1 - On the Formalizing the Entry of the Specification Form of Indian Land Grants

The paper deals with North Indian Early Mediaeval charters ranging from the 4^th till the early 13^th centuries. These charters are the subject of study of two auxiliary historical disciplines: epigraphy and diplomacy or act source study. Hence it is possible to treat them as documents or acts recording the transfer to own land from the supreme ruler to a religious person or institution like brahmin, temple, Buddhist vihara, etc.

A scheme for recording specification forms of North Indian land grants is introduced. Two lists have been developed as preconditions for constructing a record scheme for specific forms. List 1 consists of shortened designations of the components of the specification form, such as invocation (address to a deity), genealogy, place of issue, place of grant, annunciation, date, benedictions and imprecations, and so on. List 2 consists of shortened designations of Sanskrit formula that separate large parts of the specification form and its components.

As a result, a scheme was developed for recording individual forms that may be considered as a kind of standard scheme, based on which it is possible to evaluate the structure and content of the land grants of the rulers from different regions.

This scheme is tested on land grants from Bengal and Bihar (Pāla dynasty and neighbours – 67 entries), Uttar Pradesh (Gāhaḍavāla dynasty – 85 entries), Odisha, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh – more than 100 entries, etc.