Epigraphia Indica Vol 28

Author(s): Hirananda Shastri
Publisher: Archaeological Survey of India

Page 99

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EPIGRAPHIA INDICA
(VOL. XXVIII
He is described in verse 5 of the Kedārpur plate as having his desire of conquering the earth, (bounded) by the four ooeans, fulfilled, and he is further spoken of as having extinguished the fire of his enemies by means of the water of his creeper-like sword in many a battle. This description certainly corroborates the view of Dr. R. C. Majumdar," that "Trailökyachandra laid the foundation of the greatness of the family." In verse 5 of our inscription we have an indication as to how he strove to expand his territories. The most important epithet of Trailokyachandra, as we find in this verse," adharo Harikēlarāja-[ka*]kuda-chchhatra-smitānāṁ sriyām", read along with "yasChandr-papade va(ba)bhuva nipatir-dvipe", conveys the fact that at first he was a king of Chandradvipa and later became the repository of the Fortune (goddess) whose smile was the (white) umbrella, the symbol (of royalty) of the king of Hariköla". Bereft of rhetorical figurativeness, the epithet leads one to believe that Trailõkyachandra acquired the royal fortunes of the Harikēla kingdom. The interpretation put on this phrase by the late Mr. N. G. Majumdar and quoted by Dr. R. C. Majumdar in the Dacca University History of Bengal, Vol. I, does not stand scrutiny. The net result of the political achievements of Trailokyachandra seems to be that he was at first a king of Chandradvipa but later became the ruler over the whole of Harikēla. Who can vouchsafe that in the period under discussion Vikramapura was not the capital of Harikēla itself? Of course it is difficult to ascertain the exact political relation previously prevailing between the kingdoms of Chandradvipa and Harikëla. Although in the seventh century A.D. the country of Harikēla is referred to by I'tsing' as the eastern limit of Eastern India', yet during the 10th11th century A.D. we should follow the lexicographer Hēmachandra: (born 1089 A.D.) who identified Harikëla with Vanga (Vangas-tu Harikēliyāḥ) and explain the reference to Harikēla in our inscription as identical with Vanga whose capital was Vikramapura in those centuries. As to Chandradvipa, it was a territory in the South-east of Bengal in the district of Bakerganj and in mediaeval period it was known as Bakla Chandradvipa which comprised within its boundaries some portions of the modern districts of Bakerganj, Khulna and Faridpur. Trailokyachandra's wife was Šrikānchana who gave birth to her illustrious son, who was destined to be a great king, having been born in an auspicious muhurta of Rāja-yoga (vv. 6-7). Then we have a description of this son, Srichandra (v.8), which indicates clearly that this Buddhist king attained full paramount power, by putting his enemies into prison-cells. That this king had to fight some enemies and become victorious in battles (ranëshu jayi) is mentioned in verse 7 of the Kedārpur plate also. But it is difficult to surmise as to who these enemies of Srichandra were. It only seems evident that this king's father, Trailökyachandra, who was at first a king of Chandradvipa only, in the south-eastern portion of Bengal, began gradually to extend his dominion towards the north, i.e., towards the localities represented by the modern districts of Faridpur and Dacca, and ultimately took possession of the citadel of Vikramapura which was in all probability in the hands of the Pāla kings of Pundravardhanabhukti and Magadha. In still earlier centuries we have epigraphic evidence to prove that Kāntidēva and later Ladahachandra ruled independently in East and Southern Bengal, the former's kingdom having probably comprised a portion of Western Bengal also. We know that a great calamity overtook the Pāla kingdom during the reigns of Gopāla II and his son and successor Vigrahapāla II during the latter half of the 10th century A.D. It is quite probable that the Chandra rulers of East and South Bengal were able to found an independent kingdom during that epoch, and that Srichandra, whose rule continued at least for 44 years, might have been a contemporary of the great Päla king, Mabipāla I (c. 988-1038 A.D.). On this chronological basis it may be surmised that the king Govindachandra of Vangāladēša (East and South Bengal) who had to make
1 Ibid. Pp. 194-195. • I-tsing (Takakusu), p. xlvi.
• History of Indian Literature, Vol. II by Winternitz (English translation published by Caloutta University, p. 482).
• Of. Hunter's Statistical Account of Bengal, Vol. V, p. 224.