430 Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. [August, 1910. 



N.-W. angle), and Kujbon (a large mauza, of which the southern 

 boundary is the northern par). The first two appear to be the 

 modern representatives of Vidyddhara Jogika and Chandra 

 Varmma Kogaha respectively, and indicate that the original de- 

 posit-spot of the copper-plate under consideration was, near the 

 place where the old road from Ghagrahat to Gaurnadi (in N.-E. 

 Bakarganj) still passes through the western par. 



The plate is interesting as dating from before the time of 

 the Sena Kings, though it is disappointing that no light is thrown 

 on the question as to who was the builder of the pars. The 

 discovery of the Gupta coins in villages lying close to the 

 western par may be taken, however, as proof that the fortifica- 

 tion dates back to at least Gupta times, as, apart from the 

 pars, there is nothing in the surrounding bil country to induce 

 invaders from the N.-E. to visit the place. The history of the 

 locality will form the subject of a later paper. 



H. E« S. 



The plate was sent to me at Mussoorie by Mr. H. E. 

 Stapleton in September, 1908. It was sent back in November 

 from Lucknow for the Society's Conversazione. The plate was 

 finally handed over to me for publication in July 1909. Mr. 

 Stapleton has recorded the provenance in the prefatory note. 

 The discovery of the copper-plate and the gold coin in the 

 mounds of the outskirts of Kotwalipara is of great interest, as 

 it proves beyond doubt that there was an ancient settlement 

 at this place centuries prior to the Mussalman conquest. 

 Kotwalipara or Kotalipada is at present known as one of the 

 oldest Brahmana colonies in Bengal. Prof. Nilmani Chakra- 

 vartti wrote to me while I was at Lucknow that the late 

 Dr. Bloch had pronounced the grant to be a forgery. Dr. 

 Bloch himself told me a short time before his death, that he 

 considered the grant to be a forgery. Nothing seems irregular 

 in the script or the date at first. The script belongs to the 

 period when acute- angled characters were beginning to be used 

 in North-Eastern India, and the ancient Gupta alphabet of 

 the Eastern variety was gradually becoming out of date. The 

 date also is not irregular, the year 34 of the Harsa era = 640-41 

 A.D. also suiting the palaeography. After prolonged examina- 

 tion I found some of the minor irregularities in the script : 



(1) In all eases, the letter ha, when it occurs singly, is 

 of the form generally to be found in early Gupta inscriptions 

 of the Western variety and shows no acute angle at the bottom. 

 But when it is used in a compound letter it has the form to be 

 found in early Gupta characters of the Eastern variety, which 

 is to be found in the Allahabad Asoka-pillar inscription of Samu- 

 dra Gupta l and the Dhanaidaha grant of Kumaragupta I. 2 In 



1 Fleet's Gupta Inscriptions, p. 1. * See ante 9 vol. v p. 459. 



