Social and Political Life in the Vijayanagara Empire (A.D. 1346 – A.D. 1646) v1.c9.s2.71

v1.c9.s2.71

4. The next copper-plate grant is important in the sense that it has been the mainstay of all those who have advocated the theory of the existence of Vijayanagara in A.D. 1336 or thereabouts. This copper-plate record is styled "Mb.158". It must be confessed at the outset that one may be easily led to accept this document as authentic. Firstly, it is to all appearances, a royal grant. There is the royal signature Śrī-Virūpāksha at the end. It is also engraved by the order of the king. Secondly, the details of the grant carry weight with them. Nevertheless this record gives us ample room to doubt its genuineness. It is a copper-plate grant, and appeals less to the student of history than a stone inscription. The following reasons invalidate its evidence: