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No. 35] PURI INSCRIPTION OF CHODAGANGA
183 Thus the village of Niralo seems to have been a rent-free holding in the possession of the god Purushottama-Jagannātha of Puri. The expression chhāya-dipa means a lamp held in the hand of an image generally of the donor. The word chhāyā, 'image', is known from other inscriptions also. A Srikurmam inscription of Saka 1275, belonging to the reign of Ganga Bhānu III, speaks of the dedication of the chhāyās of the king's father Narasimha III and the latter's wife Gangămbikā, which were represented as holding lamps for offering light to the god in the Srikurmam temple. The responsibility of Bhimadēva and his two colleagues was no doubt to supply oil for the lamp in lieu of the interest of the gold deposited with them.
The next sentence in line 4 states : "Now Bhimadēva's son Nāna arranged for the discharge fof his obligation)." This shows that, probably after Bhimadēva's death, his son Nāna refunded the deposit and thereby freed himself from the obligation of supplying oil for the perpetual lamp. That the responsibility fell upon the son of Bhimadēva alone may further suggest that Ruda and Hari were his own brothers or sons. From the above two sentences we learn that formerly an endowment had been created by depositing some amount or coins of gold with Bhimadēva and others and that, in the 37th regnal year of the Ganga king Anantavarman Chödaganga, Bhimadēva's son Nāna freed himself from the responsibility. But who created the endowment that was terminated by Nana is not mentioned in these sentences. The names of the persons responsible for the creation of the endowment are, however, possibly known from the following sentences which describe the creation of a new endowment in the place of the terminated one.
The next sentence in lines 4-6 mentions three persons and refers to an image representing all the three of them. The following sentence in line 6 states that Jivanta-śroshțhin accepted the gold for the lamp. This apparently means that the said three persons had originally created an endowment for the supply of oil for a perpetual lamp held in the hands of their own images in the temple of Mārkandē vara and that, on the termination of the old endowment, they created another endowment by depositing the same gold with another person named Jivanta-brēsthin. The condition binding Jivanta-śrēshthin is found in the following sentence in lines 6-1, which states that, in respect of the said perpetual lamp, god Mārkandēsvara would receive two hundred (measures] of oil every month. The name of the measure is not given in the record. In a similar context in the Bhubaneswar inscription of Anantavarman Chodaganga, referred to above, mention is made of the karanka, i.e. a small pot usually made out of coconut-shell and useil in measuring oil. The same kararka measure may be referred to in the present case as well. The names of the three persons who created the endowment are given as : (1) Hari, the Pūjāhāri of the god Mārkandēsvara, (2) Vandau (probably another Pujākāri of the same god), and (3) Vāsu, the Pujāhari of another god whose name appears to be Köhriņēsvara. Püjāhāri is the same as Püjāri meaning a priest'.
Lines 7-9 at the end of the record mention the names of the persons who were witnesses to the above transaction. These were : (1) Mudrāhasta Dēvadhara ; (2) Nilakamunda (possibly another Mudrāhasta) ; (3) Pasāpālaka Sridhara; (4) Nārāyana (possibly another Pasāpālaka); (5) Sārmavāji Mahādēva ; (6) Dēvamēndi (possibly another Sāímavāji); and (7) Srikarana Hari. Mudrāhasta (Oriya Mudiratha) is now the designation of a class of servants of the god Purushöttama-Jagannatha of Puri. Dēvadhara may have been a similar servant of the god Mārkaņdēsvara. Pasāpülaka may be the same official designation found in inscriptions in the forms of Pasāyita, Pasäita or Pasāyati. Sāṁmavāji may be a mistake for Somayājin. Srikarana is the designation of a scribe. These people appear to have been temple officials.
1 SII, Vol. V, No. 1205.
Above, Vol. XXX, pp. 30-31. Cf. ibid., Vol. xxix, p. 107 and note 3.
