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The Indian Analyst
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South Indian Inscriptions |
EPIGRAPHIA INDICA captured quite a number of kings and the issue of his Barrackpur grant in his 62nd year[1] from Vikramapura, the whilom capital of the Chandra and Varman kings, implies that Vaṅga also was included in his conquests. In verse 21 of the Deopārā inscription[2] the following kings are said to have been imprisoned by Vijayasēna : 1. Nānya, king of Mithilā ; 2. Vīra, king of Kōṭāṭavī[3] ; 3. Vardhana, king of Kauśāmbī (the present 24 Parganas)[3;] and 4. Rāghava, identified with the king of Kaliṅga who ruled from 1156 to 1170 A.D. N. N. Vasu doubts this identification of Rāghava.[4] As we hold that Vaṅga was snatched off from the Varmans and annexed by Vijayasēna,[5]can we seek a clue to the identification of this Rāghava in that quarter ? Here the mysterious and hitherto unexplained verse 14 of the Belāva plate[6] comes to our help. The difficulty in its proper interpretation lies in the last two expression of the verse which have been read variously.[7] I am now inclined to read it as śaṅkāsv=a-laṅk-ādhipaḥ and translate the half verse as follows : “ Oh, fie ! How painful ! The world is bereft of heroes today. Has this trouble of the Rākshasas appeared again ? May Alaṅkādhipa (i.e. opposite of Laṅkādhipa, Rāma or Rāghava) fare well during this apprehended danger !” We have to remember that Rāmapāla was living at this time, as he died so late as 1120 A.D. He was the Rāma who faced the first trouble with the Rākshasas (i.e. the Kaivarta usurpation of North Bengal) and his killing of Rāvaṇa in the form of the Kaivarta usurper and recovery of Sītā, that is Varēndrī, was a favourite theme with the poets of the period, an outstanding instance of which is the Rāmacharita. Though the Pālas during this period had lost complete control over Bengal, south of the Ganges, they still commanded respect as the past emperors of East India. Vijayasēna, newly risen to power in Rāḍha by his marriage with Vilāsadēvī, a daughter, if not the heiress, of the old Śūra line of Rāḍha, was eager to strike north and east and make himself the undisputed master of Bengal. He had already gathered together formidable forces and everybody in Bengal expected that sooner or later the blow would fall. But whether it would fall on the Varman kingdom east of the Bhāgīrathī or on the Pāla kingdom north of the Ganges, no one could guess. The Belāva plate granted land on the east bank of the Bhāgīrathī[8] and it appears to have been granted at this period of śaṅkā or apprehended danger. The poet Purushōttama in this half ślōka probably wanted to please both Rāmapāla and one Rāghava by double entendre. The favour and alliance of Rāmapāla of the old imperial line was sought against the formidable upstart Vijayasēna, while Rāghava, probably a scion of the Varman line, appears to have been the leader of the Varman kingdom of the period. He was the commander of the forces and the guardian of Bhōjavarman, the reigning Varman king. The meaning of the ślōka becomes quite clear, if we assume that the poet wanted to please Alaṅkādhipa, i.e. Rāma of the Pāla line as well
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[1] Above, Vol. XV, pp. 278 ff. and Plate, where the dated is read as 32. The figures may possibly represent
61. Vide JASB, 1921, p. 16, n. [For different readings of the date of this record see History of Bengal, op. cit.,
p. 210, n. 3 ; cf. above, p. 80.─Ed.]
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