This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported Licence. To view a copy of the licence, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 444 Castro Street, Suite 900, Mountain View, California, 94041, USA.
Copyright (c) 2019-2025 by Ryosuke Furui.
The project DHARMA has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement no 809994).
Public URIs with the prefix bib to point to a Zotero Group Library named ERC-DHARMA whose data are open to the public.
Internal URIs using the part prefix to point to person elements in the DHARMA_IdListMembers_v01.xml file.
sa khalu bhāgīrathī-patha-pravarttamāna-nānā-vidha-nau-vāṭaka-sampādita-setu-vandha-nihita-śaila
-śikhara-
d ud
-samāgatāśeṣa-jamvudvīpa-bhū-pālānanta-pāda-bhara-namad-avaneḥ śrī-rāmāvatī-nagara-parisara-samāvāsita-śrīmaj-jaya-skandhāvā
rāt·
jaḥ śrīman-madanapāla-devaḥ kuśalī
kaivadya
grahika-mahākṣapaṭalika-mahāsāmanta-mahāse
yoparika-cauroddharaṇika-dāṇḍika-dāṇḍapā
-hastya
ṣayapati-grāmapati-tarika-śaulkika-gaulmika-gauḍa-mālava-coḍa-khasa-hūṇa-kulika-karṇṇāṭa-lāṭa-cāṭa-bhaṭa-sevakādī
)n
thārha
viditam astu bhavatāṁ*
sa-talaḥ soddeśaḥ sāmra-madhūkaḥ sa-jala-sthalaḥ sa-gartto
-pīḍaḥ A-cāṭa-bhaṭṭa-praveśaḥ Akiñci
bhūmi-cchidra-nyāyena Ā-candrārka-kṣiti-sama-kālaṁ mātā-pitror ātmanaś ca puṇya-yaśo
lyā
campāhiṭṭī-vāstavyāya vatsa
miśarmmaṇe paṭṭamahādevī-śrī-citramatikayā vedavyāsa-prokta-prapāṭhita-mahābhārata-samutsarggita-dakṣiṇātvena bhagava
ntaṁ vuddha-bhaṭṭārakam uddiśya śāsanī-kr̥tya pradatto ’smābhiḥ
bhir bhūmer ddāna-phala-gauravāt
bhiś ca kṣetra-karair ājñā-vidheyī-bhūya
samvaT
bhavanti cātra dharmmānu
Confirmed. Confirmed. Confirmed. Confirmed.
Success! Oṁ, salutation to the Buddha. Welfare!
The one with mind delighted by the jewel of compassion, who is united with beloved goddess Benevolence, whose dirt of ignorance is cleansed by pure water of the stream of knowledge of perfect enlightenment, who, after conquering the powerful cause of existence producing desire, acquired eternal tranquillity, may he, the illustrious Lord of the World
From him was born illustrious king Dharmapāla, who was the birthplace of Lakṣmī
Of him, who gained genuine asceticism like Rāma, there was the brother named Vākpāla, similar
From him was born the son, the victor named Jayapāla, who cleansed the world by his deeds of Upendra
Illustrious Vigrahapāla
He procreated his illustrious son Nārāyaṇa
And his son, the protector of central world named illustrious Rājyapāla was born, with the fame known by the bed of water inside the deep bottom of the ocean and by the abodes of deities which equalled the rooms of kings of the lineage.
From him in Bhāgyadevī, the daughter of Tuṅga, the moon of the Rāṣṭrakūṭa lineage with raised crown, was born the son like the treasury of greatness of previous kings.
From him, as if the moon raining ten million of rays was born from the sun at proper time, was born Vigrahapāladeva
From him was born illustrious king Mahīpāladeva
King Nayapāla, abandoning association with vices, putting his feet on heads of kings, forcibly filling all the spaces, to be gained by virtues, having affectionate subjects, the sole abode of affection and rich with virtues, was born from him, as if the Sun
King Vigrahapāladeva
His son, the king named Mahīpāla
There was his younger brother king Śūrapāla
There was also his uterine brother, king, illustrious Rāmapāla, whose firmness of Vāsava
From him was born Kumārapāla, who had the ocean of thick fame of enemies drunk up by valour of his own long arms, having robust fame on female makaras which were marks of camphor on the cheek of wife of the king of deities.
He, whose hand was pale red due to sport of serial robbing of vermilion on the heads of group of women of his opponents, procreated king Gopāla
Afterwards there was the son of Madanadevī, who had the inside of the earth purified by strong streams of his fame white like moon. Because of his not being the last, Madanapāla, the son of Rāmapāla, supported the earth with girdle of seven oceans.
From the illustrious military camp of victory pitched in the neighbourhood of illustrious Rāmāvatīnagara, where the group of mountain peaks laid by the bridge produced by various kinds of large ships going around the path of river Bhāgīrathī are rolling, where the doubt of the time of lasting cloud occurred because of daylight darkened by the assembly of unsurpassed rutting elephants, where the intermediate space of directions is made grey by dust dug up by the hard hooves of innumerable horse troops gifted by many northern kings and where the earth bows to the weight of innumerable foot soldiers of all the kings of Jambudvīpa coming for the service to the supreme lord.
Parameśvara paramabhaṭṭāraka mahārājādhirāja illustrious Madanapāladeva, healthy, the devout worshipper of Sugata, who was accepted by his majesty mahārājādhirāja illustrious Rāmapāladeva, honours, announces and orders according to order all the approached royal officials beginning with rāja, rājanyaka, rājaputra, rājāmātya, mahāsāndhivigrahika, mahākṣapaṭalika, mahāsāmanta, mahāsenāpati, mahāpratīhāra, dauḥsādhasādhanika, mahākumārāmātya, rājasthānīya, uparika, cauroddharaṇika, dāṇḍika, dāṇḍapāśika, śaunika, kṣetrapa, prāntapāla, koṭṭapāla, aṅgarakṣa, their āyuktakas and viniyuktakas, hastyaśvoṣṭranaubalavyāpr̥taka, kiśoravaḍavāgomahiṣyajāvikādhyakṣa, dūta, preṣaṇika, gamāgamika, abhitvaramāṇa, viṣayapati, grāmapati, tarika, śaulkika, gaulmika, Gauḍa, Mālava, Coḍa, Khasa, Hūṇa, Kulika, Karṇāta, Lāṭa, cāṭa, bhaṭa and sevaka, and the other unnamed dependants on the royal feet, and the residents accompanied by brāhmaṇas, headed by mahattamas, uttamas and kuṭumbins reaching to cāṇḍālas, at the land of three hundred in Āraṭṭaka tied to Sukaivadyadvasa and accompanied by twenty stalls
“It should be known to you. This village as written above, as far as its own border, grass field and pasture ground, was given by us in the name of the venerable Lord Buddha after making royal grant, with flat land, with raised ground, with mango and mahua trees, with watering place, with ditch and saline land, with forest and shrub, with fine of ten offences, with the right to catch thieves, exempted from all the burdens, without entry of cāṭas and bhaṭṭas, without anything taken away, accompanied by contribution of bhāga, bhoga, kara, hiraṇya and so on, excluding royal estate
Year 8 month Caitra day of karman 15 by the movement of the moon.
Here are verses instructing dharma
The earth was given by many kings beginning with Sagara. To the one to whom the land belongs, belongs then the merit.
The one who gains land and the one who gives land, both of them with meritorious deeds are surely going to heaven.
The one stealing a cow, one piece of gold or a half aṅgula of land comes to hell as long as he invokes deluge.
For sixty thousand years, a giver of land stays in heaven. The one who denies it and the one who agrees with him live in hell for the same period.
Either given by himself or given by the others, the one who stole land, he would be boiled with his ancestors after becoming an insect in excreta.
Fathers tremble and paternal grandfathers jump, he, the land giver born in our family, will be the saviour of us.
To all these future kings, this Rāma demands repeatedly. “This common bridge of dharma for men should be always protected with effort.”
After thus considering wealth and human life fragile as a drop of water on lotus petal, also after knowing all that is said, the meritorious deeds of others should not be destroyed by human beings.
Sāndhivigrahika illustrious Bhīmadeva, the great ocean of intelligence and firmness, was here made the messenger.
In the reign of Madanapāla, in the eighth year, the artisan Tathāgatasara engraved this copper plate.
First edited by Nagendra Nath Vasu