Epigraphia Indica Vol 34

Author(s): D C Sircar
Publisher: Archaeological Survey of India

Page 81

46 EPIGRAPHIA INDICA
(VOL. XXXIV Malga plates of Indrarāja, discovered in the Shahdol District of Madhya Pradesh. The Malga plates, assignable on palaeographical grounds to the seventh century A.D., are however written in the Northern alphabet. It is well-known that all the copper-plato grants of the royal family of Sarabhapura, to which the donor of our charter belonged, were written in the box-headed alphabet of Central India which exhibits influence of both the Northern and Southern alphabets. The record under study is thus the only epigraph of the said family of rulers, which is written in typical Southern characters of the nail-headed variety. It may be pointed out that the nail-head is not found in our record in letters like 1, ., and 1. Initial i is written by placing two dots below two downward curves joined together (cf. itynuo in line 13). Medial i is written with a circle on the triangle forming the top of letters, while medial i is formed with a curve added inside it. The letter ph has often a triangle at the lower left end, which is rather peculiar. Numerical figures for 40, 20, 7 and 1 have been used in line 23. The symbol for 40 may be confused with that for 4. But the fact that it is followed by the symbol for 1 shows that it is 40 and not 4.
As regards orthography, the reduplication of a consonant following is noticed in many cases (cf. arjjio in line 7, vartta in line 9, Pürova in line 11, r=vasudha in line 15, pārtthivāh in line 17 and svargge in line 19). The reduplication of a consonant followed by r is noticed in pitinin in line 11 and göttra in line 12. The vowel ri is indicated by ri in Pritho and prithuo in line 6 and viddhayē in line 12. Final n has been wrongly changed to anusvāra in vartlamanāṁ and Brāhmanām in line 9 and purushāṁ in line 10. Other instances of wrong spelling are punya for prenya in line 11, majyati for majjati in line 22, singhëna for simhëna in lines 23-24, eto.
The language of the charter is Sanskrit and it is written in prose excepting the four imprecatory and benedictory verses at the end. It is interesting to note in this connection that, while the charters of the later members of the Sarabhapuriya family beginning with Jayaraja exhibit # stereotyped draft, the drafting of the grant under study is quite independent from the language of those records. This problem is related to the difference between the present charter and those of the Sarabhapuriya kings in respect of the palaeography and the seal, to which reference has been made above.
The object of the charter is to record the grant of the village of Kunturapadraka situated in Purva-rashtra in favour of the Brāhmaṇa Dikshita Agnichandrasvāmin, son of Dikshita Durgasvāmin belonging to the Käpy-Angirasa götra. The donee seems to have belonged to the Kapi or Käpya götra, with Angiras or Angirasa as one of its pravaras. The grant was made by Vyāghrarăja who was the younger brother (anuja) of the ruling king Pravara-bhattāraka, the son of Jaya-bhattāraka. That Vyāghra was issuing the order in respect of the grant to the officers of his brother who was then on the throne is clear from the passage rājñaḥ su-mānya-rājapurushān samājñāpayati in lines 9-10. The charter was issued from Prasannapura situated on the bank of the river Nidila. The document proper ends with the quotation of a few of the usual imprecatory and benedictory stanzas and the date which is quoted in line 23 as the 27th day of the month of Pausha in the year 41 apparently of the reign of king Pravara-bhattārake
1 Ibid., Vol. XXXIII, Plate between pp. 212-13.
* The draft of the Pipardula and Kurud platos of the early Sarabhapuriya king Narindra (IHQ, Vol. XIX, pp. 130 ff.; above, Vol. XXXI, pp. 263 ff.) is different from that of the later grants issued by Jayarija, Sudēvarija and Pravararija. Whether the later draft was first used by Jaya cannot be determined in the absence of any charter issued by his father Prasanna or Prasannamätra who ruled between Narendra and Jayarāja. For tho Arang (year 5) and Mallår (years 5 and 9) plates of Jaya, see CII, Vol. III, pp. 193-94 ; above, Vol. XXXIII, pp. 166 ff; above, pp. 28 ff. For tho Khariar (year 2), Särangarh, Arang (year 7), Sirpur (yeur 7), Kauvatal (year 7), and Raipur (year 10) platos of Sudēva, 500 above, Vol. IX, pp. 170 ff.; pp. 281 ff.; Vol. XXIII, pp. 22 ff.; Vol. XXXI, pp. 103 ff.; pp. 314 ff.; CII, Vol. II, pp. 197 ff. For tho Thakurdiya (yoor 3) and Mallar (year 3) plates of Prsvara, see above, Vol. XXII, pp. 15 ff.; below, pp. 53-54.