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The Indian Analyst
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South Indian Inscriptions |
EPIGRAPHIA INDICA TWO PLATES OF TRIBHUVANAMAHADEVI FROM BAUD (1 Plate) S. C. DE, BHUBANESWAR Two single copper plates of Tribhuvanamahādēvī of the Bhauma-Kara dynasty of Orissa were received from the Sub-Divisional Officer, Baud, as exhibits for the Historical Exhibition organised on the occasion of the Cuttack Session of the Indian Historical Records Commission and the Indian History Congress in December 1949. They were discovered some years back in a place near the town of Baud and were lying in the treasury. The exact place and the date of their discovery could not be ascertained. I propose to edit them here with the kind permission of Mr. A. Das, the Sub-Divisional Officer, Baud.[1] Of the two plates, one is bigger than the other, the bigger one, to be termed hereafter as plate A, measuring 14.2″X11.3″, and the smaller one, plate B, 12.7″X 9.8″. Both of them are in a fair state of preservation. A circular seal of the form of a full-blown lotus is soldered at the centre of the left side of the plates. The counter-sunk surface enclosed within the rows of petals is circular in shape. The diameter of the counter-sunk space is 3.3″ in plate A and 3″ in plate B. At the bottom of the sunken surface, another double-petalled open lotus is carved out in relief. Above it, the legend Tribhuvanamahādēvyā(vyāḥ) is neatly carved in relief. The lower portion of the subscript y in vyā is drawn out to form two horizontal lines below the legend. Above the legend there is the figure of a couchant bull with the symbols of the crescent, conch and sun above it. There are two floral designs, one in the front and the other at the back of the bull. The characters closely resemble those of the Dhenkanal plate[2] of Tribhuvanamahādēvī and the Talcher plates[3] of Śivakaradēva (III). As a matter of fact, the Dhenkanal plate and our plate B were both incised by the same person, Harivardhana, while the Talcher plates were engraved by his father Rahasavardhana. On palaeographical grounds the plates may be assigned to the 9th century of the Chirstian era at the earliest. Both the plates are dated in the year 100 50 8 (i.e., 158) of the era which is known to have been used by the rulers of the Bhauma-Kara family.
The language is Sanskrit. The text of both the plates is practically identical, except for the grant portion. The composition is a mixture of prose and poetry. The descriptive portion consists of fifteen verses in addition to the usual benedictory and imprecatory stanzas. There are a few orthographical or grammatical mistakes and these have been corrected in their proper places. The words gōhērī, jōṭa, valitvā, etc., occurring in the grant portion, seem to be Sanskritised Oriya expressions. The documents open with the description of the charms of Guhēśvarapāṭaka, the capital of the Bhauma-Kara rulers. Next follows the genealogy of the family. In the Kara dynasty there flourished a powerful king named Unmaṭṭasiṁha. His son was Śubhākara who erected many lofty vihāras. His son was Gayāḍa who was succeeded by Kusumahāra. Gōsvāminīdēvī succeeded Kusumahāra who had left no son. The kingdom thrived under her rule, people lived in peace and prosperity. On her grandson, Lōṇabhāra, attaining majority, she retired making over the charge of the kingdom to him. Lōṇabhāra was blessed with two sons, Kusumahāra and Lalitahāra. The two sons succeeded their father one after another. But, both of them having died childless, Pṛīthvīmahādēvī (the wife of Kusumahāra), whose father was Svabhāvatuṅga of Kōsala and mother Nṛittāmahādēvī, the daughter of Yaśōvṛiddhi, ascended the throne, and was known to the world under the name Tribhuvanamahādēvī. She is styled Paramabhaṭṭārikā, Mahārājādhirāja-Paramēśvarī and Paramavaishṇavī. At the request of Śaśi- _________________________________________________
[1] The plates are now preserved in the Orissa Museum. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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