.). Here it may incidentally be re narked that Mr Rajagaru's reading of the date in the Puri Plates is incorrect. The date is evidently regnal.
*Above, Vol. VI. pp. 143 ff. and Plates. J.A. 8. B., Vol. LXIII. pt. i. pp. 282 ff. Above, Vol. III. pp. 41 ff. and Vol. VII. pp. 100 ff. and Plates. • Above, Vol. XI. pp. 284 ff. and Plates. * Above, Vol. XIX. pp. 267 ff. api Platos.