South Indian Inscriptions

THE VATSAGULMA BRANCH

his kingdom to him and gave himself up to the enjoyment of pleasures.¹ Hastibhōja is eulogised in the Ajaṇṭā and Ghaṭōtkacha cave inscriptions which were caused to be incised by his son Varāhadeva.

...Dēvasēna was succeeded in circa 475 A.C. by son Harishēṇa, who is the last known king of this line. He was a brave and ambitious prince and carried his victorious arms in all directions. Unfortunately the Ajaṇṭā inscription,² which in lines 14-15 describes his conquests, is very sadly mutilated; but the extant portion mentions several countries which he had either overrun or forced to pay tribute. These countries lay in all the four directions of Vidarbha, viz., Avanti (Mālwā) in the north, Kōsalā (Chhattisagaḍh), Kaliṅga (between the Mahānadī and the Gōdāvarī), Andhra (between the Gōdāvarī and the Kṛishṇā) in the east, Lāṭa (Central and Southern Gujarat) and Trikūṭa (Nāsik District) in the west, and Kuntala (Southern Maratha Country) in the south. It would thus seem that Harisheṇa became the undisputed suzerain of the entire country extending from Mālwā in the North to Kuntala in the south and from the Arabian sea in the west to the Bay of Bengal in the east.

...Harishēṇa’s conquests do not seem to have resulted in the permanent annexation of this vast territory. The rulers of these countries were probably allowed to retain their respective kingdoms on condition of regular payment of tribute. Harishēṇa’s subjugation of Mālwā plainly shows that he had already incorporated the kingdom of the senior branch into his own dominion. In Kaliṅga and Andhra Harishēṇa’s incursions seems to have led to the establishment of new royal families; for just about this time in 498 A.C. the Gaṅga era was started marking the foundation of a new power in Kaliṅga.³ In Andhra Harishēṇa appears to have supplanted the contemporary Śālaṅkāyana king and give the kingdom to the Vishṇukuṇḍin king Gōvindavarman. The latter’s son Mādhavavarman I married a Vākāṭaka princess⁴ who may have been Harishēṇa’s own daughter. In Kōsalā or Chhattisgadh also were find that the old family mentioned in the Āraṅg plates was supplanted by the kings of Śarabhapura.⁵ That Harishēṇa’s suzerainty was recognised in the west beyond the confines of Vidarbha is shown by the inscription which a ruler of Ṛishīka (modern Khāndēsh) has left in Cave XVII at Ajaṇṭā.⁶ In the south the Rāshṭrakūṭa king of Kuntala continued to rule his kingdom for a long time after submission to the Vākāṭaka king. Harishēṇa probably ruled from circa 475 to 500 A.C.

...Harishēṇa had pious, liberal and capable minister named Varāhadēva, who was loved alike by the king and his subjects. He was the son of the aforementioned Hastibhoja who had served Devasena. Varāhadēva was a devout Buddhist. He caused Cave XVI at Ajaṇṭā to be excavated and decorated with sculptures and picture galleries. The inscripiton⁷ which he caused to be incised on its wall is our chief source of information
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¹ This description was taken by K.P. Jayaswal to mean that Dēvasēna abdicated in favour of his son Harishēṇa; but verses 12-16 of the inscription convey no such idea. The inscription is merely intended to glorify Hastibhōja, to whom Dēvasēna consigned the cases of government. Similar statements occur in some other records also. They are not to taken literally.
² No. 25.
³ For the epoch of the Gaṅga era see my article in Ep. Ind., Vol. XXVI, pp. 325 f.; S.I., Vol. II, pp. 110 f.
⁴ Ep. Ind., Vol. IV, pp. 103 f.
⁵ For the dates of the kings of Śarabhapura, see Bulletin of the Deccan College Research Institute, Vol. VIII, pp. 47 f.; S.I., Vol. I, pp. 231 f.
⁶ No. 27.
⁷ No. 25.