गुप्त अभिलेख संग्रह (जे. एफ. फ्लीट - गुप्त सम्राटों एवं परवर्ती नरेशों के ऐतिहासिक पाषाण व ताम्रलेख)

THE GUPTA INSCRIPTIONS; No. 21. 99
Vêdas,—“O Yudhishṭhira, best of kings,¹ carefully preserve land that has previously been
given to the twice-born; (verily) the preservation (of a grant) (is) more meritorious than
making a grant! The earth has been enjoyed by many kings, commencing with Sagara;
whosoever at any time possesses the earth, to him belongs, at that time, the reward (of
this grant that is now made, if he continue it)! The giver of land enjoys happiness in
heaven for sixty thousand years; (but) the confiscator (of a grant), and he who assents
(to an act of confiscation), shall dwell for the same number of years in hell!”
(L. 20.)—And (this charter)² has been written³ by Sûryadatta, the [great*]-grand-

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No. 28, Plate xviii., and line 3 of No. 30, Plate xixB., these verses are said to be from the Mahâbhârata.
And in line 19 of the Khôh grant of the Mahârâja Saṁkshôbha of the year 214, No. 31 below, Plate
xx., it is also added that they are in the Śataśâhasrî-Saṁhitâ of the Mahâbhârata.—These verses are
nearly always attributed, in the inscriptions, to Vyâsa. But, in line 27-28 of the Karṇûl grant of the
third year of Vikramâditya I. (Jour. Bo. Br. R. As. Soc. Vol. XVI. p. 237), the verse commencing
Bahubhir=vasudhâ bhuktâ, the second in the present inscription, with one other not in this inscription,
is allotted to Manu; a point which may be of some interest in connection with Dr. Bühler's discovery
(see Ind. Ant. Vol. XIV. p. 324) that about one-tenth of Manu's verses occur in the Mahâbhârata.
¹ mahimat, or mahîmat, in the sense of a 'king' (lit. 'possessed of the earth') is not a diction-
ary word. But its meaning, based on its etymology, is obvious; and it is further borne out by the
various reading kshitibhṛitâṁ, which occurs in the same verse in line 32 of the Chhârôlî grant of a
Râshṭrakûṭa king Kakka of Śaka-Saṁvat 679 (Jour. Bo. Br. R. As. Soc. Vol. XVI. p. 109). Another
various reading, in a slight variety of the same verse, is matimatâṁ, 'wise, prudent.' in line 40 of the
Nausârî grant of Jayabhaṭa II. of the year 456 (Ind. Ant. Vol. XIII. p. 79).
² śâsana, 'a charter;' or tâmra-śâsana, 'a copper-charter.'—These were the technical terms
for conveyances of this kind. The first word, śâsana, occurs, for instance, in line 4 of the legend on
the seals of the Chammak and Siwanî grants of the Mahârâja Pravarasêna II., Nos. 55 and 56 below,
Plate xxxiii C. and D. The second, tâmra-śâsana, occurs, for instance, in line 10 of the Majhgawâṁ
grant of the Mahârâja Hastin of the year 191, No. 23 below, Plate xiv.—See also p. 87 above, note
10, where I have given an instance (the only one known to me) of a copper-plate charter being called
praśasti, which word is properly the technical term for an inscription on stone.
³ likhitam.—This refers either to the manual drafting of the record, or to the writing of it on
the plates, for the guidance of the engraver, who then had to follow the writing and impress it with
his tools. And of course it is to be understood, in the case of a high official like Sûryadatta, who in
No. 22 below, Plate xiii. line 29 f. has the title of Mahâsâṁdhivigrahika, that the writing was done
by one of his clerks; not by himself.—The process of engraving is always denoted by utkîrṇâ
(praśastiḥ), e.g. in line 25 of the Mandasôr inscription of Yaśôdharman and Vishṇuvardhana,
No. 35 below, Plate xxii.; or utkîrṇam (śâsanam), e.g. in line 23 of the Âraṅg grant of the Râja
Mahâ-Jayarâja, No. 40 below, Plate xxvi.—It might be thought that likhitam may refer to the com-
position or drawing up of the record. But this part of the process is always denoted by a derivative
from the root kṛi, 'to make,' e.g. praśastêḥ kartâ, in line 17 of the Aihoḷe Mêguṭi inscription of
Pulikêśin II. of Śaka-Saṁvat 556 (Ind. Ant. Vol. VIII. p. 242); or rach, 'to compose,' e.g. rachitâ
(praśastiḥ), in line 23 of No. 18 above, page 84. And in line 37 of a grant of Âlhaṇadêva of
Vikrama-Saṁvat 1218 (Indian Inscriptions, No. 10), we have the double expression rachayâm-chakâra
lilikhê ch=êdaṁ mahâ-śâsanam.—Some of the functions connected with a copper-charter are very
well indicated in line 46 of the Kapâlêswar grant of Mahâ-Bhavagupta, (Ind. Ant. Vol. V. pp. 57, 58)
where the proper translation (from my own reading of the original) runs,—“This triplicate copper-
charter has been written by the illustrious Mâhuka,—the son of Priyaṁkarâditya,—a writer
(Kâyastha) belonging to (the office of) the Mahâsâṁdhivigrahin, the Rânaka, the illustrious Malla-
datta. (This) charter, presented by the lord of Kôsala, by which the village-headman (Mahattama) is
to be informed,—Puṇḍarîkâksha received it (apparently to superintend the engraving), transferred to
copper. It has been engraved by Mâdhava, the son of Vâsu.”
O 2.