South Indian Inscriptions

KALACHURI OF SARAYUPARA

The Kahla plates begin the royal genealogy with this Lakshmanarāja I; but the Kasiā inscription carries it to generations backward and names Śangkaragana and Nannarāja as the grandfather and farther respectively of Lakshmabarāja I. we have already stated the reasons for our view that these two kings were ruling not in a Sarayūpāra, but in their home province of Anupa.

We have no knowledge of the political events in the reign of Śivarāja I and Bhimata I, who succeeded Lakshmanarāja I, one after the other. The description of them given by the Kasiā inscription is quite conventional.¹ Bhima I was succeeded by Lakshmana II, who, on account of his merits, was known by the second name of Rājaputra. About this prince the Kahla plates say that he took captive Vāhali, the Lord of horses, gave no respite to the king of the East and by his achievements lowered the fame of anicnet princes like Arjuna.² Vāhali is not otherwise known. He was probably a feudatory of the pratiharas of Kanauj, who were noted for their fine cavalry. The king of the East against whom Lakshmana fought must have been a king of the Pala dynasty, perhaps Dharmapāla, who was his contemporary.

About Śivarāja II, who succeeded Lakshmana II, we have nothing but conventional praise in both the records. His son Śankaragana II is mentioned in the Kahla plates. His name is lost in the Kasiā inscription, which, however, supllies the information that his wife was Bhūdā. This Śankaragana is probably identical with the homonymous prince who received protection from Kōkalla I of Tripuri.³. Perhaps his country was threatened at the time by his eastern neighbor, the pāla king Dēvapāla. Śankaragana wisely allied himself with the powerful kings of the time, Bhōja I of Kanauj and Kōkalla I of Tripuri, to stem the tide of the Pāla invasion. He sent his son Lakshmana III alias Gunāmbhodhi (or Gunasāgara I) to fight in the pratihāra Emperor’s campaigns against Dēvapāla. If the description in the Kahla plates can be relied upon Lakshmana took away the fortune of the Gauda king and received as reward some territory from Bhōjadēva who can be none other than Bhōja I of Kanauj

From his wives kāňchana and Madanadēvi Lakshmana III had the sons, Ullabha and Bhāmāna I respectively. The former, who was apparently elder, abdicated the throne in favour of Bhāmāna I. Bhāmāna came into conflict with the contemporary king of Dhārā and inflicted a crushing defeat on his forces. The Paramāra adversary is not named, but he may have been Muňja (circa 974-995 A.C.). Perhaps the Kalachuri king Yuvarājadēva II had asked for his help when his territory was invaded by the Paramāra kings,⁴ and it was now the turn of the Sarayūpāra family to go to the rescue of the main house.

From his queen Dēhattadēvi, Bhāmāna had a son named Śankaragan III, who succeeded him. He had the biruda Mughatunga. From his wife Vidya, Śankaragana had a son named Gunasāgara II. The latters’s son from his queen Rājavā was Śivarāja III, also called Bhāmāna II. His son from Sūgalladēvī was Śankaragana Iv. The altters' son from Yaśōlēkhā was Bhima (or Bhima III). We have nothing but conventional praise in the case of all these kings.
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¹Kirti which occurs in V. 16 was taken by Sahni as a proper name. Ep. Ind., VoI. XVIII, p. 137, n. 4, ray has suggested that he might be the Chandēlla kirtivarman (D.H.N.I.,VoI II, p. 750); but the indentification is impossible as Kirtivarman flourished long after. Kirti in that verse is not proper name. it
has the ordinary sense of ‘fame’ or ‘glory’.
²Kirtin in v. 7 of the Kahala plates is taken by some to be the name of historical personage; but the intended sense seems to be that by his valour Rājaputra eclipsed the fame of the illustrious kings of yore like Arjuna.
³See above, p. Ixxv ff.
⁴ See Above, p. ixxxvii. 8