Hail! From Puṇḍravardhana, the officers and the city council led by the city’s guild-president nagaraśreṣṭhin interpreted this word to mean ‘mayor’. 131, in his publication of the Damodarpur grants, had adopted the translation ‘guild-president of the town’, which was retained without discussion by 39. 209 favors something like the former interpretation: according to some, the city banker or guild president of the town; but actually, the chairman of a board of administration like the Panchāyat; same as the Nagarseṭh who was the chairman of the board called Cauthiyā in late medieval Rajasthan. In view of the context in which the term occurs in two of the Damodarpur plates Damodarpur#1, line 4 and #4, line 3, and in view of the fact that śreṣṭhin seems to designate a merchant or banker in the epigraphy of the Gupta period, as elsewhere, I tentatively decide against Sircar’s argument, although the matter is not clear-cut to my taste: the compound nagaraśreṣṭhin is too rare none other than in this one and in two of the Damodarpur plates are known to me to be sure whether the usual meaning of śreṣṭhin must be assumed to be pertinent in this compound too.. Ārya greet the peasant householders, beginning with the notables — the most eminent among them being the Brahmins — in the hamlet of Vaṭa-Gohālī by the side of Palāśāṭṭa, that of Pr̥ṣṭhimapottaka under Jambudeva, that of Goṣāṭapuñjaka, and that of Bilva-Gohālī under Mūla-Nāgiraṭṭa, all in the Nāgiraṭṭa circle of the Dakṣiṇāṅśaka territory, and inform them:

The brahmin Nāthaśarman and his wife Ramī respectfully request us:

In the council of your capital here, the custom is sale for two dīnāras of a kulyavāpa of uncultivated land khilakṣetra or homestead land vāstu that is without revenue charges and yields no tax, as permanent endowment to be enjoyed in perpetuity. Thus tad, in this very manner, be so kind as to take from both of us three dīnāras and — for the purpose of the merit of the both of us being increased — to give as permanent endowment, for the sake of perfume, incense, flowers and lamps, etc., for the venerable Arhants of the monastery in the same Vaṭa-Gohālī, overseen by the disciples and grand-disciples of the Jaina śramaṇa master Guhanandin of the Kāśika-Pañcastūpa school and for the purpose of use as adjoining parcel: from Vaṭa-Gohālī itself: one-and-a-half droṇavāpa of homestead land; from Pr̥ṣṭhimapottaka under Jambudeva: four droṇavāpas of land; from Goṣāṭapuñja: four droṇavāpas of land; from Bilva-Gohālī under Mūla-Nāgiraṭṭa: a two-and-a-half droṇavāpas; thus one-and-a-half kulyavāpa of land.

Wherefore, it has been established through the investigation of the chief record-keeper Divākaranandin, and the record-keepers Dhr̥tiviṣṇu, Virocana, Rāmadāsa, Haridāsa, Śaśinandin, Suprabha and Manudatta:

That the custom in the council of our capital is sale for two dīnāras of a kulyavāpa of uncultivated land or homestead land that is without revenue charges and yields no tax, as permanent endowment to be enjoyed in perpetuity. So, with regard to the one-and-a-half kulyavāpa of land — to be used for perfume, incense, etc., and for the venerable Arhants of the good monastery in ??? Vaṭa-Gohālī by the side of Palāśāṭṭa, overseen by the disciples and grand-disciples of the Jaina master Guhanandin of the Kāśika-Pañcastūpakula school, and for the purpose of use as adjoining parcel: in Vaṭa-Gohālī here itself, one-and-a-half droṇavāpa of homestead land; in Pr̥ṣṭhimapottaka under Jambudeva, four droṇavāpas; from Goṣāṭapuñja, four droṇavāpas; from Bilva-Gohālī under Mūla-Nāgiraṭṭa, two droṇavāpas plus two āḍhavāpas — which the brahmin Nāthaśarman and his wife Ramī ask you, there is no conflict with the interest of the king; on the contrary, there is virtue, in that wealth will accrue to his Majesty as well as the increase of the king’s own merit by his obtaining the sixth part of the merit accruing from the donation. So, let it be done or: sold? in this way.

On the basis of this procedure of investigation, in accordance with the rule for permanent endowments, after three dīnāras had been received by us in cash from this brahmin Nāthaśarman and from his wife Ramī, the two have given one-and-a-half kulyavāpa of land with homestead land for use as adjoining parcel, in the above-mentioned village gohālikas hamlets? for the purpose of the requested procedure. 1 ku, 4 dro.

So you must separate them off using six reeds, in a place that does not conflict with your own cultivation, make the donation according to the rule for permanent endowments and protect it in perpetuity as long as moon, sun and stars will last. Year 159, month of Māgha, day 7.

And it has been said by the Lord Vyāsa:

The one who would steal land given by himself or another becomes a worm in shit and is cooked with his ancestors. This verse corresponds to the verse numbered 132 among the Stanzas on Bhūmidāna listed by Sircar see II170-200.

The giver of land resides sixty thousand years in heaven; the one who challenges a donation as well as the one who approves of the challenge will reside as many years in hell. This verse corresponds to the verse numbered 123 among the Stanzas on Bhūmidāna listed by Sircar see II170-200.

Numerous kings have been and are giving land again and again. Whoever holds land at a given time, to him does the fruit belong. This verse corresponds to the verse numbered 2" among the Stanzas on Bhūmidāna listed by Sircar see II170-200.

You, excellent Yudhiṣṭhira, must strenuously protect land previously given to brahmins by kings. Safeguarding is even better than giving. This verse corresponds to the verse numbered 131 among the Stanzas on Bhūmidāna listed by Sircar see II170-200.

Those who steal a land donation are born (again) as black snakes living in dry caves in the waterless Vindhya forests. This verse corresponds to the verse numbered 150 among the Stanzas on Bhūmidāna listed by Sircar see II170-200, but shows some different readings of the pādas c and d.

New translation suggested by amwb

Hail! From Puṇḍravardhana, the officers and the city council led by the guild-president of the town called Ārya I assume Ārya as a name of place from several reasons. First, in Damodarpur plates, when the expression nagaraśreṣṭhin is used, the name of the nagaraśreṣṭhin is placed after and not before :

Damodarpur plate #1, line 4 : nagaraśreṣṭhidhṛtipāla "Dhṛtipāla, the town's guild-president"; Damodarpur plate #2, line 4 : nagaraśreṣṭhidhṛtipāla "Dhṛtipāla, the town's guild-president"; Damodarpur plate #4 lines 3-4 : nagaraśreṣṭhiribhupāla "Ribhupāla, the town's guild-president"; in the Damodarpur #5 plate, line 4, we are faced the same expression, āryyyanagaraśreṣṭhiribhupāla, that I suggest translating as here by "Ribhupāla, the guild-president of the town called Ārya.

Then, in the grant of land to monasteries at Śiṣīpuñja, Madhyamasṛgālikā and Grāmakūṭagohālī, Ārya is the name of a village. In the compound used in this plate in lines 1-2 "ṣaṇḍika-vītheyāryya-grāma-prāveśya-śiṣīpuñja-maddhyamasr̥gālikāyābjataṭāpagaccha-prāveśya-grāma-kūṭagohālyāṁ, we can observe that the name of the village Ārya is placed before its designation as a village grama. In consequence of this, in the compound Āryyanagaraśreṣṭhipurogañ, it could be possible to construe Ārya as the name of the nagara. nagaraśreṣṭhin greet the peasant householders, beginning with the notables consisting chiefly of Brahmins, The expression brāhmaṇottarān occurs in several other plates: Raktamālā Grant no. 1, year 159, line 2; Baigram Charter of the Time of Kumāragupta I, line 2 ; A grant of land in the Tāvīra district, line 6; Nandapur Plate of 169 GE, line 1 and A second grant concerning the Raktamālā line 2. The translation suggested here corresponds to the specific meaning of the compound brāhmaṇottara- reported by 1174. If we only follow the meaning given by 8408 and 178 for the word -uttara in fine compositi, the translation would be followed by Brahmins. residing in Vaṭa-gohālī which is situated by the side of Palāśāṭṭa, residing in Pr̥ṣṭhima-pottaka, which is a part of Jambudeva, residing in Bilva-gohālī which is part of Mūlanāgiraṭṭa the original Nāgiraṭṭa town ?, residing in Goṣāṭapuñjaka, all attached to the Nāgiraṭṭa circle of the Dakṣiṇāṅśaka territory The term X-prāveśya-Y in cadastral contexts indicates that Y is part of the larger unit X. See the glossary in Schmiedchen forthcoming. and inform them:

The brahmin Nāthaśarman accompagnied with his wife Ramī respectfully requests us:

In your city-council which is held here, the custom is sale for two dīnāras of a kulyavāpa of uncultivated land khilakṣetra or homestead land vāstu that is without revenue charges and yields no tax, as permanent endowment to be enjoyed in perpetuity.

Thus tad, in this very manner, after receiving from both of us the sum of three dīnāras, in order to increase the merit of the both of us, be so kind as to give to the venerable Arhants of the monastery in the same Vaṭa-Gohālī, overseen by the grand-disciple of the disciple of the Jaina śramaṇa master Guhanandin of the Kāśika-Pañcastūpa school, I see the part of the compound °nigrantha-śramaṇācāryya-guhanandi-śiṣya-praśiṣyādhiṣṭhita° in line 6 as a kind of guru-lineage whose function would be to proove the great age of this monastery or to assert the high standing of its leader. Consequently I translate both śiṣya and praśiṣya by a singular. for the sake of perfume, incense, flowers and lamps, etc., , and for the purpose of use as an adjacent park, one-and-a-half kulyavāpa of land as permanent endowment divided exactly as it follows: From the repartition given below, one can deduce that one kulyavāpa is worth eight droṇavāpas, as 60-1 had already underlined. in this very place atraiva ?, from Vaṭa-Gohālī itself: one-and-a-half droṇavāpa of homestead land; from Pr̥ṣṭhimapottaka part of Jambudeva: four droṇavāpas of land; from Goṣāṭapuñja: four droṇavāpas of land; from Bilva-Gohālī which is part of Mūlanāgiraṭṭa: a two-and-a-half droṇavāpas;

Wherefore, it has been established through the investigation of the chief record-keeper Divākaranandin, and the record-keepers Dhr̥tiviṣṇu, Virocana, Rāmadāsa, Haridāsa, Śaśinandin, Suprabha and Manudatta:

That the custom in the council of our city is sale for two dīnāras of a kulyavāpa of uncultivated land or homestead land that is without revenue charges and yields no tax, as permanent endowment to be enjoyed in perpetuity. So tad, concerning the one-and-a-half kulyavāpa of land that the brahmin Nāthaśarman and his wife Ramī ask you, in order to be used for perfume, incense, etc., and for the venerable Arhants of the the virtuous monastery overseen by the grand-disciple of the disciple of the Jaina master Guhanandin of the Kāśika-Pañcastūpakula school See the previous note line 6 about the translation of the compound °nigrantha-śramaṇācāryya-guhanandi-śiṣya-praśiṣyādhiṣṭhita° as a guru-lineage. located in Vaṭa-Gohālī by the side of Palāśāṭṭa Here, as the last akṣara in line 12 is illegible, I don't take into account this missing akṣara and conjecture two scribal errors in palāśāṭṭapārśvikavaṭagohālīsva : first a superfluous a at the end of the compound and a plural locative instead of a singular one. So I translate as if it was palāśāṭṭapārśvikavaṭagohālyām. and in order to be used as adjacent park — dividing as follows one-and-a-half droṇavāpa of homestead land in Vaṭa-Gohālī here itself, four droṇavāpas in Pr̥ṣṭhimapottaka part of Jambudeva, four droṇavāpas from Goṣāṭapuñja, two droṇavāpas plus two āḍhavāpas from Bilva-Gohālī which is part of Mūlanāgiraṭṭa — ; concerning this one-and-a-half kulyavāpa of land, there is no conflict with the interest of the king; on the contrary, there is virtue, since wealth will accrue to his Majesty by the additional coming of a sixth part of merit accruing from the protection providing by the king On the sixth part of the merit obtained by the king for his protection of the given lands, see I.331 107: puṇyātṣaḍbhāgamādatte nyāyena paripālayan | sarvadānādhikaṁ yasmānnyāyena paripālanam ||331 he the king takes a sixth portion of the merits by providing protection justly, because providing protection justly greater than all gifts. So, let this transaction be done in this way.

On the basis of this procedure of investigation, after three dīnāras had been received by us in cash from this brahmin Nāthaśarman and from his wife Ramī, the two have given one-and-a-half kulyavāpa of land with homestead land as well as an adjacent park, in the above-mentioned villages and gohālikas hamlets? for the purpose of the requested procedure, in accordance with the rule for permanent endowments. 1 ku, 4 dro.

So tad, after separating them off using six reeds, in a place that does not conflict with your own cultivation, you must make the donation and,according to the rule for permanent endowments, you must protect it in perpetuity as long as moon, sun and stars will last. Year 159, month of Māgha, day 7.

And it has been said by the Lord Vyāsa:

The one who would steal land given by himself or another becomes a worm in excrement and is cooked with his ancestors. This verse corresponds to the verse numbered 132 among the Stanzas on Bhūmidāna listed by Sircar see II170-200.

The giver of land resides sixty thousand years in heaven; the one who challenges a donation as well as the one who approves of the challenge will reside as many years in hell. This verse corresponds to the verse numbered 123 among the Stanzas on Bhūmidāna listed by Sircar see II170-200, except for the verb used in the pāda b.

Numerous kings have been and are giving land again and again. Whoever holds land at a given time, to him does the fruit belong. This verse corresponds to the verse numbered 23 among the Stanzas on Bhūmidāna listed by Sircar see II170-200.

You, excellent Yudhiṣṭhira, must strenuously protect land previously given to brahmins by kings. Safeguarding is even better than giving. This verse corresponds to the verse numbered 131 among the Stanzas on Bhūmidāna listed by Sircar see II170-200.

Those who steal a land donation are born again as black snakes living in dry caves in the waterless Vindhya forests. This verse corresponds to the verse numbered 150 among the Stanzas on Bhūmidāna listed by Sircar see II170-200, but shows some different readings of the pādas c and d.