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No. 12] BILAIGARH PLATES OF KALACHURI PRATAPAMALLA ; YEAR 969 99 and calculating with 247-48 A.C. as the starting point of the era, the lunar eclipse occurred on the fullmoon day of Ashādha in 1218 A.C., corresponding to July 9, Monday. This appears to be the date of the record. We may, however, note that the lunar eclipse took place also on the fullmoon day of Ashădha in 1219 A.C., corresponding to June 29, Saturday. The present charter is dated four years later than the Pēndrābandh epigraph, thus extending the reign period of Pratāpamalla up to 1218 A.C.
Before we proceed to other details, it seems nocessary to examine a few facts connected with the history of these Kalachuris, not adequately noticed by scholars. One is the place allotted to Prithvidēva III in the genealogical account of the family. In his Dynastic History of Northern India' Dr. H. C. Ray postulates that Ratnadēvs III was succeeded by Prithvidēva III. The only basis for this assumption is the Ratanpur inscription. In this record three generations of kings are mentioned, viz., Jäjalladēva, his son who might be Ratnadeva who defeated Chödaganga, and his son Prithvidēva. The characteristic achievement of vanquishing Chōdaganga is attributed in all the records of the family to Ratnadēva II, father of Prithvidēva II. From this it becomes explicit that Prithvidēva of the Ratanpur record is identical with Prithvidēva II and that no grounds exist for the assumption of a Prithvidēva III. The subsequent history of the family as known from other epigraphs, reveals that Prithvidēva II was followed by his younger son Jājalladēva II. After a short while the rulership passed on to Jājalladēva II's elder brother Jagaddēva. The latter was in turn succeeded by Ratnadēva III and grandson Pratāpamalla. Thus we are justified in discountenancing the existence of Prithvidēva III.
Dr. Ray tries to support the above view of his by saying that the date of the Ratanpur inscription agrees with the ascription of the origraph to Prithvidēva III. This argument is fallacious; for, the date which is taken to be Vikrama Samvat 1247, as read by its editor, the late Dr. Kielhorn, is itself doubtful and his observations on the same reveal that the record might have been originally dated in the Chēdi era, the first digit of which was 9. As a good number of inscriptions of Prithvidēva II with dates ranging from the Chēdi year 900 to 915, has been discovered, there should be no difficulty in assigning the Ratanpur epigraph to his reign. Another consideration that has obviously persuaded Dr. Ray to assign the Ratanpur record to Prithvidēva III, is the chronological position of its composer. This was Dēvagaņa", son of Ratnasimha and grandson of Māmē. Now it might be that this same Ratnasimha was the composer of the Malhär inscription of Jäjalladēva II dated 919 of the Chēdi era. Ascription of the Ratanpur inscription to Prithvidēva II would lead to the result that whereas Dėvagana, the son, drafted the record of the king who was the father, Ratnasimha, his father, composed tho charter of the king who was the son. This superficial anomaly can be explained away by pointing out that there exists a difference of only four years between the
1 Vol. II (1936), pp. 813-14. The same view appears to have been held by other scholars also, though not without diffidence; compare Bhandarkar's List of Inscriptions of Northern India, No. 421 and the genealogical statement on p. 393. It must, however, be noted that in his article on the History of the Kalachuris of Southern Kosala,' Mr. Amalananda Ghosh has shown that Prithvidēva of the Ratanpur inscription was Prithvideva II. and not Přihvideva III; Icarya Puspanjali, pp. 274-75.
* Above, Vol. I, pp. 45 ff. • Ibid., p. 40; Vol. XXI, p. 762, etc. • Ibid., Vol. I, p. 49, n. 41.
Bhandarkar': List, Nos. 1234, 1236, etc.
• We may incidentally note the title Rayarasimha of Dévagapa's son, Jagatsimha; above, Vol. I, p. 61, Tbin is influenced by Kannada. A study of the inscriptions of the period shows that a good many titles of similar origin from Karnataka were adopted and exhibited by distinguished persons in other parts of Iudia.
Above, Vol. I, pp. 39off.
