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No. 28] BHATURIYA INSCRIPTION OF RAJYAPALA
163 Puranas apparently per annum., The coin called Purāna is well known while the word wikara is recognised in Sanskrit lexicons in the sense of a suitable gift' and in Bengali, by an extension of that meaning, in that of 'an amount which is legitimately payable'. As we have shown elsewhere, when a small amount of rent was fixed for gift lands, it was often designated by some other name than kara, such as trinodaka, agrahāra pradeyansa, etc... The word nikara has been used in the present record in a similar sense. The inscription thus records a kara-sāsana. Many documents of this kind have been discovered in Orissa and Andhra Pradesh. But the Bhāturiyā inscription seems to be the only one of the type so far found in Bengal. It may be pointed out here that Lahiry fails to understand this interesting nature of the record since he suggests that the word mikara should be corrected to nishkara, rent-free'. But the emendation is unwarranted in view of the fact that nishkara does not suit the metre of the stanza.
In this connection, it may also be pointed out that there is nothing unusual in the Buddhist king Rajyapāla making a grant in favour of the Brahmanical god Siva. Most of the grants of the Buddhist kings of the Påla and other dynasties of Eastern India are known to have been made in favour of Brāhmaṇas or Brahmanical deities or religious establishments. It appears, however, that Yaśādāsa had to pay an amount of money to the royal treasury in order to get the partially ent-free holding created in favour of the deity installed by him.
Verses 13-14 in lines 17-19 are of a benedictory nature, while verse 15 (line 20), which is the last stanza in the prasasti, states that the eulogy was engraved on the stone slab by the artisan Srinidhāna. The name of the engraver has been taken by Lahiry to be Nidhāna. The author of the prasasti is not mentioned in it. It might have been composed by Yasodāsa himself.
The inscription does not state where exactly Yasõdasa built the temple of Siva. But probably it was built at Attamūla in or near Bșihaddhatta. These places cannot be identified. It is, however, possible to think that the site of Yasödāsa's temple lies within Bhāturiyā where the inscribed slab has been found. The gift village of Madhusrava was also probably in the same region.
TEXT Metres : verses 1, 8,13 Sragdharā; verses 2, 4, 15 Anushubh ; verses 3, 7, 11 Sārdülavikridita ;
verses 5, 9 Mandākrāntā ; verse 6 Harini ; verses 10, 14 Vasantatilaka ; verse 12 Upajāti.] 1 Siddhar svasti Vēllad-dôr-ddanda-vēg-anila-vihata-maha-kshmadhar-õttunga-singa-grava
bhrams-opajāta-dhvani-chakita-chalad-dig-gaj-onmukta-nadam(dam) I päda-nyāsā 2 n=nimajjad-dharaņi-tala-bhar-abhugna-Bhögindra-bhögan=nfittam=val® pātu Sambhor=mmu
kuta-sasi-kal-aliúgita-vyöma-chandram(ndram) || [1*] Attamulam?-iti sthānam=Vfi(m
Bri)haddhatta3 vinirggatan(tam) | suchinăn=dharmma-bilānān®-Däsānām=asti janina-bhūh | [2*] Van
bē=smin=payasān=nidhāv=iva faši sri-Malhadāsõ=bhavat=khyātas10=tat-tanayo=pi suuryaA nilayah sri-Sūradāsah kriti tat-sūnus-chall samasta-nandita-su brit=sammānit-abhyagatal
sēvyo Röhana-bhüdhara-pratisamaḥ śri-Sanghadāso=rthinän(näm) || [3*] 1 See JRAS, 1952, pp. 4 ff.; above, Vol. XXX, Pp. 114-15.
Cf. above, Vol. XXIX, p. 2 and note 2 ; Vol. XXX, p. 162, nuto 4. • See above, pp. 50 ff. From & photograph. Expressed by symbol. • Read nrittam vah.
Lahiry reads Alfamulamo. • Lahiry reads "ddhayā.
Lahiry reads Filānan. ** Lahiry reads odaad bhava-khydia. 1 Lahiry reads sinus-cha.
