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The Indian Analyst
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South Indian Inscriptions |
EPIGRAPHIA INDICA CHATESVARA TEMPLE INSCRIPTION bhīma II,[1] whereas a careful perusal of the text, ever as it is presented by the said scholar, will show that it was Anaṅgabhīma II’s (really III’s) minister, Vishṇu, who built that temple. Bābu Manomohan Chakravartī, who, by the way, proved this Anaṅgabhīma to be Anaṅgabhīma III (and not II), has evaded the issue by merely observing : “ Several years would have elapsed between the minister Vishṇu’s fight with the Yavanas and the finishing of the temple,”[2] Bābu Rākhāl Dās Banerji, on the other hand, strikes a discordant note by attributing the construction of the Śiva temple in question to Gōvinda who was the said Anaṅgabhīma’s grandfather’s minister.[3] The confusion is probably due to the fact that Anaṅgabhīma’s grandfather’s name also happens to be Anaṅgabhīma and that both he and his minister, Gōvinda, also figure in the present inscription, as we shall presently see. Dr. Hemchandra Ray, however, correctly ascribes the erection of the temple to Vishṇu.[4] Our inscription mentions only four members of the later Gaṅga dynasty of Kaliṅga : (1) Chōḍagaṅga, (2) his son Anaṅgabhīma, (3) his son Rājēndra, and (4) his son Anaṅgabhīma. Not taking the earlier rulers of the lineage into consideration, Vasu took the second of the aforementioned members as Anaṅgabhīma I and the fourth as Anaṅgabhīma II. In the context of the full genealogy, however, these two stand as Anaṅgabhīma II and Anaṅgabhīma III respectively, one of their forefathers (Vajrahasta by name) being Anaṅgabhīma I.[5] It may further be observed that a variant form of this name, which frequently occurs in inscriptions, is Aniyaṅkabhīma, and that Rājēndra of our inscription is to be equated with Rājarāja III, The full genealogy as well as the events connected with the various members of the dynasty has recently been reviewed by Dr. D. C. Sircar in his edition of the Nagarī plates of Anaṅgabhīma III ; Śaka 1151 and 1152.[6] The portion of the genealogy contained in the present inscription stands as follows :
(1) Anantavarman-Chōḍagaṅga (1078-1147 A. C.) Again, as indicated above, in connection with Anaṅgabhīma II, our inscription mentions his minister Gōvinda ; and in connection with Anaṅgabhīma III, it describes his minister Vishṇu. As a matter of fact, the Chāṭēśvara inscription is a eulogy of this Vishṇu himself. Of the total of twenty-five verses, the poet has devoted as many as thirteen to Vishṇu alone, describing his valour, learning and charities. The first eleven verses, descriptive of the Lunar Race and some of the later Gaṅga rulers belonging to it, serve as introduction, while the concluding stanza mentions the poet’s name and fame. A perusal of the whole inscription leaves one with the impression that Vishṇu was that type of a minister who is all in all in a state, while its ruler counts as a mere figure-head. The contents of the inscription are, briefly, as follows. It opens with a symbol for siddham followed by ōm and obeisance to Śiva. Verse 1 is in praise of the Ocean and verse 2 in that of the Moon, both of the Ocean. Verse 3 refers, in a conventional way, to the kings descending from the Moon, i.e., those of the Lunar Race, Verses 4 to 6 describe, in a general way, king Chōḍagaṅga _________________________________________________
[1] JASB, Vol. LXVII (1898), p. 319. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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