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EPIGRAPHIA INDICA
[VOL. XXVIII
An interesting fact about the monk Buddhapālita is recorded in line 1 which says that he was a bri-Bhakokka-saṁghiya-ācharyya, i.e., a teacher belonging to the Bhakökkā sangha. The word sangha here appears to refer to a particular community of Buddhist monks styled Bhakākkā to which Buddha pālita belonged. Unfortunately I have not come across the name Bhakokkā.1 It is not impossible to suggest that it was a local community of monks belonging to a monastery in the present Maldah region of West Bongal. Whether the Bhakõkkä сommunity of Buddhist monks had anything to do with the celebrated Mrigasthapana monastery,' apparently situated in the same area or its neighbourhood, cannot be determined in the present state of our knowledge.
TEXTS
Part 1 1 [A] Sri-Bhak8- [B] kkā-sănghiya- [C] ach[]ryya- [D] bhadanta2 [A] Buddhapā- [B] litasys do- [C] ya-dham- [D] mõ=yam 1
Part II 8 [A] Y dhamma hə- [B] tu-prabhavā tēsām [h]ētam Tathagato &- [C] vacha! 4 [A] tēsir cha yo [B]n[i]rðdho evam-vādi maha-s[r]ama- [C] no ||
TRANSLATION
Part 1 This (.e., the image bearing the epigraph) is the religious gift of the Venerable Buddha pālita who is a teacher pertaining to the illustrious Bhakökkä сommunity.
No. 34 MADRAS MUSEUM PLATES OF ANANTASAKTTVARMAN; YEAR 28
(1 Plate) M. VENKATARAMAYYA, OOTACAMUND
These coppor plates were received for examination in 1934 by the Superintendent for Epigraphy, Mylapore, Madras, from the Government Museum, Madras, and noticed by him as C.P. No. 24 of 1984-5. The plates were sold to the Museum by Mr. M. Somasekhara Sarma, Madras. The Saporintendent for Epigraphy reports on them as follows: "No information is forthcoming regarding the place or history of their discovery. The plates which are rather thin, measure 61' by 2f' and bear a ringhole of about in diameter near the proper right margin. The ring and the seal that must have accompamed the grant are now missing. The plates have four faces of writing in all, the first and the third plates are slightly corroded, so much so that there are some holes in the body of these plates and their right bottom corners have been partly eaten away. ...... the grant is itself a palimpsest written over a previous charter, the letters of which though completely offaced are partly and faintly visible in a few places. It must also be remarked at the
1 The name Bhakokka, which reminds us of that of the Pakokku monastery about 30 miles from Mandalay in Upper Burms, may be of foreign origin.
· Hisary of Bengal, Dacon University, Vol. I, pp. 69. For a Chinese monastery near it, soe loc. cit. From an impression. For the translation and explanation of Part II of the insoription, see above, p. 224.
