Indian Epigraphy c16.s1.28

c16.s1.28

In certain medieval inscriptions from Bengal, we have a large number of contractions such as *sām* for *sāmvatsarika* (i.e. annual), *hi* for *hiraṇya* (i.e. tax to be paid in cash), *vā-bhū* for *vāstu-bhūmi* (i.e. homestead land), *nā-bhū* for *nāla-bhūmi* (i.e. cultivated land), *dro* for the land measure called *droṇa* or *droṇavāpa*, *u* for the land measure called *udāna*, *ṭi* for *ṭikara* or *ṭikkara* meaning ‘a mound’ in some Neo-Indo-Aryan languages, *vyā-bhū* for *vyāmiśra-bhūmi* (i.e. mixed land of different categories such as homestead, fallow, cultivated, etc.) and others.⁶ *Sam* for *sambaddha* noticed in these records is also found in inscriptions found elsewhere.