1892.] F. Kielhorn— Copper-plate Inscription of Mahipala. 
77 
The Dinajpur Copper-Plate Inscription of Mahipala.—By Professor 
F. Kielhorn, C. I. E.; Gottingen. 
Some time in 1886 the Society before which I have the honour to 
lay this short paper received from Mr. Giridhari Basu, Deputy Inspector 
of Schools at Dinajpur, several rubbings of a newly discovered copper¬ 
plate inscription. They were submitted to the late Dr. Rajendralala 
Mitra, who pronounced the find an important one, but was prevented by 
the state of his eyes from attempting a decipherment. About six months 
ago the same rubbings were sent by Dr. Hoernle to myself, with an in¬ 
vitation, if possible, to edit the inscription for the Society. In now com¬ 
plying with Dr. Hoernle’s request, I may well say that this new Diuajpur 
copper-plate is indeed of great value, because, together with the Society’s 
Amgachhi plate of which I owe an excellent impression to Mr. Fleet, it 
settles beyond dispute the line of succession of the so-called Pala dynasty 
of Bengal, from Narayanapala down to Yigrahapala III. The new plate, 
it is true, in its historical portion contains nothing which is not in the 
Amgachhi plate ; but it enables us to read what before in that plate was 
illegible, just as the Amgachhi plate supplies much of what would other¬ 
wise be doubtful or illegible in the Dinajpur plate. And having care¬ 
fully compared both plates, I may state with confidence that, beginning 
from Naravanapala, the line of Pala kings was as follows:— 
(1.) R arayanapala. 
(2.) His son Rajyapala. 
(3.) His son Gopala II. 
(4.) His son Yigrahapala II. 
(5.) His son Mahipala. 
(6.) His son Hayapala. 
(7.) His son Yigrahapala III. 
Of these, Narayanapala is the donor in the Society’s Bhagalpur 
plate, Mahipala the donor in this new Dinajpur plate, and Yigrahapala 
III. the donor in the Amgachhi plate. 
Like the two other plates, the new Dinajpur plate is a single one, 
measuring about 1' broad by 1' 2|" high. It is surmounted by a highly 
wrought ornament, fixed on the upper part and advanced some distance 
on the plate, and apparently containing, within a circle, about 2f" in 
diameter, the word S'ri-Mahipdladevasya. The plate is inscribed on both 
sides, the front containing 34, and the back 28 lines of writing. On the 
front down to line 13, and on the whole of the back the writing is 
generally well preserved ; but the middle of the front all the way down 
below line 13 has suffered much from corrosion, so that many aksharas 
K 
