This Inscription refers to a grant of a village in four shares by Maharaja Sarvanatha, viz
two shares are for Vishunandin and one share is for the merchant Saktinaga, the son of Svaminaga and another share is for Kumaranaga and Skandanaga. This gift is conferred by a copper plate charter.
Inscription number 42.
Khoh Copper plate Inscription of Sarvanatha.
-(Gupta) year 193. 512 A.D.
Provenance: Khoh, Satna District, Northern Madhya Pradesh.
Various Inscriptions discovered from Satna point out presence of many temple ruins on the plateau and the northern face of the hills.
Understand that archeologists reported the ruins discovered from this site, to be small single cell structure with a slab roof with broken pillars, near an unusual soil mound, and that the temple’s door was “magnificently carved. This discovery suggested that once there was a big temple “Bhumara temple” in this ancient city. The inscriptions discovered from this region also mention the kings namely Hastin and Sarvanatha. The pillar inscriptions discovered from these sites also describe the boundaries between their kingdoms.
Script: Brahmi of the Northern Class.
Language: Sanskrit.
Metre: vv.1-5.श्लोक अनुष्टुब
References: Fleet, C.I.I. III, No 28, pp.125 f.
Sircar Select.Inss. I, pp.390-93.
Footnote-1.
1. From the facsimile in C.I.I.,III, Pl XVIII, Fleet (ib, Pl.xviii) has given the facsimile of a seal that was attached to the copper plates with a ring. It contains in relief on a counter sunk surface, at the
top, Garuda, the bird-vehicle of Vishnu, with outstretched wings just as on the copper-coins of chandragupta 2,
and below this in two lines, the legend, very much damaged, Maharaja-sa(r) va (na) tha
2. According to fleet the first plate is a palimpsest, on the outer side of it there are traces of sixteen lines of writing. containing an inscription of the same
Maharaja Sarvanatha, in the same characters as those of the extant inscription. They have been so carefully
beaten in that no impression of them is possible, and only detached words can be read here and there,
And this inscription seems to have been cancelled because of the omission of the words:
तमसा नद्या उत्तर पारे between महाराज शर्वनाथ: कुक्षली and ब्राह्मणादीन्कुटुम्बिन in 1.7.
3. Expressed by a dot over the symbol for figure one, e. g.
4. Uchehakalpa may be identified with Uchchhahra or Unchhahra in the former Nagaudh state, suggests D.C. Sircar क and ल are not clear.
1. Bhandarkar identified this vyaghra with Mahakantaraka Vyaghraraja whom Samudragupta claims to have captured
and then released, in his Allahabad Pillar Inscription (supra, II, 5) and with the feudatory of vakataka Prithvishena mentioned in the Nachna and Ganj (Supra, III, 12) inscriptions. But Sircar, (select.Inss, I, pp.391,n.1)
opines, The dates 174 and 177 (= 493 and 497 AD. or even 421 and 424 A D) of his son Jayanatha, (Bhandarkar’ s
List Nos. 1194-95) are too late for Vyaghra to have been a contemporary of Samudragupta. The form of letter
tha in the records of the Vakataka feudatory Vyaghra, is not earlier than the sixth century AD. (Ep Ind, XXXIV,
pp.248, note 4)
2. Also named, Murundasvamini in some other copper-plates of the sane monarch (C.I.I., III, No, 29, 16 and No,31, 1.6). Murundas have been grouped in the Allahabad Pillar Inscription of Samadragupta with the sakas and Deva-putra Shahi Shahanushahi i.e the Kushanas. They may have been a related people.
3. FLeet: शर्व
4. तमसा = Modern Tons a tributary of the Ganga.
Footnote-2.
उद्रड्न्ग = उद्धार = उद्रर्गन्थ , according to the sasvat Kosha = fixed tax or tax on permanent tenants; Marathi
udhar-jamabandi, assessing the total revenue of a village upon the chief proprietor, who is entitled to
distribute the tax burden proportionately among the tenants. उपरिकर = tax paid by temporary tenants, or occasional tenants or occasional taxes, cf, Marathi upari.
2. In the list of immunities granted to the Agraharikas in the copper plates, we invariably come accross phrases
like अ चाट भट प्रवेश्य, प्रतिनिषिद्ध चाट भट प्रवेश्य, अ भट छात्र ( = छत्रवाह) प्रवेश्य अ भट
प्रवेश्य, समस्त राजकीयानाम अप्रवेश्य
etc. Bhamodra-Mohota grant of Dronasimha of the year
183, begins with an order issued by the king to various royal officers, among whom the chatas and the bhatas.
too, figure (see supra II, 58) चाट in all these contexts is evidently a state official. Mitakshara explanation of चाट of the Yajnavalkya Smriti ( Acharadhyaya 336: चाट – तस्कर – दुर्वृत्त – महासाहसिकादिभि: पीड्यमाना: प्रजा रक्षेत कायस्थैश्च विशेषत: As a swindler seems to be a misplaced guess, The king enjoined here to protect his subjects from not only criminals but also from oppressive officials like chatas and yasthas (The revenue clerks)
Indraji (Bombay Gaz.. I, i, pp.81 f,)
points out that according to the Kumarapala-charita, Sidaharaja despatched Chatas and Bhatas to apprehend the fugitive Kumarapala and refers to the Bhata community of western India. Fleet takes चाट and भट
in the sense of regular and irregular troops respectively.
while Vogel equates चाट with the modern char head of pargana, of the erstwhile Chamba state, His duty included supply of forced labour to important persons during their visits to his area. Sircar explains भट as a Paik or Barkandaz, and चाट as a leader of a Group of bhatas,
Evidently the two are soldiers of different ranks, the senior
of the two being the chata; he gets precedence in the lists.
1. Fleet likes to supply the word उपभोग्य:
after it.
2. Sircar supplies the word मन्दिरयो: after it. He thinks भगवत stands here for Vishnu,
3. Prakritisation for स्फुटित.
4. ष्ट is engraved below च for want of space at the end of the line.
Second plate.
Footnote-1.
1. Better तद
2. भाग = royal share, ie. one-sixth, of the produce.
भोग = periodical supply of fruit, firewood, flowers etc. which the villagers had to furnish to the king.
कर = tax to be paid in addition to grain share.
हिरण्य = money paid in lieu of king s share of crops.
प्रत्याय = revenue आज्ञा -श्रवण – विधेय
-obedient to Commands
3. आभाव्य = भाव्य = accruing in future. sometimes the word stands for tax.
4. Read स पण्च
5. नाशुभा is the usual reading.
Footnote-2.
1. Better वसेत !! सव्र्व etc.
2. भोगिक = Jagirdar. भोग = मुक्ति = Jagir
3. Long in फाल्गु is redundant It is spelt correctly as फाल्गु in 1,28 of the Khoh copper Plate of Sarvanatha, of the year 4. Prakritisation of sanskrit वराहदत्त
5. Better read दूतको महाबलाधिकृत Sircar suggests that दूतकर्म is equivalent to दूतक: and inserts an additional म.to complete the phrase महा
English Translation of the inscription.
L1,1-6 Om ! Hail ! From Uchchakalpa; There was the Maharaja Oghadeva. His son, who meditated on his feet, was
the Maharaja Kumaradeva, begotten on the Mahadevi Kumaradevi. His son, who meditated on his feet, was the
Maharaja Jayasvamin, begotten on the Mahadevi Jayasvamini. His son, who meditated on his feet, was
the Maharaja Vyaghra, begotten on the Mahadevi Ramadevi.
His son who meditated on his feet, was the Maharaja Jayanatha, begotten on the Mahadevi Ajjhitadevi.
L1,6-8: His son, who meditated on his feet, the Maharaja Sarvanatha,begotten on the Mahadevi Murundadevi
being in good health, commands the house-holders headed by Brahman and residing in the (village) Asramaka
on the north bank of the river Tamasa and all the worker tenants:-
L1.8-16 Be it known to you that this village has been granted by me in four shares for as long as the sun and the moon endure, together with the udranga and the uparikara; and with the privilege that it is not to be entered by
District Begar officers and troops except for chastising thieves.
Out of them, two shares are for Vishunandin and another share is for the merchant saktinaga, the son of
Svaminaga and another share is for Kumaranaga and Skandanaga. This gift is conferred by this copper plate charter, to be enjoyed by them and, their son’s grandson, and their sons in succession. In order to increase my religious merit, I am pleased to make this grant for the repairs to be carried out by the above recorded succession of them and their descendants, of whatever is broken or cracked (in the
shrines) of the holy Lord Vishnu, established by myself, and of the holy Lord, the worshipful sun god,
and for the maintenance of the bali, charu, sattra, perfumes, incense, garlands and lamps
11.17-20 (So all of you addressed above, shall render to
them, the offering of the tribute of customary royalties, taxes,
gold & c. and shall be obedient to their
commands. And those kings who shall be born in our lineage, by them this grant should not be confiscated,
but should be confirmed and should be preserved, according to the requirement of the time. And the
tribute of the taxes, which customarily accrue to the king, should not be realised.
11.20-21 “whoever may confiscate this grant, he shall become invested with the five great sins and the minor sins.
11.22. And it has been stated in the Mahabharata by the venerable
Vyasa, the arranger of the vedas.
L1.22-28 (Here five of the customary verses are quoted).
L1.29-32. This charter has been written, on the tenth day of the month of Chaitra, in the year hundred exceeded by ninety three, Mahasandhivigrahika (senior Minister of Peace, Treaties and war) Manoratha, the grandson of
Bhogika, the Amatya Phalgudatta, and the son of the Bhogika, Varahadinna.
The Dutaka is the Mahabala-dhikrita. the kshatriya Sivagupta.