The Sohgaura copper plate inscription is an
Indian copper plate inscription written in
Prakrit
Prakrit ( ) is a group of vernacular classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages that were used in the Indian subcontinent from around the 5th century BCE to the 12th century CE. The term Prakrit is usually applied to the middle period of Middle Ind ...
in the Mauryan period
Brahmi script
Brahmi ( ; ; ISO 15919, ISO: ''Brāhmī'') is a writing system from ancient India. "Until the late nineteenth century, the script of the Aśokan (non-Kharosthi) inscriptions and its immediate derivatives was referred to by various names such as ...
. It was discovered in Sohgaura, a village on the banks of the
Rapti River, about 20 km south-east of
Gorakhpur
Gorakhpur is a city in the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, along the banks of the West Rapti River, Rapti river in the Purvanchal , Purvanchal region. It is situated 272 kilometres east of ...
, in the
Gorakhpur District,
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
. The inscription describes the establishment of three granaries for the public during times of famine and scarcity. It discusses relief efforts undertaken by
during a period of famine. Scholars agree that punchmarked coins featuring a three-arched crescent atop symbol known as Rajanka or Meru symbol, found at Kumrahar (Patna) also mentioned on the Sahgaura copper-plate, were issued during Chandragupta Maurya's reign.
The inscription first one is a usual crescent on-hill symbol which is generally found on Mauryan silver punch marked coins, and also found on the base of a
Kumhrar pillar and on many other antiquities. Jayaswal reads it as the monogram of Chandragupta Maurya. He takes the top crescent as ''Chandra'' and the remaining hill like combination for ''gutta''; the upper loop for ga- ∩ and the two lower loops ∩∩ for double tta making it ''Chandragutta''.
The plate, consisting of a line of symbolic drawings and four lines of text, is the result of a molding.
[Sircar 1942 Select Inscriptions Vol 1 OC]
p.85
/ref> The inscription is sometimes presented as pre-Ashoka
Ashoka, also known as Asoka or Aśoka ( ; , ; – 232 BCE), and popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was List of Mauryan emperors, Emperor of Magadha from until #Death, his death in 232 BCE, and the third ruler from the Mauryan dynast ...
n, even pre-Mauryan
The Maurya Empire was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in South Asia with its power base in Magadha. Founded by Chandragupta Maurya around c. 320 BCE, it existed in loose-knit fashion until 185 BCE. The primary sourc ...
, but the writing of the plate, especially the configuration of akshara would rather suggest a date after Ashoka.
Inscription
The text of the plate has been translated as follows. Its mentions the establishment of two grain depots (''Kosthagara'') to fight against famine.[2000+ MCQs with Explanatory Notes For HISTORY by Disha Expert]
p.63
/ref>
This is the oldest Indian copper plate inscription known.
See also
* Indian epigraphy
References
{{Reflist
Epigraphy
Prakrit literature
3rd century BC in India
3rd-century BC inscriptions
Copper objects