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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).
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sa khalu bhāgīrathī-patha-pravarttamāna-nānā-vidha-nau-vāṭaka-saṁpā
dita-setu-vandha-nihita-śaila-śikhara-śreṇī-vibhramāt· niratiśaya-ghana-ghanāghana-ghaṭā-śyāmāyamāna-vāsara-la
kṣmī-samāravdha-santata-jalada-samaya-sandehāt· Udīcīnāneka-nara-pati-prābhr̥tī-kr̥tāprameya-haya-vāhinī-kha
ra-khurotkhāta-dhūlī-dhūsarita-dig-antarālāt parameśvara-sevā-samāyātāśeṣa-jamv
ti-bhara-namad-avaneḥ
dhirāja-śrī-nārāyaṇapāla-deva-pādānudhyātaḥ parameśvaraḥ paramabhaṭṭārako mahārājādhirājaḥ śrīmān·
rājyapāla-devaḥ kuśalī
samupagatāśeṣa-rāja-puruṣān· rāja-rājanaka
japutra
paṭalika
hāra
yoparika
ntapāla
ḍavā
tarika
rāja-pādopajīvinaḥ prativāsino vrāhmaṇottarān· mahattamottamaḥ-puroga-medāndhra-caṇḍāla-paryantān·
yathārhaṁ mānayati vodhayati
matam astu bhavatāṁo
-pūti-gocara-paryantaḥaḥaḥaḥaḥaḥaḥaḥ
sa-cauroddharaṇaḥaḥaḥaḥ
-hiraṇyādi-pratyāya-sametaḥ
śo
dagn
ra-putrāya
pradatt
mahā-naraka-pāta-bhayād dānam idam anumodya pālanīyaṁ
yī-bhūya yathā-kālaṁ samucita-bhāga-bhoga-kara-hiraṇyādi-sarvva-pratyāyopanayaḥ kārya Iti
samvat·
vaiśākha-dine
tathā ca dharmmānuśa
t-samvatsara-śrāvaṇa-
Confirmed. Confirmed.
Success! 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
After defeating the enemies beginning with Indrarāja, the acquired Goddess Fortune of Mahodaya
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
When this powerful one, because of the order of
Illustrious Vigrahapāla
He procreated his illustrious son Nārāyaṇa
There was his esteemed queen named Mammā, the daughter of Govindarāja, the earth of moral conduct of good family. From her was born the son, pleasing to discipline, the protector of central world named Rājyapāla.
His splendour, which makes the sky swallowed by the net of light, surpasses the fire of destruction of Kalpa unbeaten by the incomparable wind god. By the peaks beholding it and as if holding extreme fear in front, the mountains with high crests are thrown to the own protector
After ascending on high mountains which have lotus-like feet of women of the divine city as their garland, and after bestowing beautiful splendour on both sides on the earth of the nether-world surrounded by darkness, after leaping from afar over the earth and now the four oceans at once, there is the magnificent departure by his fame to measure the unlimited atmosphere.
From the illustrious military camp of victory pitched at Bhadragośālī, 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 massive 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 Rājyapāladeva, healthy, the devout worshipper of Sugata, who was accepted by his majesty mahārājādhirāja illustrious Nārāyaṇapāladeva, honours, announces and orders according to order all the approached royal officials beginning with rāja, rājanaka, rājaputra, rājāmātya, mahāsāndhivigrahika, mahākṣapaṭalika, mahāsāmanta, mahāsenāpati, mahāpratīhāra, mahākārttākr̥tika, mahādauḥsādhasādhanika, mahādaṇḍanāyaka, mahākumārāmātya, rājasthānīya, uparika, daśāparādhika, cauroddharaṇika, dāṇḍika, dāṇḍapāśika, śaulkika, gaulmika, kṣetrapa, prāntapāla, koṭṭapāla, khaṇḍapāla, their āyuktakas and viniyuktakas, hastyaśvoṣṭranaubalavyāpr̥taka, kiśoravaḍavāgomahiṣyajāvikādhyakṣa, dūta, preṣaṇika, gamāgamika, abhitvaramāṇa, viṣayapati, grāmapati, tarika, Gauḍa, Mālava, Khaśa, Hūṇa, Kulika, Karṇāṭa, Lāṭa, cāṭa, bhaṭa and sevaka, and the other unnamed dependants on the royal feet, and the residents accompanied by brāhmaṇas, headed by mahattamas and uttamas, reaching to medas, andhras and caṇḍālas in Ṭeruvākagrāma, accompanied by uninterrupted flat land belonging to itself, and Marālikāgrāma, accompanied by uninterrupted flat land belonging to itself,
“It should be approved by you. Both those villages written above, as far as their own border, grass field and pasture, were given with flat land, with raised ground, with mango and mahua trees, with watering place, with ditch and saline land, with additional tax, with fine of ten offences, with the right to catch thieves, exempted from all the burdens, without entrance of cāṭas and bhaṭas, without anything taken away, accompanied by all the contributions to the king beginning with bhāga, bhoga, kara and hiraṇya, by the rule of land reclamation, as long as the moon, the sun and the earth exist, for the increase of merit and fame of parents and myself, in the name of the venerable Lord Buddha, to bhaṭṭaputra Śālavāhanaśarman, belonging to Vātsya gotra, Bhārgava, Cyavana, Āpnuvāna, Jāmadagnya and Aurva pravara, co-disciple learning Chandoga śākhā, the grandson of bhaṭṭa Śrīgarbha originating from Ikkhaṇikā and the son of bhaṭṭa Divākara, after bathing at the time of equinox, doing ritual of pouring water according to rule and making royal grant. Hence it should be consented to by you all. This donation should also be protected after approving it by future kings out of respect for merit of donation of land and from fear of falling to the great hell in case of its violation. And the practice of all the appropriate contributions of bhāga, bhoga, kara, hiraṇya and so on should be made at proper time by residing cultivators after becoming subject to hearing the order
Year 2 month Vaiśākha day 18.
And there are verses instructing dharma as such:
The earth was given by many kings beginning with Sagara. To the one to whom the land belongs, belongs then the merit.
For sixty thousand years, a giver of land rejoices 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.
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.
To all these future kings, this Rāma demands repeatedly. “This common bridge of dharma for kings should be always protected with effort.”
As for Marālikāgrāma, on the 22nd day of month Śrāvaṇa in this year, the document of royal order was confirmed.
The metre of this verse collapsed due to the addition of the akṣara pra, which is necessary in terms of meaning. The almost identical verse found in the other Pāla plates has vasatir in place of prasava-bhūr.
This line is engraved in the remaining narrow space at the bottom of the obverse in smaller akṣaras. It is shorter and assigned to the centre.
The noun, pronoun and adjectives related to donated villages in these lines are converted from singular form to dual form, due to the later addition of a village to the objects of donation.
The sentence starting from marālikā-grāmasya seems to be added later, due to the addition of this village as an object of donation.
First published by R. S. Mishra