THE PALAS OF BENGAL. 93 



maternal uncles, Mathanadeva or Mahanadeva and Suvarnadeva and their sons Kahnu- 



radeva and Sivarajadeva. Sandhyakaranandi' s father, Praja- 

 patinandi, was the principal minister of peace 1 and war 

 (Mahasandhivigrahika) , but his principal adviser was Bodhideva, son of Yogadeva, 

 the minister of his father Vigrahapala III. 1 



The earliest record of Ramapala is the Tetrawan inscription recording the erec- 

 tion of an image of Tara by a certain Bhatta Icchara, in the 2nd year of the King's 

 reign. This image was discovered by the late Mr. A. M. Broadley, who read the 



king's name as Ramapati. 8 Cunningham published it in one 



KiUS and e Ms' RJcords Pti ° nS of his re P orts + The inscription was finally published by 



Babu Nilmani Chackravartti with a good ink impression in 

 1908. b It consists of two lines partly damaged, and is at present in the Indian 

 Museum. 



The next record in order is a manuscript of the Astasahasrika Prajnaparamita 

 written at Nalanda in the Magadha visaya. The manuscript was purchased by Dr. 

 A. F. R. Hoernle from Nepal, during his stay in India/ and afterwards acquired by 

 the Bodleian Library." It was written in the 15th year of the king and its final 

 colophon runs as follows: — 



! — ranutiara jnanavaptaya iti, Maharajadhiraja Parames'vara-Paramabhattaraka- 

 Paramasaugata Srimad=Ramapaladeva-pravarddhamana-vijayarajye pancadaSame 

 samvatsare abhilikhyamane yatramkenapi samvat 15, V aisaksadme krsnasaptamyam 7 

 Asti Magadhavisaye, £ri Nalandavasthita lekhaka Grahanakundena Bhattarikapra- 



2.—jndparamitd likhitd iti. 



Late in the king's reign an image of the Bodhisatva Padmapani was dedicated, 

 at or near the modern village of Chandimau in the Bihar Sub-division of the Patna 

 District by an inhabitant of Rajagriha. This inscribed image was discovered by 

 Cunningham in 1877 or 1878, ' but he did not attempt to read it. No attempt has 

 hitherto been made by anybody else to read this inscription. The image was found 

 lying among the number of broken ones in the outskirt of the village of Chandimau 

 in August 191 1 and was removed to Indian Museum. A part of the inscription 

 was broken owing to careless packing, but fortunately two inked impressions of 

 the inscripticn were taken while in situ, otherwise it would have become quite 

 impossible to read the date, as the part bearing the numerals for the year have 

 disappeared. This is the most interesting part of the epigraph as it proves conclu- 

 sively that Ramapaladeva reigned for a considerable length 

 The date of tiie ^Chandimau of time) at least A2 years> which made T/aranatha's state- 

 ment about his length of reign acceptable. Cunningham read 

 the date as 12, but it certainly was 42. The inscription itself runs as follows : — 



(1). Ye dharmma hetu prabhava hetu (m) tesam hy = avadat (t) esam (m) yo nirod- 



1 L.C p. 55, V. 3. -2 Epi. Ind., Vol. II, p. 348. 3 J.A.S.B. T872, Pt. I, p. 282. 



* Cunningham's Arch. Survey Rep., Vol. ITI, p 124. 6 J. and P.A.S.B., Vol. IV, p. 109, pi. vii. 

 8 J. AS B., ioj-jo, pt. I, p. 100. 1 Cat. Bodleian Liby., Cambridge, Vol. II, p. 250, No. 1428. 



* Cunningham Arch. Survey Rep., Vol. XI, p. 169. 



