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The Indian Analyst
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South Indian Inscriptions |
EPIGRAPHIA INDICA District, lying within a distance of two miles from Madanapalli. In the numerous inscriptions found at Niḍubrōlu, Drākshārāma and other places, Velanāṇṭi Goṅkarāja II is stated to have vanquished the lords of Marāṭa, Lāṭa, Karnāṭa, Kuntala, Andhra, Kaṭaka and Trikaliṅga, and acquired the rulership of the Andhra country with the insignia of a paramount sovereign (sāmrājya-chihnaiḥ) and enjoyed it.[1] A Drākshārāma inscription[2] states that Kulōttuṅga-Chōḷa II raised Goṅkarāja II, who was till then the commander-in-chief and ruler of the Tri-śat-ōttara-shaḷ-sahasrāvanī-vishaya on the southern bank of the Kṛishṇā river, to the rulership of the Andhra country which was bounded by the Mahēndragiri on the north-east and Śrīśaila on the south-west, with the insignia of a subordinate king. The former statement is also borne out by the Telugu poem, Kēyūrabāhucharitramu of Mañchana.[3] Goṅkarāja II married several wives but the chief queen was Sabbāṁbikā. To them was born Rājēndra-Chōḍa who is described as resembling Kumārasvāmin, the leader of the armies of gods.
It would appear that the latter part of the reign of Goṅkarāja II was peaceful and prosperous, i.e., from 1135 to 1161 A.C. Goṅkarāja was a great builder : he founded temples, established sattrālayas ‘ charitable feeding houses ’; he encouraged learning and granted innumerable agrahāras to the learned and the twice-born, i.e., Brāhmaṇas. He placed pinnacles over temples all over the land.[4] He set up a massive golden pinnacle for the gōpura of the temple of Bhīmanātha at Drākshārāma which he had built in 1133 A. C., evidently after he became the king of Vēṅgi.[5] Goṅkarāja II made a rich offering to god Bhīmanātha for a perpetual light of camphor and for five perpetual lights of ghee ; for that purpose and for the purpose of kshīrābhishēchana, or ceremonial bath to the god with milk, every day, he gave away 500 cows to the temple.6 Roughly ten years later, in Śaka 1064, corresponding to 1142-43 A. C., he mad e a pilgrimage to the great shrine at Drākshārāma, accompanied by his wives, younger brother Paṇḍarāja, his son, prince Rājēndra-Chōḍa II and other members of the royal family. On that memorable occasion, every one of the royal household placed four perpetual lights in the temple.[7] And roughly six years later, Goṅkarāja II visited the temple of Bhīmanātha again and made a grant of 25 gold coins to be paid annually from out of the royal treasury to the temple for the celebration of the annual festival daman-ōtsava for three consecutive days ending with the full-moon day of Chaitra.[8] On that occasion, probably he built a gōḷaka (a globular roof studded with various kinds of gems in the inner shrine of the temple), a kōshṭhāgāra, ‘ store-house’, and a beautiful maṇḍapa ‘assembly hall ’ for the god Bhīmanātha. Further, for burning 25 perpetual lights more, with ghee, Goṅkarāja presented as many as 1000 she-buffaloes to the temple. The occasion for these priceless gifts was the Karkaṭaka-saṁkrānti, which occurred on the 25th June 1158 in the sixteenth or the closing year of the reign of Kulōttuṅga II. Goṅkarāja II also placed pinnacles of gold on the temples of Purushōttama at Purī in Orissa and Śrī Mallikārjuna-Mahādēva at Śrīśailam on the south-west, which shone like jayastaṁbhas proclaiming his victories On yet another occasion, Goṅkarāja II gave away unlimited number of golden utensils for daily use in the worship of the god Bhīmanātha, and covered the roof of the temple vimāna with a plate of gold.[9] _________________________________________________
[1] SII, Vol. IV, Nos. 1113, No. 1164 (Drākshārāma) ; Ibid., Vol. VI, No. 123 (Niḍubrōlu). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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