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No. 48.)
EPOCH OF THE GANGA ERA.
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saptadata into saptarasa. The date of the Mandasa plates is thus s. 917 which agrees admirably with the date Gn. 520 ($. 940) of the same chief Dharmakhēdi's Simhipura graht. The difference between the dates of the two grants is only 23 years which perfectly squares with the fact that the former grant was made by the aforementioned Kadamba chief during the reign of his Ganga suzerain Anantavarman and the latter during that of Anantavarman's son Dēvēndravarman.
3. We have seen above that the Gänga king Anantavarman's son Dēvēndravarman was ruling in Gn. 520. Another grant recorded in his Chicacole plates' mentions the Gänga king Anantavarman's son Mahārājādhirāja Madhukāmărnava as ruling in Gn. 526. The proximity of these two dates suggests that Dēvēndravarman was another name of Madhukāmārnava. Messrs. G. Ramdas and Subba Rao have identified this Gånga king Anantavarman with Vajrahasta II alias Aniyankabhrma, who had a son named Madhukāmārnava, on the assumption that all the rulers of the Gänga family were called alternately Anantavarman and Dēvēndravarman. Dr. R. C. Majumdar has, however, objected to this assumption. The assumption', he says, 'rests on the fact that for some generations, the Ganga kings were named in succession Anantavarman and Dēvēndravarman. But it would be unreasonable to conclude from this that their predecessors were also so named, so long at least as we do not get any satisfactory evidence for the same.'
The necessary evidence is now supplied by the Pondūru grant of Vajrahasta (II). As already stated this grant is dated Gn. 500. It was made by Vajrahasta, the son of Kāmārņava. As this grant was made 20 years earlier than Dharmakhēdi's Simhipura grant of Gn. 520 which belongs to the reign of Anantavarman's son Dēvēndravarman, it appears quite plausible that Anantavarman was another name of Vajrahasta (II). From these three grants then we get the following genealogy of these Gänga kings
Kämärņava
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Vajrahasta alias Anantavarman Madhukāmārnava alias Dēvēndravarman
This genealogy is perfectly possible if we identify these princes with Kāmārnava I, Vajrahasta II and Madhukāmārņava III mentioned in the Nadagam, Ganjām and other records of Vajrahasta III.
Here I may anticipate an objection. I have identified above Madhukāmärnava who was ruling in Gn. 526 with Dēvēndravarman who was on the Gānga throne in Gn. 520. But it may
1 Sanskrit numerals change their d into r in the Prakrits and modern North-Indian languages. 1 J. B. O. R. S., Vol. XVIII, pp. 272 ff. • Dr. C. Narayan Rao and Mr. Subba Rao read this date as 528. J. A. H. R. S., Vol. VIII, p. 170.
J. B. O. R. S., Vol. XVII, pp. 180-81.
Ind. Cul., Vol. IV, pp. 175 ff.
• Above, Vol. IV, pp. 183 ff. : XXIII, pp. 67 ff. In fairness to Dr. R. C. Majumdar I must state that this genealogy is also possible according to the epoch (some date between A. D. 550 and 557) proposed by him, if we Gasume that Madhukāmârnava was another name of Rājarāja (I).Dévendravarman. The overwhelming evidence of other dated records set forth above would, however, preclude that epoch altogether.
