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No. 29]
SAUGOR STONE INSCRIPTION OF SANKARAGANA
169
and Hemachandra calls it Chedi-nagari 'the capitlal of the (hodi country'. The surrounding country called Traipura is mentioned in the Mahābhārata 'and the Matsyupurära. The Tripuri vishaya (the district of Tripuri) is mentioned in the Betul plates of Sankshõbha as situated in the Dabhala (i.e., Dāhala) country, which was under the rule of the Parivräjaka kings down to A. D. 528 at least. It is, however, not known who was ruling the country when Vimarāja in vailed it and annexed it to his kingdom.
Two or three generations seem to have separated Vāmarāja from Sarkaragana. We do not know the names of the princes who ruled in the meanwhile. Perhaps Mäyuraja, the author of the Sanskrit play Urlättarāghava was one of them. He is described by Rajasēkhara as the best Kalachuri poet. Another Sanskrit poet Bhimata whom Rājasēkhara mentions as the lord of Kālanjara perhaps belonged to the same royal family. Rajasekhara tells us that he composed five plays of which Swapnadasõnana was judged to be the best.
Sankaragaņa during whose reign the present inscription was put up belonged to the main Tripuri branch of the great Kalachuri dynasty. He must therefore be distinguished from the homonymous princes mentioned in the Kasih stone inscription and the Kahlā plates, who were ruling over the Gorakbpur District. This Sankaragana is, again, the earliest prince of this name in the Tripuri branch and may therefore be called Sarkaragana I. Two other princes of the same name ruled at Tripuri, viz., (i) Sarkaragana II who bore the birulas Mugelhahunga, Prasiddhalhavala and Ranaviyraha' and was the son and successor of Kökalla I, and (ii) Sankaragana III who was the son and successor of Lakshmanarāja II and the elder brother of Yuvarajadēva II. The former may be referred to the period circa A. D. 890--910 and the latter to circa A. D. 970-980.
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out5 Tufa: 13 artta H... 11
Sabhäparvan (Chitraśālā Press), adhyāya, XXXI, v. 60. * Matsyapurana, adhyāya 114, v. 53. 3 Sūktimuktavali (Gaekwad's Oriental Series), p. 46; Ind. Ant. Vol. XLI, pp. 139 ff. • Saktimuktavali, p. 46.
. He is called Sankaragana and Ranavigrahn in somo Rashtrakūta records. His birudar Mugdhatunga and Prasiddhadhavala aro mentioned in the Bilhári stone inscription and the Bonaros plates respectively.
• He is mentioned in the Karitalar stono inscription of Lakshmanaraja II as well as in the Benarcs plates. See also above, Vol. XXV, p. 280.
From the original stone and inked estampages. I am obliged to Dr. B. Ch. Chhabra and Mr. N. L. Rao for the readings of a few words in this transcript.
• Expressed by a symbol. • The loop on the left of this akshara has now become somewhat indistinot, but it is there. 10 This danda is superfluous. 1. The contoxt requires a reading like chasilan-mua-griti 12 One would expect a reading like piny arthan here.
18 This visarga is superfluous. Notice that a similar visargn occurs at the end of the Chhoti Duori record, helow, p. 172
I am not certain about these eight aksharas at the end of the present record. XVI-1-20
