A Dated Copper-Plate Grant from Sundarban

Summary

This paper reports the discovery and study of a unique silver-plated copper-plate found during land reclamation at Rukshaskhali in the West Sundarban, near the sea-coast of Bengalfile:///home/oai/share/split_pdfs/322-333-a_dated_copper-plate_grant_from_sundarban.pdf#:~:text=A%20Dated%20Copper,plate%20was%20discovered%20while. The plate was unearthed from a brick-built chamber enclosed by a thick wall, part of a cluster of ruins that suggest the area was once a flourishing centre of civilization before being overrun by forestfile:///home/oai/share/split_pdfs/322-333-a_dated_copper-plate_grant_from_sundarban.pdf#:~:text=in%201%20%E0%AA%AA%E0%AA%AE%E0%AA%BE%E0%AA%A3%2C%20West%20Sunderban%2C,a%20village%20with%20the%20significunt. The presence of a Buddhist monument mentioned in the inscription and a nearby village called Pithar-pratima further support the antiquity of the sitefile:///home/oai/share/split_pdfs/322-333-a_dated_copper-plate_grant_from_sundarban.pdf#:~:text=however%2C%20%E0%A4%8F%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%82%20%E0%AA%A6%20Buddhist%20monument%2C,by%2C%20%E0%AA%B8%E0%AA%BE%E0%AA%82%20last%20up%2010. The discovery challenges the prevailing notion that lower Bengal recognized Sena supremacy on the eve of the Muslim invasion; the inscription indicates the existence of a previously unknown Pala family or Gurjara-Pratihara branch controlling the regionfile:///home/oai/share/split_pdfs/322-333-a_dated_copper-plate_grant_from_sundarban.pdf#:~:text=It%20appears%2010%20me%20that,who%20successtully%20raided%20and%20tem. The plate is inscribed on one side and is plated with a thin layer of silver, a rare feature among Indian copper-platesfile:///home/oai/share/split_pdfs/322-333-a_dated_copper-plate_grant_from_sundarban.pdf#:~:text=The%20inseription%20is%20written%20on,the%20reverse%2C%20111%E0%AB%AF%20ouly%20engraved. The engraving includes a Vaisnavite scene in which Visnu (identified as Bhagavan Narayana of the Narasimha variety) sits in Lalitasana on a wheeled chariot, shaded by a sunshade, with Garuda kneeling in frontfile:///home/oai/share/split_pdfs/322-333-a_dated_copper-plate_grant_from_sundarban.pdf#:~:text=The%20engraving%20counsists%20of%20%E0%AA%9B,%E0%AA%AA%E0%AA%BE%E0%AA%82%20%E0%AA%A1%E0%AA%A1%20attendaut%20is%20character. The artistic style and iconography link the engraving to the late 12th century A.D. and show affinities with Nepalese and Burmese painting, providing clues to the diffusion of artistic motifsfile:///home/oai/share/split_pdfs/322-333-a_dated_copper-plate_grant_from_sundarban.pdf#:~:text=safely%20ascribed%2010%20the%20latter,lly%20obvious. The inscription comprises 22 lines in proto-Bengali script; minor damage has removed parts of the first and last lines, but the rest is well-preservedfile:///home/oai/share/split_pdfs/322-333-a_dated_copper-plate_grant_from_sundarban.pdf#:~:text=The%20inscription%20which%20is%20complete,1833. The plate measures approximately 10.5 by 8.5 inches and contains a crack through the bottom linesfile:///home/oai/share/split_pdfs/322-333-a_dated_copper-plate_grant_from_sundarban.pdf#:~:text=side%20%E0%A4%8F%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%82%20a%20single%20copper,1833. The paper provides a transliteration and translation of the grant, which records donations of land or privileges by a ruler whose full name is partly lost. The grant mentions religious foundations and sheds light on local administration, cults, and landholding. The author speculates that the ruling family was a branch of the Gurjara‑Pratiharas or a local Pala line that maintained autonomy in the Sundarban region just before Muslim conquest. The silver plating of the inscription, the distinctive iconography, and the proto-Bengali script make this document an important addition to epigraphical evidence. The discovery underscores the historical importance of the Sundarban coast and invites further archaeological exploration.