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No. 401
SILVER COIN OF BHAIRAVASIMHA Sugauni, Kämēsvara's residence near modern Madhubani in the Darbhanga Dist-ict. After a short time, Firüz Shāh gave Kämēsvara's throne to the latter's son Bhogisvara. According to some doubtful traditions, Bhögisvara ruled for 33 years and died in 1360 A.D.' Bhögīśvara's son and successor was Gaņēśvara who, according to Vidyāpati's Kirtilatā, was defeated and killed by an enemy named Aslān, apparontly a Musalman, aided probably by certain members of the Oinvār family. The date of this event is given in the work in a corrupt passage which may mean the 5th of the first ie. dark) half of Agrahāyana in La. Sam. 252 (1371 A.D.)." His eldest son Virasimha seems to have been ruling over a part of the country in La. Sam. 228 (1347 A.D.) when a manuscript of the Lingavärtlika w&b copied in his territory. That he was & ruler is also suggested by the title Mahārājādhirāja applied to him in the Kirtilatā. Sometime after Gaņēsvara's death, his son Kirtisimha bocame king with the help of Ibrāhim Shāh Shaxqi (1401-40 A.D.) of Jaunpur. The next king was Bhavasimha, a younger son of Kāmēsvara, and he was succeeded by his oldest son Dēvasimha Garudanārāyaṇa. Since & manuscript of Sridatta's Ekāgnidānapaddhati, composed at Dēvasimha's request, was copied on Monday, Pausha-śudi 9, La. Sam. 299 (1418 A.D.), he seems to have ascended the throne before that date. According to & poem ascribed to Vidyāpati, Dēvasimha died on Thursday, Chaitra-vadi 6, L&. Sam. 293 corresponding to Saka 1324 (1403 A.D.)which is supposed to be a mistake for Saka 1334 (1413 A.D.).' As Sridhara's Kāryaprakāśavivēka was composed on Kārttika-vadi 10, La. Sam. 291 (1411 A.D.) when Dévasimha's son Śivasimha Rupanārāyana is stated to have been ruling over Tirabhukti, the son seems to have been reigning jointly with the father as Yuvarāja (or at least over parts of the kingdom) and to have been a patron of Sridhara. Dēvasimha ruled from Dēvakuli about 2 miles to the north of Darbhanga while Sivasimha had his headquarters at Gajarathapura or Sivasimhapura about 5 miles to the south-east of Darbhanga. Three spurious copper-plate charters of king Sivasimha, recording the grant of the village of Bisapi in favour of the poet Vidyāpati, bear respectively the dates V.S. 1455. Saka 1321, and La. Sam. 293 equated with V. S. 1455, Saka 1321 and San 807, i.e. probably 1399 A.D.S Sivasimha is described by Vidyāpati as the lord of the Five Gaudas' and as one who subdued the king or kings of Gauda. This vague and conventional claim may suggest that, unlike his predecessors who owed allegiance to the Muhammadans, Sivasinha ruled for sometime as an independent monarch. The result, however, was fatal and, according to tradition, Sivasimha was defeated by the Musalmāns and carried away to Delhi. The same source suggests that, after the tragic end of Sivasimha's reign, bis queen Lakhimādēvi ruled for 12 years and was succeeded by Padmasimha who was the younger brother of Sivasimha (and ruled for 6 years according to one tradition)10 and that Padmasimha's queen Visvāsadāvi ruled for 12 years after her husband's
1 JASB, N, S., Vol. XI, 1910, p. 416. · Thakur, op. cit., p. 297; JBRS, Vol. XL, p. 102. JASB, op. cit., p. 416 and noto 2; J BORS, Vol. XIII, p. 297. Thakur, op. cit., p. 302.
JASB, loc. cit. The same title was often enjoyed by the ministers of the Oinvär rulers, 0.g. Chandēsvara and Rāmadatta, probably because they were ruling over parts of the country as viceroys or enjoyed extensive jagirs together with regal titles.
Ibid., PP. 417-18. Doubtful traditions assign Bhavasimha's accession to 1348 A.D. and Dēvasinha's to 1985 A.D. (Eggeling, op. cit., p. 875).
Ibid., pp. 418-19; D. C. Sen, Bangabhasha-o-Sahitya, 5th ed., pp. 216-17. Thakur (op. cit., p. 306) ascribes to M. M. Chakravarti the view that Devasimha ascended the throne in Saka 1263 (1342 A.D.). But there is no such statement in Chakravarti's article referred to above.
Cf. Bhandarkar's List, Nos. 736, 1126 and 1470. The date of Sivasitha's accession is assigned by tradition to 1446 A.D. (An. Rep. A.8.1., 1913-14, p. 249; Eggeling, loc. cit.).
Ind. Ant., Vol. XVIII, p. 68. 10 JBRŞ, Vol. XI, p. 120.
