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No. 32] TWO GRANTS OF BHOJA KINGS
235 appear in lines 13 and 8 respectively. Some of the palaeographical and orthographical peculiarities are the same as those noticed in respect of the record edited above. The language of the epigraph is Sanskrit and its composition is prose except for a verse in lines 16-17. The writing is fairly free from mistakes.
The charter purports to record the gift of the village of Varhlavätaka situated in the tract of Söllundūraka-seventy in Palāśikā-vishaya to Nāgašarman of the Hārīta götra, who was endowed with all the qualities of a Brāhmaṇa. The gift was made with the approval of Mahārāja Agankitavarman of the Bhöja family by the chief Elakēlla of the Kaikēya lineage for the merit of both. The executor of the grant was the Mahārāju himself.
The record is dated in the 5th regnal year of the Bhöja king Asankitavarman and the gift is stated to have been registered on the full-moon day of Jyēshtha. This date does not admit of verification. On consideration of palaeography, the Bhoja ruler and Elakēlla who must have been a feudatory may be placed approximately in the sixth or seventh century.
King Aśankitavarman is described as a great devotee of Siva. If this king is identical with his namesake of the Hirēgutti inscription, he has to be regarded as tolerant towards Buddhism. Elakēlla, the donor who belonged to the Kaikāya lineage, is known for the first time from the present record. The Kaikėya family, however, is known from several epigraphs. The Halmidi inscription of Kadamba Kākusthavarman refers to a fight of the Kadambas with the Kēkayas and Pallavas. Kadamba Krishnavarman I married & Kaikėya princess. Prabhāvati, queen of Kadamba Mrigēśavarman and mother of Ravivarman, belonged to the Kaikēya lineage. The Kaikėya family also figures in later inscriptions such as the Haldipur plates of Gopāladēva and the Kekkār inscription of Anneyarasa of the eighth century.
In regard to the geographical names in the record, the village of Vamsavăţaka may be identified with Käpöli from where the plates were unearthed. Sõllundūraka-seventy remains to be located. It seems to have comprised an area of the Khanapur and Halyal Taluks. Palasikavishaya is the same as the well-known Palasige-12000 of the later epigraphs, Halsi being its chief town.
TEXT
First Plate 1 10Drishtam (*) Vijaya-sri-pravarddhamana-rajya-samvatsaram pamchamam pa2 layataḥ sakal-āvani-tala-saro-mandal-ambho
1 Asankitavarman of the Hiregutti plates and his namesake of the present charter apparently belonged to one and the same family. The seals of both these plates bear identical figures of an elephant (see above, Vol. XXVIII, pp. 70 ff.).
*[A close examination of the palaeography of the two charters would suggest that the two kings might be different, Abankitavarman of the Hirogutti record being a predecessor of his namesake of the Kapoli grant. Their seals are of different types. Further, the characters of the Kapoli record are box-headed, while those of the Hirēgutti epigraph are not 80.-P.B.D.).
Mys. Arch. Rep., 1936, pp. 72 ff. Above, Vol. VI, p. 18. (For a Kaikēya family of Nandipalli,of. above, Vol. XXVIII, p. 75.-Ed. • Mys. Arch. Rep., 1910-11, p. 35. . Above, Vol. XXI, p. 173.
Progress of Kannada Research in Bombay Province, 1941-46, p. 5.
This identification is questionable. If my information is correct, the original findspot of the plates is Halsi and not Käpöli. In January 1950, while I was camping at Halsi in the course of a tour, I learnt that a set of copper plates had been unearthed somo years ago in a field by a local farmer. It was subsequently taken by Mr. B. K. Desai to his village Kápóli for decipherment. Mr. Desai whom I contacted next year told me that ho had banded them over to his friends at Belgaum. Apparently the same plates were later found by Mr. Annigori in the possession of Mr. Addanagi at Belgaum.-P.B.D.).
From a set of impressions. 19 [At the beginning of the line is a spiral which may be taken to be us a siddham symbol.-P.B.D.).
