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

170 CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM. VOL. III.

raṇikas,¹ Dâṇḍapâśikas,² Râjasthânîyas, Kumârâmâtyas, and others, according as they
are concerned :—
(L. 21.)—“Be it known to you, that, for the purpose of increasing the religious merit
of (my) parents, and in order that I myself may obtain the reward that is wished for both
in this world and in the next, there is given by me, with libations of water, in accordance
with the rule of bhûmichchhidra, to the Brâhmaṇ Rudrabhûti, an inhabitant of Unnata,
(a student) of the Vâjasanêyi-Kaṇva (śâkhâ), and a member of the Vatsa gôtra,—for the
maintenance of the five great sacrificial rites of the bali, charu, vaiśvadêva, agnihôtra,
and atithi; to endure for the same time with the moon, the sun, the ocean, the rivers,
and the earth; (and) to be enjoyed by the succession of (his) sons and sons’ sons,—at
(the village of) Antaratrâ, in the common-land³ called Śivakapadraka, one hundred
pâdâvartas⁴ (of land), (known as) the holding⁵ of Vîrasênadantika; (and) fifteen pâdâvartas
on the west of this; also, in the western boundary, one hundred pâdâvartas, increased by
the twentieth,⁶ (known as) the holding of Skambhasêna, (and) ten pâdâvartas in the
eastern boundary;—in the village of Ḍombhigrâma, in the eastern boundary, ninety
pâdâvartas, (known as) the holding of Vardhaki;—in the village of Vajragrâma, in the
western boundary, one hundred pâdâvartas in the highest part⁷ of the village, (and) an
irrigation-well with an area of twenty-eight pâdâvartas, (known as) the holding of the
Mahattara Vîkidinna;⁸ (and) in the common-land called Bhumbhusapadraka, one hundred
pâdâvartas, (known as) the holding of the cultivator Bôṭaka, and an irrigation-well;—
(the whole of) this (being given) together with the udraṅga and the uparikara; with the
vâta,⁹ bhûta, grain, gold, and âdêya; with (the right to) forced labour as the occasion for
¹ Dhruvâdhikaraṇika; ‘one who has the superintendence of the Dhruvas.’—Dhruva has been
explained by Dr. Bühler (Ind. Ant. Vol. V. p. 205) as being still used in Kâṭhiâwâḍ and Kachh to
denote “a person who, on the part of a Râja, superintends the collection of the royal share of the
produce in grain which is made by the farmers of revenue.”
² Dâṇḍapâśika, or daṇḍapâśika, is explained by Monier Williams in his Sanskrit Dictionary
as meaning ‘one who holds the fetters or noose of punishment; a policeman.’
³ padraka seems to be a fuller form of padra, which is’ given in Monier Williams’ Sanskrit
Dictionary as meaning ‘a village; the entrance into a village; the earth; a particular district.’
Dr. Bühler (Ind. Ant. Vol. XV. p. 337) has explained it as being the modern pâdr, ‘a grazing-place.’
I do not know what authority he has for this meaning. But, in H. H. Wilson’s Glossary of Indian
Terms, pâdar (i.e. pâdr) is explained by ‘common-land, land adjacent to a village left uncultivated.’
And this seems more likely to be the correct meaning.
⁴ pâdâvarta, lit. ‘the turning round of a foot,’ is given by Monier Williams in his Sanskrit
Dictionary as meaning ‘a square foot.’ But it seems more likely that such an expression as ‘a hun-
dred pâdâvartas’ means ‘a plot of ground measuring a hundred feet square each way, i.e. ten
thousand square feet,’ rather than only ‘one hundred square feet,’ which would measure only ten feet
each way, and would be rather a small area for a grant; to say nothing of the still smaller areas
mentioned further on.
⁵ pratyaya; in other passages, the form pratyâya occurs.
⁶ i.e. “one hundred and twenty pâdâvartas.”
⁷ śikhara; lit. ‘peak, top, summit.’ ⁸ See page 166 above, note 6.
⁹ The meaning of vâta, bhûta, and âdêya, is not apparent.—vâta is derived either from vâ, ‘to
blow,’ or from vai, ‘to become dried or withered;’ compare âvâta in line 14 f. of No. 31 above,
page 137.—bhûta is the past participle of bhû, ‘to be, to become;’ but no suitable meaning suggests
itself.—âdêya seems to mean either ‘that which is to be given,’ from â in composition with dâ, ‘to
give;’ or ‘that which is to be cut, reaped, or mown,’ from â with dô. But it is possible that, instead of
the prefix â, we have the negative particle a, and that the word means ‘that which is not to be given.