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192 EPIGRAPHIA INDICA
(VOL. XXVIII plates, the first has writing on the inner side, while the others are inscribed on both the sides. Five plates are consecutively numbered on the left margin of the reverse and the numerals are preceded by the akshara bhi or bhi (wrongly written ki in one case) which appears to be a contraction of the donee's name Bhimadēvašarman. It may be recalled that on the first set of the Këndupățnā plates the numerical figures are similarly preceded by the aksharas kuma or kû which we have taken to be an abbreviation of the donoe's designation Kumāramahāpātra as given in that record. There are altogether 208 lines of writing. The second sides of the fifth and sixth plates have respectively 19 and 9 lines, all the other inscribed sides having 20 lines each. The seven plates together weigh 952 tolas, the weight of the uninscribed seventh plate being 1274 tolas. The seal which must have resembled the one described above and the ring on which the plates were originally strung appear to be lost.
The palaeography, language and orthography of the inscription are similar to those of the king's other records and do not call for any special remarks.
The introductory part of the record ends in line 176 and is followed by the word svasti and the date which actually begin the charter. The date recorded in lines 176-77 is Thursday, the fifth tithi of the bright half of the month of Mēsha (solar Vaisakha) in the expired Saka year 1218. The year of the Aika reckoning is not mentioned. The date is irregular ; but if the Saka year is taken to be current, the date corresponds to Thursday, the 21st April, A.D. 1295.
The king is said to have had previously made, for the inerease of his longevity, health, wealth and sovereignty, a number of grants of land, one of which was recorded on the plates under discussion. This particular grant of 50 väikäs of land was made in favour of the same Brihat-Kumära-mahapātra Bhimadēvašarman who was a Brähmaņa of the Kaśyapa götra having the Kaśyapa, Avatsära and Naidhruva pravaras and was a student of the Kāņva branch of the Yajurvēda. The mudala or order of the execution of this grant was issued by king Vira-dri Narasimhadova (ie., Narasimha II) on the date discussed above, when he was staying at the kataka (city, camp or residence) of Chauhatta, to the Purd-parikshaka Alāla, who was also a Brihat-Sandhivigrahi-Mahäpätra. in the presence of Kumara who seems to have been the adopted son (dulāla) of the Halin and Köshädhyaksha Yägānanda styled Khadgagrāhi-Mahāpātra. The expression manaha-samay-anantarë used in connection with the issue of the king's order is difficult to explain. The executor of the grant. Alála, was not only & Puro-parikshaka (possibly Pura-parikshaka) but also a Brihat-Sandhivigrahimahāpātra, i.e., a minister of the superior rank for war and peace. Mahāpātra Yāgānanda, called Khadga-grāhin (possibly the same as Oriya Khandāita), has also the official designation Halin (officer in charge of the royal lands) and Koshadhyaksha (treasurer). He seems to be no other than the Ghatavațiya-Khadgagrāki-Mahāpātra Yāgānanda mentioned in the Alalpur plates of Narasimha II as the owner of a sāsana or gift village possibly called Ghatavata.
The 50 vātikas of land granted by Narasimha II to Bhimadēvašarman covered two plots. The first of them comprised the village of Simhadāmandoi situated in the Rēmuņā vishaya. The measurement of the area was done by Mahēśvara-näyaka (nāyaka here indicating the caste or family name of Mahāśvara or his official position as a surveyor) who was the representative of the Puromāyaka Sivadāsa also known from the second set of the Kēndupātnā plates edited above. The village was bounded in the west by parts of the boundary line of Tantiõdāgrāma (also called Tantiaudā°) and in the east by the western boundary line of a village, the name of which ended with the letter rna. Its southern boundary was & sandy waste land and its northern limit was the bridge on the river Suvarnarēkhã. Within these boundaries, the land measured 48 väţikäs 12 mānas and
Mapaht (for manaht ?) may be Oriya manõhi meaning the act of taking food by aking. The word monohi occurs in the Madala Parigi, ed. A. B. Mahanti. p. 30. MGIPO-81–14 DGA-10-2-63150.
