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164
THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
[JUNE, 1883.
great sacrifices of the bali, charu, vaiśvadéva, agnihotra, and atithi, and other (rites),-to the Brahman Bhânu, the son of the Bhatta Sômâditya,-who belongs to the society of the Chaturvedis that started from (the city of) ŚriVala bhi, who is of the Vâtsyâyana gôtra, (and) who is a student of the Mâdhyandina (sákha).
to cause distress to the learned. And having, for the purpose of protecting (the king of) Måla va, who had been struck down, caused his arm to become the excellent door-bar of the country of the lord of the Gurjara s who had become evilly inflamed by conquering the lord of Gauda and the lord of Vanga,-his master thus enjoys (his) other (arm) also as (embodying all) the fruits of sovereignty.
(L. 40.)-By him, having seen that life is as unstable as the lightning and that the giving of land is the most pious act of all, this religious gift has been effected.
(L. 41.)-And he, Latesvara, the Mahásámantádhipati who has attained all the mahasabdas, Suvarna varsha-Sri-Karkarajadeva, informs the rashtrapatis, vishayapatis, grámakutas, ádhikarikas, mahattaras, &c., according as they are concerned :
(L. 43.) "Be it known to you that, by me, settled at (the city of) Sri-Siddhasami, in order to increase the religious merit and the fame, both in this world and the next, of my parents and myself,-seven hundred and thirtyfour years having elapsed from the time of the Sa ka king, on the great full-moon day of (the month) Vaisakha,-the village named Vaḍapadraka, which is included in the Ankoṭṭaka Eighty-four (villages), and the boundaries of which are, on the east, the village of Jambuvâvika; on the south, the tank named Mahasênaka; on the west, (the village of) Aukoṭṭaka; and on the north, the village of Vagghachchha, this (village), thus defined as to its four boundaries,-together with the udranga, the uparikara, the bhútavatapratyaya, (the right to) fines and (the proceeds of punishments inflicted for) the ten (classes of) offences, (the right to) forced labour as it arises, (and) that which is receivable (in kind) in grain and gold; not to be pointed at with the finger (of appropriation) by any of the king's people; to last as long as the moon and sun and ocean and rivers and mountains may endure; to be enjoyed by the succession of sons and sons' sons; with the exception of grants previously made to gods and Brahmans; (and to be held) by the rule of bhúmichchhidra,-has, after bathing, been given, with copious libations of water,-for the purpose of keeping up the sacrificial rites of the five
(L. 54.)-"Wherefore, no obstruction is to be made by any one to him who, according to the proper condition of a brahmadaya, enjoys (this village), or causes it to be enjoyed, or assigns it (to another), or cultivates it, or causes it to be cultivated. And so this, my gift, is to be assented to and preserved, just as if it were a gift made by themselves, by future [kings*], whether of my lineage or others, recognising that [the reward of*] a grant of land belongs in common (to him who makes it and to all who preserve it), and bearing in mind that riches are as transient as the lightning and are not enduring, and that life is as unstable as a drop of water on the tip of a blade of grass. And he will be invested with (the guilt of) the five great sins, together with the minor sins, who, having his mind obscured by the thick darkness of ignorance, may confiscate (this grant) or assent to (its confiscation)."
(L. 59.)-And it has been said by the holy Vyasa, the arranger of the Védas:-"The giver of land dwells for sixty thousand years in heaven; (but) the confiscator (of a grant of land), and he who assents to (such confiscation), shall dwell for the same number of years in hell!" Verily those who confiscate a grant of land, are born as black snakes, dwelling in the dried-up hollows of trees in the forests of the Vindhya (mountains), destitute of water. Gold is the first offspring of fire; the earth belongs to Vishnu; and cows are the children of the sun; (the whole of) the three worlds would be given by him who gives gold and a cow and land! The earth has been enjoyed by many kings, commencing with Sagara; he, who for the time being possesses land, enjoys the fruits of it! Those gifts (of land), productive of religion and wealth and fame, which have been made here by kings in former times, are like that which is vomited forth from the remains of an offering to an idol; what good man would take them back again ? O king! O best of kings!
33.e. Govinda III.
