________________
EPIGRAPHIA INDICA.
55 विविग्रहाधिकृत श्रीकु [क्के' ] केनेति । देवदत्तस्य ह ( हा) रिद्रगोलं । मोग्गलगो [] [अ] ध्यने [1] [गं]
56 तियास्य भ(भा) राजगामी नारणस्य कुतिमाषगोचं । वोप्ययस्य हारि गोत्रं । कसमनस्य का [य] प
57 गोत्रं । नारोकस्य' सीगुलि [1] छठिकुमरष्य' वाजसने ' गोत्र ( चं) [*] दोचितस्य भागाः पंर (च) देवदत्तस्य [ हौ भागौ ']
58 शेषा एकादश [1*] एवमष्टादश भा[गाः । *]"
18
No. 3.-ARANG PLATES OF MAHASUDEVARAJA.
BY PANDIT L. P. PANDEYA.
The charter which is edited below consists of three copper-plates and was first brought to light by me in March, 1929. I published a short notice of it in the English paper "The Hitavada" of Nagpur in its issue of April 11, 1929. The plates were in the possession of a cultivator named Bhagirathi Sonkar of Arang in the Raipur District of the C. P. Nothing definite is known about the provenance of the grant except that it had been lying in the house of the owner for over fifty years since the time of his father.
[VOL. XXIII.
Arang has all the appearance of having once been a large and important city. Here and there are many fine old tanks with numerous remains of temples and sculptures, both Jain and Brahmanical. The only temple that is now standing is of Jain origin. It is popularly known as Bhanddewal from the fact that it contains three colossal naked Jain figures. The temple is richly carved and adorned with a profusion of sculptured statues on the outside, many of which are highly indecent. To the west of the town on the bank of a tank there is a small temple dedicated to Mahāmāyā. A description of this temple and also that of the other antiquarian remains at Arang has been given by Cunningham.10 Besides the present set, two other sets of copper. plates were discovered at the place in addition to a fragmentary Brahmi inscription.11
The plates are held together by a ring the ends of which are secured in a circular seal about 38" in diameter. The seal is identical with that described by Fleet in C. I. I., Vol. III, p. 196. Its upper part shows the representation of a standing Lakshmi facing full front; on each side of her
1 The vertical stroke of the superscript k of is not incised.
Read नारायणस्य.
This name is evidently identical with in 1. 35 above, though here the medial stroke of
not interred.
Read face. The vertical stroke of in is not incised.
• Road वाजसनेय.
These letters are damaged by ruse, but traces of the first and the last can be marked on the plate. Traces of are visible on the plate.
• Hiralal also has noticed it in his List of Inscriptions in C. P. and Berar (2nd ed.), p. 108-A.
• Since writing this the plates have been acquired by the Central Museum, Nagpur, where they are now deposited.
10 Cunningham, A. 8. R., Vol. XVII, pp. 20 ff.; see also Raipur District Gazetteer, pp. 257 ff.
11 See above, Vol. IX, pp. 342 ff.; O. I. I., Vol. III, pp. 191 ff. and Hiralal, List of Inscriptions in C. P. and Berar (2nd ed.), pp. 94, 105 and 110.
