|
The Indian Analyst
|
North Indian Inscriptions |
THE SILAHARAS OF KOLHAPUR
in an inscription of A.D. 1181. So it seems to have occurred towards the close of the reign of the Śilāhāra king Vijayāditya. Later, the feudatories of Sōmēśvara IV seem to have combined and defeated Āhavamalla and restored his kingdom to Sōmēśvara (A.D. 1181-1189). Vijayāditya may have joined them, though this is not specifically mentioned anywhere. .. Vijayāditya’s Agra-mahishī (Crowned Queen) Pōnnaladēvī is mentioned in the Nemi- nātha-purāṇa of Karṇapārya. Another queen Ratnādēvī, the mother of his son Bhōja II, is mentioned in the Kaśēlī and Kutāpura grants. Like his predecessors, Vijayāditya mentions with pride in his grants that he had the favour of a boon from the goddess Mahālakshmī.[1] He was thus a follower of the Hindu religion, but ture to the noble traditions of Indian kings, he showed equal reverence to other religions like Jainism. His Kolhāpur inscription[2] dated Śaka 1065 (A.D. 1143) records his gifts of land for the maintenance and residence of some Jaina Āchāryas and the repairs of the basadi of Śrī-Pārśvanātha. The land was in the kholla of Ājiragē (Ajre).
.. Vijayāditya was succeeded by his son Bhōja II, the last and greatest ruler of this line. On account of his great valour he obtained the name of Vīra-Bhōja. Though in some of his grants he mentions his feudatory title Mahāmaṇḍalēśvara, he seems to have later assumed imperial titles. In the Śabdārṇavachandrikā, a work of the Jainēndra Vyākaraṇa, Sōmadēva, its author, describes the reigning Śilāhāra king as Rājādhirāja, Paramēśvara, Parmabhaṭṭāraka and PaśchimaChakravartin.[3] Bhōja, therefore, seems to have declared his independence. This could not be tolerated by the Yādavas who, were then establishing their sovereignty in the Deccan. Siṅghaṇa, the mighty Yādava king of Dēvagiri, invaded the Śilāhāra kingdom. The battle seems to have been fought at Khidrāpur near the confluence of the two rivers Krishṇavēṇī (Krishṇā) and Kuvēṇī (modern Dūdhagaṅgā), in which one Bannēsa, perhaps the commander of Bhōja’s army, was killed. A vīrgaḷ near the Kōppēśvara temple at Khidrāpur records that Bannēsa fought bravely with cavalry in the battle of the Saṅgama and went to heaven.[4] Siṅghaṇa was evidently victorious in this struggle. He then laid siege to the fort of Pranālaka (Panhāḷā) and soon reduced it. Taking Bhōja captive, he threw him into prison on the same fort. Some inscriptions[5] describe Siṅghaṇa as the very lord of birds (Garuḍa) in routing the serpent, viz. king Bhōja, who resided on Praṇāla. The Purushōttampurī plates[6] state that Siṅghaṇa threw Bhōja into prison on the top of a fort. Siṅghaṇa then annexed the Śilāhāra kingdom. Bhōja had a son named Gaṇḍarāditya, who is mentioned in one of his grants,[7] but nothing is heard of him after this defeat and imprisonment of his father. Siṅghaṇa’s inscription dated Śaka 1136 (A.D. 1213) is incised on a stone slab near the south entrance of the temple of Kōppēśvara at Khidrāpur, about 40 miles from Kolhāpur.[8] So the annexation of this Śilāhāra kingdom must have taken place not later than A.D. 1212. Thereafter we begin to get inscriptions of the Governors of the Yādavas placed in charge of the conquered territories. The earliest[9] of them is dated in A.D. 1218. Thus disappeared this line of the Silaharas after a glorious rule of more than two hundred years. ..
Like his ancestors, Bhōja II also was a devout worshipper of the goddess Mahālakshmi [1] No. 53, lines 13-14.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| > |
|
>
|