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The Indian Analyst
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South Indian Inscriptions |
EPIGRAPHIA INDICA In regard to orthography, the consonant following r in a conjunct is doubled. This rule which is optional is wrongly applied even in the case of an exceptional letter sh, e.g., in Harshsha (line 10). The language is Sanskrit and except for two verses, one at the beginning and another at the end, the composition is in prose throughout. The text is accurate excepting a few scribal errors. The inscription commences with the expression svasti. This is followed by a verse in the Anushṭubh metre in praise of a foot of the god Hari, described as lustrous like the rising sun, and stated to have been raised to measure the earth and to crush the darkness in the form of the demon (Bali). The composer of the record has deliberately used the expression abhinav-āditya meaning the ‘ new sun ’ in the above description to convey through double entendre an allusion to the ruling king Abhinavāditya who issued the charter. Next are recounted the usual praśasti of the Chalukya or Chālukya house and the genealogy of the rulers belonging to it. In the genealogy are mentioned only three kings, viz., Paramēśvara Satyāśraya-pṛithivīvallabha who vanquished Harshavardhana, i.e. Pulakēśin II, his son Ādityavarman, and the latter’s son Satyāśraya-pṛithivīvallabha alias Abhinavāditya who issued the present charter. As in the case of Pulakēśn II, both Ādityavarman and Abhinavāditya are endowed with the imperial titles Mahārājādhirāja and Paramēśvara.
King Abhinavāditya is stated to have issued an order to the concerned persons announcing the gift of the village Nelkunda, situated in the Uchchaśṛiṅga vishaya, free of all imposts to the Brāhmaṇa Kuppaśarman of the Dēvarāta-Kauśika gōtra, who was well-versed in the Vēdas along with the Vēdāṅgas and engaged in performing the six-fold karman. The grant was made on the full-moon day of Bhādrapada in the increasingly victorious reign of the king, the specific year of the reign, however, not being mentioned. The epigraph concludes with the usual imprecatory verses. The inscription is of great historical importance, as it not only reveals for the first time the existence of a hitherto unknown prince of the early Chālukya house of Bādāmi, but seems also to let in some new light on the dark period of its history following the defeat of Pulakēśin II at the hands of his adversary, Pallava Narasiṁha I. Pulakēśin II vanishes from the political scene in 642 A.D. and his son Vikramāditya I emerges as a victor who re-established Chālukya supremacy in 655 A.D. About 13 years that intervened between these two events are characterised by paucity of historical information. It has been surmised that during this period a part of the Chālukya kingdom was under the occupation of the Pallavas and that although several sons of Pulakēśin II aspiring for the Chālukya throne were ruling in different areas, none of them was powerful enough to drive away the enemy and assert his authority over the feudatories.[1] An elder son of Pulakēśin II, who seems to have claimed sovereignty over the Chālukya empire during this period of anarchy, although, in fact, his sway was apparently confined to the region of the Kurnool District, was Ādityavarman.[2] That the area under his authority might have also included parts of the adjacent Districts of Bellary and Chitradurg is indicated by the present plates.[3] This Ādityavarman[4] must no doubt be identical with his namesake whose _______________________________________________
[1] The Classical Age (The History and Culture of the Indian People, Vol. III), p. 241.
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