|
The Indian Analyst
|
North Indian Inscriptions |
THE SILAHARAS OF KOLHAPUR
battlefield itself. He next erected a Jaya-stambha (Victory Pillar) at Kolhāpur and returned to his country. .. The battle of Kōppam is described graphically in several inscriptions of the Chōlas, but is not referred to in any record of the Later Chālukyas. The first reference to it occurs in a record of Rājēndra II, dated in his third regnal year (A.D. 1054). It is described graphically in the Maṇimaṅgalam inscription of A.D. 1055. .. Diverse views have been expressed about the identification of Kōppam where this celebrated battle was fought. Vincent Smith thought that it was on the bank of the Tuṅgabhadā. C.R. Krishnamacharlu identified Kōppam with Kōpbāḷ on the bank of the Hirehaḷḷa river in the Raichur District, and this view has been accepted by Nilakanta Sastri and P.B. Desai; but it does not explain why the Chōla king Rājēndra II should proceed so far in the west as Kolhāpur to erect his Victory Pillar after the battle. Several years ago Fleet discussed this matter at great length, and showed the identity of Kōppam with Khidrāpur, where there is still a magnificent temple of Kōppēśvara. After his defeat at the battle of Kōppam, Somēśvara-Āhavamalla must have sought shelter in South Koṅkaṇ which was under the rule of his feudatory Mārasiṁha, the Śilāhāra king of Kolhāpur[1] .. Marasiṁha bore several birudas, one of which was Rūpa-Nārāyaṇa. Again, he states that he had obtained the grace of the goddess Mahālakshmī. He also mentions the fort of Khiḷigiḷa as his capital. This was another and, perhaps, a more ancient name of the well-known fort of Panhāḷā. Karahāṭa continued to be an important seat of his government; for in the description of the marriage of his daughter Chandralēkhā with the Chālukya prince Vikramāditya, he is referred to as the king of Karahāṭa. Later, Karahāṭa was ceded to the Later Chālukyas.
.. The Miraj plates of Mārasiṁha record his grant of the village Kuṇṭavāḍa, probably identical with Kuṭwāḍ on the southern bank of the Kṛishṇā, five miles south of Miraj. The grant was made by the king to Chikkadēva, a disciple of the Pāśupata ascetic Brahmēśvara Paṇḍita, for the worship of the Śiva-pañchāyatana. ..Marasiṁha had five sons, viz., Gūhala (II), Gōṅka (II), Ballāla, Bhōja I and Gaṇḍarāditya. Like the aforementioned sons of Jatiga II, they seem to have been placed in charge of the different provinces of the kingdom. Later, some of them came to the throne. .. In the Vikramāṅkadēvacharita[2] Bilhaṇa draws a graphic picture of the charms of the Vidyādhara (i.e. Śilāhāra) princess Chandralēkhā, and describes her svayaṁvara held at Karahāṭa (i.e. Karhāḍ). It is said to have been attended by well-known rulers of all parts of India, viz., those of Chēdi, Kānyakubja, Mālava, Gūrjara, Pāṇḍya, Chōla and others. Bilhaṇa’s description is after the model in Kālidāsa’s Raghuvasṁśa, Canto VI, and deserves little credence. But that Vikramāditya had married a Śilāhāra princess of peerless beauty was known in distant Kāshmīr. In the Rājataraṅgiṇi[3] Kalhaṇa describes how Harsha, the king of Kāshmīr, when he saw a portrait of Chandalā (i.e. Chandralēkhā), the beautiful wife of the Karṇāṭa king Parmāṇḍi (i.e. Vikramāditya VI), became smitten with love. He vowed in the open court that he would obtain Chandalā after overthrowing Parmāṇḍi. He even took vow not to use unboiled camphor till then. Kalhaṇa holds the king to ridicule for his foolishness. ..
This princess was probably the daughter of Mārasiṁha, who was then ruling from
Karahāṭa. Bilhaṇa has not named her father but from the known dates of Mārasiṁha and
Vikramāditya VI, he seems to be none else.[4] Chandaladēvī was an accomplished and learned
princess. She is described in the records of the period as Nṛitya-Vidyādharī and Abhinava-
[1] For a full discussion of this question see my article on it in the Vogel Commemoration Volume.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| > |
|
>
|