________________
228
EPIGRAPHIA INDICA
[Vol. XXVIII
and the same inscription, viz., the Gurzala Brāhmi inscription of the 3rd 4th century A.C. so that in so far as these two letters are concerned, the looped and unlooped forms are not of much consequence in the matter of palaeographical dating. In addition to the above peculiarities, our charter exhibits other features which are not seen in the Andhavaram plates, although in phraseology both grants are almost alike. One such feature of our grant is the mention of two dutakas in place of the ājñapti and another is its faulty orthography as compared with the correct Sanskrit in which the Andhavarain charter is composed.
The orthography of the inscription, as already remarked, abounds in errors. Incorrect writing, for example, pta for tpa in line 1, pārisve for pārsvē in line 3, taitriya for taittiriya in line 6, bhavisya for bhavishya in line 9, kumārāmātau for kumārāmatyau in lines 17-18 may be ascribed to the ignorance of the scribe. An instance of incorrect syntax is found in line 7. Non-observance of sandhi is found in Mahārāja Anantasaktivarmmā (line 3). The use of 6 for v is noticeable in Barähavarttanyar (line 3) and barsha (line 14); and of v for b in valadhikrita for balādhikrita in line 18.
The language of the racord is Sanskrit. Except the imprecatory verses, the whole inscription is in proge. The phraseology of the inscription is almost similar to that obtaining in the Andhavaram plates of the same ruler, but contains some such phrases as are not found in the latter. For instance, the passage dharmma-kkrama-vikkramānām-anyatama-yögād-avāpya mahimanusāsatām (lines 10-11) is not found in the Andhavaram plates but finds place in our grant as also in a few other charters of the period such as the Bțihatproshtha grant and the Dhavalapēta plates of Umavarman and the Bobbili plates of Chandavarman.* The date of the record is given at the end of the charter as year 28, the tenth day of the bright fortnight of Phālguna. The numerals 20 and 8 occur in this connection.
The plates are issued by Mahārāja Anantaśaktivarman from his capital Singhapura. They record the royal gift of a village called Sakuņaka situated in Avi-pārsva of the district of) Varāhavartani, as an agrahāra, to two Brāhmana brothers, Nāgasarman and Durgasarman of the Katyayana götra and the Taittiriya sākha. The king is described as Kalingadhipati, as belonging to the Māthara kula and as one who obtained his body, kingdom and prosperity through the grace of his father, (who was) a great devotee of the divatās (paramadaivata-Bappa-bhatļāraka-pada-prasadāvāpta-barira-rājya-vibhavah). To my knowledge, the form in which this epithet occurs, embodying, as it does, such elaborate expression of deep devotion to one's father is found only in one other grant, viz., the Andhavaram plates cited above. In all other early charters where the king's devotion to his father (bappa) is recorded, whether in Pallava, Sālankāyana, or in the early Kalinga charters other than the two cited above, the terms are simpler like Bappa-bhatļāraka-pada-bhaktah, Bappa-päda-bhaktah or pitsi-pāda-bhaktah, even the epithet bhattāraka sometimes being dropped. The other epithet furamadaivata applied to Bappa-bhattāraka in the present grant needs some comment : it is here applicable to Bappa, while in the Kömarti plates of Chandavarman? this epithet applies to the issuer of the grant himself, i.e., Chandavarman. Usually, the grants that contain this epithet, as far as I have examined, prefix it in a compound either to Bappa-bhattāraka or, as in some cases, to the name of the overlord as whose feudatory the issuer of the grant figures. Instances of the former are available in the Kalinga grants including the present charter and those
Above, Vol. XXVI, p. 125 and plate.
* Ibid, Vol. XII, pp. 4 ff and plate. Ibid., Vol. XXVI, pp. 133 ff. and plate.
• Ibid., Vol. XXVII, pp. 33 ff. and plate. *[The symbol read as 8 more probably stands for 6; see above, Vol. XXVII, p. 30.-Ed.] • Ibid., Vol. XII, p. 4 (Brihatproshtha grant of Umavarman). * Ibid., Vol. IV, p. 142.
