The India Office copper plate of the Vākāṭaka ruler Devasena is an incomplete epigraphic record, consisting solely of the first plate of an originally larger set. Its exact original find-spot remains unknown, as it was discovered in the possession of the India Office in London. Engraved in the box-headed Brāhmī script, the extant three lines of Sanskrit prose demonstrate regional Prakrit influences. The document was issued from the collateral Vākāṭaka capital of Vātsyagulma (modern Basim).
The surviving text records an administrative order from mahārāja Devasena directed to touring royal officers (kulaputras), specifically listing bhaṭas, bhojakas, and daṇḍanāyakas operating within the northern subdivision of Nāṅgarakaṭaka. The edict documents the grant of the village Yappajja to two brāhmaṇas, Dharmasvāmin and Bhavasvāmin, both belonging to the Śāṇḍilya gotra. Because the subsequent plates are lost, the charter abruptly terminates without detailing the customary fiscal exemptions, the regnal date, or the administrative personnel responsible for its execution.
Editor's Comment:1. svasti | vātsyagulmāt | vākāṭakānāmmahārājaśrīdevasenasya vacanāt uttaramārgge-
2. nāṅgarakaṭake asmatsantakabhaṭabhojakadaṇḍanāyakādyāḥ sañcarantaḥ kulapraputrā
3. vaktavyāyathaiṣosmābhirgrāmaḥ śāṇḍilyasagotrasya dharmmasvāmino bhavasvāmino yappajjassa
Line 1
Hail! From Vātsyagulma:
By the order of the illustrious Devasena, the mahārāja of the Vākāṭakas.
In Nāṅgarakaṭaka, in the Northern subdivision (mārga), our touring Officers of noble birth such a soldiers, bhojakas and daṇḍanāyakas should be addressed as follows:
Line 2
This village Yappajja has been granted by us to Dharmasvāmin of the Śāṇḍilya gotra and to Bhavasvāmin……………
(The subsequent plates of the grant are not forthcoming.)
| Dynasty: | Vākāṭaka |
| Ruler: | Devasena |
| Date: | c. 455 to 480 CE |
| Place: | Indian Office, London |
| Donee: | Brāhmaṇas Dharmasvāmin and Bhavasvāmin |
| Language: | Sanskrit with influences of Prakrit |
| Script: | Box-headed Brāhmī |
| Nature of grant: | Land donation |
| Purpose: | To record the grant of a village to two Śāṇḍilya gotra Brāhmaṇas |
| Type of Inscription: | Copperplate grant |
| Source: |
