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No. 15.-GRANTS OF GAYADATUNGA
(1 Plate) D. C. SIROAR, OOTACAMUND
(Received on 18.6.1959) Dr. N. K. Sahu recently published a copper-plate grant of Gayadatunga in the Orissa Historical Research Journal, Vol. VII, No. 1 (April 1958), pp. 66-70 and plates. At my request, Dr. Sahu was good enough to send me the plate for examination. This inscription is re-edited in the following pages along with two other copper-plate grants of Gayadatunga, which were published long ago. Although the sytle of the recently published epigraph is different from that of the two previously published records, all the three inscriptions appear to belong to the same chief.
Besides the recently published inscription of Gayādatunga, four copper-plate grants of tho ruling chiefs of the Tunga family of the Yamagarta or Yamagartă mandala are known, although the published transcript of none of the records is free from errors. Of these, the Asiatic Society's plate of Gayadatunga was published with a facsimile by Nilamani Chakravarti in the Journal and Proceedings of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, New Series, Vol. V, 1909, pp. 347-50, and Plates XVII-XVIII, while the Talcher plate of the same king was likewise published with a faceimile by Nagendra Nath Vasu in the Archaeological Survey of Mayurabhanja, Vol. 1, Appendix, pp. 152-54, and Plates 97-98, as well as by R.D. Banerji in the Journal and Proceelings of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, New Series, Vol. XII, 1916, pp. 291-95, and Plates III-IV. The errors in the published transcripts of these two epigraphs can be detected with the help of the published facsimiles. Chakravarti and Vasu did not attempt to translate the epigraphic texts ; but Banerji offered a translation of the Talcher plate even though he did not really understand much of the text. The Talcher plate of another king of the family, by name Vinitatunga, was published by Vasu in his work, pp. 154-57, without facsimile and translation, while H.P. Sastri published in the same way the Bonai plate of the said ruler in the Journal of the Bihar and Orissa Research Society, Vol. VI, 1920, pp. 236-40. The published transcripts of these two records contain numerous obvious errors; but they cannot be verified owing to the absence of any facsimile. The above two grants of Gayadatunga, one published by Chakravarti and the other by Vasu and Banerji, are re-edited in the following pages along with the Talcher plate recently published by Dr. Sahu. Since the Talcher plate published by Vasu and Banerji appears to have been issued later than Dr. Sabu's plate, the latter has been designated as Talcher plate No. 1 and the former as Taloher plate No. 2.
An interesting feature of the published copper-plate records of the Tungas of Orisea is that the texts of all of them are full of orthographical and grammatical errors and that, with the exception of the one published by Dr. Sahu, the introductory section in prose and verse is the same excepting the different names of the donors and their ancestors. Some of the stanzas in this section are also found in the Bonai plate of the Buddihst chief, Mahārāja Ränala Udayavaráha, described as a scion of the Mayura family and as the son of Tējāvarāha and a descendant (probably, grandson) of Uditavarāha (.e. Udayavarāha I). Another interesting fact about the said introductory part
* This is the only volume published. The yoar of its publication is not givon. But the preface bears the date the 1st January 1911 (p. vili). JBORS, Vol. VI, pp. 248-48. No facsimile of the inscription was published.
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