Stray Būrhīkhār Plate of Śivagupta, Year 57

Metadata

Current Version:  draft, 2026-09-18Z

Editor:   Natasja Bosma.

DHARMA Identifier: INSDaksinaKosala00048.xml

Hand Description:

Additional Metadata

No metadata were provided in the table for this inscription

Edition

⎘ plate 3r 3r1vaseT|

I. Anuṣṭubh
bahubhir ¡bb!⟨vv⟩asudhā dattā rājabhiḥ sagarādibhiḥ
yasya yasya yadā 3r2bhūmis tasya tasya tadā phalaṁ|

II. Anuṣṭubh
svadattāṁ paradattām ¡b!⟨v⟩ā yatnād rakṣa yudhiṣṭhira|
3r3mahīṁ mahībhr̥tāṁ śreṣṭha dānāt śreyo ’nupālanaṁ|

III. Indravajrā
mā bhū⟨va⟩d aphalaśa3r4ṅkā vaḥ paradat¡v!⟨t⟩eti pārthivāḥ
svadānāt phalam ānantyaṁ par⟦ā⟧⟨⟨a⟩⟩d¿ā?⟨a⟩ttānu3r5pālane|

IV. Puṣpitāgrā
Iti kamaladalāmbubindulolāṁ
śriyam anuci⟨n⟩tya manu3r6ṣyajīvitaṁ ca|
sakalam idam udāhr̥taṁ ca bu⟨d⟩dhvā
na hi puruṣaiḥ parakīrtayo vilo3r7pyāḥ|

pravarddhamānavijayarājyasam¡b!⟨v⟩atsare saptapañcāśe ’ṅkenāpi ¡saṁ0!⟨samvat⟩ 50 7 mā
3r8gha dina 30 utk¿i?⟨ī⟩rṇṇaṁ tām{b}rapaṭ¡ṭh!⟨ṭ⟩ikagolāyyas¿u?⟨ū⟩nunā nāgadeveneti|

Translation by Natasja Bosma

3r1[[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!

3r2-3r3
O Yudhiṣṭhira, zealously protect the land which was given by yourself or by others! O best of kings, protection is superior to giving!

3r3-3r5
Oh kings, do not fear that land given by others will be unfruitful for you! The fruit of one’s own giving is endless in [combination with] upholding that which was given by others!

3r5-3r7
After thus considering that wealth and human life are unstable as a drop of water on a lotus petal and [also] knowing all that is said, the glories of others should not be violated by human beings.

3r7-3r8In the fifty-seventh year of the increasingly victorious reign [of Śivagupta], in numbers: Year 57, [Month] Māgha, Day 30, [the copperplate charter] has been engraved by Nāgadeva, son of the goldsmith Golāyya.

Commentary

This is the third copperplate of a charter and therefore it does not contain any information about the grant or the issuing king. However, the engraver of the plate named Nāgadeva is known from one of Śivagupta’s Sirpur Plates (Dk00042). Also Śivagupta is the only king of the region known to have ruled as long as fifty-seven years. Therefore the copperplate can be ascribed to king Śivagupta.

Bibliography

Edited by Shastri 1995: 162–164; encoded here by Natasja Bosma based on this edition.

Primary

Shastri, Ajay Mitra. 1995. Inscriptions of the Śarabhapurīyas, Pāṇḍuvaṁśins and Somavaṁśins, Part II: Inscriptions. New Delhi: Indian Council of Historical Research; Motilal Bandarsidass.
162–164. [siglum AMS]

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].
257–258.