South Indian Inscriptions

INCRIPTIONS OF THE EARLY KALACHURIS

The present date is one of the few early Kalachuri dates falling in dark fortnight, but in the absence of the mention of a week-day or a nakshatra, it is not possible to say if the month Kārttika to which it belonged was pūrnimānta or amānta. If considered in connection with the date of the Vadnēr plates, it affords some basis for conjecture. The Vadnēr plates were granted at Vidiśā (modern Besnagar near Bhilsā) on Bhādrapada śu. di. 13 towards the end¹ of the Kalachuri year 360, while the present grant was made at Ānandapura (which, as shown below, is either Ānand in the Kairā District or Vadnagar in the Mēhsānā District on Kārttika va. di. 15 in the beginning of the next Kalachuri year 361. Supposing that the years of the Vadnēr and Sarsavnī plates were both current, or both expired, there would be an interval of about one month and sixteen days between the dates of the two grants, if the months were pūrnīmānta. The distance between Vidiśā and Ānanda is about 320 miles as the crow flies and that between the former place and Vadnagar is about 340 miles. This distance would be considerably increased, if the inevitable windings of the road are taken into account. Whichever identification of Ānandapura we accept, we shall have to suppose (if the dates are recorded in pūrnimānta months) that Buddharāja had to reach Ānandapura from Vidiśā by forced marches.² There is, however, nothing in either of the grants to support such a view. On the other hand, if we take the dates of both the inscriptions as recorded in amānta months³ there would be the reasonable interval of about two months and sixteen days between the two campaigns.

As for the localities mentioned in the present grant, Kielhorn identified Ānandapura with the modern Ānand, the chief town of a subdivision of the same name in the Kaira District. Dr. Altekar has, however, adduced very cogent reasons to prove that the ancient Ānandapura is identical with the modern Vadnagar in the Mēhsānā District.⁴ The former view is supported by the fact that the village granted by the present charter is situated much nearer to Ānand than to Vadnagar, but this cannot be regarded as a decisive argument. Dēbhaka is probably Dabkā, 8 miles west of Padrā, as suggested by Kielhorn. Gōrajjā is Gōraj, 11 miles south of Halol in the Panch Mahals, and Kumārivadaō (which is probably a Prakrit form of Kumārīvātaka) Kawarwārā, about 11 miles towards the west-south-west from Gōraj.⁵ I identify Brihannārikā (the larger Nārikā) with Nāriā, 7 miles south of Kawarwara. _________________

the 3rd October 609 A.C. In this he evidently took the year as expired. According to the epoch which suits early verifiable dates of the era, he found by calculation that (for the expired year 361) it would correspond to either the 22nd September or the 22nd October 610 A.C., as Kārttika was then intercalary.

¹As I have shown in the Introduction, the Kalachuri year began on Kārttika śu. di. 1.
²Taking the distance to be approximately 400 miles on account of the windings of the road we find that the army of Buddharāja must have marched on an average 9 miles per day. According to Yuan Chwang a yōjana (which was 30 or 40 li, i.e., from 6 to 8 miles) was a day’s journey for a royal army. (See Watters, On Yuan Chwang, Vol. I, p. 141, and compare Kautilya’s Arthaśāstra, second ed. by Shama Sastri, p. 365). So it was not impossible for Buddharāja’s army to cover the distance in one month and sixteen days, but this leaves no time for actual fighting if there was any.
³For another early Kalachuri date in an amānta month, sec No. 22, below.
⁴Ind. Ant., Vol. LIV, Suppl., pp. 14-15.
⁵These identifications of Gōrajjā and Kumārivadaō were first suggested by Dr. Fleet, Ep. Ind., Vol. VI, p. 297. He identified Brihannārikā with Banaiyā, 4½ miles south of Kawarwārā, but this does not seem to be correct. The place-name, which means ‘the larger Nārikā’, would assume the form Motā Nāriā, or simply Nāriā, in modern Gujarātī and is, therefore, probably identical with Nāriā as suggested above.