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No. 13]
HIREGUTTI PLATES OF BHOJA ASANKITA
71
In regard to orthography the consonant after r is invariably doubled, the only exception being rsha in line 11. This is justified according to the rule of grammar, which is however optional. The reduplicated letter is further subjected to the sandhi rule as may be noted in respect of rtthya and rttha in line 5, wherein the dental unaspirate is substituted for the corresponding aspirate.
The language of the epigraph is Sanskrit. The invocation and the imprecation are in verse. The rest of the record is composed in prose. The writing contains a few minor errors which have been corrected in the body of the text and in the footnotes.
The inscription commences with the praise of Lord Buddha. He is described as one whose feet are licked by the rays of the shining jewels in the coronets of gods and demons' and ' a reservoir of countless virtues'. Significant in this connection is the epithet, affectionate without a motive', applied to him. Next is introduced the king Asamkita,'' the moon in the firmament of the lineage of the Bhojas who were endowed with Fortune'. The object of the document is to record gift of the village Sundarikā, situate in the Dipaka vishaya, for the enjoyment of the Buddhist vihāra belonging to them, by the king, at the request of the chief Kottipeggili born in the lineage of the Kaikėyas of Nandipalli. The gift village was entrusted to the Arya Samgba, i.e., assembly of Buddhist monks in charge of the monastery. It was bounded by Kurvvă in the east, the roaring stream of Marttikattu in the south, the water-fall on the mountain in the west; its northern boundary extended up to the boulder with the mango tree. The charter ends with an exhortation to protect the charity bestowed upon the Arya Samgha and an imprecation against its violators.
The epigraph bears no date. So the only means left to us for determining its date is palaeography whose evidence may be reckoned as fairly approximate. The alphabet of the inscription betrays archaic traits and appears to be older than that of the four epigraphs mentioned before for general comparison. It bears closer affinity with the script of the copper-plate record of the Kadamba king Mrigēśavarman, dated in the 4th regnal year, except for the box-headed character of the latter. Of the four records noted above the Sangoli plates of Harivarman are the earliest with some precision in date. They have been ascribed to the middle of the 6th century A.D.' Hence it would be reasonable if we assign the end of the 5th or the beginning of the 6th century A.D. as the most likely date of our record.
More than one interests centre round this brief document inasmuch as it opens up certain new facts regarding the political and religious history of the south-western region of India in that early age. Firstly, it introduces a new prince of the ruling family of Bhõjas. If we go to the early age of the post-Vedic literature and that of the epics, the Bhõjas figure as a class or clan of rulers
Ashfadhyayi: acho rahābhyam dvē (VIII-4-46). This sütra explains the circumstances when the reduplication can take place. The exception is indicated by another sūtra : darõ=chi (VIII-4-49).
This name occurs in the combination of two words coalesced by sandhi. It is possible to construe the king's name as Samkita also. But on consideration of sense it would be better to take it as Asamkita which means the fearless one'.
• The sva in sva-vihara can be interpreted as relating either to Asamkita or to Kottipeggili or to both. I would prefer the last alternative. This would be in keeping with the fact that both the king and his chief had their leanings with the Buddhist faith as indicated by the circumstances. Sua may also point to their own faith'.
• Virava means a roar, thunder'. It is suggested by the natural context that this expression is used here to connote'a noisy mountain stream'.
One of these is the Halmidi inscription. I had a discussion in regard to the dating of this record with Mr. N. Jakshminarayan Rao, Superintendent for Epigraphy, who holds that it should be placed in the 6th century rather than in the 5th century A. D. Contra. Mys. Arch. Rep.for 1936, p. 72.
. Ind. Ant., Vol. VII; plate between pp. 36 and 37. *Above, Vol. XIV, pp. 165-66. .K.P. Jayswal : Hindu Polity (second edn.), pp. 36 and 79.
