page_title: Indian copper plate inscriptions
section_title: Grants
hierarchical_section_title: Indian copper plate inscriptions / Grants
caption_attribution_description: English: Siyaka's Harsola coperplate of 1005, grant A
context_page_description: Indian copper plate inscriptions are historical legal records engraved on copper plates.
  Donative inscriptions engraved on copper plates, often joined together by a ring with the seal of the donor, was the legal document registering the act of endowment. It was probably necessary to produce them when required to prove ownership/ the claim to the rights. The retrievability of the copper plates was perhaps crucial in the newly settled lands. Detailed information on land tenures and taxation available from these copper plate grants.
context_section_description: One of the most important sources of history in the Indian subcontinent are the royal records of grants engraved on copper-plates (tamra-shasan or tamra-patra; tamra means copper in Sanskrit and several other Indian languages). Because copper does not rust or decay, they can survive virtually indefinitely.
  Collections of archaeological texts from the copper-plates and rock-inscriptions have been compiled and published by the Archaeological Survey of India during the past century.
  Approximate dimensions of copper plate is 9​³⁄₄ inch long × 3​¹⁄₄ inch high × 1/10 (to 1/16) inch thick.
  The earliest known copper-plate, known as the Sohgaura copper-plate, is a Maurya record that mentions famine relief efforts. It is one of the very few pre-Ashoka Brahmi inscriptions in India.
caption: Paramara ruler Siyaka's Harsola copperplate copper plate of 949 CE
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