A Note on the Keshari Grant of Satrubbasija

Summary

This note critiques Binayak Misra’s reading of a Keshari (Kesari) copper-plate grant issued by Satrubhanjya. Misra had identified the figure Ganadanda-Virabhadra mentioned in the grant with Chandragupta Maurya and suggested that the Mauryas used the peacock as a totem. The author rejects these interpretations. First, he argues that Ganadanda-Virabhadra is a Saiva ascetic: Virabhadra is a fierce form of Shiva, Gana refers to Shiva’s attendants and Danda is another name for the godfile:///home/oai/share/split_pdfs/A_Note_on_the_Keshari_Grant_of_Satrubbasija.pdf#:~:text=matted%20hair,Virabhadra%2C%20who%20appears%20to. Thus the name signals a Saivite context, and the grant is more likely associated with a Shaiva monastery than the Mauryan empire. Second, he notes that Asoka’s Rock Edict I records that the Maurya king ate peacock meat, making the peacock an unlikely totemfile:///home/oai/share/split_pdfs/A_Note_on_the_Keshari_Grant_of_Satrubbasija.pdf#:~:text=%282%29%20Mr,take%20peacock%E2%80%99s%20meat%20every%20day. The grant says that Ganadanda-Virabhadra, with 88,000 disciples, received a grant of 88,000 gramas from a donor named Ramadevafile:///home/oai/share/split_pdfs/A_Note_on_the_Keshari_Grant_of_Satrubbasija.pdf#:~:text=have%20had%2088000%20disciples%2C%20received,amusing%20that%20this%20estate%20compris. The author compares this to the case of Sadbhavasambhu, a Saiva monk who was granted three lakh gramas; he argues that “grama” here denotes units of assessment, not individual villagesfile:///home/oai/share/split_pdfs/A_Note_on_the_Keshari_Grant_of_Satrubbasija.pdf#:~:text=from%203%20Kalacur%20king%20named,amusing%20that%20this%20estate%20compris. The note criticises Misra’s suggestion that the grant parallels the vast Maurya empire and that titles like Mahamandalikapati indicate imperial status; it explains that terms such as Mahamandalika, Mahamandalesvara and Maharajadhiraja were often used by feudatory chiefsfile:///home/oai/share/split_pdfs/A_Note_on_the_Keshari_Grant_of_Satrubbasija.pdf#:~:text=Mabirijzdbiraja%20and%20Parameivara%2C%20applied%20to,of%20Rastrakita%20Krsna%20III%2C%20has. The author calls for careful philological and historical analysis before making identifications and emphasises that misreadings can lead to fanciful conclusions.