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210
THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY
NOVEMBER, 1919
But let us examine whether the location of Srêvasti within the Varendra-bh mi is deducible froin the construction of the verses quoted above. Me'egre Basak And Chanda say that between Balagrama and Tarkkâri lay the river Sakați. This is how they understand the expression Saka di- vyavadhanavdn which quelifies Bâlagrâma. But in accepting this there are certain grave difficulties. In the first place, if the two villages had been situated side by side (the distance between them being only a river), and if it be true that some Brahman families, who had formerly been living on one bank of the stream, now came to settle on the other, it would have been quite out of place to describe their former home in the terms in which Tarkkâri has been described. Were the two places topographically so closely connected, no sensible writer would have ever thought of specifying their sepa
ate topographical details, viz., that one of them -- Tarkkâri is Sravasti-prativaddha, i.e., in Śråvasti, and the other-Balagrâma is in Pundra and Varendri. Secondly, the expression Sakatívyavadhanaván is an adjective of Bilagrâma. Therefore, it cannot bave anything to do with Tarkkâri, which word is at a long distance, and the expression cannot be taken to mean that Sakati was the vyavaihdna between Bålagrâma and Tarkkâri. The very nature of the compound shows that the vyavudhana is in reference to Balagrâma alone. I therefore suggest that the natural meaning would be, the village of Balagrâma wbich had for its boundary, or was bounded by, the river Sakati.'li
It follows therefore, that there is scarcely any roul ground for thinking that Tarkkari was in Bengal. On the other hand, a mass of evidence goes to show that a place called Tarkkârikå or Tarkâri did exist in Upper India. We learn from epigraphic records that it was a well-known centre of Brahmanio culture and many Brahman families, formerly living there, emigrated to other parts of India. Among these records, the number of which is by no means small, may be mentioned, (1) the Katak copper-plate of the 31st year of Mahabharagupta I. EI., Vol. III, p. 348, (2) the Katak copper-plate of the 9th year of Mahasivagupta, Ibid., p. 353, (3) the Kalas-Badrukh copper-plate of Bhillama III (A.D. 1025), Ante, Vol. XVII, p. 118, (4) a copper-plate of the Chandella Madanavarman, Ante, Vol. XVI. 208. (5) a copper-plate of the Chandella Dhangadeva, Ibid. p. 204 and (6) the Mândh Ath copper-plates of Devapala and Jayavarman II, EI., Vol. IX, p. 103 ff. Now to determine whether the Tarkkari mentioned in these inscriptions was in or outside Bengal, one has to turn attention to Nos. 2 and 3. In the former we have the following adjective-clause appended to the name of a Brahman donee : Madhyadebiya-Srivallagrámavelvi)nirggatdya Odra-debe Śr-silabhas japáti-vástavydya ?'akkâra pûrva-Bharadvajagotrdya. It is clear from this that he came out of a village in the Madhyadeśa and belonged to a family of Bharadvajagotra Brahmaps which was formerly in Takkâra. This Takkâra, as
As vyavad hana means 'separation or division (360 Monier Willians, ..) Sabati-vyavadhanavdn might as well mean having Sakati as vyavadhana ' i.e.. separated or divided' by Sakati.
