Sirpur Plates of Śivagupta, undated (presumably year 48 or later)

Metadata

Current Version:  draft, 2024-05-31Z

Editor:   Natasja Bosma.

DHARMA Identifier: INSDaksinaKosala00041

Hand Description:


Additional Metadata

Alternative identifier: Year 57"

Origin:

Classification:

Languages:

  1. Secondary language is late_Brahmi, script and

Corresponding Artefact: CONARTDaksinaKosala00038

Layout: engraved-34 lines are observed/preserved on the artifact.

Edition

Seal

I. Anuṣṭubh
rājña⟨ḥ⟩ śrīharṣaguptasya sūno⟨ḥ⟩ sadguṇaśālina⟨ḥ⟩
śāsanaṁ śivaguptasya sthitam ā bhuvanasthite⟨ḥ⟩

Plates

⎘ plate 1v 1v1spiralR svasty aśeṣakṣit¿i?⟨ī⟩śavidyābhyāsaviśeṣāsāditamahanīyavina-
1v2yasampatsampāditasakalavijigīṣuguṇo guṇava{TdandaPlain}t samāśraya⟨ḥ⟩ pra-
1v3kṛṣṭataraśauryyaprajñāprabhāvasambhāvitamahābhyudayaḥ kārttike-
1v4ya Iva kṛ◯t⟨t⟩ivāsa¡ś!⟨s⟩o rājñaḥ śr¿i?⟨ī⟩harṣadevasya ¡ś!⟨s⟩¿u?⟨ū⟩nu⟨ḥ⟩ somava¡ṅ!⟨ṁ⟩śa{ḥ}-
1v5sambhava¡t!⟨ḥ⟩ paramamāheśvaro mātāpit¡ri!⟨ṛ⟩pādānudhyātaḥ śr¿a?⟨ī⟩mahāśivagu-
1v6ptarāja⟨ḥ⟩ kuśal¿i?⟨ī⟩ddandaHooked cul⟨l⟩āṭa¡ś!⟨s⟩¿i?⟨ī⟩mābhog¿i?⟨ī⟩yakatambapad⟨r⟩ūllakedandaPlain br¿a?⟨ā⟩hma-
1v7ṇāṁ sampūjya tatpratinivāsino ‘nyān api yathākālabhāvinaḥ samāha-
⎘ plate 2r 2r1rtṛsan⟨n⟩idhātṛprabhṛtīn asmatpādopaj¿i?⟨ī⟩vinaḥ sar¡bv!⟨vv⟩arājapuruṣā¡ṁ!⟨n⟩ samā-
2r2jñāpayatidandaPlain

viditam astu bhavatā⟨ṁ⟩dandaPlain yathāsmābhiḥ saṁpraty aya⟨ṁ⟩ grāmaḥ sa-
2r3nidhiḥ sopanidhiḥ sar¡bv!⟨vv⟩akarādānasametaḥ sar¡bv!⟨vv⟩ap¿i?⟨ī⟩ḍāvivarjjitaḥ
2r4sadaśāpa◯rādhaḥ pratiṣiddhacāṭabhaṭapraveśaḥ śr¿i?⟨ī⟩purataledandaHooked
2r5‘smatprakāritaśr¿i?⟨ī⟩madbāleśvaramaṭhikātapovanā¡t!⟨n⟩taḥpātinedandaPlain asmadrājñ¿i?⟨ī⟩-
2r6śrī-⟨A⟩maradev¿i?⟨ī⟩kāritāyadandaPlain nandapurīyabhagavad¿ā?⟨a⟩ghoraśivācāryyapraśiṣya-
2r7d¿i?⟨ī⟩rghācāryyaśiṣyaśr¿i?⟨ī⟩mad¡b!⟨v⟩yāpaśiv¿ā?⟨a⟩bhagavatpādapratisthāpitadevabha-
⎘ plate 2v 2v1ṭṭārakāyadandaPlain amareśvarāyatanāyadandaPlain asyā evāmarade¡b!⟨v⟩yā vijñaptyā mātā-
2v2pitror ātmanaś ca puṇyābhi¡b!⟨v⟩ṛddhaye samakālopabhogārtha{ṁ}m udakapūr¡bv!⟨vv⟩aka-
2v3m ¿a?⟨ā⟩candratārakārkkam udakapūr¡bv!⟨vv⟩akaṁ t¿a?⟨ā⟩m{b}raśāsanenadandaPlain sattrārthagrāmotpa-
2v4n⟨n⟩agavāṅga◯rasapattraśākavārikataṇḍulāṣṭabhāgam ¡b!⟨v⟩arjjayitvādandaPlain bha-
2v5gnasphuṭitasaṁskārārtha⟨ṁ⟩ sa¡n!⟨m⟩mārjjanopalepanapūjāsa¡ṅ!⟨ṁ⟩g¿i?⟨ī⟩takapravartta-
2v6nārtha¡ñ!⟨ṁ⟩ ca prati⟨pā⟩dita Ity

avagamya samucita⟨ṁ⟩ bhogabhāgādikam upanayanto
2v7bhavantaḥ sukhaṁ prativasa⟨n⟩tuddandaHooked bhāvi⟨na⟩ś ca bhūmipālān ud⟨d⟩iśyedam abhidh¿i?⟨ī⟩-
⎘ plate 3r 3r1yate

I. Vasantatilakā
bh¿u?⟨ū⟩m¿a?⟨i⟩pradā divi lalanti patanti ha⟨n⟩ta
hṛtvā mah¿a?⟨ī⟩⟨ṁ⟩ nṛpata3r2yo narake nṛśa¡ṅ!⟨ṁ⟩sāTdandaPlain
Etad ⟨d⟩vayaṁ parikalayya calāñ ca lakṣm¿i?⟨ī⟩m
āyu3r3s tathā kuruta yad bhavatām abh¿i?⟨ī⟩ṣṭaṁ

Api ca

II. Anuṣṭubh
rakṣāpālanayos tāvat pha3r4laṁ suga◯tidurggat¿i?⟨ī⟩
ko nāma svarggam u¡cchra!⟨tsṛ⟩jya naraka⟨ṁ⟩ pratipadyate3r5ddandaHooked

¡b!⟨v⟩yāsag¿i?⟨ī⟩tā⟨ṁ⟩ś cātra ślokān udāharanti

III. Indravajrā
Agner apatya⟨ṁ⟩ prathamaṁ suvarṇṇa⟨ṁ⟩
bhū3r6r ¡bv!⟨vv⟩aiṣṇav¿i?⟨ī⟩ s¿u?⟨ū⟩ryyasutāś ca gāvaḥ
dattās trayas tena bhavanti lokā
yaḥ kāñcanaṁ 3r7gāñ ca mah¿i?⟨ī⟩ñ ca dadyāTdandaPlain

IV. Anuṣṭubh
¡s!⟨ṣ⟩aṣṭivarṣasaha¡ś!⟨s⟩rāṇi svargge modati bhūmidaḥ

Apparatus

Seal

Plates

1v4 śr¿i?⟨ī⟩°śrī° BJ
1v5 śr¿a?⟨ī⟩°śrī° BJ
1v6 cul⟨l⟩āṭa°calāṭa° BJ1v6 °dandaPlain • This daṇḍa was not noticed by Jain et al. 2005: 196–217.
2r1 °opaj¿i?⟨ī⟩vinaḥ°opajīvinaḥ BJ2r1 °puruṣā¡ṁ!⟨n⟩°puruṣā BJ
2r3 °p¿i?⟨ī⟩ḍā°°pīḍā° BJ
2r4 śr¿i?⟨ī⟩°śrī° BJ
2r5 °śr¿i?⟨ī⟩mad°°śrīmad° BJ
2r7 °śr¿i?⟨ī⟩mad°°śrīmad° BJ
2v4 ¡b!⟨v⟩arjjayitvādandaPlainbarjjayitvānadandaPlain BJ
2v5 °sa¡ṅ!⟨ṁ⟩g¿i?⟨ī⟩taka°°saṁṅgitaka° BJ
3r1 bh¿u?⟨ū⟩m¿a?⟨i⟩°bhūm¿a?⟨i⟩° BJ
3r2 °dandaPlain°ddandaPlain BJ3r2 lakṣm¿i?⟨ī⟩mlakṣmīm BJ
3r5 °g¿i?⟨ī⟩tā⟨ṁ⟩ś°gītāś BJ
3r6 ¡bv!⟨vv⟩aiṣṇav¿i?⟨ī⟩bvaiṣṇavī BJ3r6 kāñcanaṁkāñcan¿a?⟨ā⟩ BJ
3r7 mah¿i?⟨ī⟩ñmahīñ BJ3r7 °dandaPlain°ddandaPlain BJ

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 world

Plates

1v1-2r2Success! 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 Kṛttivāsas (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 Katambapadrūllaka situated in the Cullāṭasīmā bhoga, [the king] issues [the following command] to all royal officers who are dedicated to our service, beginning with the collector and the receiver; to those who are temporarily posted [in the village]; and to the other inhabitants of that [village]:

2r2-2v6Let it be known to you that by means of [this] copperplate charter and preceded by a libation of water, this village has been granted by us today for the increase of religious merit of father, mother, and ourselves, to the Amareśvara temple in the penance grove of the maṭhikā of the illustrious Bāleśvara temple, the latter being erected by ourselves (i.e., Śivagupta) in the plains of Śrīpura. [The Amareśvara temple] was erected by our queen the illustrious Amaradevī [and] the devabhaṭṭāraka [of the temple] was installed by the venerable Vyāpaśiva, who is the pupil of the ācārya Dīrgha and grand-pupil of the venerable ācārya Aghoraśiva of Nandapura. [The grant of the village] was requested by Amaradevī in order to finance the repair of the temple’s dilapidations, as well as to sponsor music, worship, and the bathing and anoining [of images]. [The grant]), which is meant to be enjoyed as long as the moon, the stars, and the sun will endure, was issued after having set aside eight parts of grain, water, vegetables, and milk from the produce of the village for the sattra [and] comes along with [the right to] hidden treasures and deposits; [the right to collect] all taxes [payable to the king]; the exemption from all kinds of unpaid labour; [the right to] punish and realise fines for the ten offences; and the exemption from being entered by irregular or regular troops.

2v6-3r1Having taken note of that, you should render the proper [shares of] periodical offerings, produce, and the like, while living happily [in this village]. And this is said for the instruction of the future kings:

3r1-3r3
[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:

3r3-3r5
Fortune and misfortune are truly the fruit of protecting and not protecting [the land]; who then discards heaven and resorts to hell?

3r5And in this respect they quote the [following] stanzas sung by Vyāsa:

3r5-3r7
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

3r7
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!]]

Commentary

Despite being a complete set of three copperplates, the content of this charter is unfinished. The copperplates are all enscribed with seven lines of text: the verso side of the first plate, both sides of the second plate, and the recto side of the third plate. The text ends abruptly after the first half of an exhortatory verse, which means that the charter is not provided with a date in regnal years. There is no apparent reason why the text was not finished at the verso side of the third copperplate.

Bibliography

First edited by Jain et al. 2005: 196–217 from the original plates; published again by Bosma 2013; re-edited here by Natasja Bosma from the original plates (edition of the seal based on Jain).

Primary

Bosma, Natasja. 2013. “The Bāleśvara Temple Complex of Śivagupta: Epigraphical Evidence for the Śaiva Siddhānta and Soma Siddhānta Traditions in Dakṣiṇa Kosala.” IIJ 56 (3–4): 245–61. [DOI: 10.1163/15728536-13560309].
[siglum NB]
Jain, Balchandra, Girdhari L. Raikwar & Rahul Kumar Singh. 2005. Utkīrṇa lekha. Second edition. Chhattīsgarh (India): Culture & Archaeology Department.
196–217. [siglum BJ]

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].
37, 46, 79, 253–254.
Shastri, Ajay Mitra. 1992. “Balesvara-Bhattaraka, a Hitherto Unknown Saiva Establishment at Sripura.” JESI 18: 15–23.

Shastri, Ajay Mitra. 1995. Inscriptions of the Śarabhapurīyas, Pāṇḍuvaṁśins and Somavaṁśins, Part II: Inscriptions. New Delhi: Indian Council of Historical Research; Motilal Bandarsidass.
196–217.