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No. 33] HOWRAGHAT PLATES OF BALAVARMAN III OF KAMARUPA, YEAR 5 287
of the eleventh century). But a few of them may have also ruled between Salastambha and Hajaravarman. The name of Vigrahastambba resembles that of Salastambha and no other ruler of the family is known to have borne a name ending in the word stambha. He may therefore have been a son or grandson of Salastambha and should probably be placed earlier in the genealogy.
The object of the charter is to record the grant of a piece of land, yielding two, thousand measures (probably called Drona) of paddy, made by Paramesvara Paramabhaṭṭāraka Mahārājādhirāja Balavarmadeva when he was staying at Haḍappēsvara. As we have shown elsewhere,1 the real name of the capital of the Salastambha kings was Hadappeśvara and not Härüppeśvara as is generally believed. The piece of land was singled out from the locality called Bappadovapataka which was situated in the vishaya or district of Värase-pattana. The royal order in respect of the grant was addressed to the people of the countryside together with the Brahmanas and the employees of the offices of the district as well as to the king's subordinates and officers. The list includes the rajans (ruling chiefs), räjiis (queens of the ruling chiefs), rāņakas (smaller chiefs) and officers as well as to the rajanakas (minor chiefs or landlords), rajaputras (sons of the chiefs) and raja-vallabhas (courtiers), who might be associated with the administration of the area in question at any time. It is interesting to note that the words rujanaka and ranaka are both used in this section of the record, even though actually ranaka appears to be a modification of rajanaka (also spelt rājānaka and rujanyaku). There was probably some difference in the meaning of the two words as used in early medieval Assam. The land was granted together with the vastu (homestead land), kedura (low land), sthala (high land), jala (waters), go-prachara (pasture land) and avakara (probably, mounds) as well as with the income from hastibandha (entrapping elephants), naukabandha (anchoring boats) and chaurōddharana (catching thieves). It was given as it stood within its demarcated boundaries together with the space above it and was exempted from all troubles associated with the dandapusa (police tax), uparikara (extra cess or tax on temporary tenants) and utkhetana (fears or troubles) arising from other causes, and also from the grazing of elephants, horses, camels, cows, buffaloes, goats and sheep.
The donce was the Brahmana Syamadeva-bhaṭṭa. It is stated (cf. verses 26 ff.) that there was a learned Brahmana named Garga who belonged to the Aupamanyava götra and the Kanva sakha of the Yajurveda. His son was Gabhishthira who was the father of Syamadeva, the donce of the charter. The name of the donce's mother was Garbheśvarika. Verse 29 states that the king made the grant for the merit of his parents in the fifth year of his reign. The occasion of the grant was the abda-puja performed in connection with the Sakr-ötthana festival. The passage tath-almanah (i.c. also of his own ') in this stanza may be taken with punyaya or with abda-puja. Sakr-ötthāna means the raising of the banner (dhaja) of Sakra or Indra, which is a festival observed on the 12th day of the bright half of the mouth of Bhadra although in early times it may have been held on the 8th of the bright half of the months of Praushṭhapada (Bhadra) and Āśvina. The real significance of the expression abda-puja, literally 'worship of the year or cloud', in this connection is not clear. It may, however, refer cither to the anniversary of king Balavarman's birth or accession to the throne, or merely to the annual worship' of the Sakra-dhvaja.
The boundaries of the gift land as enumerated in lines 52-54 are: the stupa or mound "belong. ing to Vaikanka in the east; a Salmali tree in the south-east; a Tripatraka tree in the south;
1 Cf. above, Vol. XXIX, pp. 150-51.
Monier-Williams, Sanskrit-English Dictionary, s.v. Sakra
Sabdakalpadruma, s.v. Sakra-dhvaja. Cf. Praushthapadě tu ashfamyam buklayam sobhané rishë Asol zotha Sravanen-atha uchchhrayet ||
