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EPIGRAPHIA INDICA
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to be his grandfather Narasimha III (c. 1327-53 A.D.) who was apparently distinguished from his reigning grandson bearing his own name by the said distinguishing epithet. There is thus some evidence to show that the Ganga king Narasimha III was referred to as the 'big' Narasiminha in the records of the time of his grandson Narasimha IV. Although this does not preclude the possibility of an earlier Narasimha being distinguished from one of his predecessors of the same name in a similar way, we are inclined to identify the king, during whose reign the inscription under review was engraved, with Narasimha IV as the palæography of the record seems to support this identification. Moreover the details of the date quoted in the inscription do not appear [to suit the reign of Narasimha II or Narasimha III.
Manmohan Chakravarti, in his account of the chronology of the Eastern Ganga kings, fixed 1378-79 A.D. as the initial year of Narasimha IV. The details of the date in our record, viz., Anka 22 (i.e. 18th regnal year), Kärttika (Pürṇimanta)-ba. 7, Sunday, would thus correspond regularly to September 24, 1396 A.D.
The Oriya part records that an area of 12 Vatis of land called Vaghamară (situated at Vaghamārā according to the Tamil version) was granted as Ekādasa-Rudra-bhiksha in favour of the Siddhesvara-matha at the illustrious Krittiväsa-kshetra (modern Bhubaneswar) for the longevity and fulfilment of the desires of the elder Narasimhadeva who was apparently one of the past kings of the country. The significance of the expression Ekadasa-Rudra-bhiksha is clear from the Tamil part which states that the grant was meant for the feeding of Saiva ascetics for the favour of the eleven Rudras. Some time after the creation of the endowment, Tapōrajamahamuni, the pontiff of the Matha, mortgaged the land to Durgabhaṭṭa-acharya from whom he borrowed 150 [gold] Madhas. He also borrowed ten [gold] Madhas and 30 Pautis of paddy from Uttarēsvara-nayaka. Pauți is a measure of capacity prevalent in Orissa, which is equal to ten maunds. The word is probably derived from Sanskrit pravarti or pravartika which was equal to five kharis according to Sarvananda's Tikäsarvasva on the Amarakosa, II, 9, 89. The same measure is possibly mentioned in certain inscriptions from Bengal and Orissa."
Durgabhaṭṭa-acharya paid up Tapōrāja-mahamuni's debt to Uttarēśvara-nayaka and calculated the total amount including interest, payable to him by Tapōrāja-mahāmuni, to be altogether 180 [gold] Madhas. This no doubt included 150 Madhas lent by himself and 10 [gold] Madhas paid by him to Uttarēsvara-nayaka as well as the interest accruing to these amounts and the price of the paddy with interest. Meanwhile Tapōraja-mahamuni passed away and he was succeeded in the pontificate by Tapaśchakravartin. Since Durgabhaṭṭa-acharya and Tapaschakravartin were born under the same räsi or zodiacal sign, the former became a friend of the latter. Hence Durgabhaṭṭa-acharya wrote off the debt of 180 [gold] Madhas, due to him from the head of the monastery, for the continuance of the Ekadasa-Rudra-bhiksha for the longevity and the fulfilment of the desires of the reigning monarch Vira-Naranarasimhadeva.
The Tamil version of these transactions while giving some additional information also differs in some details. The purpose of the original grant is stated to have been the feeding of the Mahesvaras (i.e. devotees of Mahesvara or Siva) for the propitiation of the eleven Rudras. The amount borrowed by Taparaja-munigal is stated to be 148 Madais only as against 150 Madhas mentioned in the Oriya part. The reason of this discrepancy seems to be that 2 out of the 150 Mādhas were paid to the writer and engraver of the document concerned. Thus while the creditor's version of the transaction in the Oriya part refers to the gross amount, the debtor's version puts the net amount he received after deducting the amount paid to the writer and the engraver. After the
JASB, Vol. XXII, 1903, pp. 97 ff.
See pravarta-vapa in the sense of a land measure, several of which made a kulya-vapa, in the Faridpur plate of Dharmaditya (Select Inscriptions, p. 356) and praverta in the Alagum inscription of the time of Anantavarman Chodaganga (above, Vol. XXIX, pp. 45, 48). The word pravarta also occurs in the Govindapur inscription (A. R. Ep., 1955-56, No. B 357).