South Indian Inscriptions

INCRIPTIONS OF THE KALACHURIS OF TRIPURI

The inscription then proceeds to describe in verses 24-29 Mugdhatunga’s son Yuvarājadēva (I) alias Kēyūravarsha. He is said to have fulfilled the ardent desires of the minds of the women of Gauda, to have sported on the breasts of the ladies of Karnāta, to have applied the ornamental mark to the forehead of the women of Lāta, to have enjoyed the pleasures of love with the women of Kāśmīra and to have been fond of the excellent songs of the women of Kalinga. Curious as it might appear, a similar description of Yuvarājadēva occurs in the Viddhaśālabhañjikā of Rājaśēkhara, who, in the later part of his career, flourished at his court. From the fourth act of this play¹ we learn that its hero Kēyūravarsha had married the princesses of Magadha, Mālava, Pāñchāla, Avantī, Jālandhara and Kērala. These statements are evidently intended to convey that Yuvarājadēva raided Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Karnātaka, Gujarat, Kashmir and other parts of India and married the princesses of those States. The present inscription further states that he caused endless trouble to his enemies from the Himālaya in the north to the bridge in the south, and from the eastern to the western sea. The description of Yuvarājadēva to which the poet has devoted as many as six verses is otherwise conventional and contains no histroical information.

The next eight verses (30-37) introduce a digression and describe the pedigree of Yuvarajādēva’s wife Nōhalā. From a handful (chuluka) of water taken by the sage Bhāradvāja (i.e., Drōna) to curse Drupada there was born a warrior, the family descended from whom came to be known as Chaulukya. This legend about the origin of the Chaulukyas, it may be noted in passing, differs from that given by Bilhana in his Vikaramānkadēvacharita, Canto I, verses 46-55. According to the latter, the progenitor of the clan was born from the handful of water taken by the god Brahmā for his morning libation when he was requested by Indra to create someone for the punishment of the haters of religion. Again, a third legend occurs in a later inscription, according to which the Chālukyas were born in the interior of the water-pot (chulkā) when Hārītipañchaśikha was pouring out a libation to the gods.² Our inscription next proceeds to state that in the family of the Chaulukyas was born Avanivarman. His father was Sadhanva and grandfather Simhavarman. Avanivarman had a daughter named Nōhalā.

This Nōhalā was a favourite wife of Yuvarājadēva. She constructed a lofty temple of Śiva. We are further told that she gave the villages Nipānīya and Ambipātaka to the Śaiva ascetic Īśvaraśiva as a reward for his scholarship. This Īśvaraśiva was a disciple of Śabdaśiva who was himself a disciple of Pavanaśiva, also called Mādhumatēya (the lord of Madhumatī). Further, Nōhalā donated the villages Dhangatapātaka, Pōndī, Nāgabala, Khailapātaka, Vīdā, Sajjāhalī and Gōshthapālī to the god Śiva.

The second part of the present record, which commences with verse 46, opens with a description of Lakshmanarajā (II), the son of Yuvarājadēva I and Nōhalā. Verses 46-58 again introduce a digression and give the spiritual genealogy of the Śaiva pontiff, Hridayaśiva, who was invited by Lakshmanarāja to his country and was placed in charge of the monastery of the holy Vaidyanātha. We are told that at the venerable place called Kadambaguhā there lived a sage named Rudraśambhu. His disciple was Mattamayūranātha who initiated the king of Avanti in the Śaiva faith. His disciple was Dharmaśambhu, and the disciple of the latter Śabdaśiva. Śabdaśiva was followed by Mādhumatēya, and the latter by Chūdāśiva who, again, was the spiritual preceptor of Hridayaśiva. Lakshmanarāja respectfully invited Hridayaśiva to his country and
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¹ See the Viddhaśālabhañjikā, (ed. by B. R. Arte), p. 114.
² See Fleet’s Dynasties of the Kanarese Districts, Bom., Gaz. Vol. I, part ii, p. 339.