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Five copper plates, not furnished with original plate numbering; h. 7 3/8" ×  w. 2 3/8" ×  d.  inches; the weight “of the five plates is 60 tolas, and of the ring and seal, 17⅝ tolas,—total, 77⅝ tolas” ( Fleet 1883-85: 114 ). The left side of every plate is pierced by a hole through which runs a ring. This “is about ¼" thick and 3½" in diameter [...] the seal on the ring is roughly oval, about 1" by 1⅛"” ( Fleet 1883-85: 114 ). The ring “had some emblem or other on it, in relief on a countersunk surface; but the surface is so much destroyed by rust, that it is impossible to say what the emblem was” ( Fleet 1883-85: 114 ).
Text
Sanskrit language, Southern Brāhmī script. 35 lines of text beginning on face 1b, 4 lines per face except on plate 4b and 5a where five and six lines are respectively engraved. Dimensions of the inscribed surface almost equal to dimensions of the plate.
Date
Twenty-fifth regnal year of Pr̥thivīśrīmūla, approximately between 500 and 600 CE.
Origin
Undivided Godavari district.
Provenance
The precise location and date of discovery are unknown. The inscription seems to have been first mentioned by J.F. Fleet in 1881. Not identified during fieldwork from February 2016 onward.
Editors
Arlo Griffiths and Vincent Tournier.
Publication history
First described and edited by Fleet 1883-85 and then by Sankaranarayanan 1977a: 182-4 (XI) . Re-edited here from published documentation.

Edition

1b (1) (dextrorotatory-spiral) svasti vijayakāṇḍāḷivāsakāt· devadvija(2)gurucaraṇasamārādhanādhigatanirati(3)śayapuṇyanicayasya sakaḷadiṅmāṇḍalā(4)ḷāṅkārabhūtayaśasaḥ śrīprabhākaravikhyāta(5) 2amahārājasya sūnuḥ [mā]tāpitr̥pādānuddhyātaḥ (6) śrutismr̥tivihitapadārtthāvabodhajanitapra(7)jñāvivekaniravagītānupālītaśeṣavarṇṇāśra(8)madharmmaḥ parānugrahamātraprayojanapra(9) 2btipann[ai]svaryyagurubhāra paramamāheśvaraḥ śrīmān· (10) prithivimūlārajaḥ tāḻupākaviṣayanivāsina(ḥ) (11) sarvvān eva rāṣṭrakuṭapramukhān evam ājñāpa(12)yati yathā viditam astu bhavatām· śrutābhija(13) 3anavr̥ttasampatprabhābhāsurodārapuruṣaratnanikarapra[s]ū(14)tihetuprakhyātamaṇalkuḍivāstavyadvijātyanvaya(15)payodhisambhūtaśītaraśmer asakkr̥davāptacaturddanta(16)saṁgrāmavijayasya mitavarmmanaḥ priyatanayena 3b (17) sarabhasam indrabhaṭṭārakasamutpāṭanābhilāṣasamudi(18)tapramuditāśeṣanr̥patikkr̥tatumulasama(19)rādhiruḍhasupratīkānekapābhimukhasamadakumu(20)dadviradanipātanādhigatabhuvanatala[v]itata(21) 4avipulaviśuddhayaśasā śrīmadindrādhirājena svamatā(22)pitroḥ puṇyāvāptinimitta vijñāpitena mayā viḷendi(23)reṅguṭakampāṟutukurāṇām· caturṇṇā grāmāṇā (24) maddhye cūyipāko nāma grāmaḥ °upāddhyāyakulasambhū(25) 4btebhyo nānāgotrebhyas ticatvāriṁśad ātharvvaṇikakule(26)bhyo grahārīkkr̥tya datta sa sarvver eva paripālaniyo vi(27)śeṣeṇa hastikośavīrakośābhyām· °api ca
IAnuṣṭubh
a svadattāṁ (28) paradattā vā b yo hareta vasundharā[m·]
c gavāṁ śatasaha(29)srasya d hantu pibati ki[lbi]ṣa[m·]
IIAnuṣṭubh
a ṣaṣṭivarṣasaha(30) 5asrāṇi b svargge modati bhūmida
c °āchettā cānumantā ca d tāny eva narake (31) vaset·
IIIAnuṣṭubh
a tām eva rakṣatā yatnān· b nibodhaḥ kkr̥itinaḫ phala[m·]
c naikakalpa(32)sahasrāṇi d divi devai sa divyati
IVAnuṣṭubh
a bahubhir vvasudhā dattāḥ b bahubhi(33)ś cānupālitā
c yasya yasya yadā bhūmi d tasya tasya tadā phala[m·]
(34) °ājñapti svamukhaṁ pravadamānavijayarājyasa⟪m·⟫ vatsarāṇi pañcaviśa 20 5 (35) vāsā ? 4 divasaṁ 3
plate 1b
(1) (dextrorotatory-spiral) svasti vijayakāṇḍāḷivāsakāt· devadvija-
(2)gurucaraṇasamārādhanādhigatanirati-
(3)śayapuṇyanicayasya sakaḷadiṅmāṇḍalā-
(4)ḷāṅkārabhūtayaśasaḥ śrīprabhākaravikhyāta-
(5) plate 2amahārājasya sūnuḥ [mā]tāpitr̥pādānuddhyātaḥ
(6) śrutismr̥tivihitapadārtthāvabodhajanitapra-
(7)jñāvivekaniravagītānupālītaśeṣavarṇṇāśra-
(8)madharmmaḥ parānugrahamātraprayojanapra-
(9) plate 2btipann[ai]svaryyagurubhāra paramamāheśvaraḥ śrīmān·
(10) prithivimūlārajaḥ tāḻupākaviṣayanivāsina(ḥ)
(11) sarvvān eva rāṣṭrakuṭapramukhān evam ājñāpa-
(12)yati yathā viditam astu bhavatām· śrutābhija-
(13) plate 3anavr̥ttasampatprabhābhāsurodārapuruṣaratnanikarapra[s]ū-
(14)tihetuprakhyātamaṇalkuḍivāstavyadvijātyanvaya-
(15)payodhisambhūtaśītaraśmer asakkr̥davāptacaturddanta-
(16)saṁgrāmavijayasya mitavarmmanaḥ priyatanayena plate 3b
(17) sarabhasam indrabhaṭṭārakasamutpāṭanābhilāṣasamudi-
(18)tapramuditāśeṣanr̥patikkr̥tatumulasama-
(19)rādhiruḍhasupratīkānekapābhimukhasamadakumu-
(20)dadviradanipātanādhigatabhuvanatala[v]itata-
(21) plate 4avipulaviśuddhayaśasā śrīmadindrādhirājena svamatā-
(22)pitroḥ puṇyāvāptinimitta vijñāpitena mayā viḷendi-
(23)reṅguṭakampāṟutukurāṇām· caturṇṇā grāmāṇā
(24) maddhye cūyipāko nāma grāmaḥ °upāddhyāyakulasambhū-
(25) plate 4btebhyo nānāgotrebhyas ticatvāriṁśad ātharvvaṇikakule-
(26)bhyo grahārīkkr̥tya datta sa sarvver eva paripālaniyo vi-
(27)śeṣeṇa hastikośavīrakośābhyām· °api ca svadattāṁ
(28) paradattā vā yo hareta vasundharā[m·] gavāṁ śatasaha-
(29)srasya hantu pibati ki[lbi]ṣa[m·] ṣaṣṭivarṣasaha-
(30) plate 5asrāṇi svargge modati bhūmida °āchettā cānumantā ca tāny eva narake
(31) vaset· tām eva rakṣatā yatnān· nibodhaḥ kkr̥itinaḫ phala[m·] naikakalpa-
(32)sahasrāṇi divi devai sa divyati bahubhir vvasudhā dattāḥ bahubhi-
(33)ś cānupālitā yasya yasya yadā bhūmi tasya tasya tadā phala[m·]
(34) °ājñapti svamukhaṁ pravadamānavijayarājyasa⟪m·⟫ vatsarāṇi pañcaviśa 20 5
(35) vāsā ? 4 divasaṁ 3 
<ab xmlns="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/1.0">
					          <pb type="plate" n="1b"/>
					          <lb n="1"/>
					          <g type="dextrorotatory-spiral"/>
					          <w xml:id="tok6060">svasti</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok6061">vijayakāṇḍāḷivāsakāt·</w>
					          <w xml:id="cmp156">
						            <w xml:id="tok6062">devadvija<lb n="2" break="no"/>gurucaraṇasamārādhanādhigatanirati<lb n="3" break="no"/>śayapuṇyanicayasya</w>
					             <w xml:id="tok6064">sakaḷadiṅmāṇḍalā<lb n="4" break="no"/>ḷāṅkārabhūtayaśasaḥ</w>
					             <w xml:id="tok6066">śrīprabhākaravikhyāta<lb n="5" break="no"/>
						               <pb type="plate" n="2a"/>mahārājasya</w>
					             <w xml:id="tok6067">sūnuḥ</w>
					             <w xml:id="tok6068">
                     <unclear>mā</unclear>tāpitr̥pādānuddhyātaḥ</w>
					             <lb n="6"/>
					             <w xml:id="tok6069">śrutismr̥tivihitapadārtthāvabodhajanitapra<lb n="7" break="no"/>jñāvivekaniravagītānupālītaśeṣavarṇṇāśra<lb n="8" break="no"/>madharmmaḥ</w>
					          </w>
					          <w xml:id="tok6072">parānugrahamātraprayojanapra<lb n="9" break="no"/>
                  <pb type="plate" n="2b"/>tipann<unclear>ai</unclear>svaryyagurubhāra</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok6074">paramamāheśvaraḥ</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok6075">śrīmān·</w>
					          <lb n="10"/>
					          <w xml:id="tok6076">prithivimūlārajaḥ</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok6077">tāḻupākaviṣayanivāsina<supplied reason="lost">ḥ</supplied>
					          </w>
					          <lb n="11"/>
					          <w xml:id="tok6078">sarvvān</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok6079">eva</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok6080">rāṣṭrakuṭapramukhān</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok6081">evam</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok6082">ājñāpa<lb n="12" break="no"/>yati</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok6084">yathā</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok6085">viditam</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok6086">astu</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok6087">bhavatām·</w>
					          <w xml:id="cmp161">
						            <w xml:id="tok6088">śrutābhija<lb n="13" break="no"/>
                     <pb type="plate" n="3a"/>navr̥ttasampatprabhābhāsurodārapuruṣaratnanikarapra<unclear>s</unclear>ū<lb n="14" break="no"/>tihetuprakhyātamaṇalkuḍivāstavyadvijātyanvaya<lb n="15" break="no"/>payodhisambhūtaśītaraśmer</w>
					          </w>
					          <w xml:id="tok6091">asakkr̥davāptacaturddanta<lb n="16" break="no"/>saṁgrāmavijayasya</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok6092">mitavarmmanaḥ</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok6093">priyatanayena</w>
					          <pb type="plate" n="3b"/>
					          <lb n="17"/>
					          <w xml:id="tok6094">sarabhasam</w>
					          <w xml:id="cmp162">
						            <w xml:id="tok6095">indrabhaṭṭārakasamutpāṭanābhilāṣasamudi<lb n="18" break="no"/>tapramuditāśeṣanr̥patikkr̥tatumulasama<lb n="19" break="no"/>rādhiruḍhasupratīkānekapābhimukhasamadakumu<lb n="20" break="no"/>dadviradanipātanādhigatabhuvanatala<unclear>v</unclear>itata<lb n="21" break="no"/>
							              <pb type="plate" n="4a"/>vipulaviśuddhayaśasā</w>
					          </w>
					          <w xml:id="tok6099">śrīmadindrādhirājena</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok6100">svamatā<lb n="22" break="no"/>pitroḥ</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok6101">puṇyāvāptinimitta</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok6102">vijñāpitena</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok6103">mayā</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok6104">viḷendi<lb n="23" break="no"/>reṅguṭakampāṟutukurāṇām·</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok6105">caturṇṇā</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok6106">grāmāṇā</w>
					          <lb n="24"/>
					          <w xml:id="tok6107">maddhye</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok6108">cūyipāko</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok6109">nāma</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok6110">grāmaḥ</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok6111">°upāddhyāyakulasambhū<lb n="25" break="no"/>
                  <pb type="plate" n="4b"/>tebhyo</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok6113">nānāgotrebhyas</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok6114">ticatvāriṁśad</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok6115">ātharvvaṇikakule<lb n="26" break="no"/>bhyo</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok6117">grahārīkkr̥tya</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok6118">datta</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok6119">sa</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok6120">sarvver</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok6121">eva</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok6122">paripālaniyo</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok6123">vi<lb n="27" break="no"/>śeṣeṇa</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok6125">hastikośavīrakośābhyām·</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok6126">°api</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok6127">ca</w>
				        </ab>
<lg xmlns="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/1.0" xml:id="seq3024" met="Anuṣṭubh" n="I">
					          <l xml:id="seq2586" n="a">
						            <w xml:id="tok6128">svadattāṁ</w>
						            <lb n="28"/>
						            <w xml:id="tok6129">paradattā</w>
						            <w xml:id="tok6130">vā</w>
					          </l>
					          <l xml:id="seq2589" n="b">
						            <w xml:id="tok6131">yo</w>
						            <w xml:id="tok6132">hareta</w>
						            <w xml:id="tok6133">vasundharā<unclear>m·</unclear>
						            </w>
					          </l>
					          <l xml:id="seq2590" n="c">
						            <w xml:id="tok6134">gavāṁ</w>
						            <w xml:id="tok6135">śatasaha<lb n="29" break="no"/>srasya</w>
					          </l>
					          <l xml:id="seq2593" n="d">
						            <w xml:id="tok6137">hantu</w>
						            <w xml:id="tok6138">pibati</w>
						            <w xml:id="tok6139">ki<unclear>lbi</unclear>ṣa<unclear>m·</unclear>
						            </w>
					          </l>
				        </lg>
<lg xmlns="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/1.0" xml:id="seq3025" met="Anuṣṭubh" n="II">
					          <l xml:id="seq2594" n="a">
						            <w xml:id="tok6140">ṣaṣṭivarṣasaha<lb n="30" break="no"/>
							              <pb type="plate" n="5a"/>srāṇi</w>
					          </l>
					          <l xml:id="seq2597" n="b">
						            <w xml:id="tok6142">svargge</w>
						            <w xml:id="tok6143">modati</w>
						            <w xml:id="tok6144">bhūmida</w>
					          </l>
					          <l xml:id="seq2598" n="c">
						            <w xml:id="tok6145">°āchettā</w>
						            <w xml:id="tok6146">cānumantā</w>
						            <w xml:id="tok6147">ca</w>
					          </l>
					          <l xml:id="seq2599" n="d">
						            <w xml:id="tok6148">tāny</w>
						            <w xml:id="tok6149">eva</w>
						            <w xml:id="tok6150">narake</w>
						            <lb n="31"/>
						            <w xml:id="tok6151">vaset·</w>
					          </l>
				        </lg>
<lg xmlns="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/1.0" xml:id="seq3026" met="Anuṣṭubh" n="III">
					          <l xml:id="seq2602" n="a">
						            <w xml:id="tok6152">tām</w>
						            <w xml:id="tok6153">eva</w>
						            <w xml:id="tok6154">rakṣatā</w>
						            <w xml:id="tok6155">yatnān·</w>
					          </l>
					          <l xml:id="seq2603" n="b">
						            <w xml:id="tok6156">nibodhaḥ</w>
						            <w xml:id="tok6157">kkr̥itinaḫ</w>
						            <w xml:id="tok6158">phala<unclear>m·</unclear>
						            </w>
					          </l>
					          <l xml:id="seq2604" n="c">
						            <w xml:id="tok6159">naikakalpa<lb n="32" break="no"/>sahasrāṇi</w>
					          </l>
					          <l xml:id="seq2607" n="d">
						            <w xml:id="tok6160">divi</w>
						            <w xml:id="tok6161">devai</w>
						            <w xml:id="tok6162">sa</w>
						            <w xml:id="tok6163">divyati</w>
					          </l>
				        </lg>
<lg xmlns="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/1.0" xml:id="seq3027" met="Anuṣṭubh" n="IV">
					          <l xml:id="seq2608" n="a">
						            <w xml:id="tok6164">bahubhir</w>
						            <w xml:id="tok6165">vvasudhā</w>
						            <w xml:id="tok6166">dattāḥ</w>
					          </l>
					          <l xml:id="seq2609" n="b">
						            <w xml:id="tok6167">bahubhi<lb n="33" break="no"/>ś</w>
						            <w xml:id="tok6169">cānupālitā</w>
					          </l>
					          <l xml:id="seq2612" n="c">
						            <w xml:id="tok6170">yasya</w>
						            <w xml:id="tok6171">yasya</w>
						            <w xml:id="tok6172">yadā</w>
						            <w xml:id="tok6173">bhūmi</w>
					          </l>
					          <l xml:id="seq2613" n="d">
						            <w xml:id="tok6174">tasya</w>
						            <w xml:id="tok6175">tasya</w>
						            <w xml:id="tok6176">tadā</w>
						            <w xml:id="tok6177">phala<unclear>m·</unclear>
						            </w>
					          </l>
				        </lg>
<ab xmlns="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/1.0">
					          <lb n="34"/>
					          <w xml:id="tok6178">°ājñapti</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok6179">svamukhaṁ</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok6180">pravadamānavijayarājyasa<add place="below">m·</add>
                  vatsarāṇi</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok6181">pañcaviśa</w>
					          <num xml:id="cmp169" value="25">
						            <num xml:id="tok6182" value="20">20</num>
						            <num xml:id="tok6183" value="5">5</num>
					          </num>
					          <lb n="35"/>
					          <w xml:id="tok6184">vāsā</w>
					          <gap reason="illegible" quantity="1" unit="character"/>
					          <num xml:id="tok6186" value="4">4</num>
					          <w xml:id="tok6187">divasaṁ</w>
					          <num xml:id="tok6188" value="3">3</num>
				        </ab>

Apparatus

  • (1) (dextrorotatory-spiral) om JFF .
  • (3-4) -diṅmāṇḍalāḷāṅkāra- Emend -diṅmaṇḍalālaṅkāra-
  • (5) sūnuḥ One has the impression that the visarga is engraved twice.
  • (5) -ddhyātaḥ Read -dhyātaḥ.
  • (7) -pālītaśeṣa- Read -pālitāśeṣa-
  • (9) -pann[ai]svaryya- Read -pannaiśvarya-.
  • (8) -bhāra Emend -bhāraḥ.
  • (10) prithivimūlārajaḥ prithivimūlarajaḥ JFF . With corrections to pr̥thivimūlarājaḥ.
  • (11) -kuṭa- Read -kūṭa-.
  • (14) -maṇalkuḍi- -maṇalkudi(ḍi?)- JFF .
  • (15) -śīta- -śīta- SS -śita- JFF .
  • (15) asakkr̥d- Read asakr̥d-.
  • (17) -samutpāṭānābhi-.
  • (18) -kkr̥ta- Read -kr̥ta-.
  • (19) -ruḍha- -ruḍa- JFF . It seems we can read <ḍh>; correct -rūḍha-.
  • (20) -[v]itata- Fleet 1883-85 notes that the <v> is imperfect in the bottom stroke.
  • (21) svamatā- Correct svamātā-
  • (22) -nimitta Correct -nimittam· or -nimittaṁ.
  • (23) -reṅguṭakampāṟutukurāṇām· -reṅguṭakampāṟutukurāṇām· JFF -reṅguṭa-karmpaṟ-ānukūrāṇām· SS . Fleet’s reading seems distinctly better.
  • (23) caturṇṇā Correct caturṇṇām· or caturṇṇāṁ.
  • (23) grāmāṇā Correct grāmāṇām· or grāmāṇāṁ.
  • (24) maddhye Read madhye.
  • (24) °upāddhyāya- read °upādhyāya-.
  • (25) ticatvāriṁśad Emend tricatvāriṁśad.
  • (26) grahārīkkr̥tya Read grahārīkr̥tya.
  • (26) datta Correct dattaḥ.
  • (26) sarvver Correct sarvair.
  • (26) paripālaniyo Read paripālanīyo.
  • (31) yatnān· yatnāt· JFF .
  • (31) kkr̥itinaḫ phala[m·] Note combination of <r̥> and <i> vocalisation. The consonant below the upadhmānīya sign looks more like a <p> than the expected <ph>. The presence of small and low <m·> is hard to verify on the plate.
  • (33) phala[m·] The presence of small and low <m·> is hard to verify on the plate.
  • (34) °ājñapti Read °ājñaptiḥ?
  • (34) pravadamāna- Correct pravarddhamāna-.
  • (35) vāsā ? 4 divasaṁ 3 vāsāka-divasaṁ || 3 JFF . No trace of any punctuation is visible on the plate. See Sankaranarayanan’s n. 5 for the reading 4. Presence of any illegible sign between vāsā and 4 was not assumed by Sankaranarayanan 1977a and is indeed uncertain.

Translation

(1–12) Hail! From the victorious residence at Kāṇḍāli, the illustrious king Pr̥thivī[śrī]mūla, blessed by the feet of his parents; impeccable upholder of all laws on class and stage of life, through [his] intelligence and discrimination produced by [his] perception of the meanings of the words enjoined in revelation and tradition; who had undertaken the heavy burden of sovereignty with the sole purpose of favoring others; devout worshiper of Maheśvara; son of the celebrated great king Śrī Prabhākara, whose fame was the ornament of all quarters of space, whose unsurpassed store of merit had been obtained by the veneration of the feet of gods, brahmins and masters, commands all residents of the district of Tāḻupāka, starting with the governors (rāṣṭrakūṭa), as follows:
(12–27) ‘Be it known to you that the village called Cūyipāka, amidst the four villages Viḷendi, Reṅguṭa, Kampāṟu and Tukura, has been given to forty-three (Brahmins), born from families of teachers, of various gotras, belonging to Ātharvaṇika families, by me, after I had received a formal request, for the sake of acquiring merit on behalf of (his) own parents, from the illustrious Indrādhirāja (‘overlord of Indra’), whose abundant and pure fame, spread over the surface of the earth, had been obtained by killing the Kumuda elephant (of the S/SW?) that was intoxicated as it faced the Supratīka elephant (of the NW) that had been mounted (by him) for battle whose clatter was produced by all kings who were pleased at having assembled out of the desire violently to uproot Indrabhaṭṭāraka; (by Indrādhirāja), who was the dear son of Mitavarman, who had more than once obtained victory in elephant combat, who was the moon born in the ocean which was the lineage of brahmins residing in Maṇalkuḍi, famous for giving birth to heaps of jewels of men, radiant and pure by the light of the good conduct and success of their famous ascendants — after I had made it into an agrahāra. It is to be safeguarded by all [of you], particularly by the Hastikośa and the Vīrakośa.’
(27–33) And also:
I.

The one who would steal land given by himself or another imbibes the sin of the slayer of of a hundred thousand cows.

II.

The giver of land revels sixty thousand years in heaven; the one who confiscates [land] as well as the one who approves (of the confiscation) will reside as many [years] in hell.

III.

Hear the fruit of the virtuous man who protects it scrupulously: during numerous thousands of aeons he plays in heaven with the gods.

IV.

By numerous [kings], land has been given; and by many it has been protected. Whoever holds land at a given moment, to him does the fruit then belong.

(34–35) The executor is [the king’s] own mouth. Twenty-five 25 years of [his] prosperous, victorious reign. [Fortnight] 4 of the rains. Day 3.

Secondary bibliography