Udamina in Bengal Epigraphs

Summary

'Udamina in Bengal Epigraphs' by Dines Chandra Sircar is a short note in the Miscellany section correcting a misreading in a recently published copper‑plate charter of Pāla king Vigrahapāla III (reigned c.1055–70). Sircar reports that the inscription, edited by M. H. Gupta in the Varigiya Sahitya Parisat Patrika, contained an incorrect decipherment of lines describing the boundaries of the granted land. The editor read the passage as listing three separate ‘udamāna’ (loosely meaning ‘water‑lifting machines’) alongside other units of measurement. Sircar re‑examines the original plate and proposes a more accurate transcription: the compound phrase “samvaddha‑adhunā‑bala‑kulit‑arddha‑lovani‑kamabṛju‑khaṇḍikā‑sarddha‑udamana‑traya‑ottara‑ṣaḍ‑adhavapa‑traya‑adhika‑dron‑dvaya‑opeta” should be understood as describing a single measurement of cultivated land, and the words ‘udamana‑traya’ form part of the compound rather than an independent item. He argues that ‘udamana’ here is a scribal variant of the term ‘udambhaṇa,’ meaning a type of raised irrigation bund, rather than ‘udamāna.’ Sircar then surveys other Bengal epigraphs where similar compounds occur, such as the Bhaturya and Mehar charters, to show that ‘udamana’ has been consistently misread. By clarifying the term, the article improves our understanding of medieval Bengali land measures and irrigation practices. Sircar emphasises the importance of carefully reading compound Sanskrit words in inscriptions and cautions against accepting published editions uncritically. The note, though brief, contributes to the accurate interpretation of epigraphic records and the reconstruction of agrarian history in eastern India.