A New Charter of Mahāsudevarāja of Sarabhapura

This note reports a recently discovered copper‑plate charter issued by Mahāsudevarāja, a king of the Sarabhapura dynasty. The charter consists of three copper plates linked by a ring bearing a Gajalakṣmī seal. The plates are inscribed in an angular script known as the Vākāṭaka or box‑headed style and the inscription runs to twenty‑four lines, six on each side of the three plates. The first side of the first plate is blank, and the last side of the third plate bears only eight words giving the engraver’s name. Unlike earlier Sarabhapura grants, this charter is issued from Śrīpura rather than Sarabhapura and is dated to the seventh regnal year of Mahāsudevarāja. Its chief importance lies in two points: it names the king’s father, previously unknown, and it mentions a Mahāsāmanta called Indrabalrāja who served as dataka (the officer responsible for delivering the charter). These details help historians place Mahāsudevarāja more precisely in the genealogy and chronology of the Sarabhapura‑Śarabhāpurīya line. The article provides a transliteration of key lines. It notes that while earlier grants were issued from Sarabhapura, this one comes from Śrīpura, suggesting that the administrative centre had shifted or that the king travelled. The charter’s ring is uncut, indicating that the grant may not have been formally delivered. The engraver is identified as the same craftsman who prepared the Thākurdiyā plates of Mahāpravārarāja. Finally, the charter records the grant of a village named Sunikā in the Dhakarī bhoga to a Brāhmaṇa. This geographical detail may help locate the economic heartland of the dynasty. The author concludes by emphasising that the new charter provides valuable data for reconstructing the chronology of the Sarabhapura kings and for understanding their administrative practices.

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