Indian Epigraphy c11.t8.36

c11.t8.36

In many records, the name of the person who engraved a document on the plates of copper is mentioned occasionally with that of his father and an epithet indicating his skill or profession. Thus the Bahmani plates⁵ of Bharatabala state: ‘and [it] has been engraved (*utkīrṇa*) by the goldsmith (*suvarṇakāra*) Īśvara’s son Mihiraka’. The engraver of copper plates was generally a goldsmith or brazier whose profession is indicated by epithets like *suvarṇakāra*, *kāṁsyakāra*, taṭṭhakāra, sekyakāra, akṣaśālin (arkaśālin, agasālē), pitalahāra, etc. In some cases, an engraver is described as a tvaṣṭṛ, śilpin or vijñānin and is endowed with high-sounding epithets indicating his skill such as varṇa-ghaṭanā-vaidagdhi-viśvakarman.¹ In certain records of the Eastern Gaṅgas and Coḷas, the writer and the engraver are stated to have received each a share in the land granted, no doubt as fees for their services.²