History Today Vol. 24

The basic aim of the book is to expose the major contributions of artisans and craftsmen in portraying the society in different perspectives. These artisans and craftsmen, were drawn mostly from the shudras, lower caste of the community, suppressed and have-nots section of the society, but were highly talented. The work is also designed to create interest among the reader and scholars alike, to understand the society of the period under reference through the immortal art of these creative people. The artisans such as potters, weavers, carpenters, architects, sculptors, brick-makers, metallurgy and metal workers, leather workers, painters, and the workers engaged in the profession of ivory, glass and mirror, perfume and cosmetic, musical instrument, oil, salt and liquor makers, etc. were the heroes of that time, who not only met the day-to-day requirement of the then society, but also portrayed different aspects of their life, in its true color, through their workmanship. It was the architect who designed and constructed houses to live in, as well as water tank, well and channel, royal building, stupa, temple and fort, bridge, pillar and rock-edict etc., which met the need of the society.
Today, we feel proud of the rich heritage of old Indian art and architecture, credit for which solely goes to the then artisan who crafted immortal creations. However, the invaluable contribution made by the historians in immortalizing their creations, by putting them in black and white, is no less important. It is the historian, whose mighty pen has immortalized not only Ashoka the great, as a king but also the creators of the stupas of his times on equal footings. It is with this aim in view that the present book has been presented to the posterity, in order to pay rich tributes to the creators of our rich cultural heritage.
Unluckly there was no proper institutionalized provision for the education of artisans and craftsmen, so generally the former adopted the occupation of their parents and hereditary skill was enhances as it was transferred from father to son, and generation to generation. Contemporary sources reveal that the social stautus of artisan class was based on the nature and economic conditions of a particular profession.

Odisha is well known for its epigraphical wealth. More than 400 copper-plate grants and 1,000 stone inscriptions ranging from the fourth to the sixteenth century ce have been discovered so far. In this volume, the author has taken extreme care in documenting all the published and unpublished copper-plate grants including the stray plates, spurious charters and the palimpsests.
These epigraphs are grouped under different dynasties and the relevant data in each copper-plate inscription have been systematically classified making the volume a descriptive catalogue of the copper-plate inscriptions of Odisha. It, thus, painstakingly furnishes detailed information about the rulers and the beneficiaries, religious persuasion of kings, occasion and purpose of the grants, eras and other astronomical details, officers and persons present at the time of the grants, rights and privileges transferred to the donees, land measures, prevailing currency system of the period, administrative and revenue terms, topographical details, development of language and scripts, and so on. These inscriptions, mostly in Sanskrit, also delineate the system of numeration while specifying the era or days of a month, amount of tax to be paid, land measures, etc.
While adopting a comprehensive approach in treating the subject, the book deals with the technique of preparing copper plates for writing the royal deeds; flattening of the metal sheets into rectangular plates, their sizes, positing of the seals, the symbols and legends on the seals, amidst many more pieces of information.
This innovative and scholarly work should entice the spirit of students, historians and researchers, especially those who are interested in the history and culture of Odisha. The bibliographical details furnished in the volume will prove to be of immense help to serious scholars working in the field.