The first “Valabhī” grants were found in the 1870s, as work on a water-tank in Palitānā, India, led to the discovery of a concealed, underground (treasure?) chamber. The common designation “Valabhī” edicts arose because most of them begin with the formula: oṃ svasti valabhītaḥ, “Oṃ Hail! Issued from Valabhī…” The few that do not bear this inital phrase were issued by the same kings but from temporary military camps during campaigns of conquest. After this initial discovery a handful of other Valabhī documents have come to light, usually in similarly poorly documented circumstances. Despite this, they afford us an invaluable and unexpected glimpse into the life and times of the late Gupta empire, detailing the affairs of the Śaiva Maitraka dynasty of Saurāṣṭra. As is common for such documents the plates open with a dynastic eulogy. The Maitrakas, we are told, are descended from a certain Bhaṭakka or Bhaṭārka who was triumphant in countless wars. Bhaṭakka is designated merely as a “general” (senāpati). The only great power he could have served at that time was the expanding Gupta empire. His son Dharasena I also is styled merely “general” (EI xi:106 line 6: senāpatiDharasenaḥ…) and only his son Droṇasiṃha is finally accorded the title of sovereign king.
The present edict was issued by a Maitraka king calling himself Śīlāditya (“Sun of Righteous Conduct”) in the 362nd year of the Gupta-Valabhī era which began in 319 A.D., e.g. in 681 A.D. It clearly bears his labelled signature at the end: svahasto [']yam mama, “This is my own hand!” Now, we know of at least seven Maitraka kings bearing this name, so the following table of the first seventeen Valabhī kings, based on Bühler's compilation of dates and names (IA V:208), may serve to identify him more precisely:
Following the genealogy given in the present plates the king in question is Śīlāditya II, the fifteenth ruler of Valabhī in succession to Bhaṭārka, and the son of the brother of the previous king Kharagraha II (“Chastiser of the Wicked”) alias Dharmāditya (“Sun of the Law”). Like the one other known copperplate of this king it was issued from a temporary military base (vijayaskandha, “camp of victory”) during a campaign. This is in itself rather significant, for it shows that Śīlāditya II may have ruled in rather troubled times.
Line 18 gives the king's name and at the end we read the date: dūtako <'>tra pramātṛśrīViṣṇubhaṭalikhitaṃ [midaṃ sandhivigrahādhikṛta]divirapatiśrīmadAnahileneti saṃ 300 +60(?) + 2 āśvayuja ba 3 svahasto mama /// The envoy in this matter is Viṣṇubhaṭa, it was written by the master scribe Anahila in the year 362, there then follows the king's signature.
Scribal peculiarites: Ba and va and sa and śa are often not distinguished, vocalic ṛ and ri are confused (tṛ for tri), unnecessary anusvāras sometimes precede initial m, consonants are doubled after medial -r-, visarga before initial s can be omitted.
This transcript of the first side of plate A I made from the uncleaned original plate:
1: ◯ svasti [vijayaskandhāpāra] ... [prasabhaṃ praṇatāmitrāṇāṃ maitrakāṇām atulabalas] sa<ṃ>pannamaṇḍalābhogasaṃsaktaprahāraśatalabdhaprajā[pi] tatpra-
2: [*jāpopanatadānamānārjjavopārjjitānurāgo]... balāvāptarājyaśriyaḥ paramamāheśvaraḥ śrīBhaṭṭārkād avyavachinnarājyavaṅśā-
3: [n mātṛpitṛccaraṇāravinda]praṇatipravidhautāśeṣaka[lma]ṣaḥ [śai]ṣavāt prabhṛti khaḍgadvitīyabāhur eva samadaparagajāghaṭasphoṭanaprakāśitasatvani-
4: kaṣas... saṃhatiḥ sakalasmritipraṇītamārggasamyakparipālanaprajāhṛdayarañjanānvarttha-
5: [rājaśabdo rūpakāntisthairyyabuddhisaṃpadbhiḥ smara]śasāṅkādrirājodadhitṛdasagurūdhaneśan atiśayānaḥ śaraṇāgatābhayapradānaparatayā
6: tṛṇa[vad apāstā]śeṣasvakā[r]yyaphalaḥ prārttha[nā]dhikārtthapradānānanditavidvatsuhṛ<t>praṇayihṛdayaḥ pādacārīva sakalabhuvanamaṇḍalābhogapramo-
7: daḥ paramamāheśvaraḥ śrīGuhasenas tasya sutas tatpādanakhamayūkhasantānavisritaJāhnavījalaughaprakṣālitāśeṣakalmaṣaḥ praṇayiśatasahasro-
8: pajīvyamānasa[mpa]drūpalobhād ivāsritaḥ sarabhasam ābhigamikaiḥ guṇai<ḥ> sahajaśaktiśikṣāviśeṣavismāpi<tā>khiladhanu<r>dharaḥ prathamanarapatisamatisri-
9: ṣṭānām anupālayitā dharmmadāyānām apākarttā prajopaghātakāriṇ<ā>m upaplavānāḥ ÎrīśaitaÎ{The Palitānā copperplate of Śīlāditya I (EI xi:117 line 12) reads: upaplavānāṃ darśayitā.} śrīS{v arasvatyor ekādhivāsasya sa<ṃ>hatārābhi\footnote{em: °ārāti°}.}pakṣalakṣmīpari-
10: bhogadakṣavikramo vikramopasaṃprāptavimalapārtthivaśrīḥ paramamāheśvaraḥ śrīDharasenas tasya sutas tatpādānuddhyāta<ḥ> sakalajagadānandanātyadbhutaguṇasa-
11: mudayasthagitasamagra[diṅma]ṇḍalaḥ samapā[ga]ta{The Palitānā copperplate of Śīlāditya I (EI xi:117) reads: °samaraśata°}.}vijaya[śo]bhāsanātthamaṇḍalāgradyutibhānura\footnote{The Palitānā copperplate of Śīlāditya I (EI xi:117 line 12) reads: °bhāsura°}.}tarā[ṃsu]pīṭhodūḍhagurumanoratthamahābhāraḥ sarvvavidyāparā-
12: ** vibhāgārigamavimala<mat>ir api sarvvata<ḥ> subhāṣitalavenāpi sukhopapādanīyaḥ paritoṣasa[mma?]gralokāgādhagāmbhīryyahridayo pi succaritāti-
13: [śaya]suvyaktaparamakalyāṇasvabhāvaḥ khilībhūtakritayuganṛpatipatthavisodhanādhigatodagrakīrtti<r> dharmmānuparodhojvalatīrīkṛitārtthasukhasamyad{em: °sampad°}.upa-
14: sevānirūḍhaDharmādityadvitīyanāmā paramamāheśvaraḥ śrīŚīlādityas tasyānuja<ḥ> tatpādānudhyāta<ḥ> svayam Upendragurūṇeva guruṇātyadaravatā samabhi-
15: laṣaṇīyām api rājalakṣmī[ṃ] skandhāsaktāṃ paramabhadraiva dhuryyas [ta]dājñāsam[p]ādanaikarasatayaivodvahantīda{em: °khedasukha°}khedasukharatibhyāṃm anāyāsitasatvasaṃpatti<ḥ>
16: prabhāvasampa<d>vaśīkṛitanṛ[pati]śataśiroratnacchāyopagūḍhapādapīṭho <'>pi parāvajñābhimānarasānoliṅgitamunovṛrttiḥ praṇatim ekā<ṃ> parityajya pra-
17: khyātapauruṣābhimānai<r>{v} apy a[rā]tibhir a{k}nāsāditapantibhiyopiyakila{\vl: pratikriyopāyaḥ kṛta°} khilabhuvanāmodavimalagu{m}<ṇ>asa<ṃ>hati<ḥ> prasaṃmyasa bhuta\footnote{em: prasabhavighaṭita°.}}sakalakalivi-
18: lasitagatinnīnū[ḍ]ānādhi iharohibhir\footnote{em: °nīcajanādhirohibhir}.} aśeṣai[r] ddoṣair annā[sp]ṛṣṭ<ā>tyunnatahṛda{n}<yaḥ> prakhyātapaurusāstrakauśalābhimāna<ḥ> gaṇatitthavipakṣakṣiti-
19: patilakṣmīsvaya[ṃ]grahaprakāśi<ta>pravīrapuruṣaprathamasaṃkhyādhigama<ḥ> paramamāheśvaraḥ śrīKharagrahas tasya{s} tanayas tatpādānudhyāta<ḥ> sakalavidyādhigama-
20: vihita[ma?]nikhilavidvañjanamanaḥparitoṣotiśayaḥ satvasampadā tyāgaudāsyeṇa{em: audāryeṇa} ca vigatānusandhānāsamāhitārātipakṣamanoratho <'>kṣabhaṅgaḥ
21: samyagupalakṣitānekaśāstrakalālokacaritagahvaravibāto <'>pi paramabhadraprakṛtipi{em: °prakṛtir akṛtrima°}kṛtrimap<r>aśra<ṃ>yavinayaśobhāvibh[ū]ṣaṇasamara{g}<ś>atajayapa-
22: tākāharaṇapratyalodyagrabāhudaṇḍavidhvansitanikhilaprat[i]pakṣadarppodayaḥ svadhan[u]ḥprabhāvaparibhūtāstrakauśalābhimānaśakalāratimaṇḍalābhi-
23: naṃdi[taśāsa]naḥ paramamāheśvaraḥ śrīDharasenas tasyānuja<s> tatpādānudhyātaḥ saccaritātiśayinasakalapūrvvanarapatir atidu<ḥ>sādhanām api
24: prasādhānāviṣayā{j}<ṇ>ā<ṃ> mūrttiman iva puruṣakāraḥ parivi<d>dhaguṇānurāganibhūracintadhṛtivi manur iva svayam abhyupapannaḥ prakṛtibhir adhigata-
25: kalākalāpaḥ kāntimān [nivyati]hetur akalaṃkakumudanātharajyapratāpasthagitadigantarāgapradhvansitadhvāntarāśisaśatoditasevitā prakṛtibhyaḥ paraṃ
26: pratyayam artthavantam atibahutithaprayojanānubandhanāgamaparipūrṇṇā[ṃ] vidadhānaḥ sandhivigrahasamāsaniścayanipuṇaḥ sthāne <'>nurūpa{p}<m> ādeśa<ṃ> dadya-
27: dguṇavidhividhānajanitasaṃskārasukhatā rājyaśālāpuriyāṃn[t]urupayor{em: sūtrayor ubhayor.} api niṣṇataḥ prakoṣtavikramo vikaruṇāmṛduhṛdayaḥ
28: ś<r>utavān apy agarvvitaḥ kānto <'pi> prasamī sthira{yo}<sau>hṛdayo <'>pi n[i]rasitā dosavatām udayasamayasamupajanitajanatānurāgaparivihita-
29: bhuvanasamakṣitaprathitaBālādityadvitīyasamāna[ḥ] paramamāheśvaraḥ śrīDhruvasenas tasya suta<s> tatpādakamalapraṇāmadharaṇīkaṣaṇajanita-
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