svasti. pañcanagaryyā bhaṭṭāraka-pādānuddhyātaḥ kumārāmātya-kulavr̥ddhir etad-viṣayādhikaraṇañ ca vāyigrāmika-trivr̥taā-śrīgohālyoḥ brāhmaṇottarān samvyavahāri-pramukhān grāma-kuṭumbinaḥ kuśalam anuvarṇya bodhayanti.

vijñāpayator atraivavijñāpayato 'traiva-vāstavya-kuṭumbi-bhoyila-bhāskarāv. āvayoḥ pitrā śivanandinā kāritakao bhagavato govindasvāminaḥ deva-kulas tad-asāv alpa-vr̥ttikaḥ. Iha viṣaye samudaya-bāhyādy-astamva-khila-kṣaettraāṇām akiñcit-pratikarāṇāṁ śaśvad-ācandrārkka-tāraka-bhojyānāṁm akṣaya-nīvyādvi-dīnārikkya-kulya-vāpa-vikkrayo 'nuvr̥ttas. tad arhathāvayos sakāśāt ṣīaḍ dīnārān aṣṭa ca rūpakān āyīkr̥tya bhagavato govindasvāmino deva-kule khaṇḍa-phuṭṭa-pratisaṁskaāra-karaṇāya gandha-dhūpa-dīpa- sumanasāṁ pravarttanāya ca trivr̥tāyām bhogilasya khila-kṣettra-kulya-vāpa-trayaṁ śrīgohālyāṁ Api tala-vāṭakārthaṁ sthala-vāstuno droṇa-vāpapm ekaṁ bhāskarasyāpi sthala-vāstuno droṇa-vāpañ ca dātum iti.

yato yuṣmān bodhayāmaḥ. pustapāla-durggā dattārkkadāsayor avadhāraṇayā Avadhr̥ta m astīha-viṣaye samudaya-bāhyādy-astamba-khila-kṣettrāṇāṁ śaśvad-ācandrārkka-tāraka-bhojyānāṁ dvi-dīnārikya-kulya-vāpa-vikkrayo 'nuvr̥ttaḥ. Evaṁ-vidhāpratikara-khila-kṣettra-vikkraye ca na kaścid rājārttha- virodha Upacaya Eva bhaṭṭāraka-pādānāṁ dharmma-phala-ṣaḍ-bhāgāvāptiś ca . tad dīyatām iti Etayoḥ bhoyila-bhāskarayos sakāśāt ṣaḍ dīnārān aṣṭa ca rūpakān āyīkr̥tya bhagavato govindasvāmino deva-kulasyārtthe bhoyilasya trivr̥tāyāṁ khila-kṣettra-kulya-vāpa-trayaṁ tala-vaāṭakādy-artthaM .

śrīgohālyāṁ sthala-vāstuno droṇa-vāpaṁ bhāskarasyāpy atraiva sthalia-vaāstuno droṇa-vāpa pm.

evaṁ kulya-vāpa-trayaṁ sthala-droṇa-vāpa-dvayañ ca Akṣaya-nīvyās tāmra-paṭṭena dattaM. ninnaku 3 sthala-dro 2.

te yūyaṁ sva-karṣaṇāvirodhi-sthāne darvvīkarmma-hastenāṣṭaka-navaka-nal̥ābhyām apaviñcchya cira-kāla-sthāyi-tuṣāṅgārādinā cihnaiś cāturddiśo niyamya dāsyathākṣaya-nīvī-dharmmenṇa ca śaśvat-kālam anupālayiṣyatha varttamāna-bhaviṣyaiś ca saṁvyavahāryy-ādibhir etad dharmmāpekṣayānupālayitavyam iti. Uktañ ca bhagavatā veda-vyāsa-mahātmanā.

sva-dattāṁ para-dattāṁ vvā yo hareta vasundharāṁ. sa viṣṭhāyāṁ krimir bhūtvā pitr̥bhis saha pacyate ṣaṣṭiṁ varṣa-sahasrāṇi svargge pmodati bhūmidaḥ Ākṣeptā cānumantā ca tāny eva narake vaseT pūrvva-dattāṁ dvijātibhyo yatnād rakṣa yudhiṣṭhira mahīṁ mahiīmatāṁ śreṣṭha dānāc chreyo 'nupālanam

iti. saṁ 100 20 8 māgha di 10 9.

-pādānuddhyātaḥ -pādānuddhyātaḥ °karaṇañ ca °karaṇañ ca -śrīgohālyoḥ -śrīgohālyoḥ -kuṭumbinaḥ -kuṭumbinaḥ bodhayanti. bodhayanti. -bhoyila- This name is spelt thus also in lines 14 and 15, but -bhogila- in line 8. āvayoḥ āvayoḥ kāritakao kāritaka- Note that devakula here rather clearly is taken to be masculine; tad seems to bear adverbial function. astamva-khila-kṣaettraāṇām astamba-khila-kṣaettraāṇām Correct -stambakhilakṣettrāṇām. reads thus, but the plate clearly shows -mva- and -ttra-. śaśvad-ācandrārkka- śaśvad ācandrārkka- ṣīaḍ reads ṣaḍ but this is clearly not what the plate shows; cf. line 14, where ṣaḍ is clear. -kr̥tya -kr̥tya On this shape of kr̥, recurring also below in line 14, cf. the Nandapur plate, line 15. -phuṭṭa- suggests to emend sphuṭita. But phuṭṭa, being ‘evidently a Prakrit form’ (), must be retained. See on this case. °saṁskaāra- Already corrected by . -dīpa- -dīpa- This space left blank at the end of the line shows the scribe respects the segmentation of word in the compound. sumanasāṁ sumanasāM śrīgohālyāṁ Api śrīgohālyāś cāpi śrīgohālyāśm api Correct śrīgohālyām api. RB reads śrīgohālyāścāpi and corrects this to śrīgohālyāñ cāpi. -vāṭakārthaṁ -vāṭakārthaM -vāṭakārtthaṁ -vāpapm -vāpam -vāpam Correct -vāpam. reads -vāpam, but the required m has not been written here. See shape of pe in line 21; same error p for m in lines 16–17 and 23. bodhayāmaḥ Already corrected by . -durggāda° -durgāda° Or is the reading -durggada-? °ṇayā Avadhr̥ta °ṇayā Avadhr̥ta° -ṇayāvadhr̥ta- astīha-viṣaye astīha viṣaye -kṣettrāṇāṁ Already corrected by . -bhojyānāṁ -bhojyānām (misprint). Upacaya Eva Upacaya Eva ca. tad ca. tad bhoyila- Understand bhogila-, as in line 8. sakāśāt Emend sakāśāt (). bhoyilasya Understand bhogilasya, as in line 8. tala-vaāṭakādy-artthaM tala-vāṭakādy-artthaM Correct talavāṭakādyarttham, as reads. śrīgohālyāṁ Already corrected by . droṇa-vāpaṁ bhāska° droṇa-vāpaṁ bhāska° atraiva atrīaiva sthalia-vaāstuno sthalevastuno Correct sthalavāstuno. RB reads sthalevastuno and makes the same correction. The akṣara he reads le has a slightly different shape than the le in line 7. -vāpa pm -vāpam See note on line 9. ca Akṣa° proposes in note to read cākṣa-, but the punctuation space between the two words means that non-application of sandhi is intentional. °kṣaya-nīvyās °kṣaya-nīvyāsnīvyā dattaM dattan te In , one reads this note: The Paharpur plate gives tad- instead te (l. 19) which is a much better reading.—Ed.. But the precise collocation te yūyaṁ is also found in the Mahatī-Raktamālā (line 20) and Nandapur (line 13) plates. -sthāyi-tuṣāṅgār-ādinā Correct -sthāyituṣāṅgārādināṁ or -sthāyituṣāṅgārādi- (thus Nandapur, line 14)? The latter option is reflected in the translation. reads -sthāyi-. cāturddiśo Corr. caturdiśo or cāturddiśe? Cf. Nandapur, line 14–15 caturddiṅniyamitasīmānaṁ kr̥tvā. dharmmenṇa Already corrected by . anupālayiṣyatha vartta° anupālayiṣyatha vartta° bhagavatā veda- emends bhagavadveda-. vasundharāṁ vasundharāṁ The sign for final M does not have its usual shape. pmodati modati See note on line 9. vaseT vaseT The sign for final -T does not have its usual shape. dvijātibhyo dvijātibhyāo -dattāṁ -dattām (misprint)

Hail! From Pañcanagarī, See 3562 which identifies this with modern Panchbibi in Bogra District — a place I cannot identify. Perhaps it is the same as Panchanagar, substrict Kushmundi, dt. Dakshin Dinajpur, West Bengal, India, which seems a safe identification for Pañcanagarī. the princely advisor Kulavr̥ddhi, favored by the feet The expression bhaṭṭāraka-pādānuddhyātaḥ can also be found in Raktamālā #1 line 1 : paramabhaṭṭāraka-pādānuddhyātaḥ kumārāmātya-yūthapatir. of His Majesty the Gupta Sovereign, According to the table in 135, Kumāragupta’s reign lasted till 477, after which date we enter Skandagupta’s reign. and the council of this district, greet the village tenants of the hamlets Trivr̥tā and Śrī-Gohālī of the village Vāyigrāma Vāyigrāma is also mentioned in Damodarpur #3, line 9. — consisting chiefly of Brahmins, The expression brāhmaṇottarān occurs in several other plates: Raktamālā Grant no. 1, year 159, line 2; A grant of land in the Tāvīra district, line 6 ; Paharpur Charter of the Time of Budhagupta, line 3; Nandapur Plate of 169 GE, line 1 and A second grant concerning the Raktamālā line 2. The translation suggested here corresponds to the specific meaning of the compound brāhmaṇottara- reported by 1174. If we only follow the meaning given by 8408 and 178 for the word -uttara in fine compositi, the translation would be followed by Brahmins. led by the administrator saṁvyavahārin — and inform them:

The two tenants Bhoyila and Bhāskara who reside in this very place Presumably in Vāyigrāma. respectfully request:

This temple of Lord Govindasvāmin, founded by our father Śivanandin, has limited means. In this district, the custom is sale for two dīnāras of one kulyavāpa of uncultivated land that is without revenue charges, covered with original shrubs, See 3569 for this interpretation of ādya-stamba. and yields no tax, as permanent endowment to be enjoyed in perpetuity as long as the moon, the sun and the stars will last. Thus tad, be so kind as to take from us in cash āyīkr̥tya āyīkr̥tya is derived from āya in the sense of income, so having made income from …. This expression can be found in Kalaikuri Copper-plate of Kumāragupta I (line 20), in Paharpur plate (line 18) and in Damodapur Plate #3 (line 8). six dīnāras and eight rūpakas and — for the purpose of carrying out the repairs of breaches khaṇḍa and cracks phuṭṭa See . Originally Buddhist terms used in Vaiṣṇava context! See also other trace of Prakrit as administrative language in ninna = diṇṇa l. 17. See also 2357. in the temple of Lord Govindasvāmin, and for offerings of perfume, incense, lamps and flowers — give

in the hamlet Trivr̥tā, to Bhogila, three kulyavāpas of uncultivated land; and in the hamlet Śrī-Gohālī, to serve as parcel adjacent to the temple, Note on talavāṭaka: see 334-335. one droṇavāpa of inhabitable terrain; and in the same hamlet to Bhāskara, one droṇavāpa of inhabitable terrain.

Wherefore we Kulavr̥ddhi and the council inform you: It has been ascertained through the investigation of the record-keepers Durgādatta and Arkadāsa that the custom in this district is sale for two dīnāras of one kulyavāpa of uncultivated land that is without revenue charges,covered with original shrubs, to be enjoyed in perpetuity as long as the moon, the sun and the stars will last. And in the sale of such uncultivated land that yields no tax there is no conflict with the interest of the king; there is only benefit, and obtainment by His Majesty the Sovereign of a sixth part of the merit accruing from the donation; Indeed, the king usually takes a sixth of each transaction as it is mentionned in 7.131-132. Here, as the land yields no tax, the benefit for the king is only meritorious and due to his act of protection. This understanding is also confirmed by the final stanzas which emphasises the act of protection and by the verse I.331 from Yājñavalkya's : puṇyātṣaḍbhāgamādatte nyāyena paripālayan . sarvadānādhikaṁ yasmānnyāyena paripālanam . He the king takes a sixth portion of the merits by providing protection justly, because providing protection justly greater than all gifts. Translation 107. so that it ought to be given

After six dīnāras and eight rūpakas had been taken in cash from these two, Bhoyila and Bhāskara, for the purpose of the temple of Lord Govindasvāmin,

to Bhoyila, in the hamlet Trivr̥tā, three kulyavāpas of uncultivated land to serve as parcel adjacent to the temple etc.; in the hamlet Śrī-Gohālī, The place name Śrī-Gohālī can also be found in a A fragment of a second plate from Baigram and in A grant of land to monasteries at Śiṣīpuñja, Madhyamasr̥gālikā and Grāmakūṭagohālī. one droṇavāpa of inhabitable terrain; and in this very place to Bhāskara, one droṇavāpa of inhabitable terrain;

in this way three kulyavāpas and two droṇavāpas have been given with a copper plate for a permanent endowment. Low ninna: 3 kulyavāpa; inhabitable: 2 droṇavāpa.

You there mentioned at the start of the grant shall separate them off using two reeds, eight by ninefold with the ladle-work darvīkarma cubit, A note is necessary on this translation. Predecessors have assumed Darvīkarma was a proper noun, and that it designated the person after whom the standard had taken its name. in a place that does not conflict with your own cultivation; shall limit them in the four directions with long-lasting markers such as pots filled with This interpretation is based on the Smr̥ti passages cited in the commentary. Others sources give details about the manner to mark boundaries. For example, 8.249-50 suggests demarcating boundaries by several objects (translation ) : upachannāni cānyāni sīmāliṅgāni kārayet . sīmājñāne nr̥ṇāṁ vīkṣya nityaṁ loke viparyayam . aśmano 'sthīni govālāṁs tuṣān bhasma kapālikāḥ . karīṣam iṣṭakāṅgārāṁś śarkarā vālukās tathā . Seeing that in the world controversies constantly arise due to people's ignorance of boundaries, he should also have other concealed boundary markers ensconced stones, bones, cow's hair, chaff, ashes, potsherds, dried cow dung, bricks, coal aṅgāra, pebbles, and sand.

Yājñavalkya's 2.154-5 gives also a list of materials used to mark boundaries (translation ):

sīmno vivāde kṣetrasya sāmantāḥ sthavirā gaṇāḥ . gopāḥ sīmnaḥ kr̥śāno'nye sarve ca vanagocarāḥ . nayeyur ete sīmāntaṁ sthalāṅgāratuṣadrumaiḥ . setuvalmīkanimnāsthicaityādyair upalakṣitam . When there is a dispute regarding a boundary of a field, neighbours, elderly people, persons from an association, herdmen, others famers near the boundary, and all men roaming in the forest should ascertain the boundary revealed by mounds sthala, charcoal aṅgāra, chaff tuṣa, and trees, and by dikes, anthills, trenches, bones, shrines, and the like. . See also 7358 chaff or charcoal; shall make the donation and shall protect it in perpetuity according to the rule of a permanent endowment. And out of deference to this rule it is to be protected by present and future administrators, etc.

And it has been said by the magnanimous Lord Vedavyāsa:

The one who would steal land given by himself or another becomes a worm in excrement and is cooked with his ancestors. This verse corresponds to the verse numbered 132 among the Stanzas on Bhūmidāna listed by Sircar see II170-200.

The giver of land resides sixty thousand years in heaven; the one who challenges a donation as well as the one who approves of the challenge will reside as many years in hell. This verse corresponds to the verse numbered 123 among the Stanzas on Bhūmidāna listed by Sircar see II170-200.

You, excellent Yudhiṣṭhira, must strenuously protect land previously given to brahmins by kings. Safeguarding is even better than giving. This verse corresponds to the verse numbered 131 among the Stanzas on Bhūmidāna listed by Sircar see II170-200, but shows a different reading of its first pāda.

Year 128, month of Māgha, day 19.

Regarding the indication ninna ku 3 sthala dro 2 (line 17), in one reads the following note: This word (ninna) put before the abbreviated totalisation of the amount of land purchased does not appear to me explicable. [Phuṭṭa (= Skt. sphuṭṭa) in line 7 would suggest that it might stand for Skt. nimna meaning low land.—Ed.]. The editor’s hypothesis is confirmed by the fact that nimna and sthala form a fixed pair. See 6.93.19 sthalanimnāni bhūmeś ca, but particularly these stanzas from the  (11.3–5):

grāmasīmāsu ca bahir ye syus tatkr̥ṣijīvinaḥ | gopaśākunikavyādhā ye cānye vanagocarāḥ || samunnayeyus te sīmāṁ lakṣaṇair upalakṣitām | tuṣāṅgārakapālaiś ca kumbhair āyatanair drumaiḥ || abhijñātaiś ca valmīkasthalanimnonnatādibhiḥ | kedārārāmamārgaiś ca purāṇaiḥ setubhis tathā ||

In the case of the village boundaries, those who make their living by farming outside it, cowherds, bord catchers, hunters and others who inhabit the forest should delineate the boundary which is marked by such things as pots–of chaff, charcoal or crockery–shrines, trees, and by familiar markers such as ant hills, mounds, depressions, elevations, etc., and paddies, groves, roads, or old dikes. (edition and translation )

In the context, the word ninna serves as an equivalent to khilakṣetra.

The passage just cited also clarifies another word figuring immediately after this indication in the inscription, viz. tuṣāṅgāra. The somewhat cryptic statement of the passage is in turn clarified by the following passage translated from fragments of the (351):

This rule regarding rescission of purchase and sale has been declared. Hear the laws concerning boundaries of villages, fields, houses, and so forth.

The determination of boundaries should be settled at the time of foundation, and it should be marked by visible and invisible signs, so as to dispel doubt.

Wells, tanks, pools, large trees, gardens, temples, mounds, channels, the course of a river, reeds, shrubs, or piles of stones:

By such visible signs as these a boundary line should always be caused to be marked; also, by other marks deposited underground which the earth is not likely to destroy.

Dry cowdung, bones, chaff, charcoal, stones, potsherds, sand, bricks, cows’ tails, cotton seeds, and ashes:

After having placed these substances in vessels, one should deposit them underground at the extremities of the boundary. These translated stanzas seem to correspond to the following in the as reconstructed by , , chapter 19, pp. 159–162:

krayavikrayānuśaye vidhir eṣa pradarśitaḥ | grāmakṣetragr̥hādīnāṁ sīmāvādaṁ nibodhata || 1 ||

niveśakāle kartavyaḥ sīmābandhaviniścayaḥ | prakāśopāṁśucihnaiś ca lakṣitaḥ saṁśayāpahaḥ || 7 ||

vāpīkūpataḍāgāni caityārāmasurālayāḥ || 8cd ||

sthalanimnanadīsrotaḥ śaragulmanagādayaḥ | prakāśacihnāny etāni sīmāyāṁ kārayet sadā || 9 ||

nihitāni tathānyāni yāni bhūmir na bhakṣayet | 17ab |

karīṣāsthituṣāṅgāraśarkarāśmakapālikāḥ || 20ab || sikateṣṭakagobālakārpāsāsthīni bhasma ca || 20cd ||

prakṣipya kumbheṣv etāni sīmānteṣu nidhāpayet | 21ab |

On these stanzas, see 99-100.

First reported and edited in . Recorded in 2715A and 38221. Re-edited by Arlo Griffiths, using photos furnished by Ryosuke Furui. The text has been encoded by Amandine Wattelier-Bricout using a digital edition created by Dániel Balogh for the Siddham project as starting point. Since some readings differ from this previous digital edition, they are reported in the apparatus. Some notes in the translation has been added by Amandine Wattelier-Bricout.

IIIno. 41355-9pl. L–LI 29 183-8 IN00061 42 A1527 A2238 296no. 2114