BALLB Section A

NAME: ……Yashdeep Kanhai………………………………………… Roll No. ……1028……………

Sohgaura Copper Plate

What? The Sohgaura copper plate inscription is an Indian copper plate inscription written in Prakrit
in the Brahmi script. The plate, consisting of a line of symbolic drawings and four lines of
text, is the result of a molding.

Where?  It was discovered in Sohgaura, a village on the banks of the Rapti River, about 20 km south-
east of Gorakhpur, in the Gorakhpur District, Uttar Pradesh, India.

Who? As it was written in Prakrit in the Brahmi script, and it was used during the time of Ashoka,
so probably someone from the Ashokan empire wrote it.

When? The inscription is sometimes presented as pre-Ashokan, even pre-Mauryan, but the writing of
the plate, especially the configuration of akshara would rather suggest a date after Ashoka.
3rd century BCE

Why? The copper plate inscribed in Sanskrit, gave details of the queen's donation of a village to a
Brahmin. It also mentions the establishment of two grain depots (Kosthagara) to fight against
famine.

How? ----------------