Epigraphia Indica Vol 33

SR No.: 032587
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: D C Sircar
Publisher: Archaeological Survey of India
Publication Year: 1959
Total Pages: 514
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 29 MB

Page 221

152 EPIGRAPHIA INDICA
[VOL. XXXIII Lahiry's contention that Dasa (which is Yagādāsa's name-ending or family designation) should have to be taken to indicate the Chashi Kaivarta community and that Kunda (the name-ending or family designation of his maternal grandfather Süryakunda) should have to be taken to be the same as Kundu which is now a family name among theChashiKaivartas of Bengal is equally unsatisfactory. Both Dāsa and Kunda are at present known to be the cognomens among various non-Brāhmaņa communities of Bengal including the Kāyastha and Vaidya and there is evidence to show that even the Brāhmaṇas of Eastern India bore the said name-endings or cognomens in early times.
Verse 8 in lines 10-12 states that, when Yasodāsa was occupying the post of the Tantrādhikarin of Rajyapāla, his master's (i.e. the Pāla king's) command was obeyed by the Mlēchchhas, Angas, Kalingas, Vangas, Odras, Pandyas, Karnātas, Latas, Suhmas, Gurjaras, Kritas and Chinas. Besides some errors in Lahiry's readings of the stanza, his acceptance of Rajyapāla's claim to have been obeyed by all the above peoples as a historical fact is unsound. There is little doubt that it is a conventional claim which is not quite reliable from the historian's point of view in regard to most of the peoples mentioned, even if a few of them may have been actually subdued by the Pala king.
The Mlēchchhas mentioned in the list appear to have been the Arab Muslims who were in occupation of the lower Indus valley since the first quarter of the eighth century, although the Păla king had little chance of having come into conflict with them. The Angas lived in the MonghyrBhagalpur region forming a part of the Päla dominions in Rajyapāla's time. The Kālingas may be identified with the Eastern Gangas then ruling from the city of Kalinganagara in the Srikakulam District of Andhra Pradeab The Vangas lived in South-Eastern Bengal and the Odras of Orissa were then under the rule of the Bhauma-Karas of Guhēsvarapātaka (modern Jājpur in the Cuttack District). The Pānd yas ruled from Madurai over the southernrnost Districts of India while the Karnātas may be identified with the Rāshțrakūtas of Māngakhēta (modern Mālkhed in the former Hyderabad State). The Lātas lived in the Nausāri-Broach region of Gujarat and the Suhmas in South-West Bengal. The Gurjaras were of course the Gurjara-Pratihärs of Kanauj.
The most interesting in the above list of peoples is the mention of the Kritas.and Chinas since neither of them generally finds a place in the conventional list of adversaries or subdued peoples found in the records of Indian monarchs. It may be suggested that the Sino-Tibetans are indicated by the name China. But the identification of the Krita people is difficult, since they are not mentioned in the list of peoples found in the Indian epic, Puranic and geographical literature. It is of course tempting to suggest that Krita is a modification of Kirota which is the name of a well-known Himalayan people. But there is no evidence in Indian literary works in favour of such a modification. Monier-Williams' Sanskrit-English Dictionary recognises the word Krita as the name of the people of a despised caste on the authority of Wilson, while a tradition recorded by Hiuentsang suggests that certain foreign rulers of the Kashmir region were known as Krīta or the Bought'. This reminds us of the name Krita (Krita) or Krita applied in India originally to the Scytho-Parthian era of East Iranian origin, which later came to be known as the Vikrama Samvat.
Verse 9-10 (lines 12-14) state how Yalodāsa was famous for his munificence in the cause of public welfare. Verse 11 (lines 14-16), which along with the next verse (verse 12 in lines 16-17) records the main purpose of the prasasti, says that Yagodāsa built a huge temple surrounded by eight other shrines and established the god Sankara (Siva) in his Linga form (i.e. a Sivalinga) in itx Verse 12 records that the king (i.e. Rājyapāla) dedicated the village of Madhusrava in favour of the god Vțishabhadhvaja (Siva) installed by Yasodāsa after having fixed the nikara at one hundred
1 Cf. e.g., the list of the Brahmara donees in the Nidhanpur plates of Bhaskaravarman, which contain se von names ending in kunda and two names ending in dāsa (Bhattacharya, Kamani pasāsanavall, pp. 33 .). The cognomen DĀBA is popular among the Brāhmaṇas of Orissa.
· Watters, On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India, Vol. I, p. 265. • Cf. Select Inscriptions, p. 288 note; The Age of Imperial Unity, pp. 125, note.