Abstract
Copper-plate charters, the majority of which record tax-free grant of land by rulers, subordinates and others, have always been a subject of keen interest among the historians for various reasons. The introductory part of the charters containing genealogy and often achievements of the issuing authority became a source material to the writers of dynastic history that was much in practice throughout the twentieth century, especially in its early part. The lengthy list of officers and administrative units provide useful data for the administrative history of different regions. From the 1960s copper-plate charters assumed a different degree of importance under the influence of Marxist historiography. The concept of Indian feudalism introduced by D.D. Kosambi was established on a more solid foundation by R.S. Sharma with the help of land grants recorded on copper-plate charters. In the subsequent period, the protagonists of the integrative model of state formation have again depended on land grants to show the expansion of state society in regional and local levels. Copper-plate charters referring to the boundary settlements of gift villages have been utilised for the study of rural settlements and society in different regions. Due to this changing perspective, the study of copper-plate charters has always remained relevant in the study of early Indian history. Independent study on the copper-plate charters of a region is, however, not very common and this forms the subject-matter of the study of S.K. Acharya.
Acharya has compiled a descriptive catalogue of the copper-plate charters of Odisha discovered so far. Previously S.C. De had prepared a Descriptive Catalogue of the Copper Plate Inscriptions of Orissa (The Superintendent, Research and Museum, Bhubaneswar, 1961) but it deals only with the early rulers of Kalinga and Utkala. Acharya’s catalogue covers the period between the fourth to the sixteenth century and thereby, has included all the records of this particular category. Thus it is a complete study in this sense, not being confined to any periodic label. Besides, the author has not solely depended on the existing readings. He has revised his readings by consulting the facsimiles of original plates, wherever necessary.
The author has followed a dynastic chapterisation, beginning with the Mātharas and their contemporaries in the fifth–sixth centuries and ending at the sixteenth century. The study, however, begins with the Korosanda plates of Viśākhavarman and its script is said to have belonged to the type prevalent in fifth–sixth centuries CE. In Snigdha Tripathy’s Catalogue (Descriptive Topographical Catalogue of Orissan Inscriptions, Snigdha Tripathy, Manohar, 2010) the said charter has been assigned to the fifth century CE. A clearer view from S.K. Acharya regarding its date was, therefore, required since according to the title of the book the study begins from the fourth century.
By Copper Plate Inscriptions of Odisha Acharya probably meant all the charters issued by the rulers who were primarily based in the region and not merely the copper-plate charters issued within the present boundary of the Indian state of Odisha. In the introduction he did specify that copper plates of the ruling dynasties of Odisha have also been found from West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. He has included the charters discovered from Chaibasa, Singhbhoom which is now in Jharkhand (p. 353) or the Raghudevapuram plates of Raghudeva, discovered from the East Godavari District of Andhra Pradesh (p. 512). As the dynasties often expanded their authority beyond the present boundary of the state, a title based on the identity of the rulers (like Copper Plates of Odishan Rulers) would have been more appropriate.
Each chapter lists the charters of either a single dynasty or miscellaneous rulers who ruled in the same period and area, but cannot be included within a single ruling family. Such arrangement of data is useful for a comparative study of the length of the rule of each dynasty and the number of charters issued by them. This may be helpful in understanding their policy regarding religious patronage.
Acharya has analysed his material with minute details. He arranged his data under sixteen heads which apart from the conventional find-spot, seal, language, script, donor, recipient, etc., also specify the rights and privileges, the fiscal and juridical terms and even tenants and their caste affiliation. Anyone aware of the plethora of material contained in the copper-plate charters would understand the necessity of such an analytical viewpoint. Acharya gave due recognition and importance to the social information contained in the records apart from administrative, topographical and economic data.
There is the issue of the relevance of Acharya’s work. The question is why do we need to have separate descriptive catalogues for the copper-plate charters of Odisha in view of the one already existing and covering all the categories of the inscriptions of Odisha by Snigdha Tripathy (Descriptive Topographical Catalogue of Orissan Inscriptions, Snigdha Tripathy, Manohar, 2010). In Tripathi’s catalogue she followed a district-wise chapterisation and arranged the districts in alphabetical order. The aim was to provide insight into the various aspects of continuity and change in local history. Acharya’s purpose was directed towards a micro-analysis of each charter that is in keeping with the current trends of research into social formation, the construction of social identity and the role of varna and jāti status in this process. In his introduction he has discussed in detail how the data put under different heads can be analysed for a better perspective of the society and administration in early Odisha.
The observation of the author on different aspects of the study of copper-plate charters is significant. Acharya points out that the circumstance under which it had been discovered is important. In his section on the find-spot of the record he has always tried to specify this. One of his significant observations is that the plates used to be kept in government record rooms during colonial rule, as unscrupulous officers demanded surrender of title deeds from the proprietors of land with the intention to make land settlements. They were never returned. This often results in finding of old copper plates together in boxes. This observation provides important insight into the circumstance of the recovery of the charters. One may recall that the set of the five Damodarpur copper plates from the Rajshahi Division of the former Presidency of Bengal had been found together in a heap of earth between two tanks. This is interesting since they were issued in different periods and went to different recipients. How did they come together? Thanks are due to Acharya for raising this sort of query in our minds.
The index is both careful and thoughtful, with abbreviations provided with each term to understand whether it stands for a boundary village or a gift village and so on.
Finally, a separate head for boundary detail contained in each charter could have been added. The use of modern district names instead of old ones could have been more useful, since one who is not so conversant with the geography of Odisha would find it difficult to locate Korosanda which, in Acharya’s book, has been put under the Ganjam district, but at present actually lies within the Gajapati district.