The Indore copper-plate inscription of maharaja Bhuluṇḍa, is a single-sheet administrative record engraved in the Brāhmī script and Sanskrit language. Issued from Valkha, probably modern Vaghli in Khandesh (north-western Maharashtra), the document bears the royal sign-manual in its left margin. The record establishes Bhuluṇḍa as a vassal ruler acknowledging an unnamed paramount sovereign and can be dated the twelfth day of the dark fortnight of Phālguna, year 107 which corresponds to 4th March 357 CE.
Issued from Valkha, maharaja Bhuluṇḍa directs a royal decree to his administrative officers, ratifying a perpetual land grant. Following a petition by Āṣāḍhanandin, the ruler assents to the brahmadeya donation of an agrarian tract previously held by Khuddataka, alongside its encompassing riverbank (kachchha). Positioned on the boundary of Ulladana, the property is bestowed upon the brāhmaṇa Kusāraka of the Bhāradvāja gotra. The charter mandates all royal associates to respect this transaction, securing cultivating rights for Kusāraka and his lineage for the duration of the celestial bodies. Authenticated by the royal sign-manual, the edict was executed by pratīhāra Skanda serving as the dūtaka.
1. valkhāt | paramabhaṭṭārakapādānuddhyāto mahārājabhuluṇḍaḥ samājñāpayati
2. sarvvāneva svasantakānāyuktakānvijñātamastu vaḥ samanujānīmosya
3. bhāradvājasagotrakusārakabrāhmaṇasya āṣāḍhanandivijñaptyā ulla–
4. danasīmāyām khuddatakapratyayakṣetrapaṭṭim saha maṇḍalakacchena brahmadeya–
5. mabhāgamācandrārkatārakākālīnamanvayabhogyam bhogāya | evamidānī –
6. masyāmābhikṛtānujñasyocitayā brahmadeyabhuktyā bhuñjataḥ kṛṣa–
7. taśca sarvverevāsmatpakṣīyaiḥ samanumantavyam|
8. pratihāraskando dūtakaḥ | varṣe 100 7 phalguna va 10 2 |
9. (In the margin) mahārājabhuluṇḍasya |
Line 1
From Valkha, mahārāja Bhuluṇḍa, who meditates on the feet of the Great Lord (paramabhaṭṭāraka), issues the following command to all our officers:
Lines 2 to 4
Be it known to you that at the request of Āṣāḍhanandin, we hereby give our assent to the brahmadeya gift of a strip of land consisting of the field belonging to Khuddataka, together with the surrounding bank (kaccha) on the boundary of Ulladana, to the brāhmaṇa Kusāraka of the Bhāradvāja gotra, to be enjoyed by him and his descendants as long as the moon, the sun, and the stars endure.
Lines 5 to 7
Wherefore, all persons connected with us should consent to this grant, now that he has thus been permitted by us, he may do so as long as he enjoys and cultivates the field according to the conditions for enjoying brahmadeya land.
The dūtaka is pratihāra Skanda.
Line 8
In the year 107 (100 and 7), in the month of Phālguna, during the dark fortnight, on the 12th (10 and 2) lunar day.
Line 9
(In the margin) Of the mahārāja Bhuluṇḍa.| Dynasty: | Valkhā |
| Ruler: | Bhuluṇḍa |
| Date: | 4th March 357 CE (Phālguna, kṛṣṇa 12, varṣa 107) |
| Donee: | Brāhmaṇa Kusāraka |
| Language: | Sanskrit |
| Script: | Brāhmī |
| Religion: | Vedic |
| Nature of grant: | Land donation |
| Purpose: | To record a brahmadeya donation of a field and its surrounding bank to Brāhmaṇa Kusāraka |
| Provenance of inscription: | Indore, Madhya Pradesh |
| Type of Inscription: | Copperplate grant |
| Source: |
Bibliography & Research
- Mazumdar, R. C. (1919-1920). No. 16. Two Copper Plate Grants from Indore (F. W. Thomas, Ed.). Epigraphia Indica, 15, 290-291.
- Mirashi, V. V. (Ed.). (1955). Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum Inscriptions of the Kalachuri Chedi Era. In (Vol. Vol 4 (Part 1), xxxv-xxxvii and 8-10. Archaeological Survey of India.
