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The Indian Analyst
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South Indian Inscriptions |
EPIGRAPHIA INDICA NAYANAPALLE INSCRIPTION OF GANAPATIDEVA It is necessary to settle the date of the present inscription. Since in this record Gaṇapati is stated to have come in contact with Rājēndra-Chōḍa in Draviḷa-maṇḍala and as records mentioning Gaṇapati and his general Sāmanta-Bhōja are actually found at Conjeeveram[1] and Kāḷahasti[2] situated in this maṇḍala, the former of which is dated in Śaka 1172, corresponding to A.D. 1249, we may assume that Conjeeveram was also taken in the course of the campaign of the Kākatīya king against the enemies of the ruler of Nellūru. About this time Allun-Tikka Gaṇḍagōpāla was ruling at Kāñchī, as a record of his, dated in Śaka 1168 (=A.D. 1246-47), definitely mentions him as ruling at the place.[3] In the fifth year of this chief Kōn Kāṭṭaiyan described as the minister of Gaṇapati figures as a donor to the Aruḷāla-Perumāḷ temple at Little Conjeeveram.[4] In the next year of the same chief, the misdeeds of the adherents of Gaṇapati with regard to temple property are noticed in an inscription at Vēppaṅguḷam,[5] near Conjeeveram. This would probably indicate that Gaṇapati withdrew from Kāñchī by the sixth year of the chief, who now seems to restore order in the country after the foreign occupation.
In the above context, the position of the Chōḷa king Rājēndra-Chōḷa III needs elucidation. In A. D. 1249, the date fixed for our record, both Rājarāja III and Rājēndra-Chōḷa III are mentioned in their records as rules of the Chōḷa empire. Rājēndra-Chōḷa counted his regnal years from A.D. 1246,6 but his predecessor Rājarāja III lived on till A.D. 1260, corresponding to his 44th year.7 Rājēndra-Chōḷa III is stated in a record of the 3rd year of his reign, corresponding to A.D. 1249-50,8 ‘to have been seated along with his queen on the throne of heroes.’ He could not have occupied the throne when the previous sovereign was also ruling. We cannot, therefore, have records of Rājarāja III beyond A.D. 1249-50 which would correspond to his 33rd year, but we actually find his records9 dated in the 36th, 38th, 39th, 41st and 44th regnal years─all coming from and round the present Gudiyattam taluk of the North Arcot District, with two more stray inscriptions, dated one in the 36thand the other in the 37th year, from the Nellore District.10 These records indicate that subsequent to A.D. 1246, Rājarāja III’s influence was mostly confined to the present North Arcot District, while the rest of the Chōḷa empire with the exception of the Kāñchī region passed under the suzerainty of Rājēndra-Chōḷa III. Our record states that Gaṇapati won over Kulōttuṅga Rājēndra-Chōḷa (i.e., Rājēndra-Chōḷa III) in Dṛaviḷa-maṇḍala, presumably without any conflict, and established friendly relations. This will be evident from the fact that Manmasiddhi, not long after, figures as a subordinate of the Chōḷa king and evidently in that capacity proceeds to the aid of Gaṇapati against Kaliṅga to the banks of the Gōdāvarī.11 This expedition was probably undertaken by Manmasiddhi to show his gratitude to Gaṇapati, his erstwhile benefactor, and to forge further the friendly relations between the Kākatīya monarch and his overlord, the Chōḷa. After reinstating Manmasiddhi, our inscription states, Gaṇapati constructed at Śrīśailam a maṭha called Bhṛiṅgi-maṭha ; then Chaitrapura12 alias Mōṭupalle is mentioned where a new ______________
[1] Ind. Ant., Vol. XXI, pp. 197 ff. ; No. 2 of 1893 of the Madras Epigraphical collection ; S.I.I., Vol. IV, No. 814. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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