Indian Antiquary Vol 34

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 10

THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
(JANUARY, 1905.
daaa) hier der Herr geboren wurde. Das Dorf Lumbinit machte er steuerfrei und schenckte ihm acht Parzellen (des fiskalischen Landes)."
The English equivalent is :-"King Priyadarsin, beloved of the gods, came here in person twenty years after his coronation, and testified his reverence, saying, 'Here was Buddha born, the sage of the Sakyas.' And he caused a flawless block of stone to be prepared, and a stone-pillar to be erected made from it, as & memorial that here the Lord was born. The village of Lumbini he made revenue-free, and granted to it eight plots of the assessable area."
As a grammatically correct constrae' of the record this version appears unobjectionable, but I venture to take exooption to it in certain particulars as an adequate rendering of the true sense of the original. For reasons which I bave already published, following M. Sylvain Lévi, I hold that it is misleading to translate devanampiys by göttergeliebter in German, or
beloved of the gods' in English. The phrase was a more formal title of kings, and should be rendered by some such title as His Sacred Majesty,' not by analysis of its etymological olemonts. Piyadesi seems to be similarly a mere epithet or title, not a personal name, and the entire formula devananpiya piyadasi is best rendered by His Sacred and Gracious Majesty,' or some equivalent formula of European royal style."
Prof. Piachel's interpretation of sthabhagiye (ashtabhagiya) is open to a like objeothon. Etymologically ashtabhdga means eight parta' or 'sbares' of land, and the derived adjective means with eight parts' or 'shares of land. But a technical expression of revenne law must have had a more definite meaning, and its adequate interpretation must carry with it a clear idea of the exact parport of the grant. A conveyance of eight plots (or shares) of assessable land' has to my mind no definite signification. The expression is far too vague to suffice for the determination of the nature of the grant, and the word athabhagiyê must have had a much more determinate meaning fully intelligible to both the officials and the granteon.
In modern times, as all officers concerned with revenne matters are aware, a village is commonly regarded as a rupee, or unit consisting of sixteen parts, or annas; and in current phraseology a grant of eight shares' would mean one affecting half of the village land. But there is no reason to suppose that the practice of treating a village as a unit oontaining sixteen parts is ancient. Moreover, the words Lusmini-gdiné ubalikékaļé clearly apply to the whole village, and the supplementary words athabhdgiyecha must be interpreted as emphasizing or explaining the exemption of the whole village from the payment of land revenue and other Government dues.
It seems to me probable that the term athabhagiye, 'with eight shares (of land), was intended to define the grant unmistakably as covering the whole of the village lands. The similar terms ashaibarya and ashtabhôga quoted by Prof. Pisehel imply that a bhogagráma, or free grant of a village, was understood to carry with it privileges known technically as the eight advaryas' and the eight bhogar,' the number eight being held to imply completeness. In other words, the grant of eight bhogas and eight aisraryas meant that all the incidents of a tenore were conveyed. Similarly, I think that the grant of eight bhagas, or shares of land, should be interpreted as meaning that the grant covered the whole of the lands; that is to say, that & village was regarded in ancient tim3s as a unit of eight parts, not of sixteen, as is now usual. If this view be correct, the words athabhagiydoba mear * in its entirety.'
The whole record may, therefore, be freely rendered - "His Sacred and Gracions Majesty the King, having come in person twenty years after his coronation, did reverence, (saying), Here was Buddha born, the sage of the SAkyas.' And he caused faultless block of stone to be prepared, and set ap a stone-pillar (made from it),? (saying), Here was the Venerable One born.' And he made the village of Lammini revenue-free, in its entirety."
• The Anal vowel of lutromini is short.. • 'The Meaning of Piyadasi,' ante, Vol. XXXII. 1908, p. 258. • and see, however, noto 2 above.