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No. 14.).
SOMALAPURAM GRANT OF VIRUPAKSHA: SAKA 1389.
196
The statement that when Bukka I, one of the two earliest sovereigns of the Vijayanagara dynasty, ascended the throne, the prosperity of the Karnăta kingdom was well established, is of partioglar interest to the student of history, as it seems to hint the probable fact that the Vijayanagara dominion was founded on the ruins of the Hoysala (i.&. the Karnata) dominion, which was wrecked by the Muhammadan invasions of South India; and shows also that the inveterate feud between the Vijayanagara kings and the Muhammadan monarchs should have risen even from the very inception of the new Hindu kingdom. There is not much doubt that the country over, which Bukka raled was & portion of the Karnăţa empire and that the Vijayanagara kings were the political successors of the Hoysalas.
Of greater importanos are the statements of our plates that Pratápa, also called Praudhapratåpa, was the younger son of Vijayabhăpati, that he obtained from his older brother,--show. ing clearly that he held a subordinate position under him, the government of Ghanådri, and that Virtpakaba II was his son.
The Satyamangalam plates of Davariya (II) state that Vijayabhtipati had two sons of whom the elder was called Devaraya and the younger Pratåpa-Dovarăya. From this it is clear that both the song had in common the name Dðvarðya. The existence of these two sons of Vijayabhupati, though not with their names specified, is recognised in the three copper-plate grants of Vird påksha known to us so far, viz. the Sajjalar plates, the Srisailam platest and the present Somaláparnm grant. These, being directly concerned in tracing the main line of Virti pakaba, naturally enough, omit to mention the name of the elder. While the Srisailam plates call the younger Pratápa-Raya, the other two give the additional information that he was renowned by his title Praudhapratapa. Thus, from all these sources it can be gathered that while the first son of Vijayabhupati was known by the mere name Dövardyawith or without the common addition of Virapratāpa which is generally assumed by Vijayanagara kings--the younger was always called Praudhapratāpa or Pratapa-Devaraya which is sometimes supplemented in stone records by the epithet gajaväffai-landaruliya. Among the stone records of Vijayanagara kings, the following are clearly attributable to the second son of Vijayabhapati
No. 92 of the Madras Epigraphical Dated in Saka 1351 in the reign of Pratápa. collection for 1918.
Dēvardya, son of Vira-Vijayaráya. No. 01 of 1918 . . . . Dated in Saka 1852 in the reign of Praudha!
Dövariya-Mehåriya, son of Vlra-Vijaya
riya-Mahariya. No. 68 of 1918
• . . Dated in Baka 1967 in the reign of Pratapa
Davariya-Mahårdys, son of Vira-Vijaya
raya-Mahariya. Thus it is beyond doubt that the second son of Vijayaráya or Vijayabhupati was not only called Prataparāya and Praudhapratāpa, but had the additional name Doverdya suffixed to these names. Fnrther, the Madras Museum plates of Devardya Ito refer to a younger brother of his named Srigiri who was governing Maratakanagara in A.D. 1424-5 and the Satyamangalam plates of Děvaraya II, dated in the same year, imply that his younger brother Pratápa-Dóvaraya was
1 If Mr. Rice has correctly read wijagrajāpräptam-anädl-rajyam (p. 186 of Bp. Carn., VOL. ILI), it is •vidently a mistake of the engraver for nigagrajataprāpta.Ghanadri-rajyan given in our plates. All remarks (ibid., introduction, p. 23) that Pratápa or Praudha-prataps obtained the immemorial kingdom from his elder sister requiros modification, * Ep. Ind., Vol. III, p. 87 .
• Ep. Carn., Vol. III, PP. 185 4., ML. 191. • Ep. Ind., Vol. XV, pp. 8 ff.
• Ep. Ind., Vol. VII1, pp. 808 tf. . This is a shortened form of Praudhapratape.
