History of the Pallavas of Kanchi c16.6

c16.6

Eight copper-plates with a seal bearing in relief a bull and the legend *Śivaskandavarmaṇa*. The language is Prakrit, dialect different from literary Pāḷi, and the alphabet is considered an epigraphical curiosity. The grant was issued by the heir-apparent (*Yuvamahārāja*) Śivaskandavarman of the Bhāradvāja-gōtra and of the Pallava family, and records the gift of a village (Viripara) to two Brahmans. The village is said to have belonged to Āndhrapathā and has not been identified. The record is dated in the fifth *tithi*, of the sixth fortnight of summer, in the tenth year of the reign of Śivaskandavarman’s predecessor. The immunities secured by the village included, freedom from the diggings for salt, the supply of bullocks, in succession, the entrance of the soldiers, cots and dwellings.