________________
No. 21 ]
AMUDALAPADU PLATES OF VIKRAMADITYA I, YEAR
177
for the first time in the Gadval plates of 674 A.D. They appear therefore to have been added to his prasasti after the accession of the Pallava king Paramelvaravarman I some time about 669 A.D.' One of the three kings who shadowed the royal fortune of Pulakëbiņ II must have been Pallava Narasimhavarman I while the two others were apparently his allies, although their identity is not clear. The allusion to the three kingdoms of the hostile rulers, in which Vikramaditya I re-established his family's prestige, does not appear to suggest that three kingdoms were established in the southern part of the Chalukya empire, which had been conquered by the enemies of Pulakēsin II. The implication of the passage in question seems to be that Pulakēsin II conquered the three kingdoms in which he created certain endowments, in favour of gods and Brāhmaṇas, that the rulers of those kingdoms later defeated and killed Pulakēsin II and confiscated the properties involved in the endowments and that Vikramaditya I sometime afterwards reconquered the three kingdoms and restored the endowments. This seems to be supported by the Aihole inscription, according to which Pulakëbin II defeated the Pallava king of Kāñchi and went to the land to the south of the Kāvērī, where he became the source of prosperity to the Cholas, Keralas and Pandyas. It appears that Pulakēsin II succeeded in winning over the allegiance of the southern neighbours of the Pallavas. Since it is very probable that it is two of these three smaller powers of the south that sided with Pallava Narasimhavarman I in his successful encounter against Pulakēsin II, the Chalukya king's policy of befriending the neighbours of the Pallavas, referred to above, appears to have been successful only for a short time. But which one of the four southern kings, viz. the Pallava, Chöļa, Pandya and Kērala, is omitted in the reference to the three kings (avanipatitritaya) and their kingdoms (rājya-traya) in the records of Vikramaditya I is difficult to determine, although it may be Kērala. It is, however, interesting to note that the inscriptions of Vinayaditya (681-96 A.D.), son of Vikramaditya I, credits his father with success against all the four rulers. Vinayaditya speaks of his father as Pallavapati-parājay-ānantara-grihita-Kāñchipura (i.e. one who captured Kanchipura after having defeated the Pallava king) and "dalita-Choļa-Pandya-Keraladharanidhara-mānao (i.e. one who curbed the pride of the Chõļas, Pāņdyas and Keralas). Vinayāditya himself also claims to have arrested, under his father's orders, the power or forces of trairājyaPallava or trairājya-Kärchi-pati. These expressions have been variously interpreted; but the reference is apparently to the same achievements ascribed to the Chalukya king's father separately, i.e. to the success against the Palla va king of Kāñchi and against the three kingdoms of the Cholas, Pandyas and Keralas.. The explanation of the omission of one of the four powers in the records of Vikramaditya I seems to be that he had no occasion to enter into that particular territory. The presence of the Chalukya king in the Choļa country is well known from his Gadval plates issued from Uragapura (i.e. the Chola capital) situated in the Chölika vishaya on the southern bank of the Kávēri. But the references in the passages under study appear to point to his exploits in the southern kingdoms before his occupation of the throne of Badami about 655 A.D.
The object of the inscription is to record the grant of the village of Iparumkal, situated in Vangūravādi-vishaya, by Mahārājādhirāja Paramējvara Vikramaditya Satyasraya Sripri
1 The stanzas are also found in the undated Hyderabad plates. But they are absent from the Honnur plates issued on the full-moon day of Vaisakha in Saka 592 or the king's 16th regnal year (i.e. April 9, 670 A.D.). The grant was made when the king was camping at Malliyūr-grāma to the west of Kanchipura ut the request of Ganga Knliyanga's son Mădhava and the latter's wife who was the daughter of Vikramaditya's okler brother Raparāga. varman.
As already noted above, the stanzas in question are not found in the Hunan plater, dated the 9th April 670 1.D.
• Above, Vol. VI, p. 6, text linns 14-15. . Cf., e.g., Ind. Ant., Vol. VI, p. 89.
Bomb. Gax., op. cit., p. 362, note 8; I'he Clansical Ave, p. 344. . Abovo, Vol. X, p. 103, text line 25.
