South Indian Inscriptions

EPIGRAPHIA INDICA

The later Eastern Châlukya inscriptions, beginning with the Nandamapûṇḍi grant, report that Vimalâditya reigned 7 years, while the subjoined inscription is dated in his 8th year (l. 97). His accession took place in A.D. 1011, and that of his successor Râjarâja I. in A.D. 1022. Thus the duration of Vimalâditya’s reign was 11 years, i.e. 4 years in excess of the period assigned to him. The explanation of this difference has perhaps to be sought for in the following facts. Two inscriptions on the Mahêndragiri hill in the Gañjâm district (Nos. 396 and 397 of 1896) record that (the Chôḷa king) Râjêndra-Chôḷa defeated Vimalâditya and set up a pillar of victory on the hill. The date when this event took place is not known. But as this fact is not recorded in the usual historical introduction of Râjêndra-Chôḷa’s Tamil inscriptions, it may be presumed that it happened during the early part of his military career, when his father Râjarâja I. was still living. Again, there is an inscription in the Pañchanadêśvara temple at Tiruvaiyâru near Tanjore (No. 215 of 1894), dated in the 29th year of the reign of the Chôḷa king Râjarâja I., which records certain gifts to the temple by Vishṇuvardhana-Vimalâditya, who is no doubt identical with the Eastern Châlukya king of same name. There is thus reason to believe that Vimalâditya was at or near Tanjore in A.D. 1013 -14. This fact, coupled with the defeat recorded in the Mahêndragiri inscriptions, appears to show that Vimalâditya was taken prisoner to Tanjore by Râjêndra-Chôḷa. While in the Chôḷa country, he must have married Kundavâ, the daughter of the Chôḷa king Râjarâja I. and younger sister of Râjêndra-Chôḷa I.^[1] After this marriage Vimalâditya may have been sent back to his dominions about A.D. 1015. Taking these inferences for granted, it may be assumed that, though the period counting from his accession in A.D. 1011 to the date of his death in A.D. 1022 is 11 years, the later Eastern Châlukya records recognise neither his original accession in A.D. 1011 nor the period of his stay in the Chôḷa country, but reckon his reign from the time when he began to rule after his return from the Chôḷa country, and thus give only 7 years as the duration of his reign.

The inscription attributes several surnames to Vimalâditya, viz. Birudaṅka-Bhîma (ll. 44 and 73 f.), Tribhuvanâṅkuśa (l. 47), Mummaḍi-Bhîma (l. 51) and Bhûpa-Mahêndra (l. 74). Birudaṅka-Bhîma occurs also in the Nandamapûṇḍi grant (l. 52). The surname Mummaḍi-Bhîma means ‘ the third Bhîma ’ and is appropriate for Vimalâditya, as there were only two among his ancestors who bore the name Bhîma. Before introducing the surname Mummaḍi-Bhîma (v. 19), the composer of the subjoined inscription refers to certain predecessors of the king who were looked upon as founders of the family, and states that Mummaḍi-Bhîma was also one of those founders. Again, in two different places the king is spoken of as ‘ the rescuer of (his) family ’ (l. 57 f.) and as ‘ the only rescuer of (his) family ’ (l. 75). If any significance is to be attached to these statements, they must imply that Vimalâditya took proper care to ensure the succession in his family and to strengthen its position. It is not impossible that there is a remote reference in these passages to Vimalâditya’s alliance with the powerful Chôḷas by his marriage with the Chôḷa princess Kundavâ, and perhaps also to the actual birth of an heir to the throne, viz. Râjarâja I. The disastrous effects of the anarchy which prevailed in Vêṅgî immediately before the accession of Vimalâditya’s predecessor could not have been altogether forgotten at the time when the subjoined grant was issued, and the king’s attempts to render the position of his family firm and stable were apparently appreciated by the composer, if not by all the people in Vêṅgî.

The donee was a minister of the king, called Vajra (vv. 24, 26, 28, 30) or, in Telugu, Vajjiya-Peggaḍa (l. 85). He belonged to the Kauṇḍinya gôtra (v. 22), was a resident of the village of Kâramachêḍu (l. 84), and bore the surnames Budhavajraprâkâra (v. 31 and l. 85), Amâtyaśikhâmaṇi and Saujanyaratnâkara (v. 33 and l. 85). The composer was Bhîmanabhaṭṭa, son of Râchiya-Peddêri. This person must have been the father of the composer of

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^[1] South-Ind. Inscr. Vol. III. p. 126.