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Nidhanpur Copper Plate Inscription a Study of the Earliest Epigraphic Evidence of Syhlet-Cachar Kalpana Sen Ph

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Nidhanpur Copper Plate Inscription a Study of the Earliest Epigraphic Evidence of Syhlet-Cachar Kalpana Sen Ph প্রতিধ্বতি the Echo A journal of Humanities & Social Science Published by: Dept. of Bengali Karimganj College, Karimganj, Assam, India Website: www.thecho.in Nidhanpur Copper Plate Inscription A Study of the earliest Epigraphic Evidence of Syhlet-Cachar Kalpana Sen Ph. D Scholar, Dept. of History Assam University, Silchar The epigraphic data on land in ancient Srihatta is extremely meager. The earliest known Copper Plate discovered in the valley is that of Maharaja Bhaskara Varman. From this inscription we come to know that a part of the valley was known as Chandrapuri Vishaya in late 5th or early 6th century C.E and it has been under the rule of the successive Bhauma-Naraka rulers from BhutiVarman to Bhaskar Varman. The present paper is a study of the Nidhanpur copperplate Inscription which is the first indisputable material evidence of the socio-political Aryanisation of the Surma Barak Valley and it attempts to show what was the socio-political and religious scenario of the Surma-Barak Valley during 7th century C.E. The present paper has been written on the basis of content analysis of Secondary Sources. The Nidhanpur CopperPlate donated land called ‘mayurasalama’ Inscription is the first indisputable was in the Chandrapuri Vishaya of material evidence of the socio- Panchakhanda Pargana of Srihatta political Aryanisation of the Surma- Mandala. The deed actually had Barak Valley. This Inscription seven Copperplates but only six of describes the renewal of a perpetual them could be recovered. The revenue free landgrant by the inscription was discovered in Kshatriya king Maharaja Bhaskar Nidhanpur village in Panchakhanda Varmma of the original grant made Pargana of Syhlet district in 1912 and by his great-great-great grandfather Pandit Vidyavinod deciphered the Maharaja Mahabhutti Varmma who inscription. ruled towards the close of the 5th and From this inscription we come to the beginning of 6th century CE. The know that a part of the valley was Volume-II, Issue-I July 2013 84 প্রতিধ্বতিthe Echo ISSN: 2278-5264 known as Chandrapuri vishaya in late covered portions of Syhlet, 5th or 6th century CE and it has been Karimganj and Cachar districts of under the rule of the successive Barak/Surma Valley and the Bhauma-Naraka rulers from Kailasahar-Dharmanagar areas of BhutiVarman to BhaskaraVarman. Tripura. The Srihattamandala perhaps With the decipherment of Nidhanpur included portions of Commilla and Copper Plate Inscription there arose a Mymensingh districts. lot of controversy regarding the Bhaskara Varman was original location of the Chandrapuri unquestionably one of the most Vishaya. Scholars like Padmanath remarkable men and rulers of his Bhattacharjee Vidyavinod and time, a worthy contemporary of Kanaklal Barua presumed that Harsha Vardhana and Hiuen Tsang. Chandrapuri Vishaya to which the Apart from Nidhanpur Copperplate donated land belonged must have Inscription, we get a good deal of been located somewhere outside information about him from Dubi Syhlet. On the other hand, scholars Copper Plate grant, Harsha Charita like J.C Ghosh, N.K Bhattashali and and from notices of him left by R.G Bhandarkar insisted that Chinese Buddhist Scholar and Chandrapuri Vishaya must have been Pilgrim Hiuen Tsang and from other located in the Syhlet region. Whereas Chinese Sources. The renewal of the some scholars wanted to identify land grant i.e. Nidhanpur Copper Kaushika with Kosi in Bihar Plate of Maharaja Bhaskara Varma according to others Kaushika and was issued from Karna Suvarna and Kushiara were identical. However, not from his capital. It is a historical the controversy came to an end with fact that Karna Suvarna was the the discovery of the Paschimbagh capital of the illustrious Raja Copper Plate Inscription of Maharaj Sasanka, the mighty king of Gauda Srichandra of East Bengal which also (roughly West and North Bengal). mentions Chandrapuri Vishaya with Maharaja Harsha Vardhana with the the same river boundary and other help of his ally Maharaja Bhaskara geographical details as that of the Varmma defeated king Sasanka and Chandrapuri Vishaya of the later occupied his capital Karna Nidhanpur Copper Plate Inscription. Suvarna. Uptil now many copper- The Paschimbagh Copper Plate plates of Kamarupa-kings have been Inscription mentions of Chandrapura discovered. But Nidhanpur set of as a vishaya in Srihatta Mandala copper-plates of Maharaja Bhaskara within the Paundravardhan Bhukti. It Varmma is perhaps the oldest of such also mentions three vishayas within discovered plates and the grantor the Srihattamandala namely namely king Bhaskara, is probably Chandrapura, Garala and Pagora. the most renowned amongst the Here, ‘bhukti’ meant a province, sovereigns of Kamarupa who issued ‘mandala’ a division and ‘vishaya’ a such copper-plate charters district. Chandrapura was a very large The major portion of the district in the heart of undivided document is covered by the narration Barak Valley. The extent of the three of the genealogy of the king, from donated vishayas suggests that they Naraka who claimed descent from the Volume-II, Issue-I July 2013 85 প্রতিধ্বতিthe Echo ISSN: 2278-5264 Varaha-Avatara, then Bhagadatta of donees, including their gotra and Kurukshetra fame and many others veda -sakha and the number of together with the names of their shares are clearly mentioned in the consort, enumeration of the names of text. As one of the seven plates could the Brahmanas mainly the not be recovered, the total number of descendants of the original donees as donees and shares could not be many as two hundred and five and ascertained. The available plates their different gotras and different contain list of two hundred and five Vedasakhas and their shares singly or donees and they are given 159 11/16 in groups of the members of the same shares. In the renewal of the family in the land of Nidhanpur Copper Plates there is no Mayurasalmalagraharakshetra. mention of the motive of the land Following is the Geneology of the grants. Some such indications could Kamarupa Kings as given in the have been obtained from the original Nidhanpur Copper Plate Inscription. charter issued by Maharaja Naraka Mahabhuti Varmma about a century Bhagadatta earlier than its renewal. But Vajradatta unfortunately the original document Unnamed Kings of the dynasty who destroyed by fire is lost forever. In ruled in Kamarupa for three the present document the north-east, thousand years east and the South-east boundaries of Pushya Varmma the donated Mayurasalmakshetra are Samudra Varmma- dattadevi given by the dry bed of the Kosika or Bala Varmma-Ratnavati Kausika river. The South-West and Kalyana Varmma-Gandharvavati the north-West boundaries of the said Ganapati Varmma-Yajnavati field are given by ganginika. The Mahendra Varmma-Suvrata north-West portion of the ganginika Narayana Varmma-Devavati is described as bent eastwards. The Mahabhuti Varmma alias Bhuti South-East boundary sector i.e the Varmma-Vijnanavati dry bed of Kosika or Kausika, the Chandramukha varmma- south boundary and the south-West Bhogavati boundary sector i.e the ganginika Sthita Varmma-Nayanadevi were marked in some particular Susthita Varmma alias Mriganka- places by pieces of hewn fig tree. Syamadevi In addition to these, seven shares Supratishthita Varmma were allotted for the Bali-Charu-Satra Bhaskara Varmma of Ananta Narayana. Literally, Bali The available six Copperplate means ‘worship’. Charu means Inscription of Nidhanpur gives us ‘oblation’ and Satra means information that the land was granted ‘hospitality’. From the six copper to about two hundred and five Plate Inscriptions it can be inferred Brahmans for settlement in the that among the Brahmins who were donated land called mayurasalmala in granted land maximum were the the Chandrapuri Vishaya. The total Vaishnavas. This perhaps shows the area of the donated land is not evolution of Pre-Chaitanya Cult in known, but the names of Brahman Syhlet-Cachar region. Among the Volume-II, Issue-I July 2013 86 প্রতিধ্বতিthe Echo ISSN: 2278-5264 names of the Brahmins bearing cases, jointly. According to the Vaishnava influence mention may be Kalapur Copper Plate Inscription , made of Manorath Swami, Vishnu Samanta Marundanatha by a copper Ghosh Swami, Nandadev Swami, plate charter donated a plot of land in Sankarshan Swami, Narayan Swami, the forest region (atabibhukhande) Vishnu Swami, Sudarshan Swami, comprising an area of one pataka and Gopendra Swami, Madhusen Swami, two dronas for the purpose of the Dhruvashome Swami, Vishnushome balicharusatra of god Anantanarayana swami, Chakradev swami, gifted in the name of the deity of the Narayankundu Swami, Golapnandi temple and the Brahmanas Swami, Vishnubhuti Swami, (mathadevadvijebhyah). It is thus Vishnudatta Swami, Krishna Swami, interesting to note that Loknatha by Janardhandev swami, Vishnushome his Tipperah Copper Plate grant swami, Madhumitra swami, Madhu gifted land in the forest region for the Swami, Sanatan Swami, Pradyumna construction of the temple of Swami, Nandeshwar Swami, Anantanarayana, the balicharusatra of Govardhan swami, Sudarshan swami, the deity, for the settlement of the Narayanbridhi Swami, Gopal swami, Brahmanas well versed in four Janardhan Swami, Nandabhuti Vedas, while Marundanatha by his swami, Keshava Swami etc. Some of Kalapur copper plate also gifted in the names which are repeated here the same forest region land for the are repeated in the Inscription also. construction of a matha i.e. Among the two hundred and five balicharusatra of Anantanarayana and Brahmins
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