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 256

No. 34]
ALLAHABAD MUSEUM PLATE OF GOVINDACHANDRA, V. 8. 1171
177
same monarch exactly on the same day. It is the Kamauli plate published above. But in spite of the occurrence of the same date in two different documents, it has to be admitted that it is irregular since Kärttika-su. 15 was not a Monday in V. S. 1171 (1114-15 A.D.).
The record begins with the symbol for Siddham and the word seasti. These are followed in lines 1-10 by nine stanzas which are already well known from the published Gähaḍavala charters. The first of these verses contains an adoration of the goddess Sri (Lakshmi) while the next (verse 2) introduces Yasovigraha who is stated to have flourished after the rulers of the solar race (i.e. the Gurjara-Pratihara emperors of Kanauj) had passed away. Verse 3 introduces Yasovigraha's son Mahichandra and the next two stanzas (verses 4-5) Mahichandra's son Chandra who is stated to have obtained by his valour the empire (adhirajya, i.e. samrajya) of Gadhipura (Kanyakubja or Kanauj, i.e. the erstwhile Gurjara-Pratihara empire), and protected the holy places in the Käsi, Kusika (Kusikapura or Gadhipura, i.e. Kanyakubja), Uttarakōsala (land around the city of Ayodhya and Srävasti) and Indrasthana (Indraprastha or Delhi) regions. It is also stated that king Chandra eradicated all afflictions of the subjects of the Gadhipura empire (or, less probably, suppressed their rebellion). Chandra's son Madanapala is described in the next two stanzas (verses 6-7) and Govindachandra, who was the son and successor of Madanapala and issued the charter under review, in verses 8-9. A passage in prose in lines 10-13, also known from the king's other charters, then re-introduces Govindachandra, described as Paramabhaṭṭaraka Mahārājādhiraja Paramesvara and Paramamahesvara and as meditating on (or favoured by) the feet of Madanapala who himself meditated on (or was favoured by) the feet of Chandra. Here also king Chandra is described as having obtained the possession of Kanyakubja (i.e. Kanyakubja or Kanauj). The claim seems to refer to the fact that the Gähadavalas considered themselves successors of the Gurjara-Pratihara emperors. It is often supposed that the reference is to the occupation of the city of Kanauj which is again believed to have been another capital of the Gahadavala monarchs besides Varanasi or Banaras. But the language of verse 4 does not appear to support this interpretation and there is also no evidence to show that Kanauj was a secondary capital of the Gahadavälas of Banaras. The representation of the rulers of this dynasty as 'the Gahadavalas of Väräpasi and Kanyakubja' thus appears to be inaccurate. Yasovigraha, founder of the Gahaḍavala house, seems to have been ruling in the Banaras region as a subordinate of the latest rulers of the Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty, although there is no doubt that, before his grandson Chandra established his imperial status in the last quarter of the eleventh century, the Kalachuris of Tripuri had succeeded in extending their power over the said area. Baihaqi speaks of a Muslim invasion of Banaras about 1034 A. D. when the city belonged to the territory of Gang (i.e., Kalachuri Gängeya, circa 1015-41 A. D.) while the rule of Karna (circa 1041-71 A. D.), son of Gangeya, in that region is proved by epigraphic evidence. The Basahi plate, referred to above, also assigns Chandra's rise to the period after the death of the kings named Bhoja and Karna (i.e., the Kalachuri king of that name).
Lines 13 ff. record the details of the grant made by the king on the date discussed above after having taken a bath in the Ganges at Varanasi and having paid respects to the Sun-god and worshipped the gods Siva and Vishnu. The privileges to be enjoyed by the donee of the grant and the officers and others addressed by the king are the same as in the other Gahaḍavala charters.
Vol. IV, pp. 102 f.
2 See ibid., pp. 100, etc.
Cf. Ray, DHNI, Vol. I, 507. The Basahi plate (Ind. Ant., Vol. XIV, p. 103, text line 5) describes Chandra as having 'established his capital at Kanyakubja'. But the statement seems to indicate that, after having estab. lished his suzerainty over the former Kanauj empire, Chandra, stayed at the city of Kanauj for sometime. A subordinate ruling family of the Rashtrakutas had its headquarters at that city under the Gähadavilas. See Bhandarkar's List, Nos. 204, 1670.
See Ray, op. cit., Vol. II, pp. 773, 783, 785.