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No. 18.]
Wars frequently took place between the Rashtrakutas and the Eastern Chalukyas who were the kings of Vêngi. The Radhanpur plates1 of Govinda III. inform us that, in obedience to his message, the lord of Vêngi attended upon him as a servant. The Sirûr inscription states that worship was done to Amôghavarsha I. by the ruler of Vêngi. Again, Krishna II. is represented to have overrun the territory of the king of Vêngi. One record also mentions that Govinda IV. waged war with the lord of Vêngi. But from these plates it appears that hostilities had sprung up between the two rival dynasties long before the time of Govinda III. For, Govindaraja, son of Krishna I., is herein represented, while he was prince royal, to have reduced the king of Vêngi, and this event came off as early as the Saka year 692 which is the date of our grant.
ALAS PLATES OF GOVINDA II.
The verses descriptive of the genealogy teach us nothing new. It, however, deserves to be noticed that our grant mentions Dantivarman as the name of the predecessor of Krishna I., instead of Dantidurga as we find in all the Rashtrakuta records except the Sâmângaḍ plates of this king, where both the names occur. Again, the early date of our grant settles a point regarding which there is a little divergence of opinion. A copper-plate charter from Karda dated A.D. 972 states that Dantidurga, having left no issue, was succeeded by his paternal uncle Krishna I. The Bagumrâ grants of A.D. 867 simply says that, after the death of Dantidurga, Krishna I. came to the throne. But the Baroda charter of A.D. 812 omits the name of Dantidurga and asserts that Krishna I. ascended the throne by ousting a relative of his who had taken to vicious courses. Since this last charter is a much earlier record and passes over Danti. durga, it has led some to suppose that Dantidurga was the relative whom Krishna I. ousted, and that the statements of the remaining two grants mentioned above must be discredited on the ground that they bear a later date. But against this it may be urged that the verse in the Bagumrå plates which says that, after Dantidurga had gone to heaven, Krishna I. became king, is also found in the Paithan grant of Govinda III. dated in A.D. 794. This surely is an earlier record than the Baroda charter of A.D. 812 just referred to. Nay further, the same verse also occurs in our grant, which was issued in the reign of Krishna I. himself. The assertion, therefore, that Dantidurga was the relative whose throne Krishna I. usurped, has no grounds to stand upon, and the omission of the name of Dantidurga in the Baroda charter may be explained away on the ground that the object of the writer was only to trace the genealogy of the reigning prince, with reference to whom Dantidurga was but a collateral.
As regards the rivers mentioned in the inscription, the Krishnavernâ, it need scarcely be said, is the river Krishnâ. The Musi has preserved its name unaltered to the present day; it is the last important feeder of the Krishna and joins it on the confines of the modern Kistna district of the Madras Presidency. Alaktaka, the name of the province (vishaya, 1. 32), a village of which was granted, corresponds to the present Âlata, the name of a division in the Kolhapur State. Arasiyavada (1. 34), the first part of which can be recognised in Alas, the place where the plates were found, is perhaps now represented by that village.
TEXT.10 First Plate.
1 स्वस्ति [] स योष्याग्रहावि [ष्णु]रासीडिषत्तिमिरमुद्यतमखलायो" 2 "ध्वस्तन्त्रयन्नभिमुखो रणशर्व्वरीषु [*] भूपश्शशांक वदवाप्त
Ind. Ant. Vol. VI. p. 71. Ibid. p. 270.
Ibid. p. 162.
Above, Vol. III. P. 106.
11 Road °विण: ॥ आसोद्दिष
14 In other Káshtrakata grants the reading in भूपः शुचिर्विधुरिवाम
Ibid. Vol. XII. p. 219.
Ibid. Vol. XII. p. 267.
See Dr. Fleet's Dynasties of the Kanarese Districts, p. 391. 10 From the original plates.
22 Read ध्वस्तिं नय".
Ibid. Vol. XX. p. 103. Ibid. p. 187.
209
2 E
