________________
304
EPIGRAPHIA INDICA
[VOL. XXXIII
than the Mandasor inscription (473 A.D.) written in the same alphabet. Among the copperplate grante of Svämidāsa, Bhulunda and Rudradāsa, the palaeography of Svāmidasa's grant of the Gupta year 67 (386 A.D.) resembles that of our record while the characters of Bhulunda and Rudradāsu, dated respectively in the Gupta years 107 (426 A.D.) and 117 (436 A.D.), are decidedly later. The characters of our epigraph, however, appear to be slightly earlier than the inscriptions of Chandragupta II and Svāmidāsa, referred to above. A date in the second half or about the last quarter of the fourth century A.D. appears therefore to suit the inscription under study.
The charter begins with a symbol for Siddham which is followed by a single sentence forming the introductory part of the grant. It introduces & subordinate ruler named Isvararāta who is described as paramabhattāraka-pädänudhyata, i.e. meditating on (or favoured by) the feet of & Paramahhatļārka who was an imperial ruler and apparently Isvararāta's overlord. The order of the chief Isvararāta, in regard to the grant to be recorded in the document, was issued from Prachakābā to the Brāhmaṇas and other villagers of Vēdhyakúpikā-grāma situated in Vanlikpatta and to all his officers such as the Ayuktas and Viniyuktas as well as the Kumārāmātyas, Uparikas, Dāndikas, Dāndapāśikas, Hastyasvajanavyāpritas, Chātas and Bhaças who were associated with the said village. This shows that Isvararāta granted either the village called Vēdhyakūpika-grāma or a portion of it to some donee whose name must have occurred in the latter part of the document engraved on the other plates of the set, which are now lost. The word patta in the name Vankikā-patta reminds us of its use in the sense of a district in records like a copper-plate grant of king Hastin of the Parivrājaka family. Ayukta seems to have been an administrative officer appointed by the king and Viniyukta & subordinate officer under the Ayukta, who was probably appointed by the latter. Kumārāmātya was an administrative officer enjoying the status of a prince and Uparika a viceroy. Dandika, and Dandapātika, generally occurring in the list of royal officials in the copper-plate grants, are often understood in the sense of a judge of criminal cases and a police officer respectively. Hastyasvajanavyäpritas were apparently military officers in charge of the elephant force, cavalry and infantry. The Chātas and Bha tas appearing in numerous records seem to have been policemen and Päiks.
The title Paramabhattāraka, applied to Isvararāta's overlord who is not mentioned' by name, was not assumed by Indian monarchs before the rise of the Guptas in the fourth century A.D. The official designations Kumārämätya," Uparika and Viniyukta? are similarly unknown in the records of the pre-Gupta 'age. There also appears to be Gupta influence on the official designation Hastyasvajanavyäprita. Under the circumstances, it is impossible to believe that Isvararāta flourished before the Gupta occupation of Western India.
It is well known that the imperial style Paramabhattāraka, together with Mahārājadhiraja and Paramesward, was popularised by the Gupta emperors whose feudatories enjoyed the title Mahāraja. This is clearly indicated by epigraphic records like the Udayagiri inscription of 401 A.D. mentioning a Sanakānika Mahārāja as meditating on (or favoured by) the feet of
* cn, Vol. In, No. 18, Plate XI. * Above, Vol. XV, Plato facing p. 289; CII. Vol. IV, Plate II, A-C. • For namos ending in rata, see CII, Vol. III, pp. 33, 904 ; IHO. Vol. XXIII, pp. 221 f. «CII, Vol. III, p. 102, text line 15. *This first occurs in the Allahabad pillar inscription of Samudragupta (Select Inscriptions, p. 260).
• One of the earliest occurrences of this designation is found in the Damodarpur inscription of 444 A.D. (ibid., p. 284).
* This seems to be the same as Viniyuktaka, T'advinimuktaka and Tadáyuktaka. Seo ibid., pp. 284, 351, 360, etc.; CII, Vol. III, p. 169 and pote.
The expression hanty-asrajana ocoure in the Damodarpur plates of 543 A.D. and mohd now.hanty-abus in the spurious Nalanda and Gays plates of Samudragupta (Select Inscriptions, PP. 263, 265, 338). CL. Hastyasinhrubalavyäprita of some epigraphs.
Ibid., p. 271. Cf. also the evidence of the Damodarpur plates (ibid., Pp. 324-26, 328-30)) mentioning the Mahardja, Brahmadatta and Jayadatta as favoured by Paramabhaffaraka Maharajalineju Budharupta.
