णदिशि चिंताभूमिसिम एत (एत्तच)चतुः सीमापर्यंत राधामण्डले तिल गलभयामविनिर्गतकाश्यपगोत्र काश्यपवाच्छायनमध्रुवप्रवरयजुर्वेदा चरणका. न्वशाखाध्य [1] यिन भरपुत्रवाघुनन हरिमुत पौचुकस्य अश्विनशुलपक्षेस तम्य[T] मातापित्रोरात्मनपच (स्य) पुण्य (न्य) यशोभिव (ध)ये ताम्ब शासनीकृत्य प्रदत्तोस्माभि [:] यावच्चन्द्रावतारका याचडभप्रवेशसर्वाबाधविवर्जितन [] उक्तं च धर्मशास्त्र [] 21 22 23 भिर्वसुधा दत्ता राजभि : मगरादिभिः । : 2+ 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. a VII-Khandadeuli Inscription of Rana bhanja Deva. By Mahamahopādhyaya Haraprasad Shastri, M.A., C.I.E. On 1st March, 1917, I received from H. H. Sir Edward Gait copperplate was found in August 1916 by some cowherds in the village Khandadeuli in pargana Khăntă of the Båmanghāti 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 Bhanja grants have received a good deal of attention from Babu Bijaya Chandra Majumdar and Bābu Rākhāl Dās Banerji. I have also consulted their papers. Babu Kāmākhya 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 Kuţila 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 Bảmanghāti subdivision and deciphered by Babu Prātapa Chandra Ghosh. Raņabhañja made the grant on the occasion of the birth of a grandson named Narendrabhanja, the son of his “aupa yikaputtra " or reputed son Pșthvi Bhañja. He does not appear to be bis “ 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 Raņabhanja himself who is said to have exhorted landlords to respect the grant. And about Narendra bhanja tle plate says simply " Narendrabka ñjaderobhūtah.” The genealogy of the plate runs thus : Virabhadra, Digbhañja. Prithvibhañja. Narendrabhanja. It does not appear how Babu R. D. Banerji has imported an Adibhañja Deva between Virabhadra and Kottabhañja. The grants simply speak of "tusya adilhanjavamse”. “T'usya" refers to Virabhadra. The construction is rather awkward. It is technically called Ekadešānvaya and is regarded as a fault of style. It should have been "tasya-ādilhañjasya o amse”. He is called Bhañja or Adibhanju because he broke through the egg of a peahen. The family therefore in the epigraphs often called Andajavat 81, i.e., a family, the progenitor of which came out of an egg: Raṇabhañja belongs to Khijjing and he made this grant to Ranchho, the son of Ananta and the great-grandson of Trivik All these worthies are distinguished by the term Bhattaputtra. They belong to Sāņdilya gottra and sandilya pravara, though the pravara name is differently spelt bere. The name of the village is Bonulā in the ultaraganda in the district of Sidhāhimba. The grant was made in honour of Mahādeva Bhattāraka. My predecessors in deciphering Bhanja 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 Kołyāšrama but my plate distincty says Kautsäsrama. They read the same word Saladandı 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 rama. 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 Bhavānī, 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 āśrama of Kautsa. He was skilled in destroying enemies and guided by the sage Vasishtha. In this family of his who was the first of Bhañjas (egg-breakers), was born the auspicious and celebrated Kottabhanja 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 Digbhanja who placed his feet on the heads of great kings. His son was the celebrated Raṇabhanja, 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 Raņabhañja, speaks to the kings respectfully. His reputed son Prīthvibhañ ja, whose son Narendrabhañja was born. For the increase of the merit and fame of father, mother and self by pouring water and putling 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 Sāņdilya gottra with Sāņdilya pravara. Therefore, 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 imprecatory verses with the exception of the letter "80" which means Samvat but the date is not given and there is no space to give the date in the plate.) सकलभुवनैकना थो सीत्कौत्सा(त्साः)श्रम राण्ड भित्त्वा निधनदक्षा रः शु (सु)चिविनोतो 6. 7. 8. |
