North Indian Inscriptions

INSCRIPTIONS OF THE YAJVAPALAS OF NARWAR

of those of Gaṇapati, the king of Nalapura, in whose reign all those works of munificences were performed. The date of the record, as given in numerical figures only, is the fifth of the dark half of Kārttika of the (Vikrama era 1355 and day was Thursday.^[1] The date regularly corresponds to 25th September, 1298 A.C.

The inscription opens with the customary sentence paying obeisance to Śiva ; and first two verses thereof, invoke the blessings of his matted hair and the Sun respectively.

The stanza, which describes the Sun, is rather ambiguous, inviting difference of opinion as to its interpretation. D. C. Sircar is inclined to take Raṇṇā as a Prakrit form of Rājñī, who, as the adds, is known to the Epic and Purāṇic mythology as the wife of the Sun called Sāmbāditya whose abode is at Śamīsthala, which cannot be identified but may have formed a part of Narwar itself or may have been in its vicinity. But the difficulty in accepting this view is that the Prakrit form of Rājñī would be Rāṇṇī and also that Raṇṇā can hardly be connected with it It is also noteworthy that the word used here is with the dental and not the lingual n, as the Prakrit form would require. Thus, the suggestion, though ingenious, appears to be conjectural. To me, however, it appears that the Sun is here described as ratnēśa, and it is so called because it supersedes all the shining objects and imparts brilliance to them all. The last of the adjectives used in the verse, namely śamī-sthala-vāsaḥ, probably denotes the residence of the Sun in the śanī tree, in the form of fire, as is well known to the Puranic mythology.

The next verse describes Nalapura, and verses 4 to 8 are devoted to give an account of Gaṇapati and his ancestors, beginning from Chāahḍa whose son was Nṛivarman. The latter’s son was Āsalladēva, his son Gōpāla, and his son again was Gaṇapati. This genealogy is all known from the other records of the house and it is also known that Nṛivarman predeceased his father and did not occupy the throne. The description is all conventional ; but verse 8 is historically important as it tells us that Gaṇapati made his fame firm by capturing Kīrtidurga.

The name of the enemy from whom he captured this fort is not mentioned in the record, but it can be guessed, Kielhorn is perhaps correct in taking Kīrtidurga identical with Kīrtigiridurga (i.e., the fort at Dēogaḍh), mentioned in l. 7 (v. 6) of the Dēogaḍh rock inscription of the time of the Chandēlla Kīrtivarman ;^[2] but the possibility that it may it may have been the fort at Chandērī in the Gunā District cannot be altogether avoided.^[3] Both these places, however, are in the same region and both are situated to the east or south-east of the dominions of the Yajvapālas, which was then included in the dominions of the Chandēllas. Gaṇapati’s contemporaries on the Chandēlla throne were Bhōjavarman (c. 1286-1289 A.C.) and Hammīravarman (c. 1289-90 to 1308 A.C.), and we know that during the reign of these two rulers who were last to occupy the Chandēlla throne, the sway of this house was almost on its decadence. And though we have no evidence to support the suggestion, it is possible to presume that Gaṇapati may have renewed the struggle with the Chandēllas, which was begun at the time of his father Gōpāla, as known from the Narwar inscription of V.S. 1338 and also from those found at Baṅglā and dated in V.S. 1339. Or it may be, as suggested by Sircar, that Gaṇapati as a subordinate ally of the Muslim Sultāns at Delhi, may have helped them in their struggle with the Chandēllas. Both of these views are hypothetical.

With verse 10 begins the genealogy of the brothers Palhadēva and Haṁsarāja. It commences with the praise of the fort of Gōpāchala (i.e., Gwālior), the abode of many wealthy persons. At that placed also flourished a family of the Māthura Kāyasthas of the Kāśyapa gōtra, who were intelligent and well known for their behaviour as also for their valorous deeds (v. 11). In that family was born a certain Alhaṇa, who was well versed in all arts and was also bountiful (v. 12). Alhaṇa’s son, Kānhaḍa, was a devotee of Kṛishṇa (v. 13), and his son again was Vijahaḍa. who is stated to have been a Chief Minister (mantri-varishṭha) of a king whose name is not mentioned (V. 14). Vijahaḍa’s wife was Maṇagā (v. 15), who worshipped Gaṅgā and Yamunā at
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^[1] In his notice of the inscription in Ind., Ant. Vol. XXII, p. 81, Kielhorn reads “either Gurau or Śukrē”, from the rubbings he had, and supposing the day to be a Friday, he equates the date to be 26th September, 1298 A.C. In his List of Inscriptions (No. 642) D. R. Bhandarkar read Sukrē doubtfully, but accepted the equivalent of the date. But in all the impressions before me I can clearly read Gurau, and I have also verified the reading from the original stone. Also see I.N.I., No. 642, where the week-day is doubtfully taken as Śukrē.
^[2] See above, No. 111.
^[3] See Bhandarkar’s List, No. 2107, mentioning Chandērī (as Kirtidurga).