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EPIGRAPHIA INDICA.
[VOL. XXIII.
and Jain sculptures. Several stone inscriptions have been found there, one of which has been removed to Bilaspur and another has been deposited in the Nagpur Museum. The place is called Mallāla in these inscriptions. Two more statue inscriptions have been recently discovered at Mallār, one of which is incised in early Brāhmi characters. The present plates were discovered underground near a temple between the village and the fort in August 1936. They were first brought to notice by Mr. P. L. Gupta, Joint Secretary of the Mahākösala Historical Society, Biläspur, through the courtesy of Mr. Sudha Ram, Malguzar of Mallar and a member of the Bilaspur Local Board, and have since been acquired by Mr. K. N. Nagarakatti, I.C..., Deputy Commissioner of Bilaspur for the Central Museum, Nagpur, where they are now deposited.
They are three copper plates of which the first and the third are inscribed on one side and the second on both the sides. Their surface was corroded in some places, but, fortunately, no letter has been lost. The plates have since been cleaned by Mr. M. A. Suboor of the Nagpur Museum, who has kindly supplied us with their ink-impressions. The letters were deeply engraved and show through in many places on the back of the first and the third plate. Each plate measures 8.4" in length, 5" in breadth and about 1" in thickness. The middle plate is somewhat thicker than the others. The rims of the plates were not raised, still the inscription is in a good state of preservation. About 1" from the middle of the proper right side of each plate there is a round hole 6" in diameter for the ring which connects it with the other plates of the set. The ends of this ring which is about 4" in thickness and 4.3" in diameter are secured below & circular seal 3.5" in diameter. The ring was not cut when the plates reached the Nāgpur Museum. The surface of the seal, which is somewhat deeply counter-sunk, is divided into three parts. The upper part bears in relief the figure of a couchant bull with a tribula in front. Behind the animal is what looks like a kamandalu with something placed on it. Below this comes the legend in two lines, which is separated from the upper device by two horizontal parallel lines. Below the legend is shown a large full-blown lotus flanked by two leaves one on either side. In form, fabric and disposition of the device and the legend, the seal of the present plates resembles those of the Räjim and Balodā plates of Tivaradēva and of the plates of the kings of Sarabhapura ". The weight of three plates is 1234 tolas and that of the seal and the ring 824 tolas.
The record consists of 28 lines, there being seven on each inscribed surface. The letters were neatly written and deeply engraved. Their average size is '. The characters are of the boxheaded variety and closely resemble those on the Räjim and Balodā plates of Tivaradēva. These are somewhat more elongated and angular than those of the plates of the kings of Sarabhapura and much more so than those of the plates of the Vákätaka kings Pravarasēna II and Prithivishēna 11. The only peculiarities worth noticing here are that the length of the medial iis denoted by & dot in the circle which denotes its short form ; see gita- ). 21 and vaishnavi l. 22; the medial au is tripartite; see sauryya 11. 2-3; the right vertical stroke of ch and kh is lengthened below the rectangle on the left ; see, e.g., chăturdis- l. 12, chandr- 11. 13-14, su(pra)mukhān 11. 7-8; the subscript has in many places the same form as the vowel ri; see sri and pitsi both in l. 5; the
Now deposited in the Town Hall of Bilaspur. See Hiralal, Inscriptions in C. P. and Berar (Second Ed.), No. 220.
Bhandarkar's List of Northern Inscriptions No. 1241. The Ratanpur inscription of Prithvidova II and Brahmadova (ibid., No. 1240) also seems to have originally come from Mallār: for 1.22 of it reads महालेऽखिन्लवलधवलंबुवंटेडाम चके ।
90. I. T., Vol. III, plate XLV. . Above, Vol. VII, p. 102. Seo, e.g., the Thakurdiyi plates of Mahi-Pravarsråja, above, Vol. XXII, pp. 18 Seo, c.9., C. 1. I., Vol. III, plate XXXV. Abovo, Vol. IX, pp. 28788.
