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यदिशि चिंताभूमिसिम एत ( एत्तच) चतु: सीमापंर्यंत राठामण्डले तिल गलभट्टग्रा

मविनिर्गतकाश्यपगोत्र काप्रथपवाच्छायनमैध्रुवप्रवर यजुर्वेदा

चरणका

न्वशाखाध्य [1] यिन भट्टपुत्रवानप्त, हरित पौचुकस्य व्यश्विनशुक्लपचे स

प्तम्य[T] मातापित्रोरात्मनपूच (स्य) पुण्य (न्य) यशोभिड (घ)ये ताम्ब शासनीकृत्य प्रदत्तोस्माभि [:]

1

यावच्चन्द्रार्थं तारका व्याच भट्ट प्रवेशसवीबाध विवर्जितेन [1] उक्तं च धर्मशास्त्रे [॥]

बहु

भिर्वसुधा दत्ता राजभि: खगरादिभिः ।
यस्य यस्य यदा भूमिस्तस्य तस्य तदा फलम् ॥
स्वदत्तां परदत्तां वा यो हरति वसुन्धरा [म् ] ।
स विष्ठायां कृमिर्भुत्वा पित्टभि: वह पच्यते

grant not being yet received, it will be published in the September number of the Journal. It should be bound up in its place with this paper.

VII-Khandadeuli Inscription of Ranabhanja Deva.

By Mahamahopadhyaya Haraprasad Shastri, M.A., C.I.E. On 1st March, 1917, I received from H. H. Sir Edward Gait a copper-plate grant for decipherment. The copperplate was found in August 1916 by some cowherds in the village Khandadeuli in pargana Khānta of the Bamanghați subdivision of the Mayurbhanj State. Babu Kāmākhyā Prasad Basu, a Deputy Collector in Mayurbhanj, gave a tentative reading of the plate and a note on it. His note and his reading also were forwarded to me and I have received much help from his labours. Recently the Bhañja grants have received a good deal of attention from Babu Bijaya Chandra Majumdār and Bābu Rākhāl Dās Banerji. I have also consulted their papers.

Babu Kamakhya Prasad writes: "This plate is of copper and in shape like a spade. It has a copper medallion on the top and in it are in bas-relief a svastika, a bull and a goddess. The letters are of late Kuțila kind and resemble Bengali and Oriya letters. Its size is 9 inches long and 7 inches broad." But at present the medallion appears to be absolutely illegible.

This is a grant apparently by Raṇabhañja Deva, two of whose grants were obtained in 1871 from the same Bamanghāți subdivision and deciphered by Babu Prātapa Chandra Ghosh. Ranabhanja made the grant on the occasion of the birth of a grandson named Narendrabhañja, the son of his "aupayikaputtra " or reputed son Pṛthvi Bhañja. He does not appear to be his "aurasa-puttra " or a son born in lawful wedlock. He may have been one of the twelve classes of sons allowed by Hindu law. The grant is made by Raṇabhañja himself who is said to have exhorted landlords to respect the grant. And about

Narendra bhañja the plate says simply "Narendrabka ñjadev obhutah." The genealogy of the plate runs thus :

Virabhadra,

Koṭṭabhanja.

Digbhañja.

Raṇabhanja, the grantor.

Prithvibhañja.

Narendrabhañja.

It does not appear how Babu R. D. Banerji has imported an Adibhañja Deva between Virabhadra and Koṭṭabhañja.1 The grants simply speak of "tasya adibhañjavamse". "Tusyo" refers to Virabhadra. The construction is rather awkward. It is technically called Ekadesānvaya and is regarded as a fault of style. It should have been "tasya-ādibkañjasya vaṁše”. He is called Bhanja or Adibhañja because he broke through the egg of a peahen. The family therefore in the epigraphs often called Andajavamhsa, ie., a family, the progenitor of which came out of an egg.

rama.

Raṇabbañja belongs to Khijjing and he made this grant to Ranchho, the son of Ananta and the great-grandson of TrivikAll these worthies are distinguished by the term Bhaṭṭaputtra. They belong to Sandilya gottra and sandilya pravara, though the pravara name is differently spelt bere. The name of the village is Bonula in the uttaraganda in the district of Sidhāhimbā. The grant was made in honour of Mahadeva Bhaṭṭāraka.

My predecessors in deciphering Bhañja inscriptions were in great dfficulty and so were not always right in their reading. I have profited by their labours and I hope I am giving at least a more trustworthy transcript. For instance, my predecessors read Koṭyāsrama but my plate distincty says Kauṭsāsrama. They read the same word Saladanda in one plate and Svarnadanda in another, but it is really Galad-and, the breaking egg. Instances may be multiplied, but it is of no use, as the plates themselves are very badly inscribed. In the present plate the inscriber seems J. B. O.R.S,Vol, III., Part iii, page 322.

to have traced all the letters with a minute needle, before he formally began the inscription and in some places both the minute and thick letters are visible. Just below the medallion traces of earlier letters are distinctly visible.

TRANSLATION.

Om Svasti! The sole Lord of all the worlds, the Destroyer of the fear of re-birth, the Lord of Bhavani, the Knower of the rules of various modes of meditation, the Omniscient Bhava may be auspicious to you. There was a breaker of an egg Virabhadra by name. He came out by breaking an egg of a peahen in the holy place, the great hermitage, the aśrama of Kautsa. He was skilled in destroying enemies and guided by the sage Vasishtha. In this family of his who was the first of Bhanjas (egg-breakers), was born the auspicious and celebrated Koṭṭabhanja who was like forest-fire to his enemies; he was brave, pure and well-trained. His spirit was fierce like that of the sun, the benefactor of the lotus and of the goddess of prosperity. The sun exhibits the circle of rays, while the king exhibited the circle of his tributaries. His son was Digbhañja who placed his feet on the heads of great kings. His son was the celebrated Raṇabhañja, the resident in forts, belonging to the family of Khijjing, who had expiated his sins by the worship. of the feet of Siva. He looked like the Cupid; he was strong and weighty; he was brave and he heightened his fame by defeating his enemies; he was like King Yudhisthira, always engaged in governing his people and in performing noble acts. He, by name Raṇabhañja, speaks to the kings respectfully. His reputed son Prithvibhañ ja, whose son Narendrabhañja was born. For the increase of the merit and fame of father, mother and self by pouring water and putting the deed on a copper-plate in the name of the Lord Mahadeva, the village Bonula connected with the northern section of the district of Sidhāhimbā is given by me to Bhattaputtra Rachho by name, the son of Bhattaputtra Ananta and the great-grandson of Bhattaputtra Trivikrama belonging to the Sandilya gottra with Sandilya pravara. There

fore, out of respect for me you should uphold the grant of land till the moon, the sun and the earth last.

(The rest of the inscription is taken up with the usual impre80 " which means catory verses with the exception of the letter " Samvat but the date is not given and there is no space to give the date in the plate.)

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