South Indian Inscriptions

EPIGRAPHIA INDICA

The first half of verse 70 says how the two brothers Supratishṭhitavarman and Bhāskaravarman, with the help of their various weapons, spread consternation in the ranks of the enemies ; but, alas (ahō), as the second half of the same stanza says, they were completely covered by the striking weapons of the Gauḍas and fell into swoon (mōhaṅ=gatau), when the enemies caused them to be encircled by their fierce elephants and captured both of them (āsāditau). The first half of verse 71 describes how the enemies, i.e. the Gauḍas, took the two brothers to their own country (i.e. Gauḍa), This is said to have been due to their ill luck (vidhi-vaśāt)^[1] ; but their good qualities (guṇavattay=aiva), as said in the latter half of the stanza, soon enabled them to return home.

There is thus no doubt that Supratishṭhitavarman and Bhāskaravarman were carried as captives to Gauḍa by the Gauḍa army, but that they were afterwards reinstated by the king of the Gauḍas, whom they apparently pleased by offering allegiance. That the two brothers were away from their country only for a short time is made clear by the second half of the same verse which says that, when the two brothers soon returned and got back their own kingdom (prāpya sva-rājyam=achirāt=punar-āgatau tau), they caused great delight to their paternal land (pittryaṁ jagat) The first half of verse 72 refers to the death of Supratishṭhitavarman that took place some time after (cf. tatō) the events described in the previous stanzas. The latter half of this stanza, which cannot be deciphered satisfactorily, apparently speaks of the accession of Bhāskaravarman to the throne. The following verse, only a few passages of which can be read, also seems to describe the achievements of Bhāskaravarman as a ruler. The next three stanzas continue to describe Bhāskara’s activities and achievements, some of which seem to be quite interesting. Verse 74 describes king Bhāskaravarman as a great poet and dialectician. The third foot of verse 75 referring to his re-acceptance of the royal fortune after a ceremony of purification suggests that the kingdom had passed to the hands of enemies (apparently the Gauḍas) sometime before he succeeded in regaining complete control over his dominions. This may further suggest that his elder brother Supratishṭhitavarman died shortly after his reinstallation by the Gauḍa king. Verse 76 referring to the renewal of an old charter originally granted by a predecessor of Bhāskaravarman and the following lines in prose mentioning the original donees as well as the then share-holders of the property granted have already been discussed above.

It will be seen that the inscription under discussion supplies a number of valuable informations not known from other sources. That Sthiravarman transferred his capital to a new city built by him on the bank of the Brahmaputra and that Supratishṭhitavarman was also known as Aridamanēndra are such new informations. But the most important historical information supplied by the record is that about the invasion of Prāgjyōtisha or Kāmarūpa, the kingdom of the rulers of the Nāraka, Bhauma or Varman dynasty, by the Gauḍas shortly after the death of Susthitavarman during the rule of his young son Supratishṭhitavarman. Since Supratishṭhitavarman seems to have been n the throne for a short time and since his younger brother Bhāskaravarman is known to have succeeded him sometime before 606 A.D., this event must have taken place about the closing years of the sixth century or the beginning of the seventh. The name of the Gauḍa king who led or sent this expedition against Kāmarūpa cannot be determined with certainty. But he may have been the celebrated Gauḍa monarch Śaśāṅka who was a contemporary of Bhāskaravarman and is known to have ascended the throne sometime before 605 A.D., when he joined the Mālava king Dēvagupta in an expedition against the Maukhari ruler Grahavarman. Since, however, the dates of both Śaśāṅka’s accession and Susthitavarman’s death cannot be precisely determined, it cannot be definitely said that it was Śaśāṅka himself, and not his predecessor on the Gauḍa throne who was responsible for the expedition. The Gauḍas in this case reached the heart of the Bhauma kingdom and the battle between the Gauḍas and the royal brothers Supratishṭhitavarman and Bhāskaravarman may have taken place near modern Tezpur in Assam. As

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^[1] Cf. the wellknown case of Chālukya Vijayāditya (above, Vol. IX, p. 203, text lines 25-26, etc.).