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The Indian Analyst
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South Indian Inscriptions |
EPIGRAPHIA INDICA last known dates of Pṛithvīdēva II and his son Jājalladēva II, viz., K. 915 and 919, and that there would be no absurdity in surmising that both Dēvagaṇa and his father Ratnasiṁha lived up to an advanced age and composed the two records removed by a brief interval of time. In this recent study of the inscriptions of the Southern Kalachuris or the Kalachuris of Karṇāṭaka, rather inappropriately described as the Kaḷachuryas of Kalyāṇi by the late Dr. Fleet, Mr. Desai has been able to detect a large number of affinities[1] that go to establish closer ties among the southern and the northern branches of the Kalachuri stock. An inscription from Harasūr attributes lunar descent to the Kalachuris of Karṇāṭaka and this claim is supported by further epigraphical evidence.[2] Among the northern Kalachuris, those of Tripuri and Gorakhapur trace their descent from the moon.[3] In glaring contrast with this comes the statement[4] in the inscriptions of the Kalachuris of Ratanpur, which commence with an invocation to the sun god who is represented as the originator of the family. It is interesting to note that solar descent is also mentioned in some inscriptions of the Southern Kalachuris.[5] Some of their records[6] open with an invocation to the sun god on the analogy of the inscriptions of the Kalachuris of Ratanpur. It has to be observed further that the Śaivite traditions of the northern families, particularly those of Tripuri and Gorakhpur, such as intensive devotion to the god Śiva and adoption of his vehicle Nandi as their royal emblem,[7] were preserved intact in the southern family as well.[8] An inscription from Chaḍachaṇa[9] in the Bijapur District, dated 1057 A.C., introduces Bijjala I, the grandfather of Jōgama, as a subordinate of the Western Chālukya king Sōmēśvara I, and as bearing the significant title Ḍahaḷa-beḍaṅga (ornament of the Ḍahaḷa country).
The donee Haridāsa belonged to a learned and respectable family. His father was Divōdāsa, son of Bhṛigu-Paṇḍita. These belonged to the Sāṁkṛita gōtra, having the pravaras Sāṁkṛita, Āṁgirasa and Vāchaspatya. After the statement of the gift in verse 19, a renowned teacher of Śaivite persuasion, named Īśānaśiva, is eluogised in the next verse. The position held by this divine in the transaction is not made clear. It is likely that he was the royal preceptor and spiritual guide and introduced here at the behest of the king. Verse 30 contains a description of Pratirāja of the Gauḍa lineage, who wrote the record on the copper plates with clear letters out of natural devotion for the Brāhmaṇas. This Pratirāja is identical with the scribe of the Pēṇḍrābandh plates wherein he is characterised as the light of the Record Office. The gift village Siralā may possibly be indentified with Siroḷi in the Janjgir Tahsil of the Bilaspur District. _________________________________________________
[1] Fleet has alluded to only two links, viz., the title Kālañjarapuravarādhīśvara and reference to the Ḍahalā | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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