For millenia, Indian Emperors and dynasties had meticulously documented their rule. These include, dates of accession, death of important personalities, offerings at temples, customs, traditions, prayer, judicial decisions, war, etc. These inscriptions tied down the date of recording to either the regenal year of an Emperor or to an astronomically significant time.>
During their colonisation of India, the British took up the task of recording and translating these inscriptions. As the Epigraphist to the Government of Madras, Prof. Hultzsch started as systematic collection of South Indian inscriptions in 1886. Simultaneously, these were reproduced as books till 1903. These include 321 inscriptions through which the British tried to reconstruct the Chozha and Pallava history.
In 1909, Shri. V. Venkayya, M.A. and Shri. Rai Bahadur continued on this work. In 1935, Shri. Vasudev Vishnu Mirashi, a former Principal and Professor of Sanskrit, Morris College at Nagpur and an expert on Sanskrit, Pali, and Prakrit to study the records of Kalachuri and Chedi dynasties.
We reproduce below these ancient texts-- some with unnecessary editorial comments by the British and their agents, which record these inscriptions in great detail.
Four Part book Chozha Inscriptions spanning several Emperors: Part 1 contains inscriptions from Ukkal, Melpadi, Karuvur, Manimangalam, and Thiruvallam; Part 2 contains inscriptions of Virarajendra Chozha I, Kulothunga Chozha I, Vikrama Chozha, and Kulothunga Chozha III; Part 3 contains inscriptions of Aditya Chozha I, Parantaka Chozha I, Maduraikonda Rajakesarivarman, Parantaka Chozha II, Uttama Chozha, Parthivendravarman, Aditya-Karikala Chozha and the all important Thiruvalangadu plates; Part 4 contains contents of Copper grants of Sinnamanur, Tirukkalar and Tiruchchengodu. It also has two Chozha copper grants from Thiruchengodu.
Part 1 contains inscriptions of Banas, Vaidumbas, Nolamba-Pallavas, Chalukyas of Badami, Rashtrakutas, Chalukyas of Kalyani, Kalachuryas, Chozhas, Hoysalas, Yadavas, Guttas, Alupas, Chozhas of Renadu, and Eastern Chalukyas; Part 2 contains inscriptions of Vijayanagara, Unmattur Chiefs, Changalva, Mysore, and others.
Part 1 contains a historical recap of the Pallavas, Chalukyas of Badami, Rashtrakutas, and Western Chalukyas of Kalyani. Part 2 contains exclusively the history of the Western Chalukyas as recorded by Emperor Tribhuvanamalladeva Vikramaditya VI. Unfortunately, no details are available about this Emperor.
Practically all the important dynasties that ruled the Kannada country are represented in this Volume of 462 inscriptions dated from the 9th to the 13th Century of the Common Era. These inscriptions have been retrieved from Bijapur, Dharwar, North Kanara, Shimoga, and parts of Bellary and Belgaum districts in Mysore State.
This volume represent all the important ruling dynasties of Karnataka and bring to light quite a few facts not known to students of history and epigraphy so far. While almost all these inscriptions are in the Kannada and a few in Sanskrit, Nagari, Brahmi, and Prakrit. There are some inscriptions in Kannada, Tamil, and Nagari script while the language are Sanskrit, Kannada, Tamil and Telugu.
This two part volume contains 588 inscriptions, 484 of them are in Tamizh from Chithoor and Cuddapah districts of many dynasties include Chozhas, Pandyas, Hoyasalas, Vijayanagara Kings and a number of chiefs such as those of Ummattur. The earliest of these range from the 3rd Century beofre the Common Era.
This two part volume contains 588 inscriptions, 484 of them are in Tamizh from Chithoor and Cuddapah districts of many dynasties include Chozhas, Pandyas, Hoyasalas, Vijayanagara Kings and a number of chiefs such as those of Ummattur. The earliest of these range from the 3rd Century beofre the Common Era.
This volume contains inscriptions of Rajaraja I carved in the Brihadeshwara temple. Also included are 29 of Rajendra-Chola I, one of Rajendradeva, one of Kulottunga I, one of Vikrama-Chola, three of a probable Pandya king Konerinmaikondan, two of the Vijayanagara kings Tirumalaideva and Devaraya I, one of the Tanjore chief Achyutappa-Nayaka and one of Mallappa-Nayaka.
The Vākātakās were one of the most glorious dynasties that flourished in South India in ancient times. Their empire at one time extended from Mālwā and Gujarāt in the north to the Tuṅgabhadrā in the south and from the Arabian Sea in the west to the Bay of Bengal in the east. They were great patrons of literature. The liberal patronage they gave to Sanskrit and Prakrit poets soon brought the Vaidarbhī and Vachchhōmī rītis into prominence and induced great poets like Kālidāsa to adopt them for their works. They themselves composed kāvyas and subhāshitas which have evoked praise from famous poets and rhetoricians like Bāṇa and Daṇḍin, Kuntaka and Hēmachandra.
The Kalachuris were an Indian dynasty that ruled in west-central India between 6th and 7th centuries. They are also known as the Haihayas or as the "early Kalachuris" to distinguish them from their later namesakes.The Kalachuri territory included parts of present-day Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra. Their capital was probably located at Mahishmati. Epigraphic and numismatic evidence suggests that the earliest of the Ellora and Elephanta cave monuments were built during the Kalachuri rule.
The Kalachuris were an Indian dynasty that ruled in west-central India between 6th and 7th centuries. They are also known as the Haihayas or as the "early Kalachuris" to distinguish them from their later namesakes.The Kalachuri territory included parts of present-day Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra. Their capital was probably located at Mahishmati. Epigraphic and numismatic evidence suggests that the earliest of the Ellora and Elephanta cave monuments were built during the Kalachuri rule.
The Paramara dynasty was an Indian dynasty that ruled Malwa and surrounding areas in west-central India between 9th and 14th centuries of the Common Era. Medieval records classifies them among the Agnivanshi Rajput dynasties. The Paramara power rose and declined several times as a result of their struggles with the Chaulukyas of Gujarat, the Chalukyas of Kalyani, the Kalachuris of Tripuri and other neighbouring kingdoms. Malwa enjoyed a great level of political and cultural prestige under the Paramaras. The Paramaras were well known for their patronage to Sanskrit poets and scholars, and Bhoja was himself a renowned scholar. Most of the Paramara kings were Shaivites and commissioned several Shiva temples, although they also patronized Jain scholars.
The Śilāhāras Dynasty was a royal clan that established itself in northern and southern Konkan, present-day Mumbai and southern Maharashtra during the Rashtrakuta period. They were split into three branches; one branch ruled North Konkan, the second South Konkan (between 765 and 1029), while the third ruled what is now known as modern districts of Satara, Kolhapur and Belgaum between 940 and 1215 after which they were overwhelmed by the Chalukya.
The Gupta Empire stretched across northern, central and parts of southern India between 320 and 550 CE. The period is noted for its achievements in the arts, architecture, sciences, religion, and philosophy known as the "Golden Age." Not much is known about the early days of this Gupta dynasty. The travel diaries and writings of Buddhist monks who frequented this part of the world are the most trustworthy sources of information we have about those days. The travelogues of Fa Hien (Faxian, circa 337 – 422 CE), Hiuen Tsang (Xuanzang, 602 – 664 CE) and Yijing (I Tsing, 635 – 713 CE) prove to be invaluable in this respect.
Till about two centuries ago, Śilāhāra family, like most other royal families of ancient India, was completely unknown to history. There were indeed several stone inscriptions scattered about in North Koṇkaṇ and the region round Kholhāpur, but none noticed or cared for them. In 1784, during the time of Governor-General Warren Hastings, the Asiatic Society of Bengal was founded, which gave a fillip to the study of Indian antiquities. Four years later, in 1788, the first Volume of its journal, the Asiatic Researches, was published. It contained General Carnac's English translation of the Ṭhāṇā plates of the Śilāhāra king &Ārikesarin, dated in the Śaka year 939 (A.D. 1017). It was prepared by the General with the help of Pandit Ramalochan of Calcutta, and was quite literal, English words being used for Sanskrit ones exactly as in Sanskrit compounds.
The bulk of the manuscript as it then existed dealt with the Mathura and Bharhut inscriptions besides some other smaller groups and separate inscriptions of major importance. In the present text it was thought advisable to divide the inscriptions into two main groups: A: donative inscriptions, and B: inscriptions describing the sculptural represen- tations, and so to arrange them anew. Consequently it was not possible to maintain the sequence of the numbers found in the List of BrÄhmÄ« Inscriptions, but these numbers from the List have been mentioned in brackets by the side of new numbers, and in addition a concordance of the old and new numbers has been attached.