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BOMBAY
- KARNATAKA INSCRIPTIONS
INTRODUCTION
The
inscriptions included in 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. An attempt is, made in this introduction to present some of these
facts as gathered by a study of some important epigraphs.
While
almost all the inscriptions in the Volume are written in the Kannada
script and language, a few of them are either in the Kannada script and
Sanskrit language or in the Nagari script and Sanskrit or Kannada
language. Only one inscription is in the Brahmi script and Prakrit
language. There are two
records in Nagari script and Marathi language and composite inscription
is written in three scripts, viz. Kannada, Tamil, and Nagari,
while the language are Sanskrit, Kannada, Tamil and Telugu.
THE
RULING DYNASTIES
The
Chutus
Among
the inscriptions included in this Volume, the earliest is a Prakrit
record (No. 1) from Banavasi which is written in Brahmi characters of
the third century A.D. It
belongs to Vinhukada-Chutukulandanda Satakanni and records a gift of a
Naga, a tank and Vihara by the kingâs daughter.
While Pandit Bhagawanlal Indraji and Buhler took the name of this
daughter as Sivaskandanagasri mentioned in the record, Rapson and Luders
thought that this name referred the prince and that the daughterâs
name is not mentioned. But
in view of the suggested readings given in the text edited below,
Sivaskandanagasri could refer only to the name of the kingâs daughter.
The Chalukyas of
Badami
The first
inscription to be noticed under this dynasty is NO. 2, which is written
in characters of about eh 7th century A.D. and belongs to the
reign of Satyasraya. As the
epithet Satyasraya is commonly associated with the Western
Chalukya king Pulakesin II, this record may be assigned to his reign.
Nos. 3, 4, 5, 6 and
7, all from Lakshmesvar and found in the Jaina temple called
Sankha-basti, are in the nature of copper-plate grants.
They are in characters of about the 10th century A.D.
and are written in the Sanskrit language.
They appear to be later copies of earlier grants.
No. 3 belongs to the reign of Ereyamma
Satyasraya,
described as the son of Ranaparakrama-Maharaja. Since we know that Ranaparakrama was an epithet of
Kirtivarman I and that his son Pulakesin II was commonly associated with
the epithet Satyasraya, the ruling king of the record may be
identified with the latter. The
inscription mentions a certain Durgasakti, apparently a subordinate of
the king, as the son of Kundasakti and grandson of Vijayasakti of the
Sendraka family. These
princes re not known from any other source.[1]
The Chiplun plates of Pulakesin II mention the Sendrakaprince
Senandaraja as his maternal uncle But we do not know whether this
Senanda was related to the princess mentioned in the present record and,
if so, in what way.
No.
4 belongs to the reign of Vinayaditya.
It may be noted that in giving the genealogy from Pulakesin I
downwards, the inscription omits the name Vikramaditya, I (A.D. 655-80),
the son and successor of Pulakesin II, and associates some of his
attributes to his son and successor Vinayaditya.
No.
5 and 6 belong to the reign of Vijayaditya while No. 7 belongs to
that of Vikaramaditya II. These
three grants along with that of Vinayaditya mentioned above (No. 4) were
issued from Raktapura. I have shown elsewhere that Raktapura was the
Sankritised name of Kisuvolal, i.e., modern Pattadal, and should
be identified with that place and not with modern Lakshmesvar as Pathak
and Fleet were inclined to do.
No.
8 from Sidenur belongs to the reign of Vikramaditya.
The record may be assigned on palaeographical grounds, to the 8th
century A.D. and hence the king mentioned therein may be identified with
Vikramaditya II.
No.
9 from Adur belongs to the reign of Kirtivarman who may be
identified with Kirtivarman II as the record has to be assigned to the 8th
century A.D. on grounds of paleography.
The inscription mentions one Sidarasa as governing Gangi-Pandiyur.
This chief probably belonged to an early branch of the Sinda
family and is not known from any other source.
The record also mentions a certain Madhavattiyarasa, probably a
contraction of the name Madhavasatti-arasa.
If this is true, then the name suggests that he belonged to the
Sendraka family.
The
Rashtrakutas
There
are eight inscriptions belonging to this dynasty included in this
Volume. The earliest of them is
No.
10 which comes from Sidenur and refers to the reign of Dorapparasa, i.e.,
Sidenur. Marakka-arasa is known from a few other records as the
governor of Banavasi under Dhruva.
And from a record from Kachavi, we learn that he had a son named
Kattyara from his senior queen Appa-Vineti who is apparently the same as
Binaeti-abbe of our inscription. I
have elsewhere shown that this Mrakka-arasa is the earliest known
governor of Banavasi under the Imperial Rashtrakuta kings.
No.
11 is undated and may be assigned to about the end of the 8th
century A.D. on paleographical grounds.
It refers to the reign of Srivallabha, an epithet borne by both
Duruva Dhravasha and his son Govinda III, though Fleet was inclined to
refer the inscription to the reign of the former.
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An
incomplete inscription (No. 12) from Gudigeri, which is not dated
but assigned to about the 8th or 9th century A.D.
on palaeographical grounds, was published by Fleet. It refers itself to the reign of a certain Marassalba-maharaja
and mentions one Dadigarasa as governing the nadu, evidently as a
feudatory of the king. Fleet
was inclined to identify Marassalba or Marasarva might have been a
member of the Western Ganga family, possible the Ganga king
Sripurusha-Muttarasa. As
suggested by Altekar, Marasarva of the Wani-Dindori and Radhanpur plates
seems to have been a petty ruler of Sarbhon in Bharoch and hence cannot
be identified with Marasalba of the Gudigeri record.
But his view that the latter was a small local feudatory ruling
over a district is untenable. For, the record, states in unequivocal terms that Marassalba
was âruling over the earthâ (prithvi-rajyam geye), thereby
indicating his sovereign status. It
may be pointed out that Amoghavarsha I, the son and successor of a
Govinda III, was called Sarva and, therefore, Marassalba or Marasarva
may be identified with him. In
the alternative, it may be taken to be an epithet of Govinda III
himself. Dadigarasa who was
governing the nadu, which probably stands for Banavasi-nadu, is
not known from any other source.
No.
14 from Hirebidri belongs to the reign of Subhatunga and seems to be
dated in Saka 800 (A.D. 878). Only
the word entu-nuru is preserved and, though the Saka date is
usually mentioned at the beginning, comes here after the mention of the
King. If the word entu-nuru
refers to the date of the record, then it furnishes the earliest
known date for the king Subhatungadeva, i.e., Krishna II.
So far, the earliest date for this king was furnished by the
Sirumja and Soratur records dated Saka 805 or A.D. 883.
The latest date known for his father and predecessor Amoghavarsha
I is A.D. 877-78. So our
record probably belongs to the very first year of the reign of Krishna
II.
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No.
15 belongs to the reign of Akalavarsha who, from the date Saka. 826
(A.D. 904-05) given in the record, can be identified with Krishna II.
It mentions his subordinate Lokate, also called Lokayya, as
governing Banavasi-12,000 and one Bijja as nalgavunda of
Satyalge-70. We know that Lokate belonged to the Chellaketana family, the
members of which were governors of the Banavasi Province under the
Rashtrakuttas for about two centuries.
So far, the Byadi inscription of Akalavarsha, i.e., Krishna
II, dated Saka 823 (A.D. 901-02) supplied the latest date for Lokate.
Our record, therefore, shows that he held the office till A.D.
904-05 at least.
The same Byadgi record informs us that a certain Bijja who
belonged to the Chikkamba family was the nalgamunda of
Sattiyalge-70. Bijja of our
inscriptions is apparently the same who is mentioned in the Byadgi
record.
No.
17 from Rugi is a badly damaged record written in Sanskrit
language and Nagari characters.
It belongs to the reign of Mahrajadhiraja Paramesvara
Amo..who is no doubt Amoghavarsha.
It is dated Saka 863 (expired), expressed both in words and
figures, the word indicating the number e being effaced although it
is clear in the figure. This
date corresponded to A.D. 941-42.
The king Amoghavarsha may be identified with
Baddega-Amoghavarsha, the father of Krishna III.
But there is some difficulty about this identification.
It has been shown that the accession of Krishna III fell
between the 23rd February and the 23rd
December, A.D. 939 while we learn from the Deoli plates dated Saka
862, i.e., A.D.
940-41 that Kirshna ascended the throne only after the death of his
father. Therefore, we
may have to assume that either there is some error in the date cited
as Saka 863 in the present record or the epithet Amoghavarsha was
borne by Krishna III as well just as both Indra III and his son
Govinda IV had the epithet
Nityavarsha.
In the latter case, the present record has to be assigned to
Krishna III himself.
It
may not be out of place to notice here a record from Agarkhed
(No.152) belonging to the time of the Kalachuri king Sovideva and
dated in the cyclic year Vikrita corresponding to A.D. 1170. This
record refers to a previous gift
of land made by a certain Mahamandalesvara Kailasarasa of Tardavadi
and a subordinate of Subhatungadeva . We known that the
epithet subhatungideva was characteristic of the Imperial
Rashtrakutas and was borne by all the three kings who bore the name
Krishna . since the present record is of the 12th century
A.D., it is likely that sughatungadeva
mentioned herein was Krishna III (A.D. 939â967). A hitherto
unknown feudatory of the king in the person of Mahamandalesvara Kailasvara, who
was probably governing the Tradavadi region, is brought to light by
the inscription
The
Chalukyas of Kalyana
There
is only one inscription in the Volume (No. 18) which belongs to the
reign of Taila II, the founder of the later family of the Chalukyas,
known to students of history as the Chalukyas of Kalyana.
It is dated in A.D. 980 and mentions the Ratta feudatory
Mahasamanta Santivarmarasa.
No. 19 is the only
inscription which can be assigned to the reign of Ayyana II and it
is one of the few stone inscriptions which preserve a connected
account of the pedigree of the kings of the Chalukyas of Badami and
Kalyana. It traces the genealogy from Jayasimha I down to
Vasudhakamalla alias
Ayyana II to whose reign
the record apparently belongs.
The record is dated Saka 936, Ananda, Phalguna, Amavasya,
Sunday, which regularly corresponds to February 20, A.D. 1015.
It discloses a hitherto unknown brother and feudatory of
Ayyana in the person of Mahasamnta Devanarasa described as a âbee
on the lotus-feet of Vasudhaikamalladevaâ thereby suggesting that
Ayyana II did rule. A
record from Gonahalu dated Saka 936, Sravana (the cyclic years is
lost) or A.D. 1014-15, furnishes the latest known date for
Vikramaeditya V, the eldest brother and predecessor Ayyana II, while
the Sidenur inscription (No. 20) dated in December, A,D, 1015,
supplies the earliest date for his younger brother Jayasimha II as a
ruling king. Sravana in
Saka 936 fell in the month of July, A.D. 1014.
Therefore, Ayyana II must have ruled between July, A.D. 1014
and December, A.D. 1015...
Including
the Sidenur inscription noticed above, Jayasimhadeva II is represented
by nine records in the Volume, the latest (No. 27) being dated in A.D.
1041. They disclose the
following feudatory officers of the king who are not noticed by Fleet
and Venkatasubbiah.
(1)
Mahamandalesvara Kali-Katimayyarasa who was governing Banavasi 12,000 in
A.D. 1015 (No. 20). His
subordinate Vavanaras who was administering Sattalige-70 may be
identified with his namesake mentioned in two later records of Jayasimha
Ii dated in A.D. 1028 as administering the Purigere-300 and Belvola-300
districts. One of the
records informs us that he was the son of Kesaavarsa and had an younger
brother called Mahasamantadhipati Sripadarasa ruling Mulugunda-12.
(2)
Mahasamtna Dhanasanghayyarasa of the Selara (Silahara) family mentioned
in an inscriptions of A.D. 1019 (No. 21).
He will be noticed later on.
(3)
Mahasamanta Dandanatha Rebbarasa mentioned in a record of A.D. 1027 (No.
22)
(4)
Mahasamanta Gopalarasa
who was administering Kannavolli (modern Kannolli in the Bijapur
District) in A.D. 1041 (No.27)
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Of
the fifteen records belonging to the reign of Ahavamalla Somesvara I in
this Volume, the earliest (No. 29) is dated Saka 965 or A.D 1044 while
the latest (No. 41) bears the date Saka 990 or A. D. 1068.
No. 37 which is dated in A.D. 1057 mentions the kingâs
subordinate Bijjarasa with the titles Kalanjara-puravaresvara, Suvarna-urishabha-dhavaja, etc.,
and as governing from his headquarters (nelevidu)
at Mangalibveda. This
Bijjarasa no doubt belongs to the Kalachurya dynasty which usurped the
Chalukya kingdom about a century later.
The inscription under review provides the earliest contemporary
reference to a member of this dynasty.
Two more new feudatories of the king are disclosed by his
records. One is Dandanayaka
Echayyabhatta who was administering, in A.D. 1044-45, Pandiyur i.e.,
modern Adur in the Hangal
Taluk of the Dharwar District (No. 31).
The other feudatory is Mallarasa who was the nalgavunda of Basavura-140
in A.D. 1055 (No. 35). No.
34, dated in A.D. 1053, refers to the kings, feudatory Kirtivarmanadeva
(II) of the Kadamba family of Hangal.
The earliest date given to him by Fleet was A.D. 1068-69 and so
the present record pushes it back by 15 years.
Mahasamanta Indrakesiyarasa of the Manalera family, who was
governing, as a feudatory, purigere-300 in A.D. 1058 (No. 38), is also
known from other records.
There
are seven records in the Volume belonging to the reign of
Bhuvanaikamalla Somesvara II, the eldest son and successor of Somesvara
I. The earliest of them
(No. 44) is dated Saka 991 or A.D. 1069 and the latest (no. 49) Saka 998
or A.D. 1076. Two records
(No. 44 and 45) introduce a hitherto unknown feudatory of the king in
the person of Mahasamandalesvara Payyarasa or Payiyarasa as governing
Taddavadi-1000.
No.
46, dated in A.D. 1072, states that while the chief queen
Kanchaladevi was governing from the headquarters (nelvidu)
at Mulugunda and the kingâs subordinates Mahapradhana, Dandanayaka
Rudrabhattopadhyaya was governing Gudigere and mahasamanta, Dandanayaka
Isvarabhatta was in charge of all the departments, Dandanayaka
Bhasakara-bhattopadhyaya returned from his victory over the northern
kings of Lata, Malava, Saurashtra and Gadua, exacting levy from them.
The inscription refers to an earlier grant made by Kumkumadevi,
younger sister of king Vijayaditya of Badami.
It is interesting to note that this Kumkumadevi, is mentioned in
two contemporary grants of Vijayaditya himself.
Kanchaladevi is also mentioned in a record of Somesvara II, dated
A.D. 1069, as his chief queen.
No. 47, dated in A.D.
1074, mentions the kingâs feudatory Jayakesiyarasa of the Sagara
family as the eldest son of Indrkesiyarasa and the latterâs wife
Chandikabbe.
No. 49 dated in A.D. 1076 introduces the kingâs subordinate
Bhuvanaikamalla-Vira-Nolamba with epithets Vira-Pallavanaya, Pallavakula-tilaka,
Amoghavakya and Kanchipuravaresvara as governing
Nolambavadi, Panungalnadu and Banavasi-desa.
We know that these epithets were borne by the kingâs younger
brother Jayasimha III who is called Trailokyamalla-Vira-Nolamba in the
records of his father Trailokyamalla-Somesvara I.
Our inscription credits him with the governorship of Banavasi-desa
and Panungal-nadu in addition to Nolambhavadi.
The inscription also reveals the name of his queen Maladevi.
As
usual, a large number of records belongs to the reign of
Tribhuvanamalladev Vikaramaditya VI, son of Somesvara I and younger
brother of Bhuvanaikamalladeva Somesvara II.
The earliest inscription in the Volume (No. 51) belongs to his
second regnal year, Pingala, while thelatest (No. 86) to his fiftieth
regnal year Visvavasu. Of
the 30 records which the regnal years coupled with the cyclic years, 24
yield Nala as the first year of the reign, 3 as Pingala and 3 as
Rakshasa. This would
support Fleetâs view that Nala was the first year of Vikramaditya VI.
These records disclose the following new feudatories of the king
not noticed by Fleet and Venkatasubbiah:
-
Mahamandalesvara
Kaliyammarasa mentioned in an inscription of A.D. 1085 (no. 58)
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Mandalika
Nayimarasa who, in A.D. 1086, was probably governing Elamela (No.
59)
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Dandanayaka
Asapayya who was administering the Vaddaravula and other
taxes in A.D. 1088 (No. 60).
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Mahamandalesvara
Priya Govarasa of the Silara (Silahara) family who was governing
Tardavdi in A.D. 1124 (No. 85).
No. 60 also
mentions Mahamatya, Perggade Changadevayya who is evidently the same as
Perggade Changadevayya noticed by Fleet.
Our inscription refers to him as a âbee on the lotus-feet of
Somesvaraâ (i.e., Somesvara I or II) and a âlion of his brother-in-lawâ (i.e, Vikramaditya VI). This shows that Chagadevayya was not only a feudatory of the
predecessors of Vikramaditya but was also related matrimonially to the
latter.
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Two
inscription mention the names of the two sons of Tribhuvanamalladeva.
No 71 from Agarkhed refers to yuvaraja Mallikarjuna as the
eldest son of the king and as governing Tardavadi-1000. His preceptor was Lakshmidhara-bhattopadhyaya.
Another son, kumara Jayakarnadeva, is referred to as
Mahamandalesvara in an Inscription (no. 80) from Bijapur.
An undated record (no. 94) from Khedgi mentions Kankoja and his
wife Masanikavenayakiti as the parents of Lakshmadevi who was the wife
of Tribhuvanamalladeva. Thus
the names of the parents of Lakshamadevi are known for the first time
from this record.
From
a record (no. 64) at Malghan, dated in the Chalukya Vikrama year 25 or
A.D. 1100, we learn that the king was then encamped on the Bhimarathi
river in the course of his expedition against Bhoja in the west.
This bhoja was evidently a chief of the Silahara family of Karad,
whom the Sinda chief Achugi II is known to have repulsed.
There
are eleven inscription of Bhulokamalla Somesvara III included in the
Volume. The earliest of them (No. 98) is dated in his second regnal
year, Plavanga, while the latest (No. 107) in his thirteenth regnal
year, Kalayukta. All these
records show that his first regnal year was Parabhava (A.D. 1126) as
suggested by Fleet.
Among
his feudatories, not mentioned by Fleet and Venkatasubbiah, may be
included Mahamandalesvara Jayakesidea of the Sagara family who, in A.D.
1128 and 1138, was governing Purigere (Nos. 99 and 107);
Mahamandalesvara Tarikada Permadideva who, in A.D. 1129, was governing
Tardavadi-1000 and his subordinate Danadanayaka Vaijanathayya (No. 100);
and Mahamandalesvara Kumara Sovarasa of the Silara (Silahara)
family mentioned in a record (No. 104) of A.D. 1133, as the son of
Mahamandalesvara Singarasa who was the subordinate of the kingâs
father Tribhuvanamalladeva, i.e., Vikramaditya VI.
Perma Jagadekamalla, the
successor of Somesvara III, is represented by thirteen inscription in
the Volume, which range in date from A.D. 1139 to 1148.
The Devaranavadgi inscription (no. 111) is dated in his second
regnal year coupled with the Cyclic year Siddharthi, thereby showing
that he counted his first year from Kalayukta or A.D. 1138.
The same record mentions his feudatory Mahamandalesvara
Sovidevarasa of the Selara of Silahara family as holding the office of manneya
of Elamela-nadu.
He is also mentioned in No. 115, dated in A.D. 1146 and will be
noticed again in the sequel.
Mahamandalesvara Jayakesin of the Manala family is mentioned as manneya
of Purigere in No. 117 of A. D. 1147.
There
are only two inscriptions (Nos. 122 and 123) of Taila III in the Volume
and one of them, viz., No. 122, dated in A.D. 1153, brings to
light his feudatory Mahamandalesvara Vira-pandyadeva of the Pandya
family, who is also called Yadavabharana, as holding the office
of Hiriya-Manneya of Huligere-300.
The same record also mentions another feudatory, Mahamandalesvar
Jayakesidevarasa as holding the office of manneya of the same
place. Though the family to
which this Jayakesideva belonged is not mentioned, it may be surmised
that he was of the Sagara or Manalera family which held this office
hereditarily.
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The inscriptions of the
last king of this family, viz., Somesvara IV, are eight in number
in this Volume and quote the Year Visvavasu as his third regnal year
(Nos. 124 and 125), Parabhava as the fourth (No. 126) but Plavanga as
his sixth year (No. 129).
This would suggest that both Subhakrit and Sobhakrit or A.D. 1182
and 1183 were counted as his first year. The confusion may be due to the
similarity of the names Subhakrit and Sobhakrit.
Among his feudatories may be mentioned Mahamandalesvara Anemarasa
of the Silara or Silahra family who was governing Elamela in A.D. 1186
(no. 127). This
inscription also informs us that the king was ruling from the capital (nelevidu)
at Gokage, i.e., Gokak
in Belagaum district.
It further refers to the kingâs subordinates Mahapasayita,
Kumarai Bommidevarasa and his uncle Mahapradhana
Govindamayya-dandanayaka who are not mentioned by Fleet and
Venakatasubbiah.
continued
An undated record from
Siruguppi (ARSIE, 19933-34, App. E.No. 32), assignable to about the
6th or 7th century A.D. on grounds of
palaeography, mentions two chiefs named Kundasatti-arasa and
Banasatti-arasa and these names resemble those of the Sendraka
chiefs. If Kundasatti (Sankrit
Kundasakti) was a chief of this family, he may perhaps be
identified with Durgasaktiâs father Kundasakti of the present
inscription.
Fleet noticed this Lokate
in an inscription from Adur in the Hangal Taluk of the Dharwar District,
dated Saka 826, Raktakshi (A.D. 904 â 05).
See Bomb. Gaz., Vol. I, Part II.
But this record is not known from any other source.
Proably it is the same as the present record from Sidenur for
which Adur may be a mistake.
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