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194 PIGRAPHIA INDICA
[Vol. XXIX 35 narakam vrajēt [ll 8*] Nandanti tasya pitaraḥ pravalganti pitāmā(ma)h[@]h [l* 36 bhu(bhü)mi-dätä kulö jätä(ta)sa nag=trätā bhavishyati || [9*] Iti 37 kamala-dal-āmvu(mbu)-vindu-lölő[m*) sri(bri)yam=anuchintya manushya-jivitan-cha [l*) 38 sakalam-idam-udähritam cha vu(bu)ddhā(ddhvā) na hi purushaih para-ki(ki)rttayo vilõpya. 39 h (Il 10*) Llā(La)Kchhitam Sri-Prithvimā(ma)hādēvya [l*ā(a)numatan Bhata(tta)-Rājadasya
[l *) pravēšitam prati40 hāra-Prabha(bha)karēna [l*] (a)nujñātam Vāguli-Ratnēna [l*] Utkirnnam(ronam) 2(a)
kshasālinā Napēna [l*] Li41 khitam Sandhivigrahi-Sankarēna || Samva(Samva)t 198 [11*)
No. 27–BILAIGARH PLATES OF KALACHURI PRITHVIDEVA ; YEAR 896
(1 Plate)
P. B. DESAI, OOTACAMUND In September 1940, three sets of copper plates were unearthed from a field at the village of Paoni, about three miles from Bilaigarh, Raipur District, Madhya Pradesh. One set was passed on to the then zamindar of Bilaigarh. It belongs to the reign of the Kalachuri king Pratapamalla and is dated K. 969. Another set which fell into the hands of a sädhu, was subsequently recovered by the same zamindär. Proceeding on this information furnished by Pt. L. P. Pandeya, the plates were secured for examination in April 1945 by Dr. B. Ch. Chhabra, Government Epigraphist for India, through the good offices of the Commissioner, Chhattisgarh Division, Raipur. With the kind permission of the former, I edit the inscription here.
The set consists of two oblong copper plates held together by a ring with seal. The ring passes through a hole cut at the centre of one of the edges of the longer sides of the plates. The plates are engraved on the inner sides only and their rims are slightly raised to protect the writing. The plates measure 11% inches in length and 64 inches in breadth each approximately. The inscribed faces of the plates contain marginal decorative designs on three sides save the upper one. The diameter of the ring is about 14 inch. The ring is flattened at the top and given the shape of a round thin disc. This disc comprises the seal which has marginal decoration all around. In its upper half is carved in relief & crude figure of Gajalakshmi in the usual fashion. The lower half contains the following legend engraved in two lines in Nāgari characters: 1 Rāja-srima2 t-Prithvidevah. The seal measures two inches in diameter. The weight of the two plates together is 137 tolas and the ring with the seal weighs 8 tolas.
The inscription consists of 36 lines which are distributed equally on the two plates. The average size of the letters is 4 inch. The characters are Nägari of the 12th century A.C. The dandas and other punctuation marks are used in their proper places; for instance, to mark the halves and ends of verses, etc. The avagraha sign is generally indicated; e.g., -anvayê='bhūt
This epigraph is edited in this jourual, above, pp. 97 ff.
For more details about the discovery of these copper plates soo above, p. 97 n. 6. It is not known what happened to the third set referred to above.
• This is registered as C.P. No. 50 of the Annual Report on Indian Epigraphy, for 1945-46, p. 12.
