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EPIGRAPHIA INDICA.
[Vou. Xi.
so far. Nandivarman's son Nripatanga was evidently the most powerful king of the family, as his inscriptions are found both in the ancient Pallava territory and in the Chola country. Iu fact, it Inay bo presumed that the Ganga-Pallavas occupied a comparatively insignificant position during tho reign of the first two kings. This partly accounts for the fact that the descendants of the original Pallavas of Conjeeveram continued until a very late period side by side with the Ganga-Pallavas.
Apart from the Pallavas and the Ganga-Pallaras, the five subjoined records throw considerable light on the history of a feudatory family which played an important part in the ancient history of Southern India. These are the Bānas, who traced their descent to the demon Mahabali.
They claim to be lords of Nandagiri, i.e. Nantidroog in the Chik-Ballāpur tāluka, Kõlār District, Mysore State, and their traditional capital, the place of origin claimed by them, was Parivipura, regarding which plaie see p. 31 below. The iuscriptions of this family have been found in the northern portioa of the North Arcot District and in the Kõlar District of the Mysore State. They seem to have been the gardians of the Pallara and Ganga-Pallava territories in the north and often figure in cattle-rails and similar frontier wars.
The earliest mention of the Banns is in the Tālgund pillar inscription of the Kadamba king Kakusthavarman. Here it is said that Mayīraśarman, the first Kadamba king, who may be assigned roughly to the 5th century A.D., levied tributo from the great Bāna' who was perhaps a Pallava foadatory. We are not told deSnitely where the great Biņa's' dominion lay.
The country ruled over by the Banas is called in thrīt pathuk paschimata kshitih, the land to the west of the Andhra road (or of the country called Andhrapatha),' in Sanskrit in the Udayēndiram grant of Vikramaditya II; Vadugavali-mērku in A. above; Vadugavaliyin mērku in C. above; the Vadugavali twelve-thousand in a Tiruvallam inscription of VijayaNandirikramavarmnu ;? Vadugavali 12,000 and Manne 200 in a record from the vicinity of Panganur in the North Arcot District;S and "the twelve-thousand villages in the AndhraMandala" in the Mudiyanür plates, profossing to be dated in A.D. 338.9 The last mentioned record is spurious, but there scems to be no objection to admit its evidence on the geographical point.
Perumbānappādi, which occurs in later Tamil inscriptions, was apparently another name for the Barn territory. This province seems to have extended from Punganur in the west to Kalahasti in the cast. The river Palär probably formed the southern boundary of the province in ancient tinies.10 None of the foregoing terms make it clear if the Biņa dominions formed part of the Andhra country, or were situated to the west of it, or should be looked for to the west of
road running from the Tamil to the Vaduga, Andhra or Telugu, country. The question is further complicated by the absence of any definite boundaries of the Andhra country that could be
See above, Vol. VIII. p. 293. See the Director-General's Annual for 1906-07, Part II, p. 239 f. Madras Epigraphical Report for 1906-07, paragraph 45.
. Above, Vol. VIII. p. 35. The Brihad. Bana of verse 15 corresponds to the term Perum. Bana of the territorial term Perumba nappadi which appears to denote the Biņa dominions.
From the way in which he is here meutioned it looks as if bis dominions were not very far from Sriparvatam, i.e. Srisailam in the Kurnool District.
6 Above, Vol. 111. p. 76, text-line 21. 1 South-Ind. Inscrs. Yol. III. p. 90.
Madras Epigraphical Report for 1906-07, Part II, paragraph 45.
. Ind. Ant. Vol. XV. p. 175. Dr. Fleet has told me that the real reading is not Andhramandal: dvadasao but Andhramandaladeadafasahasragräma-sampadita, etc., " lord of the seven and a half lakh country sopple. mented by the Andhranandala twelve-tbousand villages."
10 Madras Epigraphical Report for 1906-7, Part II. paragraph 45.
