Plates
Success!
Victorious is the illustrious Tīvaradeva, who is the ornament of the three worlds heaven, earth, lower world; a pillar of happiness in the palace of the Pāṇḍava kings; and foremost of those who perform meritorious deeds!
Hail! From Śrīpura, the illustrious Mahāśiva Tīvararāja—who illuminates the neighbouring regions with his mirror-like toe-nails, which are polished by the curved edges of the diadems of the many feudatory kings who salute him, having obtained the privilege of the five great sounds; whose fingers bluntly seize the good Fortune of adversary kings by her locks of her hair in public; by whom the battlefields are adorned with a scattered heap of pearls, which are the thick drops of blood continuously oozing from the domed foreheads of the elephants of his enemies, struck down by the hard strokes of his sharp sword; who is a submarine fire to the salt water of his enemies, gaping with the desire of acquiring a multitude of various gems; who does not cause distress by levying heavy taxes, just as the rising moon does not cause distress by its rays; who, like the ocean of milk, demonstrates a wealth of many most excellent jewels; who, like Garutmat, is competent in uprooting serpents i.e., evil; who ruined the black collyrium applied to the eyes and the golden glow of grinded saffron petals on the tender cheeks of the widowed wives of his enemies, afflicted by grief; whose mind is focused solely on the protection and establishment of virtuous behavior. Moreover, who is worshipped by people without relunctance because of the religious austerities he performed in a previous birth; who is not easily satisfied in acquiring fame; who is trustworthy in keeping secrets; whose mind is very pure; whose eyes are bright; and whose body is adorned with youth; who, though being a commander, does not indulge in excessive talking; who, though desirous for conquering land, is excessively liberal in the granting of land; who, though fierce to the race of his adversaries i.e., like the sun, is gentle in appearance i.e., like the moon; who, though adorned with majesty, is not harsh in disposition. Furthermore, who is never satisfied in generating religious merit, but not in accumulating wealth; who is devoid of anger, but not of power; who is longing for fame, but not for appropriating the wealth of others; who is skillful in eloquent speech, but not in consorting with promiscuous women; who has consumed the race of his adversaries completely, as a heap of cotton, with the fire of his splendor; who illuminated the earth as far as the horizon with his massive fame as bright white as the rocky mountain of snow i.e., Himālaya; who was the son of the illustrious Nannadeva, son of the illustrious Indrabala, and who has obtained sovereignty over the whole of Kosala; who reduced all misfortune in the world with his meritorious acts; who has removed all thorns i.e., annoying enemies with the needle of his wisdom; who is entirely devoted to Viṣṇu; who is favoured by his father and mother; and being in good health—issues the following command to the residents of the village of Pimparipadraka in the Peṇṭhama bhukti, having saluted the Brahmins:
Let it be known to you that, on the twelfth day of the month of Jyeṣṭha and preceded by a libation of water, this village has been granted by us for the increase of religious merit of father, mother, and ourselves to bhaṭṭa Haradatta and bhaṭṭa Bhavadatta, sons of bhaṭṭa Gauridatta of the Bhāradvāja gotra and the Vājasaneya-Mādhyandina school. The grant of the village is to be enjoyed as long as the world will endure, the world of which the darkness of the night is removed by the rays of the sun, moon and stars; comes along with the right to hidden treasures and deposits; is not to be entered by irregular or regular troops; comes along with the right to dāradraṇaka tax and all other taxes payable to the king.
Having taken note of that, you should render the proper shares of periodical offerings and produce to these two donees, while living happily in this village. And this is said for the instruction of the future kings:
Kings who donate land sport in heaven, but look, kings who have taken land fall into hell for their wickedness. After having taken to heart these two rules and taken hold of Lakṣmī, you should live you life as you wish!
And also:
Fortune and misfortune are truly the fruit of protecting and not protecting the land; who then discards heaven and resorts to hell?
And they quote the following stanzas sung by Vyāsa:
Gold is the first child of Agni, land is born of Viṣṇu, and cows are the offspring of Sūrya: Therefore, whoever would give gold, a cow, and land would give the three worlds
A giver of land rejoices in heaven for sixty thousand years; he who confiscates it or allows another to confiscate it will dwell for the same period in hell!
The earth has been granted by many kings, beginning with Sagara; whoever possesses the land at any time, to him belong the fruits at that time!
O Yudhiṣṭhira, zealously protect the land which was given by yourself or by others! O best of kings, protection is superior to giving!
The copperplate charter has been engraved on the eighth day, in numbers 8, of the month of Kārttika in the increasingly victorious year 5 of Tīvaradeva’s reign.