North Indian Inscriptions

INSCRIPTIONS OF THE SILAHARAS OF SOUTH KONKAN

is represented as a man, with wings, squatting full front, with the hands clasped on the breast, and under the wing of his left shoulder is seen a hooded serpent, the head projecting from behind. The total height of the image and the ring is about 43/4” (12.08 cm.). The weight of the four plates is 4 lbs. 8 oz. (209 gr.) and of the ring and image, 93/4” oz. (24 gr.) total, 5 lbs. 1 ¾ oz. (327 gr.). The engraving is good, and, with the exception of one or two aksharas which are partly effaced, the writing is well preserved throughout. ‒The size of the letters is about 3/16 “(.48 cm.)”[1].

..The characters are of the Nāgarī alphabet, resembling those of the previous record. The language is Sanskrit and the record is partly in verse and partly in prose. After the initial verse in praise of Śiva, the inscription gives, in verses, first the genealogy of the Rāshṭrakūṭas, to whom the early rulers of this branch of the Śilāhāras were subordinate. After describing their overthrow by Tailapa and the succession of the latter by his son Satyāśraya, the inscription gives the genealogy of the reigning Śilāhāra king Raṭṭarāja. This also is in verse. This is followed by the formal portion of the grant, partly in verse and partly in prose, in lines 33-62. Then come the usual benedictory and imprecatory verses in lines 62-71, and another verse about the requisites of a faultless charter. The record ends with the name of the scribe Lōkapārya, son of the Sāndhivigrahika Dēvapāla. As regards orthography, the letter b is everywhere denoted by v, the dental and palatal sibilants are interchanged, the consonant after r is rightly doubled in some cases, but wrongly in the case of sh, and the sign of avagraha is employed in several places. Some words used in the formal portion of the grant are obscure. See e.g. jīvalōka, line 49, chākāntara, line 49, and jūhaka line 50 etc.

.. The inscription refers itself to the reign of the Śilāra king, Māṇḍalika Raṭṭarāja. As his predecessors were loyal feudatories of the Rāshṭrakūtas, it gives first the genealogy of that family from Dantidurga to Kakkala and mentions the following ‒Dantidurga; his uncle Kṛishṇa (I); Gōvinda (II); Nirupama (Dhruva); Jagattuṅga (Gōvinda III); his son Amōghavarsha (I); Akālavarsha (Kṛishṇa II); his grandson Indra (III); his son Amōghvarsha (II); his younger brother Gōvindrarāja (IV); his uncle Baddiga (Amōghavarsha III); his son Kṛishṇarāja (III); his brother Khōṭika, and finally his nephew Kakkala. The last mentioned Rāshṭrakūṭa king was overthrown by Tailapa. His son born in the flourishing Chālukya family, Satyāśraya, was the reigning suzerain at the time of the present grant.

.. These genealogies of the Rāshṭrakūṭa and Later Chālukya kings are as in genuine Rāshṭrakūṭa and Chālukya records. It is noteworthy that the name of Gōvinda IV is not omitted here as in the previous inscription. His licentious nature is, however, referred to in verse 4.

..The genealogy of the Śilāras is given in lines 21-33. The royal family is said to have descended from the Vidyādhara prince Jīmūtavāhana, son of Jīmūtakētu. The first prince mentioned is Saṇaphulla, who is said to have become the lord of the country extending from the ocean to the Sahya mountain by the favour Kṛishṇa. His son was Dhammiyara, who founded with great fortified city of Balipattana. Thereafter, there flourished Aiyapa, who was crowned with the water of cocoanuts at Chandrapura. Thereafter, there was Avasara (I). His son was Ādityavarman, from whom was born Avasara (II), who rendered help to the rulers of Ādityavarman, from whom was horn Avasara (II), who rendered Chandramaṇḍala. He was succeeded by Avasara (III), who was followed by Raṭṭarāja, the reigning king.

..The inscription refers to Raṭṭarāja as the Māṇḍalika of the Paramabhaṭṭāraka. Mahārājādhirāja Satyāśraya, the Later Chālukya king mentioned above. The object of it is to record
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[1] Ep. Ind., Vol. III, pp. 292 f.