io. Edilpur Grant of Kesavasena 



By R. D. Banbrji, M.A. 





The discovery of this inscription was announced by Prinsep 

 in 1838, in which year it was presented to the Asiatic Society of 

 Bengal by Babu Conoy Lai Tagore (i.e. Kanai Lala Thakura). 



The plate was dug up on a river bank in the Pargana Edilpu 

 in the Bakerganj district of Bengal. Prinsep published his read- 

 ing in the 7th volume of the Journal of the Asiatic Society of 

 Bengal. 1 He read the king's name Kesavasena. About sixty 

 years afterwards Babu Nagendra Nath Vasu, when editing th 

 Madanapada grant of Vi6varupasena, observed that the king's 

 name should be read as VUvarupa and not KUava. 1 He relied 

 on the reading of the last words of verse 10 



Etasmai kathamanyathd ripu-vadhuvaidhavya-vaddha-vrato 

 vikhyatah kshitipaldmaulir-abhavat Sri- ViSvarupo nrpah 



which he correctly read as Visvarupo nripah. His views were 

 adopted by Dr. Kielhorn, in his list of Northern India In- 

 scriptions, 8 who states " This name was by Prinsep misread as 

 Kesavasena ' ' *. 



In 1907 Dr. Sten Konow, the then Government Ephigraphist 

 for India, enquired about the plate, and then the Society found 

 out that the grant was missing. Subsequent enquiries produced 

 no result. Some time ago I was engaged in studying the date 

 of Lakshmanasena and his successors. At that time I was 

 struck by Dr. Kielhorn's statement, and on examining the 

 facsimile found out that Prinsep 5 s reading of the king's name 

 is quite correct. In the absence of the original plate, which 

 seems to be lost beyond all hope of recovery, I am obliged to 

 rely on the facsimile published by Prinsep, which fortunately 

 enough is not a drawing but a lithograph from a mechanical 

 estampage. The lithograph is as good as that from which Dr. 

 Kielhorn published the Mungir grant of Devapala 5 , excepting 

 the spots retouched by Prinsep. 6 



The subsequent discovery of the Madanapada grant of 

 Visvarupasena has facilitated the revision, as all of the verses 

 of the former are to be found in the latter. The king's name is 

 undoubtedly Kesavasena. The word Vi&varupa in the 17th line 



1 Journ. Beng. As. tioc, Vol. VII, Pt. I, pp. 40ff 

 « lb d. 9 Vol. LX\\ Pt. I. pp. 8ff. 

 8 Ibid., Vol. V, App. p. 88, No. 640. 

 + Ibid., note I. 



5 Ind. Ant., Vol. XXI, pp 254ff. 



6 Journ. Beng. As. Soc., Vol. VII, p. 40. 



