Studies in the Geography of Ancient and Medieval India c18.3

c18.3

The grant was issued by the *Paramasaugata-Parameśvara-Parambhaṭṭāraka-Mahārājādhirāja* Devapāladeva in the 33rd year of his reign from his *jaya-skandhāvāra* at Mudga-giri, *i.e.* modern Monghyr, the headquarters of a District of that name in Bihar. By this charter, the Pāla king granted the village called Meṣikā-grāma in favour of a Brāhmaṇa named Vihekarāta-miśra. The village was situated in the *viṣaya* or district of Kṛmilā which formed a part of the *bhukti* or province of Śrīnagara. From the inscriptions of the Pālas, we come to know of the existence of two *bhuktis* or provinces in Bihar, viz., Śrīnagara-bhukti and Tira-bhukti.¹ The word *tira* refers to the banks of the Ganges. Tira-bhukti is the same as the modern Tirhut Division and apparently indicated parts of Bihar lying to the north of that river. The expression *Śri-nagara* meaning ‘the illustrious city,’ *i.e.*, the city *par excellence*, referred to the celebrated ancient city of Pāṭaliputra (of which the modern representative is Pāṭnā derived from Sanskrit *pattana* or township) and the Śrīnagara *bhukti* no doubt included the districts of South Bihar having their administrative headquarters at the above city.² Of the *viṣayas* or districts forming the Tira *bhukti* in the age of the Pālas, we know only of the Kakṣa *viṣaya*, and, of those forming the Śrīnagara bhukti, such districts as Gayā-viṣaya, Rājagṛha-viṣaya and Kṛmilā-viṣaya are known from inscriptions.¹ Of these viṣayas, those of Gayā and Rājagṛha can be easily identified as the tracts of land round respectively the modern towns of Gayā and Rājgir (i.e., Rājagṛha), the latter being now situated in the administrative division known as the Patna District of Bihar. But the exact situation of Kakṣa viṣaya in the Tira bhukti and the Kṛmilā-viṣaya in the Śrīnagara bhukti could not be satisfactorily determined. Recently we discovered certain new inscriptions of the Pāla period, which throw interesting light on the location of the Kṛmilā viṣaya.