Sirpur Plates of Śivagupta, Year 6

Metadata

Current Version: draft, 2026-09-18Z

Editor: Natasja Bosma.

DHARMA Identifier: INSDaksinaKosala00031.xml

Hand Description:

Additional Metadata

No metadata were provided in the table for this inscription

Edition

Seal

I. Anuṣṭubh

rājña⟨ḥ⟩ śrīharṣaguptasya sūno⟨ḥ⟩ sadguṇaśālina⟨ḥ⟩

śāsanaṁ śivaguptasya sthitam ā bhuvanasthite⟨ḥ⟩

Plates

^{⎘ plate 1v}^1v1| svasty aśeṣakṣit(ī)śavidyābhyāsaviśeṣāsāditamahanī-
^1v2yavinayasa⟨m⟩patsa⟨ṁ⟩pāditasakalavijigīṣuguṇo guṇava-
^1v3tsamāśraya⟨ḥ⟩ prakr̥ṣṭataraśauryyaprajñāprabhāvasaṁbhāvitamahābhyu-
^1v4daya⟨ḥ⟩ kārtti◯keya Iva kr̥ttivāsaso rājña⟨ḥ⟩ śrīharṣadevasya s¿u?⟨ū⟩-
^1v5nuḥ somava¡ṅ!⟨ṁ⟩śasaṁbhavaḥ paramamāheśvaro mātāpitr̥pādānudhyāta⟨ḥ⟩-
^1v6(śrī)mahāśivaguptarājaḥ kuśalī| devabhogīyapillāsunyagrā-
^1v7m¿a?⟨e⟩ tāmraśāsanena brāhmaṇāṁ saṁp¿u?⟨ū⟩jya prativāsinaḥ samājñāpa-
^{⎘ plate 2r}^2r1yati

viditam astu bhavatāṁ yathāsmābhir ayaṁ grāma⟨ḥ⟩ sanidh¿ī?⟨i⟩ḥ sopanidh¿ī?⟨i⟩ḥ-
^2r2¿Ā?⟨A⟩cāṭabhaṭapraveśa⟨ḥ⟩ sarvvakarādānasameto mātāpittror ātmanaś ca-
^2r3puṇyābhi¡b!⟨v⟩r̥ddhaye lāṭaviṣayavāstavyavājasaneyabhāradvājasa-
^2r4gottrāya ◯bāḍābhaṭṭāyaudakapūrvv¿ā?⟨a⟩⟨ṁ⟩ ¿A?⟨Ā⟩ṣāḍhāmāvāsyāṁ sūryyoparā-
^2r5ge pratipādita Ity

avagamya bhavadbhiḥ samucitaṁ bhogabhāgam upana-
^2r6yadbhiḥ sukhaṁ prativasta¡b!⟨v⟩yam iti| bhāvinaś ca bhūmipālān ud⟨d⟩i¡ṣ!⟨ś⟩yeda-
^2r7m abhidh¿i?⟨ī⟩yate

I. Vasantatilakā

bhūmipradā divi lalanti patanti hanta

hr̥tvā mahī⟨ṁ⟩ nr̥^{⎘ plate 2v}^2v1patayo narake nr̥śa¡ṅ!⟨ṁ⟩sāT

Etad ⟨d⟩vayaṁ parikalayya calāñ ca lakṣmīm

ā^2v2yus tathā kuruta yad bhavatām abhīṣṭa⟨ṁ⟩

Api ca

II. Anuṣṭubh

rakṣāpālanayos tāvat pha^2v3la⟨ṁ⟩ sugatidurggatī

ko nāma svargam u¡cchri!⟨tsr̥⟩jya narakaṁ pratipadyate

vyā-
^2v4sagītā⟨ṁ⟩¡ṣ!⟨ś⟩ cā◯t{t}ra ślokān udāharanti

III. Indravajrā

Agner apatyaṁ prathamaṁ su^2v5varṇa⟨ṁ⟩

bhūr vvaiṣṇavī sūryyasutāś ca gāvaḥ

dattās trayas tena bhavanti lokā

^2v6yaḥ kāñcanaṁ gāñ ca mahīñ ca dadyāT

IV. Anuṣṭubh

ṣaṣṭivarṣasahasrāṇi svargge ^2v7modati bhū⟨mi⟩daḥ

Ākṣeptā cānumantā ca t{t}āny eva narake vaseT

V. Anuṣṭubh

^{⎘ plate 3r}^3r1bahubhi{ḥ}r vasudhā dattā rājabhiḥ sagarādibhiḥ

yasya yasya ^3r2yadā bhūmi⟨s⟩ tasya tasya tadā phalaṁ

VI. Anuṣṭubh

svadattāṁ paradattām ¡b!⟨v⟩ā yatnā^3r3d rakṣa yudhiṣṭhira{ḥ}

mahīṁ mahīmatāṁ śreṣṭha dānā⟨t⟩ śreyo ’nupā^3r4lana¡m!⟨M⟩

¡i!⟨I⟩◯ti|

pravarddhamānavijayarājye sam¡b!⟨v⟩atsare ṣa-
^3r5ṣṭhe 6| Āṣāḍhadivasu 10 5| Āviḥ prakurvvatā śilpaṁ puṇyaṁ
^3r6cākṣayam itsatā stambhāyyasūnunotkīrṅa⟨ṁ⟩ kr̥ṣṇāyyanaiva śāsanaṁ|

Apparatus

Seal

Plates

^1v1 °kṣit(ī)śa° ◇ °kṣit¡i!⟨ī⟩śa° PKS — ^1v1 °vidyābhyāsa° ◇ °vidyāpabhyāsa° PKS — ^1v1 °āsādita° ◇ °āsadita° PKS
^1v6 °rājaḥ ◇ °rāja PKS
^2v1 nr̥śa¡ṅ!⟨ṁ⟩sāT ◇ nr̥śa¡ṅT!⟨ṁsāḥ⟩ PKS
^3r5 10 5| ◇ 10 4 2 PKS — ^3r5 °śilpaṁ ◇ °śil¡y!⟨p⟩aṁ PKS — ^3r5–3r6 Āviḥ prakurvvatā śilpaṁ puṇyaṁ / cākṣayam itsatā • The meaning of this phrase is not quite clear and it does not appear in any of the other copperplate charters issued by the same king. Perhaps itsatā should be emended to icchatā.

Translation by Natasja Bosma

Seal

The charter of Śivagupta, son of the illustrious king Harṣagupta, who is possessed of good qualities, endures as long as the existence of the earth.

Plates

^1v1-2r1Success! Hail! The illustrious and great king Śivagupta who has been born in the Lunar Dynasty as the son of a king, the illustrious Harṣadeva, like Kārttikeya is of Kr̥ttivāsas (i.e., Śiva); who is entirely devoted to Maheśvara; who is favoured by his father and mother; and who is in good health: He has acquired all the qualities of a conqueror through the perfection of praiseworthy discipline, effected in particular by implementing all the “political sciences”; he is a refuge for the virtuous; and his great prosperity has been brought about by his superior valour, intelligence, and strength! After having saluted the Brahmins in the village of Pillāsunya situated in the Deva bhoga, [the king] issues [the following command] to the residents of the village by means of [this] copperplate charter:

^2r1-2r5Let it be known to you that, after an offering of water, this village has been granted [by us] for the increase of religious merit of father, mother, and ourselves, to Bāḍābhaṭṭa who belonged to the Vājasaneya-Bhāradvāja gotra and was a resident of the Lāṭa viṣaya. [The grant of the village took place] on the occasion of a solar eclipse in the night of the new moon in the month of Āṣāḍha [and] comes along with [the right to] hidden treasures and deposits; the exemption from being entered by irregular or regular troops; and [the right to collect] all taxes [payable to the king].

^2r5-2r7Having taken note of that, you should render the proper [shares of] periodical offerings and produce, while living happily [in this village]. And this is said for the instruction of the future kings:

2r7-2v2

[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:

2v2-2v3

Fortune and misfortune are truly the fruit of protecting and not protecting [the land]; who then discards heaven and resorts to hell?

^2v3-2v4And in this respect they quote the [following] stanzas sung by Vyāsa:

2v4-2v6

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

2v6-2v7

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!

3r1-3r2

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!

3r2-3r4

O Yudhiṣṭhira, zealously protect the land which was given by yourself or by others! O best of kings, protection is superior to giving!

^3r4-3r6In the sixth year of the increasingly victorious reign [of Śivagupta], [in numbers] 6, on the day 15 of the month of Āṣāḍha, the [copperplate] charter has been engraved by Kr̥ṣṇāyya, son of Stambhāyya, ¿[thus] making [the grant] public and wishing it to be skillful, auspicious, and everlasting.?

Bibliography

First edited by Singh 2009 from the original plates; re-edited here by Natasja Bosma based on the published photographs.

Primary

Singh, Prabhat Kumar. 2009. “Sirpur Copper-Plates of Pāṇḍuvaṁśi Rulers.” PM 5: 11–27.

16–18. [siglum PKS]

Secondary

Bosma, Natasja. 2018. Dakṣiṇa Kosala: A Rich Centre of Early Śaivism. Groningen: Barkhuis. [https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=1937261].

248–249.