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EPIGRAPHIA INDICA
[Vol. XXVIII
of the Ātrēya gòtra granted the two villages of Saiso and Dakshiņa-Rādasõo, situated in the Odamolo-Madanakhanda vishaya and having the boundaries specified above, to the Brāhmaņa Dēvarathasarman of the Ātroya götra, a student of the Kāņva branch of the Yajurvēda, as a permanent rent-free holding, together with water, land, fish, tortoise, tree, forest, sand and bhiță (homestead land). It is interesting to note that the Ganga king adopts the Kshatriya nameending varman as his ancestor Bhānu II does in his Puri plates. The Tarikh-i- Firüzshāhi, while describing Sultān Firūz Shāh's invasion of Jājpagar (i.e., the Ganga kingdom of Orissa) during the reign of Bhānu III, speaks of the Räis of that country. (i.e., the Ganga kings) as Brāhmaņas. It thus appears that the Ganga monarchs claimed variously to be Brāhmaṇas or Kshatriyas of the Atreya götra, although basically they must have been Dravidians. As I have shown elsewhere the claim to the Atrēya götra was essentially connected with the genealogy of the Ganga family, fabricated by the court-poets of Anantavarman Chōdaganga. According to lines 8-9, the Tämrādhikarin (the same as the Sāsanādhikarin or keeper and writer of records), Narahari Sandhivigraha, appears to have received as his perquisite one väţi of land out of the gift land, according to an arrangement approved of by the respectable people of the villages. The next line says how the Tamralekhaka (engraver of the plates), Gurudāsa Senā pati, received half of the area of land received by the Tämrādhikūrin. Gurudása, however, appears to have been too big an officer to engrave plates and it is possible to think that he got the work done by a coppersmith. The charter proper is followed in lines 10-18 by nine of the usual imprecatory and benedictory verses. The above verses are followed by three new stanzas in lines 18-23. The text of the verses is extremely corrupt.
A number of geographical names are mentioned in the inscription. The different orders of the king in regard to the grant recorded here were issued when he was staying at Vārāṇasi (modern Cuttack), Devakūta and Narayanapura. Of the three plots of gift-land, the first consisted of Saisogrāma (also once called Sāisögrämi-Mākshēśvara) and the second of the South Rādasõõgrāma (also called Rädha' and 'saògrāma), both situated in the vishaya called Kõshthadēša-Madanakhanda or Odamvõla (Odamõlő)-Madanakhanda, while the third plot consisted of 30 vāțis of land belonging to the temple of the god called Kõshthadēša-Ugrēsvaradēva. In describing the boundaries of Sāisõgrāma, mention has been made of Bhagavatipura-śāsana, Chandraprabhā, Văngarisõgrāma, Vāingani-nadi, Rādasöö, Göpināthapura-śāsana, Āmvatoţā, Kuchiāgāi and Harägaū. In the description of the boundaries of Dakshina-Rädasöögrama, mention is made of Saisögrāma, Vāingania-nadi, Raktapatā, Vārago (or Värögo)-nadi, Vijayalakshmipura-sasana, Göpināthapura-sāsana, Sudunāghai and Amvatöţă. In connection with the boundaries of the third plot of land, are similarly mentioned Vängarisõgrāma, Vāinganiya-nadi, Väliāgrāma, Vāragonadi, Vijayalakshmipura, Rādasöö and Raktapață. The three plots of land were adjacent to one another. M. M. Chakravarti located the villages approxim tely at 85° 56' 45" long. by 20° 10' 17" lat. on the left side of the Bhārgavi river and close to the P. W. D. Bungalow at Khirkhia. The Survey of India sheet map No. 73 H 3 B shows, between the rivers Bhargavi and Dhanuā, the locality called Ugreswar Deuli having the Bhargavi in the west, Banguras (Vangariso) Säsan in the north, Göpināthpur towards the south and Bhagavatīpur towards east-south-east. As a result of the grant under discussion, the old names, viz., Sāiso and Rādasõő, appear to have given place to the new name, viz., Ugrēsvara-dēuli, suggested by it.
See J. K. A. 8. B., Letters, Vol. XVII, pp. 19-26. 2 Cf. Ray, D. H. N. I., Vol. I, p. 492. See my paper on the Nagari plates of Anangabhima III, above, pp. 235 ff.
The officer may have written the document on the plates with ink or paint to facilitate the work of engraving Of Indian Archives, Vol. V, p. 5.
