86 GANGA MOHAN LASKAR ON 



charter is dated the 25th day of Pausa of the year 13 (Samvat 13). In addition to the 

 names of Devakhadga and Rajaraja, mentioned in Plate A, this plate gives us the names 

 of two other kings, viz., Khadgodyama and Jatakhadga, the grandfather and the father 

 respectively of Devakhadga, who was reigning at the time of these grants. It also men- 

 tions an Udirnakhadga, whose name indicates that he belonged to the royal family. 



Both the charters were issued in the same year (Samvat 13) from the same place 

 Jaya-KarmAnta-VAsaka. Both begin with verses in praise of Buddha or his religion. 

 Both are written by the same clerk Puradasa, the devout Buddhist. These inscriptions 

 are historically very important, as they disclose to us a hitherto unknown line of Bud- 

 dhist kings who reigned in East Bengal probably before the time of the Palas. These 



kines are : — 



(1) Khadgodyama. 



'*' 



(1) Jatakhadga, son of (1) 



I 



(3) Devakhadga, son of (2) 



J ' 



(4) Rajaraja, the heir-apparent, son of (3). 



We do not know anything about the predecessors of Khadgodyama and the succes- 

 sor of Rajaraja. Devakhadga was the king who reigned at the date of these charters, 

 while Rajaraja was a prince, probably the heir-apparent at that time. Devakhadga's 

 name occurs on the seals attached to the plates. Udirnakhadga was a member of the 

 royal family ; we cannot say whether he was an ancestor of Devakhadga. 



As stated above, both the charters are dated in the same year, viz., Samvat 13, by 

 which is probably meant the thirteenth year of the reign of Devakhadga. Palseographic 

 considerations would lead us to place these inscriptions in the eighth or ninth century A.D. 

 The approximate nature of the palatograph ic tests render it impossible to pronounce 

 positively on the exact date of the plates, which cannot be settled until other records 

 throwing fresh light on the kings mentioned in these inscriptions are discovered. 



The extent of the sway of these kings is at present unknown, but the absence of the 

 titles of paramount power such as paramabhattaraka, paramcsvara, &c, indicates that 

 these kings were local kings of no very extensive dominion. The mound in which the 

 plates were found probably marked the site of the monastery to which the grants were 

 made. A place called Talapataka, mentioned in line 8 of Plate B, has been identified 

 by Mr. J. T. Rankin, Magistrate of Dacca, with Talpara, a village under the police sta- 

 tion of Raipura (Dacca). He also suggests that the villge Duttgaon under the same 

 police station may represent the place Dattakataka (?) mentioned in line 10 of Plate A. 



The words piitaka, drona and dronavapa are used in these inscriptions as measures of 

 the areas of lands. Drona is found in Sanskrit dictionaries as a measure of volume, not of 

 area. But it is extensively used, so far as I know, in many parts of East Bengal as a 

 measure of area. It seems to me that the words drona and dronavapa indicate one and the 

 same area of land, the word dronavapa literally meaning ' an area in which seed measuring 

 one drona in volume can be sown (from the root vap, to sow).' Assuming then that 



