BHUBANESWAR, JAN 28: In a significant discovery, the Orissa State Museum has discovered two sets of ancient copper plate charters of the Bhanja dynasty of Orissa.The writings on the plates is believed to have been composed between the 9th and 12th Centuries during the Bhanja dynasty's golden rule in Mayurbhanj, Sonepur-Boudh-Phulbani and Ganjam-Nayagarh-Aska regions.The writings are in Sanskrit, part verse part prose, and the charters used in this are called `Eastern variety of Northern alphabet'. According to reports, while one of the sets was unearthed from Badrahajur, a small village about 5 km from Sonepur, the other was discovered in the vicinity of Nayagarh.Epigraphists here say that both sets are of great historical importance and would help throw new light on the history of the Bhanja rule. Besides, they have great importance, so far as the early history and culture of Orissa is concerned.Outline Land Donation:The charters outline the land donation by kings of Bhanja dynasty and theirstrategies to convert uncultivated land into arable ones through this system, said Dr Snigdha Tripathy, senior epigraphist at the State Museum.Tripathy further said that kings of Bhanja dynasty were using copper plates for writing charters, as they felt these could be stored for generations without getting damaged.One of the charters, which was issued to a Brahmin named Bhataputra Nandabala by King Ranabhanja, states that Bhanja was ruling over the kingdom of Khinjali Mandal (Sonepur-Boudh-Phulbani) during the 10th Century. The charter, which starts with an invocation to Lord Shiva, was reportedly issued in the seventh regnal year.The charter also speaks about the genealogy of Ranabhanja, son of Shatrubhanja and grandson of Shilabhanja. It is stated to have been issued from Dhrutipur, capital of the Bhanja kingdom in Khinjali Mandal.The inscription also states that Liponda village was gifted to Nandabala, son of Bhaia and grandson of Goinda, and was at the bank of Byaghra river (presently Bagha),a tributary of Mahanadi. The land donation was made to Nandabala, on the occasion of a solar eclipse.The charter also states Nandabala's gotra (Upamanyu) who had migrated from Dharmanagar (the northern part of the country).LEGALITIES OF VIOLATION:Besides, the inscription also states various legal implications of violation of the charter and gives information about a goldsmith Pandi, son of Gona, who engraved it. Ranabhanja's royal seal marks the end.The second charter was also issued to another Brahmin named Kongadadev Bhatta by King Shilabhanja who ruled Ganjam-Nayagarh-Aska region in the 10th Century.The inscription states that the charter had been issued from Vanjulibaka (near Bhanjanagar) by Shilabhanja, son of Digbhanja, grandson of Ranabhanja and great grandson of Shatrubhanja, a Bhanja lineage different from the Khinjali Mandal one.The gifted village, Talabadagrama, was given to Kongadadev Bhatta of Bharadwaj gotra on Maha Bisuba Sankranti. The inscription, written by the then ministerfor war and peace, Khambha, also mentions Bhatta Dikhita, the royal officer who executed the system of land donation. The charter ends with the endorsement of the royal seal by Queen Sobhini Mahadevi.The ancient sets of copper plate charters have been preserved at the State Museum, after proper chemical treatment and preservation and under the direct supervision of Director of Culture and Tourism Asit Tripathy.
