South Indian Inscriptions

INCRIPTIONS OF THE EARLY CHALUKYAS OF GUJARAT

No. 27; PLATE XX
NAVSARI PLATES OF YUVARAJA SRYASRAYA-SILADITYA:
(KALACHURI) YEAR 421

was increased by his elder brother, the illustrious Vikramāditya who bore the birudas Satyāśraya and Pŗithivīvallabha and the titles Mahārājādhirāja and Bhaţţāraka. Vikramāditya is further described as the conqueror of the Pallavas and as a devout worshipper of Mahēśvara, who meditated on the feet of the illustrious Nāgavardhana and was the son of the illustrious Pulakēśivallabha Vikramāditya and his father Pulakeśivallbha are plainly identical with Vikramāditya I had Pulakeśin II of the Early Chālukya dynasty. The former was the suzerain of Dharāśraya-Jayasimha whom he placed in charge of South Gujarat. As for Nāgavardhana, Mr. A.M.T. Jackson thought that he was a successor of Pulakeśin II, and ruled in the period between 640 A.C. and 669-70 A.C. Pandit Bhagvanlal, on the other hand, accepted Dr,Fleet’s opinion that Nāgavardhana may be the name of a god or guru.1 The use of paramamāhēśvara in addition to Nāgavardhana-pād-ānudhyāta as an epithet of Vikramāditya indicates that Nāgavardhana was probably the Guru2 of Vikramaditya I.

The object of the inscription is to record the donation of the village Āsaţţi in the Kaņhavala āhāra of the Bāhirikā vishaya. The donee was the Brāhmaņa Bhōgikkasvāmin of the Kāśyapa gōtra, a student of the Adhvarayu (vēda)³ who was residing at Navasārikā. The charter was written by the Sāndhivigrahika, the illustrious Dhanañjaya.

The date of the grant is given both in words and numerical symbols as the thirteenth tithi of the bright fortnight of Māgha in the year 421 of an unspecified era. The grant was evidently made during the reign of Vikramāditya I, who is the last king mentioned in it with imperial titles and who flourished from about 654 A.C. to 620 A.C.4 Its date must, therefore, be referred to the Kalachuri era. According to the epoch of 248-49 A.C., it would correspond, for the expired year5 429, to the 28th January 671 A.C. It does not admit of verification, but it clearly falls in the reign of Vikramāditya I.

As for the localities mentioned in the present grant, Navasārikā is clearly Navsāri where the plates were found. I identify Kaņhavala, the headquarters of the āhāra in which the donated village was situated, with Kaņhi, ⁶ miles south of Bārdōli. The village Āsaţţigrāma was identified by Dr. Bühler with Astgām6 which lies only about 10 m. south-west of Kaņhi. The Bāhirikā vishaya of which Kaņhavala āhāra was a subdivision means the Outer District. It was probably so called with reference to the neighbouring one, viz., Antarmaņdalī vishaya mentioned in the Pārdi plates of Vyāghrasēna, which bordered it on the east. To the north of Kaņhavala āhāra lay the Trēyaņņa āhāra, mentioned in the Bagumrā plates of Allaśakti7 and the Gujarat Rāshţrakūţa Dhruva8 which was probably another sub-division of the Bāhirikā vishaya.
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¹ Bomb. Gaz., Vol. I, Part I, pp. 111-2.
² Similarly in his Nasik plates (below, No. 28, line 12) Dharasraya-Jayasimhavarman is described as meditating on the feet of his parents and of the illustrious Anivārita. The latter was evidently his guru.
³ I. e., the Yajurvēda.
⁴ Ep. Ind., Vol. IX, p. 102. Historical Inscriptions of Southern India, p. 24.
⁵ If the year is applied as current, the date would correspond to the 9th January 670 A.C.
⁶ Ind. Ant., Vol. XVII, p. 198. Fleet objected to the identification on the ground that “in the Bombay Postal Directory the name is spelt ‘Ashtgām,’ which suggests Ashţagrāma, not Āsaţţigrāma”. Ep. Ind., Vol. VIII, p. 231, n. 4. I find the name as Astgām in the Degree Map No.46 H. Besides, the fact that Astgām is situated not far from Kaņhi (ancient Kaņhavala), and no other village of a similar name can be traced in the neighbourhood, supports the identification proposed by Bühler.
⁷ Above, No 26.
⁸ Ind. Ant., Vol. XII, pp. 179 ff.