South Indian Inscriptions

EPIGRAPHIA INDICA

with pouring out of water given, in the way of a perpetual endowment and free from taxes,^[1] the village of Villa (l. 29) which belongs to this vishaya─ with the uparikara, with the uddêśa,^[2] with[3] its weavers, gôkuṭas (?), distillers of spirituous liquors and other artisans (?), with its hamlets^[3] (?), landing-places (or steps on the river-side), ferry-places^[4] etc. and thickets, exempt from all molestation, not be entered^[5] . . . . . , in accordance with the maxim called bhûmichchhidra and for as long as the moon, the sun and the earth endure─ to the door-keeper Dhavala (l. 34), the son of Vâs[u ?] . . and grandson of Apratiḍâghôsha, an immigrant from Viṅgipâṭaka (?), belonging to the Viśvâmitra gôtra, with the pravara Dêvarâta and anupravara Audala, and student of the Kaṇva-śâkhâ. Wherefore, out of respect for what is right, you should preserve this our gift !”

This order is followed (in line 35) by the date, the 5th (?) of the dark half of Mârgaśîrsha of the year 180 ; and (in lines 36-38) by benedictive and imprecatory verses. Lines 38-40 repeat that this is a charter of Daṇḍîmahâdêvî ; give the name of the author of the praśasti, the poet Jambhala, son of the great poet Jayâtman (?) ; and record the names of certain officials, viz. the Râṇaka Dâṇâlava who was the dûtaka (?) of the grant, the Mahâkshapaṭalika Nṛi[siṁha ?], the Mahâsaṁdhivigrahin Ugrâditya, and the Mahâpratihâra (?) Prahâsa.

Line 41 adds that a quarter (?) of the village of Villa on the occasion of a saṁkrânti was given by Dhavala to the Brâhmaṇs ; lines 42 and 43, in which the names of the villages of Hôṇḍala and Khaîrapaṭa occur, apparently state the boundaries of the village granted ; and the inscription ends with the name of the engraver, Sambhaka.

Beyond saying that, judged by the writing, this inscription could hardly be older than the 13th century A.D., I do not venture at present to express any opinion regarding its age. I do not know to what era the year 180 of its date and the year 288 of the date of Raṇabhañja’s grant should be referred, and can only trust that other inscriptions, similarly dated, will be obtained from the same part of the country, which may both help us to fix definitely the dates of these grants and throw more light on the general question of the employment of numerical symbols in Eastern India.

The place Guhêśvarapâṭaka from which the grant was issued, the villages mentioned in it, and the vishaya in which they were situated, I have not found on the maps. The name Kôṅgôda^[6] of the maṇḍala to which the vishayas of both the grants A and B belonged I have from the first ventured to identify with the name Kong-u-t’o (Kong-yu-t’o) of Hiuen Tsiang (Beal’s Si-yu-ki, Vol. II. p. 206), and I am assured by Professor S. Lévi that from a linguistic point of view this identification is in every respect unobjectionable. As stated by

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^[1] The phrases akaratvêna and akarîkṛitya are very common in grants from the same part of India.
^[2] Above, Vol. IV. p. 254, I have translated sôddêśa by ‘ with all their localities,’ but uddêśa has probably a more specific meaning. Sôparikaraḥ sôddêśaḥ (which apparently is the proper reading also in Jour. Beng. As. Soc. Vol. LXIV. Part I. p. 125, l. 4 from the bottom) may be equivalent to the sôdraṅgaḥ sôparikaraḥ of other inscriptions.
^[3] In the phrase which commences here the reading of the word gôkuṭa appears to be certain, but its meaning is not apparent. For some expressions (the exact meaning of which is uncertain), in which the word prakṛiti occurs, see Ind. Ant. Vol. XXV. p. 183, note 82. For the general import of the phrase here used I would compare above, Vol. V. p. 112, lines 65 and 66, where the village-artisans are stated to be included in the grant ; also Ind. Ant. Vol. XIV. p. 58, l. 52, and above, Vol. IV. p. 296, “ We (also) gave the oil-mongers and the five (classes of) artisans as (his) slaves.” For taxes on looms etc. see South-Ind. Inscr. Vol. I. pp. 88, 89, 108, 155 etc.
^[4] Compare above, Vol. V. p. 52, last line of the text (“ ferry-boats ” etc.).
^[5] The phrase commencing with =lêkhanî(?)- I am unable to explain. It recalls, of course, such well-known expressions as achâṭabhaṭapravêśa, achâṭabhaṭapravêśya, akiṁchitpragrâhya, ahastaprakshêpaṇîya, etc.
^[6] According to the grant B the Kôṅgôda-maṇdala (or -maṇḍalaka) was in Dakshiṇa-Kôśalâ.─ For a village or town named Kaiṅgôda see above, Vol. III. p. 42.