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The Indian Analyst
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South Indian Inscriptions |
EPIGRAPHIA INDICA TELUGU CHOLA RECORDS FROM ANANTAPUR AND CUDDAPAH than the rest. After the extinction of the other two collateral lines Śrīkaṇṭha remained the sole representative of the progeny of Nandivarman, and he accordingly assumed the title of Chōḷa-Adhirāja. Stray inscriptions of a slightly later date than Śrīkaṇṭha which mention Chōḷa names like Mayindama-Chōḷa, Mayindavikrama and Chōḷa Perumānaḍi are found in the vicinity of Būdili, at Nagaragere[1] and Baṅgavāḍi[2]. It has been correctly stated that the Mayindavikrama who took part in the battle of Sōremaḍi was a Telugu Chōla king[3]. He is therefore the third of that name among the Telugu Chōlas. At Būdili itself is an inscription, later than the above, of a Śōla-Mahārāja who is found to adopt the Aridurddhara, etc., praśasti[4] and whom we may designate Chōla-Mahārāja II to distinguish him from the Chōla Mahārāja I alias Mahēndravikrama of the early Rēnāḍu-Chōla family. This king has left a good number of records in the Rēnāḍu and other tracts in which he describes himself as the ruler of Rēnāṇḍu 70005. It is not known definitely if all these later chiefs belonged to the line of Śrīkaṇṭha. But as they are found to hold sway over the region of Būdili, in and around which their records are found, they may be assumed to have been his descendants, or, better, political successors who, in spite of constant conflicts with the Bāṇas, Vaidumbas and Nolamba-Pallavas, continued to hold sway over the region. Chōla-Mahārāja II extended his rule over the whole of the dominions of the Telugu-Chōlas as the distribution of his records shows.
Turning to the chronology of these rulers, it has to be remarked that there are no definite dates to work upon as none of the inscriptions under consideration bear any date, either in the Śaka or any other era. Our construction has therefore to depend upon palaeographical and historical considerations alone which, however in this instance are found to be rather weighty owing to the number and variety of inscriptions on stone and of copper-plates that are available. The method we shall follow will be to fix a probable date for one or two members of the line on palaeographical and historical considerations and assign corresponding dates to the other members calculating on the basis of twenty-five years for a generation. On palaeographical grounds, the records of some of the members of the family edited above have been assigned to dates ranging from the 6th to the 8th century A. D. Apart from palaeography, other considerations such as the similarity of the names and titles held by these chiefs with those of the Pallavas and the Chāḷukyas render it necessary to treat them as their contemporaries and place them accordingly in the same period, during which the Pallavas and Chāḷukyas also held sway. The above arrangement may also be supported by reference to an ancient practice of feudatories assuming the names and titles of their overlords which affords a reliable canon for chronological studies as it enables us to treat the feudatory and the overlord as contemporaries[6]. In accordance with this practice it will be seen that Nandivarman _________________________
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