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EPIGRAPHIA INDICA
[VOL. XXVIII that a reigning monarch could have been adopted as son by one of his female relations. Moreover the accession to the Bhauma-Kara throne of five queens (viz. Tribhuvanamahādēvi I-II, Gaurimahādēvi, Vakulamahādēvi and Dharmamahādēvi) and of a princess (Dandimahādēvi) points to the unpopularity of the institution of adoption in the Bhauma-Kara family. The difference of the draft of the present charter from that of the Hindol and Dharakata plates has also to be noted in this connection. It is, however, as yet unknown whether there was a struggle for the throne between Subhakara II and Subhakara III after the death of Santikara I. It is also uncertain why Santikara I succeeded his elder brother when the latter had left a son.
The royal order in respect of the grant was addressed to the present and future officials and subordinates belonging to Dakshina-Tosali such as the Mahasamanta, Mahārāja, Rajaputra, Antaranga, Kumārāmātya, Uparika, Vishayapati, Tadayuktaka, Dandapasika, Sthānāntarika and other dependants, including persons of the chata, bhata and vallabha categories (lines 13-15). It was also addressed to such offices (adhikarana) within the Sulantarakurbha vishaya as those of the Mahamahattara, Brihadbhögin, Pustapala and Kulakölasa (lines 15-16). It is well known that the kingdom of the Bhauma-Karas was divided at least into two provinces, viz., Uttara-Tosali and Dakshina-Tōsali, i.e., the North and South Tosali. The vishaya or district, called Sulantarakurbha in our record, formed a part of South Tōsali. A village called Lavagandḍā, situated in the said vishaya, was granted by the king as a revenue-free permanent gift in favour of certain Brāhmaṇas at the request of the queen (rajñi) Nriņņā who was apparently one of the king's wives (lines 16-22). The donees, who were inhabitants of Taramandapagrama, belonged to the Bharadvaja götra and were students of the Kanva sakha of the Vajasaneya charana of the Yajurvēda. They were six in number, viz., Bhatta Bhendadēva, Bhaṭṭa Vidrāvaṇadēva, Bhaṭṭa Khēlāvanadeva, Bhaṭṭa Mērudēva, Bhaṭṭa Rangadēva and Bhatta Sandhadeva. Most of the technical terms used in connection with the grant are also found in other copper-plate charters of the family and have been discussed already in connection with the Santiragrāma grant of Dandimahādēvi. The grant was made for the upkeep of the mathas and mandapas established by the Brahmaņas in their native village. The words malha and mandapa appear to mean here respectively 'a college' and 'a public building.' They are often mentioned in later Ganga records. Lines 22-23 contain the king's entreaty to the future rulers of the country as well as the date discussed above. This is followed by the passage uktañ-cha dharmma-sastrē which introduces five of the usual imprecatory and benedictory verses in lines 23-27. There is another verse in lines 27-28, praying for the permanence of the Kara (i.e., Bhauma) king's charter recorded on the plate. Similar verses are also found in some other charters of the family. It is interesting to note that our record thus speaks of the royal family in question both as Bhauma (line 3) and as Kara (line 28). This is, again, the earliest record of the dynasty in which the family name Kara occurs. The dynastic name Kara was no doubt due to the crystallization of the name-ending of all kings (e.g. Kahēmamkara-Lakshmikara, Sivakara I-III and Santikara I-III) of the family, excepting those bearing the name Subhakara (I-V). The ditaka or executor of the grant was the Mahākshapa aladhikrita (5.6., an officer of the akshapalala or record department) named Taradatta. The writer of the document was the Mahakshapatalika (i.e., record-keeper) Bhogin Anandanaga. The plate was heated (täpita), apparently for soldering the seal, by the pēdāpāla Nārāyaṇakara. The epithet pēdāpāla, also found in many other records, has not been satisfactorily explained. The word pēdā seems to be used in the Divyavadana in the sense of 'a basket.' The pēḍāpāla thus may have been a storekeeper of the king's record department. It is difficult to say whether Pēḍāpāla
The inscription is being published in this journal.
* See the grants of Narasimha II, edited above, pp. 187 ff.
Misra, op. cit., p. 16 (lines 30-32 of text), p. 27 (lines 39-41 of text), etc.
Of. Monier-Williams, Sanskrit-English Dictionary, 1899, s.v. The word is found in some records as petfapala.
