________________
No. 4.]
VENKATAPUR INSCRIPTION OF AMOGHAVARSHA; SAKA 828.
61
whether these officers were related to each other as fatber and son and inherited the governorship as an ancestral estate or were appointed there from time to time like the governors of a province in modern days. From the Hebbal inscription of Saka 896 (A.D. 975), it is learnt that the district was presented to the Ganga king Būtuga II as balivali (dowry) at the time of his marriage with the Rashtrakūta princess Rēvakanimmadi, the daughter of Amõghavarsha III Baddega. It was subject to the Ganga power since then as can be gathered from the Rõn inscription of A.L. 942 and the Kurtaköti inscription of A.D. 946 where the Ganga prince is called the bhāva (brother-in-law) of Krishna III. The Atakur inscription of Krishna III and Būtuga II dated Saka 872 (A. D. 949-50)* states, however, that Ksishņa III was pleased with the valour of Būtuga displayed in the killing of the Chola prince Rājāditya in the battle of Takkõlam and granted to him as reward the districts of Banavåse, Purigere. Belvola, Kisukādu and Bāgenādu. This would show that Bütuga was dispossessed of his hold over the Belvola district in the interval between A.D. 946 and A.D. 949-35. But the circumstances under which this event must have happened are not apparent. It is not unlikely that his elder brother Rachamalla called Rachyimalla in the Deõli plates of Krishna III (A.D. 940) by ousting whom fron. Gangavādi, Bütuga had been placed on the throne, attempted to regain his power and wrested from hirt a portion of the territory including Belvola some time after A.D. 946. Būtuga must have sought the assistance of his brother-in-law Krishna III and with his help killed Rachamalla. This latter incident is mentioned in the subsidiary inscription on the top of the Atakur stone dated Sala 872 (A.D. 949-50) as an event of recent occurrence and so must have happened before the battle of Takkolam so that Krishna III could present Būtuga the districts mentioned above. Perhaps on the death of Rāchamalla, the territory including Beļvola was formally annexed by Krishna III as an overlord and victor, to the Rashtrakūta kingdom 80 that he could grant it to Bütuga in token of his services at the Takkõlam battle. Belvola was held by Marasimha II in A.D. 970' and after the subversion of the family by the Western Chāļukyas in about A.D. 975, it passed to the family of Kannapa and Sobhanarasa the officers of the Western Chāļukyas.
Of the places mentioned in the record, Beļvola-three-hundred is the well-known district comprising portions of the modern Gadag, Rõn and Navalgund taluks of the Dhārwär District. Mulgunda-twelve was named after Mulgund the modern village of that name in the Gadag taluk. M&vinuru where the gift was made I am not able to trace. This is perhaps identical with Māvinūru at which, according to the Konnür inscription, twelve nivartanas of land were granted to the Jaina sanctuary founded by Bankeys at Kolanūra. Kielhorn, wbo edited the record, bas identified this village with the modern Mannoor 8 miles east by south of Konnür.
TEXT.10 1 Svasti (ll*] Sa(Sa)ka-npipa-kal-atite-sarh2 vatsara-sa(sa)tamgal-entunura 3 irppattontaneya" Prabhavam-emba va
1 Above, Vol. IV, pp. 350 ff.
* B. K. No. 175 of 1926-27. • Ibid., No. 126 of 1926-27.
• Above, Vol. VI, p. 55. Above, Vol. V, pp. 188 ff.
. Above, Vol. VI, p. 65. "B. K, Nos. 21 and 149 of 1926-27.
* See above, Vol. XX, pp. 65 €. . Above, Vol. VI. p. 28. 1. From the ink-impression and original stone. 11 The letter ya is engraved below the line in small character.
