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No. 16.] NOTES ON THE NANDAPUR COPPER-PLATE OF THE GUPTA YEAR 169. 127
agaru (resin of aloe) and also a kind of taila parnika (leaves producing oil such as Eucalyptus) named Jongaka which might have taken this name from its place of origin. The commentator says that all these are the products of Kamarūpal. We do not know the time of this commentator. He might have flourished in the seventh century, when this part of Bengal was under Kāmarūpa. It is interesting to note that a variety of agaru is named Dongaka, and a variety of taila parnika as Asökagrāmika'. This Dongaka might be the same as the Döngā-grāma in Himavachchhikhara, occurring in the Damodarpur plate No. 4'. The commentator placed Asokagrāma also in Kamarupa, but we find a village of this name in thānā Gangārāmpur of the Dinajpur Districts
We would now like to make some observations on some of the terms used in the first two lines of the plate. For ready reference, we give below the text and the translation by Mr. Majumdar:
TEXT. 1 Svasty=Amvi(mbi)la-grām-ägrahārät=9a-visvasam-adhikaraņām(nam) Jangoyika-grāmē
Bribman-ottarān=samvyavaha2 ry-adi-kuțumvi(mbi)nah kusalam=anuvarnnya bõdhayanti(ti) likhanti(ti) cha[*] Vijñāpayati
nah vishayapati Chhattramahan.
TRANSLATION (Ll. 1-2) Hail! From the (royal) grant (agrahāra) of Ambila village, our Head of the District (Vishayapati) Chhattramaha, with confidence intimates, addresses in writing and informs the Court (Adhikarana), as well as the Brāhmaṇas, the chief officers and others, and also the householders, at the village of Jangöyikā, after having enquired about their well-being :
Agrahāra—This has been translated as '(royal) yrant'. The word, no doubt, ordinarily conveys this meaning. But it is doubtful if it has been used here in the same sense. Charters are usually issued from some headquarters or camps. There appears no reason why the present charter should be issued from a village of royal grant. In the Mallasărul plate of Vijayasena, issued in the third year of the reign of Mahārājādhirāja Gopachandra (c. 508 A. D.), we find the designation of an officer as Agrahārika. In the same plate the grant has been made by adressing Beveral Agrahārina-mahattaras' of the neighbourhood. So it seems that Agrahāra was meant to be the headquarters of a Mahattara, who was also an Agrahārika, or Agrahārin.
Let us see what agrahāra literally means. It is derived from agra=first or prior and hri=to take. Agra here has to be taken in the sense of agra-bhāga, i.e., king's share, because the king has got the priority or the first charge on the produce of land. Agrahara means one who takes or collects king's share'. The Sukraniti has used the words bhāgahara and bhāgagrāhi in this sense? Agrahara, therefore, means the place of business or headquarters of the Agrahara or Agrahārin'.
1 Arthabastra, Bk. II, ch. 11. * Ibid. • Above, Vol. XV, p. 140. • Arthasästra (Ganapati Sastri's ed.), p. 189. - Vill. Diry., Dinajpur. • Bangiya sahitya-Parishat-Patrika (B. S. 1344), pp. 17-21; above, Vol. XXIII, pp. 155 4. * Sukraniti (Venk. Press), ch. II, vv. 120, 419.
