South Indian Inscriptions

KALACHURI OF TRIPURI

off the yoke of Chandēlla suzerainty, he overran the Doab and even carried his arms as far as the Kāngrā valley; for, he is said to have thrown into the cage of a prison the king of the Kīra country.¹ Gāngēya’s conquest of the Doab is corroborated by the find of his coins in Uttar Pradesh. He then fixed his residence in the holy city of Prayāga, which, with some interruption,² he held to the last.

Gāngēya next extended his sway to Banaras. Several powerful rulers seem to have vied with one another for the occupation of this ancient city, which was regarded as holy by the Buddhists as well as the Brāhmanas. Towards the close of the 10th century, it was in the occupation of the Chandēllas; for, a cooper-plate inscription dated V. 1055 (998 A.C.) records the grant of a village which the powerful king Dhanga made at Kāśikā or Banaras.3 Thereafter, the city seems to have passed into the possession of the Pālas. The Sārnāth stone inscription⁴ dated V. 1083 (1026 A.C.) records that by the order of the Pāla Mahipāla I of Bengal, Sthirapāla and Vasantapāla established hundreds of precious monuments of glory in Kāśī. Some time after this date, the city seems to have again changed hands. The Tārikh-i-Baihaqi describes a swift raid of Ahmad Niyal Tigin, the Governor of the Panjab, which he carried out in the summer of H. 424 (1033 A.C.).⁵ This raid was directed against the city of Banaras which belonged to the territory of Gang. This Gang is none other than Gāngēya, for, the date falls in his reign. The Muhammadan army plundered the city from morning to mid-day; but it could remain there no longer ‘because of the peril.’ This seems, therefore, to have been a surprise raid, and the invaders knew full well what risk they would run if they stayed there longer. They, therefore, left the city in haste and got back in safety.

After these conquests Gāngēya seems to have assumed the imperial titles of Mahārājādhirāja and Paramēśvara. These titles appear in the Piawan rock inscription of his reign dated K. 789 (1037-38 A.C.). His fame spread far and wide. Albērūnī, writing in 1030 A.C., mentions in his work that Gāngēya was the ruler of the Dāhala country, the capital of which was Tiaurī (Tripuri).⁶

Gāngēya’s conquests brought him into conflict with the Chandēllas. An inscription from Mahōbā⁷ states that when Gāngēya thought of the impending fierce fight (with the Chandēlla Vijayapāla), even he who had slighted and conquered the whole world felt that the lotus of his heart had the knot of martial pride closed. This seems to imply that the redoubtable Gāngēya submitted to the Chandēlla king. Judging by subsequent events, however, victory seems ultimately to have rested with the Kalachuri king.

In the east Gāngēya carried his arms as far as Anga and Magadha. The copperplate grants of his son Karna record that he looked radiant with the mass of wealth of the king of Anga⁸ (modern Bhagalpur and Monghyr Districts). The expedition against Magadha seems to have occurred towards the close of Gāngēya’s reign. It was led by his son Karna. From the Tibetan accounts we learn that the army of Karna advanced as far as Gayā. The Pāla king Nayapāla was then ruling over Magadha. Karna’s troops sacked some of the
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¹ No. 50, 1. 18; No. 51, 1. 9.
² The Karā inscription (V. 1093) of Yaśahpāla, whose lineage is not known, records the grant of a village in the Kauśāmba mandala. J. R. A. S. (1927), p. 694. Yaśahpāla had the title Mahārājādhirāja. He seems to have dispossessed Gāngēya of Allahabad for some time.
³ Ind. Ant., Vol. XVI, pp. 201 ff.
⁴ Ibid., Vol. XIV, pp. 139 ff.
⁵ E. D. H. I., Vol. II, P. 123.
⁶ Sachau, Alberuni’s India (1914), Vol. I, p. 202.
⁷ Ep. Ind., Vol. I, p. 222.
⁸ This may have been Mahīpāla I (988-1038 A.C.). H. B., Vol. I, p. 141.