Maliya Copper-Plate Inscription of the Maharaja Dharasena II (571-572 CE)

         m! Hail! From (the city of) Valabhi:-(There was) the illustrious S ndp ti Bhatarka, a most devout worshipper of (the god) Mah shvara,-who was possessed of glory acquired in a hundred battles fought with the large armies, possessed of unequalled strength, of the Maitrakas, who had by force bowed down (their) enemies; (and) who acquired the goddess of royalty through the strength of the array of (his) hereditary servants and friends, who had been brought under subjection by (his) splendour, and had been acquired by gifts and honourable treatment and straightforwardness, and were attached (to him) by affection.

        (Line 3.)-His son, whose head was purified by being bowed down in the red dust his feet, (was) the illustrious S n pati Dharas na (I.), a most devout worshipper of (the god) Mah shvara,-the rays of the lines of the nails of whose feet diffused themselves among the lustre of the jewels in the locks of hair on the tops of the heads of (his) enemies when they bowed down with (their) heads (before him); (and) whose wealth was the sustenance of the poor, the helpless, and the feeble.

        (L. 4.)-His younger brother, whose spotless jewel [in the lock of hair on the top (his) head] was made more lustrous (than before) by the performance of obeisance to (his) feet, (was) the Mah r ja Dr nasimha, like unto a lion, a most devout worshipper of (the god) Mah shvara,-who had as (his) law the rules and ordinances instituted by Manu an other (sages); who, like (Yudhishthira) the king of justice, adhered to the path of the maintenance of good behaviour; whose installation in the royalty by besprinkling was performed by the paramount master in person, the sole lord of the circumference of the territory of the whole earth; (and) the glory of whose royalty was purified by (his) great liberality.

        (L. 6.)-His younger brother (was) the illustrious Mah r ja Dhruvas na (I.), a most devout worshipper of the Divine One,-who was victorious, by himself alone, through the prowess of his own arm, over the troops of the array of the elephants of (his) enemies; who was the asylum of those who sought for protection; who was the teacher of the real meaning of the sacred writings; (and) who, like the kalpa-tree, granted the enjoyment of fruits which were the desires, in accordance with (their) wishes, of (his) friends and favourites.

        (L. 8.)-His younger brother, whose sins were all washed away by doing obeisance the waterlilies that were his feet, (was) the illustrious Mah r ja Dharapatta, a most devout worshipper of the Sun,-by the water of whose very pure actions all the stains of the Kali age were washed away; (and) who forcibly conquered the renowned greatness the ranks of (his) enemies.

        (L. 10.)-His son, who acquired an increase of religious merit by doing service to his feet, was the illustrious Mah r ja Guhas na, a most devout worshipper of (the god) Mah shvara,-whose sword was verily a second arm (to him) from childhood; the test of whose strength was manifested by clapping (his) hands on the temples of the rutting elephants of (his) foes; who had the collection of the rays of the nails of (his) left foot interspersed with the lustre of the jewels in the locks of hair on the tops of the heads of (his) enemies who were made to bow down by his prowess; whose title of  king  was obvious and suitable, because he pleased the hearts of (his) subjects by properly preserving the path prescribed by all the traditionary laws; who in beauty, lustre, stability, profundity, wisdom,, and wealth, surpassed (respectively) (the god) Smara, the moon, (Him laya) the king of mountains, the ocean, (Brihaspati) the preceptor of the gods, and (the god) Dhan sha; who, through being intent upon giving freedom from fear [to those who came for protection], was indifferent to all the (other) results of his actions, as if they were (of as little value as) straw; (and) who was, as it were, the personified happiness of the circumference of the whole earth.

        (L. 15.)-His son, whose sins have been all washed away by the torrent of the waters of (the river) J hnav  that was constituted by the diffusion of the rays of the nails of his feet,-whose wealth and riches are the sustenance of a hundred thousand favourites; who is with appreciation, as if from a desire for (his) beauty, resorted to by (all) the virtuous qualities of an inviting kind; who astonishes all archers by the speciality of (his) innate strength and (skill acquired by) practice; who is the preserver of religious grants bestowed by former kings; who averts calamities that would afflict (his) subjects; who is the exponent of (the condition of being) the one (joint) habitation of wealth and learning; whose prowess is skilful in causing annoyance to the goddess of the fortunes of the compact ranks of (his) enemies; (and) who possesses a spotless princely glory, acquired by inheritance,-(is) the Mah r ja, the illustrious Dharas na (II.), a most devout worshipper of (the god) Mah shvara, who, being, in good health, issues a command to all the  yuktakas, Viniyuktakas, Dr ngikas, Mahattaras, irregular and regular troops, Dhruv dhikaranikas, D ndap shikas, R jasth n yas, Kum r m tyas, and others, according as they are concerned;-

        (L. 21.)-"Be it known to you, that, for the purpose of increasing the religious merit of (my) parents, and in order that I myself may obtain the reward that is wished for both in this world and in the next, there is given by me, with libations of water, in accordance with the rule of bh michchhidra, to the Br hman Rudrabh ti, an inhabitant of Unnata, (a student) of the V jasan yi-Kanva (sh kh ), and a member of the Vatsa g tra,-for the maintenance of the five great sacrificial rites of the bali, charu, vaishvad va, agnih tra, and atithi; to endure for the same time with the moon, the sun, the ocean, the rivers, and the earth; (and) to be enjoyed by the succession of (his) sons and sons  sons,-at (the village of) Antaratr , in the common-land called Shivakapadraka, one hundred p d vartas (of land), (known as) the holding of V ras nadantika; (and) fifteen p d vartas on the west of this; also, in the western boundary, one hundred p d vartas, increased by the twentieth, (known as) the holding of Skambhas na, (and) ten p d vartas in the eastern boundary;-in the village of Dombhigr ma, in the eastern boundary, ninety p d vartas, (known as) the holding of Vardhaki;-in the village of Vajragr ma, in the western boundary, one hundred p d vartas in the highest part of the village, (and) an irrigation-well with an area of twenty-eight p d vartas, (known as) the holding of the Mahattara V kidinna; (and) in the common-land called Bhumbhusapadraka, one hundred p d vartas, (known as) the holding of the cultivator B taka, and an irrigation-well;-(the whole of) this (being given) together with the udranga and the uparikara; with the v ta, bh ta, grain, gold, and  d ya; with (the right to) forced labour as the occasion for it occurs; (and with the privilege that it is) not to be (even) pointed at with the hand (of undue appropriation) by any of the king s people.

        (L. 29.)-" Wherefore, no one should behave so as to cause obstruction to this person in enjoying (it) in accordance with the proper conditions of a grant to a Br hman, (and) cultivating (it), (or) causing (it) to be cultivated, or assigning (it to another).

        (L. 30.)-" And this Our gift should be assented to and preserved by future pious kings, born of Our lineage, bearing in mind that riches do not endure for ever, that the life of man is uncertain, and that the reward of a gift of land belongs in common (both to him who makes it and to him who continues it). And he shall become invested with (the guilt of) the five great sins, together with the minor sins, who may confiscate this (grant), or assent to its confiscation."

        (L. 32.)-And it has been said by the venerable Vy sa, the arranger of the V das :-The giver of land abides in heaven for sixty thousand years; (but) the confiscator (of a grant), and he who assents (to an act of confiscation), shall dwell for the same number of years in hell! O Yudhishthira, best of kings, carefully preserve land that has previously been given to the twice-born; (verily) the preservation (of a grant) is more meritorious than making a grant! The earth has been enjoyed by many kings, commencing with Sagara; whosoever at any time possesses the earth, to him belongs, at that time, the reward (of this grant that is now made, if he continue it)!

        (L. 35.)-(This charter) has been written by the S mdhivigrahika Skandabhata. (This is) the sign-manual of me, the Mah r ja, the illustrious Dharas na. The D taka (is) Chirbira. The year 200 (and) 50 (and) 2; (the month) Vaish kha; the dark fortnight; (the lunar day) 10 (and) 5.

From: Fleet, John F. Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum: Inscriptions of the Early Guptas. Vol. III. Calcutta: Government of India, Central Publications Branch, 1888, 167-171.