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No. 20] PARBATIYA PLATES OF VANAMALAVARMADEVA
147 The inscription begins with a symbol for siddham and the word svasti and two verses of adoration, the first in honour of the Lāhitya-sindhu, i.e., the river Brahmaputra, and the second in honour of the god Pinäkin, i.e., Siva. Verse 3 introduces Naraka, the son of Adivarāha (i.e., Vishņu) and the goddess Earth, and the next verse says how Krshna killed Naraka bu allowed to go unpunished the latter's two sons, Bhagadatta and Vajradatta. Verses 5-6 describe how, when Bhagadatta obtained the lordship over Prāgjyotisha, his brother Vajradatta went to the forest where he propitiated Isvara (probably the god Siva) by his penance and obtained through the god's favour the lordship over Uparipattana as well as the future lordship of Prāgjyotisha for his descendants. Verse 7 introduces a later king of Pragjyotisha belonging to Vajradatta's lineage, whose name is given as Salambha. The following two verses appear to say that, when Salambha joined in heaven the past kings of the country beginning with Salastambha and ending with Harsha (i.e., Harshavarman), his brother Arathi became king. Verse 10 describes Arathi's queen Jivadēvi. Verses 11-12 describe king Harjara (i.e., Harjaravarnian) who was the son of Arathi and Jivadēvi, while verses 13-15 say how Harjaravarman's queen Mangala was an incarnation of the goddess Lakshmi on the earth. Verses 16-23 give a description of king Vanamäla (i.e., Vanamālavarman) who was the son of Harjaravarman and Mangala. Verse 24 says how king Vanamālavarman rebuilt a fallen temple of the god Hētuka-Sūlin i.e., Siva) into & magnificent building. Lines 47-48 mention Paramēívara Paramabhaffäraka Maharajadhirāja Vanamāla varmadeva who was a devout worshipper of Mahēsvara (i.e., Siva), meditated on (or was favoured by the feet of his parents and issued the charter from Hadapēsvara. Lines 33-46 give a lengthy description of the city of Hadapēsvara in prose. This passage suffers from the omission of a number of words at the end, although they can be restored from the Tezpur plates of the same king, referred to above. The description suggests that the city was situated on the bank of the Lohitya-bhattāraka (i.e., the river-god Brahmaputra). The river is said to have passed by the Kāmakūta hill, on the top of which were installed the god Kämēsvara 24? the goddess Mahāgauri. The following passage in prose and verse in lines 48-58 records the grant which is followed by two imprecatory verses in lines 58-59. The king made a gift of the village called Hapösagräma which was attached to the mandala or district of Svalpa-Mangka situated in Uttara-küla and was bounded by Akshidātikā in the east, the tank of Chandikā (possibly the goddess of this name)' in the south-east, Dirghänga in the south, a banyan tree in the south-west, a bush of bamboos or reeds in the west, a salmali tree in the north-west, a big ali (possibly an embankment) in the north and the tank of Dhavala in the north-east. The gift village is said to have been made a-chrita-bhafa-pravēša (i.e., not to be entered by regular or irregular troops, or, more probably, by policemen and peons) and mukt-Oparikara (i.e., not endowed with the right to enjoy taxes from temporary tenants). There is no specifio mention that the village was made a rent-free gift. The donee was a Brāhmaṇa named Chudamaņi who was the son of Jöjjata and was the eldest of four brothers, the other three being Dētõbhā, Garga and Sambhu. It is said that the brothers were all living jointly without separation, because they feared in that the loss of dharma. Apparently the grant was made in favour of the head of the family but was meant to be enjoyed by all the four brothers and their descendants. The grant is said to have been made with a view to increasing the merit and fame of the king's parents with the request that it might be approved by all.
As regards the absence of any clear indication in the charter whether Hapoeagrama was made a rent-free gift, it may be pointed out that the Säsanas of ancient Indian rulers were of
1 Various forms of the mother-goddess are associated with Assam and especially with the Bakta Pitha at Kāmikhyå near Gauhati. Cf. The Sakta Pithas (JRA8B, L, Vol. XIV, 1948, No. 1), pp. 11-16, 47-48, and notes.
