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No. 13.]
BRAHMANAPALLI GRANT OF KARKKA: SAKA 746.
NO. 13.-BRAHMANAPALLI GRANT OF KARKKA SUVARNNAVARSHA: SAKA 746.
BY B. BHATTACHARYYA, M.A., PH.D., BARODA. The copper-plate grant described here consisting of three platos joined together by means of a circular ring to which is attached a seal, was purchased from a resident of Barodā and is now preserved in the Library of the Oriental Institute at Barodā. This is one of the unpublished records of Karkka Suvarnnavarsha of Gujarāt and is unquestionably of great historical value for the State of Baroda, if not for the Bombay Presidency; indeed, this as well as other copper-plates granted by the same king refer to grants of lands and villages all situated in the territory of His Highness the Maharaja Gaekwad of Baroda, and some of the old names can with little difficulty be identified with the names of villages now in existence.
The plates measure 11" by 8" and are of about 1" in thickness with the rims fashioned thicker than the rest for the protection of the writing. A hole is bored at the top through the middle of all the three plates, and through this hole passes a massive ring, slightly oval in shape, 1" thick and 44" in diameter, which holds them together. On the ring appears a seal circular in shape and it" in diameter on which is embossed a figure of Garuda without any legend. The plates and the writing are very well preserved and the letters are very distinctly incised. The first and the third plates are incised on one side only while the second is engraved on both sides. The script of the record resembles that usually found in the inscriptions of the Valabhi rulers. The language of the record is Sanskrit throughout. With the exception of the symbol at the commencement, the portion recording the grant (11. 52-68) and the concluding lines (11.77-80) the rest of the inscription is in verse. The signatures of the king Suvarạnavarsha and his overlord Amoghavarsha appear at the end and are in distinotly different characters which are more akin to the Southern script than the Northern. The verses of this grant occur in other grants, particularly the Nausāri platest of the Gujarat Rashtrakūta prince Karkka I and also in the Kävi plates of the Gujarat Rashtrakūta prince Govinda. The weight of the plates including the seal is 9 lbs.
With regard to orthography the following are worthy of note : (i) the use of the gutteral nasal instead of anusrira; (ii) the almost invariable change of the visarga to 8 when followed by p; (iii) the doubling of d and dh in conjunction with a following y or v and (iv) the substitution of jihrämūliya for risarga in all cases when followed by k.
The object of the present inscription is to record the grant of the village Brāhmapapallika in the Mähishaka-rishaya of forty-two villages, which is bounded by the villages of Kavalõikā in the north, Likkavalli in the south, Nabada in the east and Dhadiyappa in the west. The date of the inscription is the full moon day of Vaišākha of the Saka year 746, Mahăvaihākhaparvan and probably corresponds to Sunday, the 17th April, 824 A. D. The Dutaka was Durgarāja and the name of the officer who drafted the order was Nārāyaṇa, the Sāndhivigrahika or the Minister of Peace and War. The grant was ratified by the Emperor Srimad-Amoghavarshadēva, son of Sri-Jagattungadöva. At the end of the inscription are given the sign manual of Karkkarāja the donor, as well as that of his overlord Amõghavarsha.
The present record refers itself to the reign of Karkka-Suvarnpavargha, son of Indra belonging to the Gujarat Branch of the Răshtrakūta family. Indrarāja, the brother of Govinda III, is here spoken of as becoming the lord of Läta which was given to him by Govinda,
1 J. B. B. R. A. 8., Vol. XX, pp. 135 ff. • Ind, Ant., Vol. V, pp. 145 ff.
