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No. 24) BANDA PLATES OF PARACHAKRASALYA, SAMVAT 56
1 89 connected with the Telugu word konda, meaning 'hill ', is uncertain. The eighteen Gôndramas are sometimes supposed to indicate the same thing as the Oriya athara-gada-jäta, vaguely referring to the Native States now merged in the State of Orissa. The earliest reference to the eighteen States of this area seems to be found in the Kanās platel of Lökavigraha dated in the Gupta year 280 (599-600 A.D.), which speaks of the Tõsali kingdom (Balasore-Cuttack-Puri-Ganjem region) as consisting of eighteen forest kingdoms (ațavi-rājya)'. The association with ghatja may possibly suggest that göndrama indicated a hill-fort'ora State with its headquarters in a hill-fort'.
Of the geographical names mentioned in the inscription, Vāghara-kofta seems to have been a hill-fort that was the capital of the Rashtrakūtas of Orissa (cf. kotta, a fort'). Whether it was the old name of the present Bargarh in the Sambalpur District cannot be determined with certainty. The gift village is called Salēdägrāma without mentioning the name of the vishaya or distriot in which it was situated. This is probably because it was lying near the headquarters of the Rashtraküțas of Vägharākotta. It may, however, be pointed out that the usual passage referring to the royal order regarding the grant, addressed to the king's officials, subordinates and others, seems to be wanting in our record owing to the inadvertence of the soribe or the engraver and that the reference to the vishaya in which the gift village was situated may have been lost along with it.
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First Plate 1 Siddham* [OR] svasta(sti II) Samata 56 Muyasira-vada (di) 4 2 vāra Vihapal sri-Vāgharāköttäta(ttät) para3 mamābēsva(sva)ra-samadhigatābēshape4 ñchamāhāsavdalivandīta kanakada5 marutri(tri)valitu(tū)ryaravõ[t*]trāsitārāti(ti).
Second Plate, First Side 6 chakra-Rāshţrakutýāmalakulātīlaka7 Llātalõravinirg[g]ata-svētachha(chchha)tra-pīta8 châmara-Garudadappa(rppa)ņadhvaja-āsh[t]á9 dasaoghattagöndramädhipati(ti)-māhā4°ma10 ņdalēsvara-māhā 10māņdali(li)ka-Rāņaka
1 Above, Vol. XXVIII, pp. 328 ff.
From the original plates and their impressions. • Expressed by symbol. . Read Sanuat.
Sanskrit Margasira or Märgatirsha. The engraver had vadt in mind but formad de in such a way as to resemble da.
Sanakrit vård Brihaspalau. * Sanskrit maldabd-avali-vandita. Sanskrit Rashtraküt-amala-kuta-lilaka.
Read dhuaj-ashfadata. 1. Sanskrit maha.
