South Indian Inscriptions

EPIGRAPHIA INDICA

The other corrections affect that part of the succession that lies between Satyavâkya-Râjamalla, the grandson of Śrîpurusha-Muttarasa, and Satyavâkya-Bûtuga II., the father of Noḷambântaka-Mârasiṁha II. ; that is to say, the period between A.D. 870-71 and A.D. 940, which latter is the earliest fixed date for Bûtuga II.

To understand the matter fully and settle this period finally, we must first consider exactly the way in which Mr. Rice has dealt with this period, and the steps by which he has led up to it. We will start with Śivamâra I., the founder of that branch of the Western Gaṅga stock with which we are dealing ; for, we must at any rate go back to Śrîpurusha-Muttarasa, and so, while we are about it, we may as well run through the whole list of authentic names. It is not necessary to waste any time on the alleged names before Śivamâra I. ; because they are all fictitious.

Mr. Rice has taken the spurious grants, and the dates put forward by them, as his guide, and has adapted the genuine records to them. And, from the two source taken together in this way, he has arrived at the following succession and dates,^[1] stating with Śivamâra I., to whom he has assigned the period “ A.D. 697 to 713 +.”^[2] Here, the initial date is based on the spurious Haḷḷegere grant,^[3] which purports to give a date in the month Jyêshṭha, Śaka-Saṁvat 635 expired, falling in A.D. 713, as being in the thirty-fourth year of Śivamâra I.

Differing from the Sûḍi grant, the spurious records from Mysore itself describe Śrîpurusha-Muttarasa as the grandson of Śivamâra I., and omit to mention his father’s name. With this unnamed son of Śivamâra I., Mr. Rice apparently proposed to identify a certain Mârasiṁha, who was at that time supposed to be indicated as a son of Śivamâra I. by the Udayêndiram grant of Hastimalla-Pṛithivîpati II. ; at any rate, he has proposed to place the Mârasiṁha of the Udayêndiram grant, whom he has specified as “ the predecessor of Śrîpursha,”^[4] next after Śivamâra I., and he has assigned to him the period from some date after A.D. 713 “ to A.D. 726,”^[5]─ the final date being fixed by the initial date which he has accepted for the next in succession. But the existence of this Mârasiṁha is based on nothing but the imperfect original rendering of the Udayêndiram grant.^[6] The revised rendering of that record^[7] has shewn us that the Mârasiṁha there mentioned must be placed at least a century after A.D. 726. And the Vaḷḷimalai inscription^[8] has shewn us that Śrîpurusha-Muttarasa was in reality the son of Śivamâra I.

Next after this Mârasiṁha, Mr. Rice has placed Śrîpurusha-Muttarasa. To him, he originally assigned the period “ A.D. 727 to 777,”^[9]─ the initial date being taken from the assertion in the spurious Dêvarhaḷḷi grant^[10]─ (formerly known as the Nâgamaṅgala grant)─ that the fiftieth year of Śrîpurusha-Muttarasa was Śaka-Saṁvat 698 expired, = A.D. 776-77. The final date was afterwards extended to “ A.D. 804,”^[11] which was supposed to be the initial date

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^[1] See, chiefly, Ep. Carn. Vol. III. Introd. pp. 2 to 6, the Table on pp. 7, 8, and the Classified List of the Inscriptions after p. 36, and Vol. IV. Introd. pp. 5, 8 to 12, and the Classified List after p. 38 ; also, for a few points, Coorg Inscrs. Introd. pp. 3 to 5.
^[2] Ep. Carn. Vol. III. Introd. p. 7.
^[3] Ep. Carn. Vol. III., Md. 113, with a lithograph.
^[4] Ep. Carn. Vol. III. Introd. p. 3.
^[5] Ep. Carn. Vol. III. Introd. p. 7.
^[6] By Mr. Foulkes, in the Manual of the Salem District, Vol. II. p. 369.
^[7] By Dr. Hultzsch, South-Ind. Inscr. Vol. II. p. 375.
^[8] Above, Vol. IV. p. 140, A.
^[9] Coorg Inscr. Introd. p. 4.
^[10] Ep. Carn. Vol. IV., Ng. 85, with a lithograph.─ For a facsimile of two sides of this grant, see above, Vol. IV. p. 164, in my article on the spurious Sûḍi grant.
^[11] Ep. Carn. Vol. III. Introd. p. 7.─ The natural inference is that the spurious Suradhênupura document was brought to Mr. Rice’s notice after 1886 (the date of the publication of, his Coorg Inscrs.) and before 1894 (the date of the publication of his Ep. Carn. Vol. III.). In order to deal with the spurious grants in the final manner in which they should some day be disposed of, we ought to know the exact order, and the years, in which each of them came to notice. Our information on this point is at present very scanty.