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The Indian Analyst
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North Indian Inscriptions |
THE SILAHARAS OF SOUTH KONKAN
in the form of Baddiga could not grow as it was crushed under the weight of the huge mountain in the form of Tailapa. It is not clear who is named as Baddiga here.[1] Perhaps it refers to Indra IV, who had ended his life just six years before. Avasara III lived in those stirring times. His Rāshṭrakūṭa suzerain had been overthrown, but he had not yet submitted to Tailapa. So he has cited the genealogy of his former Rāshṭrakūṭa suzerain in the Paṭṭaṇakuḍi plates. ..Avasara III was followed by his son Raṭṭarāja, who is known from two grants[2], dated in Śaka 930 and 932. In the interval of twenty years that had elapsed since the issue of the Paṭṭaṇakuḍi plates the Later Chālukyas had consolidated their power in the Kuntala country, and had proceeded to subdue the erstwhile feudatories of the Rāshṭrakūṭas. Raṭṭarāja had to bend before the power. He has eulogised both Tailapa and his son Satyāśraya in his Khārepāṭaṇ plates, but he retained his love and regard for the late Rāshṭrakūṭas, whose genealogy he has given in the grant dated Śaka 930. He, however, mentions that Satyāśraya, his suzerain at the time, was governing the Raṭṭapāḍī i.e. the Rāshṭrakūṭa kingdom. .. Raṭṭarāja made the grant recorded in the Khārepāṭaṇ plates to the teacher Ātrēya, the disciple of the Āchārya Ambhōjaśambhu, who belonged to the Karkarōṇī branch of the Mattamayūra clan of the Śaiva sect, for the worship of the god Avvēśvara and the repairs of his temple. The temple had probably been constructed by the king’s father Avasara III as suggested by the name of the god Avvēśvara, installed therein. Mattamayūra, the original seat of the clan, is probably identical with Kadvāhā in Central India, where magnificent temples as beautiful as those at Khajurāho were erected by the Āchāryas of this clan with the patronage of local rulers.[3] Karkarōṇī, after which the branch was named, has not been identified, but it must have been situated somewhere in Central India.[4] The second grant of Raṭṭarāja dated Śaka 932 records the gift of some land to a Sēṇāvaї (Śēṇavī) Brāhmana[5] named Saṅkamaiya.
.. Raṭṭarāja is the last known king of this branch. After the death of Satyāśraya, the power of the Later Chālukyas seems to have suffered a decline owing to their conflict with the Chōlas. Taking advantage of this debacle, Raṭṭarāja seems to have declared independence. As Satyāśraya’s successor Vikramāditya V was a weak ruler, he could not punish the re- calcitrant feudatory, but his younger brother and successor Jayasiṁha invaded South Koṅkaṇ, overthrew the ruler and appropriated all his possessions. This is recorded in his Miraj plates (A.D. 1024), which were issued from his camp at Kolhāpur in the course of a campaign for conquering the northern country. ..This branch of the Śilāhāras ruled over South Koṅkaṇ, comprising parts of Goā and the Ratnāgiri District, for about 260 years from c. A.D. 765 to c A.D. 1024. For some time its sphere of influence extended to Chaul in North Koṅkaṇ. As stated before, its capital was Balipattana, which may be identical with modern Khārepāṭaṇ.
.. The subsequent history of South Koṅkaṇ is not definitely known. Since the Chālukya
Emperor Jayasiṁha is known to have encamped at Kolhāpur after his conquest of South Koṅkaṇ in A.D. 1024, he may have placed the conquered country in charge of the Kolhāpur
[1] It is difficult to say who is referred to as Baddiga. The tenor of the description suggests that it might
be Indra IV, who ended his reign before he could consolidate his power. But the Khārepāṭaṇ plates
(No. 41, line 17) name the Rāshṭrakūṭa king overthrown by Tailapa as Kakkala. Perhaps Kakkala had
another name Baddiga.
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