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No. 44]
TWO GRANTS OF BHANJA KINGS OF VANJULVAKA
273
slightly raised rims and is a little thicker than the other two. The plates are not in a very satisfactory state of preservation. Small bits have broken away from the first and third plates together with a few letters at the end of the last line on Plate I and at the beginning of the last line on Plate III. The plates atre strung together on a copper ring about 2.11 inches in diameter and 25 inch in thickness. The hole in the plates for the ring to pass through was apparently made after the plates had been engraved, as a few letters are found partially cut off by it. A circular brass seal (1.25 inches in diameter) is soldered on the joint of the ring. The upper part of the surface of the seal is occupied by the figure of a lion depicted as moving towards the left but having its face turned to the front. Its tailis curled above its back. As is well known, this was the emblem of the Bhanjas of Khiñjalimandala ruling first from Dhritipura and then from Vañjulvaka. Below the lion emblem is the legend in two lines: (1) Sri-Si[lābha)- (2) fijadēvasya. The subscript of sya has been so lengthened towards the left that the second line of the legend looks like having two straight lines below it. The three plates together weigh 50 tolas, while the weight of the ring with the seal is 8} tolas.
The characters employed in the inscription belong to the East Indian variety of the Northern Alphabet of about the tenth century A. C. and closely resemble those found in the records of the Bhañjas of Khiñjalimandala, issued from Dhșitipura and Vañjulvaka, and other Orissan inscriptions of about the same period. The language of the inscription iş Sanskrit, although there are many errors of both language and orthography. In these respects, also, the record under discussion resembles many other inscriptions of about the same age found in Orissa. The palaeography and orthography of our inscription do not thus call for any special mention.
The charter is dated in the first regnal year of king Siläbhañjadēva who issued it. As will be shown below, this king flourished about the end of the tenth century A.C. The grant has therefore to be assigned to a date in the above period.
The charter begins as usual with the symbol for siddham and the word svasti, which are followed by the well-known verses, Jayati kusumabā na', etc., and Sesh-ähër=iva, etc., found in all the Bhañja records issued from the city of Vañjulva ka. A short prose passage following the second verse actually says that the grant under discussion was issued from the victorious Vanjulvaka. Then follows another well-known verse, Asti jaya-sri-nilayah, etc., which is found, with slight variations, in most of the Vanjulvaka records to introduce the reigning Bhañja king under one of his secondary names. The secondary or coronation name of the donor of the grant, disclosed by the verse under notice, is Tribhuvana kalaśa which was so long unknown from the epigraphic records of the family. Lines 8-10 mention the king, who was in good health, as the Paramamähèsvara (devout worshipper of Mahēśvara or Siva) Šilābhañjadēva, described as the son of Disabhañjadēva and grandson of Ruņabhañjadēva who was an ornament of the Bhanja family. Lines 10-14 say how the king addressed the rājan, rājanaka, rajaputra, vishayapati, dāndapā tika and other officers that were, or might in future be put in charge of administration in the Salvada vishaya as well as the village-folk of the district headed by the Brāhmanas and Karanas. The mention of the Karaņas together with the Brāhmaṇas at the head of the local population is very interesting as it speaks not only of their crystallization into a caste group, but also of their social position. After declaring, in the style of the records of the Bhañjas of this particular branch, the all-round prosperity of the king to the addressees, the charter goes on to inform them (lines 14-22) that the village of Dēüladda in the above vishaya
1 Cf. Bharatiyn Vidya, Vol. X, pp. 280-84. The Karaņas appear to have been originally an East Indian tribe. They gradually merged themselves in the community of soribe-accountants possibly for their predilection for the profession in question.
18 DGA
