Indian Epigraphy c11.t1.10

c11.t1.10

Works of a few of the early writers on law, such as Viṣṇu³ and Yājñavalkya,⁴ give us some idea about the *rāja-śāsanas* or charters recording grants of land, property, etc., made by kings. According to Viṣṇu, "[The king] should grant land to Brāhmaṇas. For the information of future kings, he should also give the donees of the grant a charter written on cloth or copper-plate endowed with his own seal and with a description of the boundaries of the land, of his own ancestors and of the measurement of the area. He should not confiscate land granted by others...The king should kill persons who prepare spurious charters, and also those preparing spurious documents."⁵ According to Yājñavalkya, "After granting land or making a *nibandha*, the lord of the soil (i.e. the king) should have a document prepared for the information of noble kings of the future. He would then cause the preparation of a lasting charter writt n on cloth or copper-plate, adorned with his own seal on the outer side, with his own signature and date and with a description of himself and his ancestors and the amount of the gift and the boundaries of the gift land.’¹ As regards the preparation of a document, Vyāsa says that it should be written first by chalk on a slab or on the ground and, after the elimination of all errors, should be finally written on a leaf (or, metal tablet).²