Copper Plate Inscriptions: Salient Features

The general format of the copper plate inscriptions of both the dynasties of Sarabhapuriyas and Panduvamsis of Sripura resemble each others to a great extent except in some minor features or in the placement.

Importantly, the rulers of both of the dynasties have followed the general divisions, viz., The auspicious beginning (Mangalacarana [mangalacaranam]), The notification (Vijnapti) of the specification of the donation as well as of the donee and the conclusion (Upasamhara) which contain some imprecatory and benedictory verses quoted from the Dharma-Sastras, the names of the composer and incisors of the plates, the dates and sometimes an expression of the power, qualities or attainment of the concerned ruler.

Secondly, those are written on a set of three plates of copper (tri-phalitamra Sasana). Of these, the outer or first side of the first plate is invariably left blank as the writing on this side would have become worn out and erased due to constant handling or exposure to the inclemency of weather. With the same object in view of the preservation of writing the outer side of the last or third plate was left uninscribed. This feature is observed in all the records except in a few like the Dhamtari plates of Sudevaraja and the Thakurdiya plates of Pravararaja, the last known member of the Sarabhapuriya dynasty, which retain the old fashion of leaving the second side of the third plate blank. It must be remembered, however, that in all the cases where both sides of the third plate bear writing, the outer side contains fewer lines than on the other inscribed sides of the plates. Sometimes only a single line is found on the outer side of the third plate, indicating thereby that the second side was actually expected to be left blank. All such cases of the continuation of writing on this side are due to the inability of the writer to accommodate the text of the draft on the inner side of the third plate. The practice of recording royal charters on a set of three copper plates was continued by the Panduvamsis and the Somavamsis who followed the Sarabhapuriyas in South Kosala.

The seals (mudra) which tie the three copper plates together are somewhat countersunk, often concave surface, which is generally enclosed within a double-line border. It is divided into two parts by a couple of horizontal lines, the lower half being slightly larger in dimension. The upper portion bears in the centre in a low relief the figure of goddess Laksmi standing on a lotus and facing full front. Her right hand is bent and raised up and the left one is held akimbo. In each of the two hands She seems to hold some object which is indistinct. She is represented as being bathed by water poured from a vessel held in the uplifted trunk of an elephant standing on a water lily on either side of the goddess. There are accessory devices on right and left corners. The object on the proper left is invariably a conch shell or Sankha while that on the proper right is either a water lily or wheel (Cakra). In a solitary case the Sun and the moon are represented by a pellet and a crescent respectively have been noticed in the uppermost portion. The upper portion of the lower half, almost in the centre of the seal, bears a two-line metrical legend composed in the Anustubh metre. It records the name of the reigning monarch responsible for issuing the charter. Very often he is described as the Chastiser of the enemies or, as virtuous or his reign as everlasting in the world. Sometimes the name of the king, who is often described in conventional terms alluding to his military success or regular succession, is preceded by the honorific Srimat. Generally the name of the king’s father and sometimes that of his grandfather are also given, in a few cases it is given in an ornate style. Below the legend is a device which is often described as “floral”. However, from the seal of the Mallar plates of Pravararaja it appears to consist of a jar or purna kumbha flanked by water lilies. These devices are significant in as much as they indicate the Vaisnavite leanings of the kings. It is corroborated by facts or expressions found in the charters.

The seals of all the copper plate charters of the Panduvamsis except those of the incomplete Adhabhara grant of Nannaraja, the son and successor to Tivaradeva and the stray plate attributable to Sivagupta which have come down to us. They fall into two groups, viz. those of Tivaradeva, the first member of the dynasty whose copper plate grants are extant, and of Sivagupta, which differ considerably from each other. The seals of the former have a raised circular border and deep countersunk surface with the frame of this border. The surface of the border is divided into two unequal parts by a couple of horizontal lines. The upper part which is nearly half of the lower portion, bears, in relief, a seated figure of Garuda (the bird-vehicle of Lord Visnu) facing full front. It is shown with a human head and a bird’s body with stretched wings and holding a serpent with raised hood in each of his two hands. On its left there is a Cakra or wheel and on right a Sankha or conch shell, both being well-known attributes of God Visnu. The half of the lower portion, about the centre of the seal, is occupied by a metrical legend in the Anustubh metre given in two lines. The verse mentions the name of the issuer of the grant, Tivaradeva. The name is preceded by the honorific Srimat, as the lord of Kosala (Kosaladhipati) and refers to the charter (Sasana) in question as aiming at the increase of religious merit and intended to be as durable as the moon and the stars. Below the legend there is a floral device, probably a full blown lotus. It will be noticed that the devices on the seal are in conformity with his Vaishavita persuasion. Tivaradeva who styled himself a “devout worshipper of Visnu” (Parama Vaisnava), for while the mythical bird Garuda is well known as Visnu’s mount (vahana), the wheel and the conch shell, as well as the lotus, are his equally famous attributes.

We have no information about the seals of the chiefs flourishing between Tivaradeva and Sivagupta, for while the only extant record of Tivaradeva’s son Nannaraja remained incomplete and without a seal, records of other intervening rulers are yet to be discovered. However, as Nannaraja retained his father’s sectarian title (Parama Vaisnava), it may be presumed with a fair amount of probability that he allowed all the features of his father’s seal to remain unchanged except only the legend which he must have suitably altered to insert his own name.

After Nannaraja there occurred a revolutionary change in the religious persuasions of the dynasty. Vaisnavism was replaced by Saivism. This change has been witnessed in the devices on the seals which, however, retained other features initiated by Tivaradeva. Thus, Sivagupta’s seals, like those of Tivaradeva, are circular and have a raised border. Their countersunk surface is also divided into two portions by two straight horizontal lines, the lower portion being nearly twice in size as compared to the upper portion. Again, the upper portion bears religious devices, while we have legend and another device in the lower portion. But the devices in the upper part are, however, quiet different from those we meet with on the seals of Tivaradeva. The effigy of Garuda is replaced by the representation of a couchant, humped bull (Nandin) the mount of god Siva, flanked by trident (trisula), an attribute of the god, in front and a purna ghata (a jar with overflowing foliage) behind. The legend, separated from the aforesaid devices by a couple of honorific, as son of the illustrious Harsagupta and as possessing good qualities and speaks of his charter being as lasting as the universe. The allusion to parentage, it will be observed, is a feature that was introduced for the first time. Beneath the legend we have a full-blown lotus flanked by a long stalked leaf on either side.

It is pertinent to note in this connection that the general framework of the Panduvamsis. The legends on the seals of both the dynasties are in two lines and in the Anustubh metre and their general pattern is also similar. In particular, the seals of Tivaradeva bear resemblance to the Sarabhapuriya seals in many respects. And this is quiet natural as both the Sarabhapuriyas and Tivaradeva were devotees of Visnu, a fact that accounts for the representation, in common, of the wheel and the conch shell on the seals of both. Though the central devices, Abhiseka Laksmi and Garuda on their respective seals, are different. Even though the sectarian devices in the upper part underwent a revolutionary change before or during Sivagupta’s region, the general framework of the seals remained unaltered.

All the available inscriptions of both the dynasties under survey are written in what is popularly known as the “box-headed” variety of the Central Indian alphabet which itself is classed under the Southern class of alphabets. The variety is so called because the tops of the letters give the appearances of small square boxes which are formed by sinking four short strokes in the form of a square.

Southern characteristics are noticed in the curves at the lower ends of the letters a, a, ‘k’, ‘n’ and ‘r’, ‘d’ with a rounded back and notch in the left limbs of ‘p’ and ‘b’ and occasionally in the upper horizontal line of ‘j’ and the medial on which is bipartite in the earlier records. The influences of northern characteristics are also seen in a few cases. The rather strange appearances of this alphabet is mainly due to the contraction of the breadth and elongation of all the letters and the conversion of all the curves into angular strokes. These characters bear a general resemblance to those of the Vakataka records which are, however, somewhat less stylized and assignable to an earlier date, a fact vouched for by other historical considerations also.

The records of Pravararaja employ the first sign throughout. It seems that there is not fundamental difference between the two signs, the second sign or its variations being probably the result of an attempt to form the sign by a single stroke. For example, the medial in three different signs have been employed (i) One is formed by the downward extension of the right limb of the letter. Sometimes that is turned upward. At times, addition of a hook is attached to the lower portion of the duplicated vertical line, (ii) that is foamed by the elongation of the lower portion of the right limb of the letter. Sometimes slightly curved, to the left of the elongation, and (iii) a semi-circle open to right is attached to the lower end of the right limb of the letter.

All the records are composed in Sanskrit which seems to have served as the official language. Prakrt words are, however, noticed in some stray cases. For example, the name Kamsippasvamin occurring in the Sripura plates (text line-10) of Sudevaraja and the form akkasalika (for aksalika) met with in the Dhamatari plates (text line-28) of the same king.

The draft of all the records begin with the symbol of the auspicious word ‘Siddha [Siddham]’ followed by the word ‘Svasti’. This constitute the ‘Mangalacharana [Mangalacharanam]’. It is followed by the vijnapti (Notification) which usually consists of place of the specifications of the grant–the villages (or) piece of land and the administrative unit(s) in which it was located; the appurtenances, the privileges, the exemptions which were transferred to the one with the land etc. issue, Sripura, cames the description of the donor-king with long and ornate epithets, the order of the king regarding the transaction of donation.

This is followed by the third feature concluded which consists of an exhortation to the future kings to uphold the grant with the citation of a few imprecatory and benedictory stanzas from the Dharmasastras. The very concluding items of the feature are the date and the name of the composer and the scribe. The draft of the Sarabhapuriyas has attained its ‘standardized’ form by the time a branch of the dynasty established its rule at Sripura in about 650 A.D. the records were composed in Sanskrit and incised in Box-headed characters of the Southern variety of Brahmi.

The draft-format of the charters of the Panduvamsis (Somavamsis) may be divided into two groups on the basis of arrangement of the different features from the commencement (mangala-carana [caranam]) to the conclusion (upasamhara). While the four charters of Tivaradeva may be taken in a group, those nineteen of Sivagupta Balarjuna may be taken in the second group. The solitary charter of Nannaraja marks the stage of transition between the two. The Mangalacaranam constitutes only the symbol of “Siddha [Siddham]”, followed by the mention of the place of issue (Sripura), which in its turn, is followed by a long prose passage of eulogy of the king.

The notification part, which comes next, carries the king’s order in respect of the land-grant, which is usually addressed to the inhabitants of the donated village. The specification of the village, its administrative division, the privileges transferred to the donee, the objectives of the grant and obligations of the inhabitants are made thereafter.

The concluding part is an exhortation to the future rulers to maintain the grant and therefore, imprecatory stanzas have been quoted from the Dharmasastras, which are six in number, in the case of Tivara’s four records last item of the closing part is the date of incision of the records.

The format set by Tivara’s record has been followed with some minor modifications by his successor Nanna’s solitary Adhabhar record. It is rather astonishing that the auspicious symbol of “Siddha [Siddham]”, followed by the place of issue, in its turn, is followed by a long and ornate prose passage eulogizing the donor’s father Tivaradeva while the donor describes himself briefly and rather modestly. It contains the reference to the worship of the Brahmani inhabitants of the village. For the first time, the grant was said to have been made by means of a charter (sasanena pratipaditah). It is concluded with two stanzas of imprecatory and benedictive verses. The charter appears to be incomplete without the rest of the usual imprecatory verses, the date and the mention of the incisor. Therefore, it is difficult to say if the last part was similar to that in the records of his predecessor.

The copper plate records of Sivagupta Balarjuna, begins with the auspicious symbol “Siddha [Siddham]” but the mention of the place of issue has been dropped. Otherwise, the other features have remained similar with those of Nanna’s record. Next comes the eulogy which refers only to the donor’s father. The notification portion refers to the honouring of the Brahmanas but the list of the addressees has increased. An interesting feature is that not only the villagers but their headman (Pradhana) (Sa-Pradhanam prativasino) have also been addressed in some of the records. The Bardula and the first set of Mallar charters mention all royal officers (sa-raja-purusan) including the Samahartr, Sannidhar along with their subordinates like Karanas posted from time to time (Yatha-kal-adhyasina). It is followed by the privileges viz., Nidhi, Upanidhi, Dasaparadha, Sarvva-kara-sameta, Cati-Bhati-pravesa nisiddha which have been transferred to the donee along with the gift of the village. The charter of donation is said to have been recorded on copper plates (Tamra-Sasana).

The expression of the Sarabhapuriya records is followed by Tivaradeva and Nanna -“yavad-ravi-sasi-tara-kiirani-pratihata-ghor-andhakaram jagatavatisthate-tavat-upabhogya” (as long as the rays of the sun, the moon, and the stars dispel the immense darkness, you [the donee] enjoy). It is replaced by the expression a-candr-arka-sama-kal-opabhog-artham [for the purpose of enjoyment (by the donee) as long as the moon and the sun (endure)].

The concluding imprecatory and benedictive verses are six, as in the records of Tivara, except the Lodhia grant which has got sight. Dates have been given in all characters, except in the two Mallar sets, but the names of the scribes have not been mentioned in any charter except on the stray plate.

The foregoing discussion has revealed that the copper plate grants of both the dynasties, the Sarabhapuriyas and the Panduvamsis have close affinity in important aspects like paleography (box-headed script), language (Sanskrit), and the common expressions, but most importantly, in the contents of the draftcomposition. It is quite natural as the two dynasties ruled one after another in the same region.

No copper plate record of the time after Nanna and before Sivagupta Balarjuna, the last known ruler of the Panduvamsis line, for a period of two or three decades, has been discovered as yet although a stone inscription of Balarjuna’s time, caused to be engraved by his mother Vasata at Sirpur, enlightens us about the line of succession–Candragupta and Harsagupta, between the two.

The nineteen sets of copper plate records of Balarjuna discovered so far, are not of much help to us to study the political developments of his long reign of about six decades (cir. 750-810 A.D). But these are invaluable for a survey of the cultural attainments of the period.

In addition to the records of the Panduvamsis, some of the records of contemporary or near contemporary dynasties of Orissa as well as India have been scrutinized to corroborate facts gleaned from the records of the dynasty. The copper plate records of the Panduvamsis of Mekala viz., the Bamhani plates^[1] and Mallar (Burhikhar) plates^[2] of Suravala Udirnavaira and the Malga plates of Samanta Indraraja^[3] are a great help to us to trace the origin and ancestry of the Panduvamsis of Kosala. Of late, the Kosalan branch has been taken to be a collateral branch of the Mekala dynasty. The six copper plate records of the Sailodbhava king Dharmaraja II of Kongoda-mandala^[4] (Ganjam-Puri-Khurdha region of Orissa) mention about a battle between the ruler and Tivaradeva, the Panduvamsi king when the latter interfered in a civil war between Dharmaraja and his brother for the throne. Thus, it suggests the ambition of Tivara to extend his sphere of suzerainty beyond Kosala.

The Pasupatinatha temple inscription^[5] dated in Samvat 153 (equivalent to 748 A.D. according to Sylvan Levi)^[6] of a Nepalese queen refers to her father Harsadeva of the Bhagadatta family of Kamarupa (Assam) as having acquired sovereignty of Kosala along with Gaud, Odra and Kalinga.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

EI, xxvii, 132-35; Studies in Indology, I, pp. 230-6; CII, V, 82-88, ISPS, II, 73-79.

[2]:

Journal of the Epigraphical Society of India, III, 183-93; ISPS, II, 80- 85.

[3]:

EI, xxxiii, 209-14; ISPS, II, 86-92.

[4]:

Rajguru, S.N., IO, I, Pt. ii, 206-40.

[5]:

IA, ix, p. 178.

[6]:

Le Nepal, II, pp. 144 ff.