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No. 44-INSCRIPTIONS OF THE TIME OF YAJVAPALA GOPALA
(4 Plates)
D. C. SIROAR, OOTACAMUND Beveral stone inscriptions of the Yajvapāla or Jajapëllat king Asalla (or Asala), his son Gopāla and grandson Ganapati, all of whom had their headquarters at the hill-fort of Nalapura (modern Narwar in the Shivapuri District of the old Gwalior State now in Madhya Pradesh), are known to scholars, although none of them has been properly edited. Most of these records were noticed by M.B. Garde in a small article on this dynasty of rulers published in the Indian Antiquary, Vol. XLVII. pp. 242 ff. They have also been enlisted in D. R. Bhandarkar's Inscriptions of Northern India as Nos. 562, 576, 597, 603, 628, 636 and 642. While Bhandarkar's No. 562 (from Bhimpur in the Shivapuri District, dated V. 8. 1319=1262 A.D.) and No. 576 (from Rai in the same District, dated V. g. 1327-1270 A.D.) belong to Asalla (son of Nriverman, grandson of Chabada and greatgrandson of Paramādi), No. 697 (from Baraudi in the same District), dated V. S. 1336 (1279 A.D.). and No. 603 (from Narwar), dated V. 8. 1339, Jyështha-sudi 8, Wednesday (5th May 1283 A.D.), belong to the reign of Gopāla and the second of the two records speaks of Jayapāla, who was the legendary founder of the dynasty and was popularly known as Jajapēlla, and of Chăpada (Chahada) who was an ancestor of Gopāla and was responsible for the capture of Nalagiri (i.e. Nalapura-durga or the hill-fort of Narwar). No. 628 of Bhandarkar's List, dated V. 8. 1348, Chaitra-gudi 8; Thursday 27th March 1292 A.D.) comes from Suraways (Shivapuri District) and belongs to the reign of Ganapati, while No. 636 (in the Gwalior Museum) is dated in V. S. 1350 (1293 A.D.) falling in the reign of Ganapati and refers to Rana Chãohigadēva (wrongly read as Adhigadeva) who was a feudatory of Gopāla. Bhandarkar's No. 642 (from Narwar) is dated V. S. 1306. Kárttika-vadi 5, Friday 26th September 1298 A.D.), and represents king Ganapati as the son of Gopala, grandson of Asalla, great-grandson of Nrivarman (Naravarman) and greatgreat-grandson of Chāhada.
Some other records bearing dates in the later years of Gopāla's reign have been noticed in the Annual Administration Report of the Archaeological Department, Gwalior State, as well as in H. N. Dvivedi's Gwalior Rajyake Abhilekh (Hindi), Gwalior, 1947. These are Dvivēdi's No. 149 (from Narwar, dated V. S. 1341=1284 A.D.), No. 152 (from Balárpur in the Shivapuri District, dated V. S. 1342. Jyēshtha-vadi 3, Monday 23rd April 1285 A.D.) and No. 154 (from Pathrai in the same District, dated V. S. 1345, Vaisakha-vadi 2, Saturday 9th April 1289 A.D.). Cf. also his No. 140 from Narwar and No. 158 from Bachötar in the same District.
Similarly Dvivedi's No. 176 (from Balárpur, dated V. S. 1356-1299 A.D.) and No. 177 (from the same place, dated V. 8. 1357-1300 A.D.) belong to the later years of Ganapati.
The above records will show that Gõpāla's dates range between V. 8. 1336 (1279 A.D.) and 1348 (1289 A.D.) while Ganapati's dates fall between V. S. 1348 (1292 A.D.) and-1357 (1300 A.D.). A number of coins issued by Chahada and Asalla were discovered by Cunningham. The dates on the coins of the two kings range respectively between V. S. 1294 (?) and 1311 (.e. 1237-54 A.D.) and between V. S. 1311 and 1336 (i.e. 1254-79 A.D.) respectively. Chahada is no doubt the same as
1 The suggestion that the name of the family was Chāhamana (Ray, DHNI, Vol. II, p. 834, noto l and pp. 1103-04) is closely wrong. The family name was really Jajapēlla which was Sanskritised as Yajvapala and amociated with mythical progenitor named Jayapåla or Jajapella.
* Some of those Annual Reports were not printed. Coint of Medieval India, PP. 92 f.; Ray, op. cit. p. 1103. Cf. R. D. Banerji, Num. Bupl., No. XXXIII,
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