New Documents for the Early History of Puṇḍravardhana
Abstract
From all of undivided Bengal, less than two dozen copperplate charters are known for the entire period preceding the ascent of the Pala dynasty, and only a single (fragmentary) stone inscription. Two new copperplates have recently come to light, both from the Puṇḍravardhana area, i.e. North Bengal. The first is dated to year 159 of the Gupta era (478 CE), and hence issued during the reign of Budhagupta; the second is dated to the year 5 of a previously unknown king named Pradyumnabandhu, who must have ruled in the period between about 550 and 650 ce—a period for which Puṇḍravardhana had heretofore lacked any historical documentation. This article makes the new inscriptions available in edition with translation and some discussion of what the contents might contribute to the historical study of early Bengal.
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