355
Dec. 6, 1872.]
ON A COPPER-PLATE GRANT FROM BALASORE (A. D. 1483.) By JOHN BEAMES, B. C. S., &c.
HIS plate is in the possession of the Bhuyāns of Garhpadā, an ancient and respectable family of zamindars. Their estate of Garhpadā is situated on a rocky spur of the Moharbhanj hills about 15 miles north of the station of
Balasore. The plate records the grant of the estate to their ancestor, Poteswar Bhat, a Brah
man by Rája Purushottam Deb, King of Orissa. This monarch ascended the throne in A.D. 1478
and the 5th year of his reign, the date of the grant, would be therefore 1483. The Bhuyáns however read it the 25th year of his reign which
would make it 1503. This I shall show pre sently is incorrect. The text in Roman charac ters is as follows : Obverse.
“Śri jaya durgāyai namah | bira Śrī gajapati gauréshwara nava koti karnātakala-vargeswara Sri purushottama deva maharājānkar | poteswara bhatañku dāna Śāsana patā e 5 anka mesha di 10am somabāra grahana-kāle gañgå-garbhe pu rushottamapura Śāsana bhūmi chatidasa ashtot
(The above is in Oriya; the rest is in San skrit.) Reverse.
As long as the moon and the sun, as long as the earth shall stand,
So long be the gift upheld of this rich grain bearing land ; Whoso of his own or another's gift a Brahman shall deprive,
For sixty thousand years a worm in dung shall
be born and live. Sri Madangopal my protection. The marks at the end are ; first, the dinkush
or elephant goad, the special sign manual of the kings of Orissa, referring to their ancient title of Gajapati or lord of elephants; second, the s'ankh or conch-shell of Vishnu (Jagannāth), third and fourth the khandā or straight sword, and the katar or dagger, both emblems of the warrior-caste, the khandā belonging especially
to the hill-people, and the katar to those of the plains. With regard to the wording of the deed one or two points may perhaps stand in need of ex planation. Gaureshwara or lord of Gaur i.e. Bengal, is a constant empty boast of the kings of Orissa, -
tara balA08ti dana delun e bhūmi yāvachchān
drārke putra pautrādi purushānukrame bhoga
karu thiba jalārāma nikshepa sahit bhūmi deluń. Reverse.
Yāvach chandraścha stiryascha yavat tishthati medini | Yāvad dattāmayāhv eshā sasya | yuktā basun
who claimed to rule from the great to the little
-
dharā ||
Swadattām paradattám vá brahmavrittim haret
yah Shashtir varshasahasrāni vishtāyām jāyate kri
, mih |
Gangá, i.e. from Gangă to Godāvari. Their kingdom did frequently stretch as far as the latter river, and even beyond it; but only twice in all their annals did they reach the Ganges and then only for a brief period each time. “ Karnātakala” is a mistake of the engraver for karnătotkala “Karnata and Utkala,” the
Sri madanagopälah Šaranam mama. -
Translation.
Reverence to Śri Jaya Durgā. Of the hero, the illustrious Gajapati, lord of Gaur, lord of the
tribes [of the country] of the nine forts, Karnāta and Utkala Sri Purushottam Deb Mahārāja to Poteswar Bhat a deed of gift of a Śāsan.
In
this fifth year of my reign the tenth day of Mesh, Monday, at the time of an eclipse, in the womb of Gangă, I have given Purushottampura
Śāsan land fourteen [hundred] and eight be sides, ba 1408 tis, as a gift. This land as long as the moon and sun, son, grandson and the rest, generation after generation enjoying remain I have given the laud together with its tanks and gardens, -
form which occurs in all the deeds and descrip tions of the monarchs of Orissa. This very Purushottam Deb conquered Kanjikaverior Con jeweram and spent the greater part of his reign on the Godavery. The expression later on in this plate “Gangāgarbhe” probably refers to that river the “Sāngangä” or little Ganges of the Oriyas as there is no record of this king's having ever visited the great Ganges.
“Śāsan” in Orissa is a patch of rent-free land with a village inhabited and cultivated exclu sively by Brahmans, generally on behalf of some
god, whose temple is in their village and whose worship they are theoretically bound to keep up. As a rule the poor thakur gets very little worship and the money goes into the Brahman's bellies
