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The Indian Analyst
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South Indian Inscriptions |
INCRIPTIONS OF THE KALACHURIS OF TRIPURI of a dilapidated medieval temple at Gyāraspur.1 This record states the name of the god installed in the temple as Kŗishņēśvara. The god was evidently so named after a king named Kŗishņa who consequently must have flourished before 982 A.C. There is another piece of evidence which corroborated the aforementioned date for Kŗishņa. This Kŗishņa is probably identical with Kŗishņapa of the Chandēlla family, a son of Yaśōvarman, mentioned in four out of six stone inscriptions2 at Dudahi, in the Lalitpur District, about 75 miles north by east of Bhilsā. According to both General Cunningham and Dr. Kielhorn this Yaśōvarman is the well-known Chandēlla king of that name, the father of Dhanga, for whom we have dates ranging from 954 A.C. to 1002 A.C. Kŗishņapa many, therefore, be referred to the period 960-85 A.C. From the Khajurāho inscription of Dhanga, dated V.1011 we learn that the Chandēlla kingdom in the beginning of his reign extended to Bhāsvat or Bhilsā in the south.3 It seems, therefore, that Dhanga placed his brother Kŗishņapa in charge of the south-western portion of the Chandēlla kingdom extending at least from Dudahi in the north to Bhilsā in the south.
If the identification of the illustrious Śabara of the present inscription with the Śabara
chief slain by Kŗishņarāja’s minister is accepted, the Śabara chief can be referred to the
third quarter of the 10th century A.C. The Kalachuri suzerain, to whom he owed allegiance,
was probably Śankaragaņa. The name of the god Śankaranārāyaņa appears somewhat
curious. It seems to suggest that the temple was dedicated to Nārāyaņa installed by
Śankara,4 who is probably identical with the Kalachuri prince of that name mentioned in
the Kārītalāi stone inscription5 of Lakshmaņarāja II. It is noteworthy in this connection
that he is called parama-vaishņava or a devout worshipper of Vishņu in that record.
1 I owe this information to the kindness of Mr. Grade.
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