Copper Plates Shed Light On Chalukya Ruler's Daughter Shila Bhattarika And Her Literary Skills

Linguistics at the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute (BORI) have recently obtained historical evidence establishing the literary contributions of poetess Shilabhattarika, the daughter of Chalukya ruler Pulakeshin II.

The Hindu

The evidence was obtained from one of five copper plates that contained more than 60 sentences in Sanskrit written in Brahmi script. This bunch of plates, owned by local resident Amit Lomte, was recently presented to experts at BORI for interpretation.

¡°This copper plate is not merely important for its information on the geography and politics of the Chalukyas but, notably, establishes cultural aspects and adds vital information to its literary history. This is the first hard historical evidence about Shilabhattarika as a poetess. In fact, none of her siblings were inclined towards literature,¡± said BORI¡¯s registrar Shreenand Bapat, who studied these plates for nearly a month.

Significance Of Copper Plates

Copper plates often contain inscriptions of hereditary grants given by kings. These plates are bunched using a copper ring and sealed in testimony of the respective authority. Archaeologists, linguists and orientalists use these copper plates to reconstruct the past.

One of the five copper plates studied at BORI mentioned the donation of Chigateri village, located in present-day Vijayanagara district of Karnataka, to a scholar named Vishnusharma. It was Mahendraverma, the son of Shilabhattarika and Dadiga, who recommended this donation to then ruling king Vijayaditya Chalukya.

Deccan Herald

Another copper plate of the same bunch spoke about a donation made by Pravarasena II, the Vakataka ruler. Even though the capital of the Vakatakas was Nagardhan in Ramtek taluka of Nagpur district, solid evidence stating that the dynasty¡¯s geographical expanse could have extended as far as Odisha has now been obtained. So far, everything that is known about the Vakatakas has been through either copper plate inscriptions or literary references. They were the rulers of Central India during 3-5 Century CE and were Shaivites.

Historical Relevance

According to BORI experts, Khapri village, located in present-day Durg district of Chhattisgarh, was donated by Pravarasena II. Patan, a tehsil place of the Durg district, was an administrative headquarter of the region, they said.

¡°Khapri could perhaps have been the eastern-most village ruled by the Vakatakas. At the peak of their ruling, the Vakatakas had reached upto eastern Chhattisgarh-Odisha,¡± Bapat said.

All this new historical evidence will be published in the annals of BORI and treasured for future references, the experts said.