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GRANTS OF THE ANHILVAD CHAULUKYAS.
JULY, 1877.]
His son, the illustrious Viradha vala, has gained splendid victories in battle. He resembles his father so closely that he reflects, as it were, his image in a mirror. These two, the father and the son, make the family unconquerable. Now it happened once that Lava naprasâda awoke at the end of the night, and at once sent for his purohita, Somesvaradeva by name, the son of Kumara, as he wished to tell to that sishta a dream which he had had during the night. The priest came, made his obeisance, gave his blessing to the chiefs, and sat down on a mat. Then Lava naprasâda, who was attended by his son Vira, began to narra e as followst:-It seemed to me that I as ended the mountain of Śiva and worshipped the god, who appeared visibly before my eyes. Then, after I had finished my worship and was suak in pious meditation, I saw standing before me a moon-faced maid, beautiful like Râkâ, dressed in white garments, anointed with white unguents, and holding a chaplet in her white. hands. Wondering, I asked her who she was and why she came. Then she addressed me thus: "O hero, know that I am the Fortune of the Gurjara kings, who is sorely tormented by crowds of enemies. Alas! those Gurjara princes are slain who were able to destroy their focs, in whose arms I used to rest. The young or foolish wheel-king who now reigns in their stead is unable to subdue the armies of his enemies. His mantris and. mundalikas possess neither wisdom nor valour. They even raise their eyes to me, though I am their lord's lawful wife. The purohita (sauvastika) A mas ar man is dead, who used to protect me. Gone is the son of Munjala,§ who humbled rebellious Rajputs. Pratâ pamalla the Râthor is no longer, who could not bear even the smell of a hostile elephant. My own people have brought me so low, excepting always Jagaddeva, who kept the enemy from entering the capital. No lights shine now at night in the capital of Gûrjara-land; it resounds with the howl of the jackal; its/walls
The southern king must have been either the Yadava Sing hana or his father. The Kirtikaumudi, as well as Visaladeva's grant No. 11, shows that in the 13th century Gujarat was repeatedly attacked by its southern neigh
bour.
|| Kirtik. II. 76-82. The author himself. *sishtaphalojña, a person who knows the results (of actions, &c.)'
*
+ Kirtik. II. 82-86.
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are broken. Therefore do thou, together with thy son Viradhavala, rescue me and save the country." After the goddess had spoken thus,' Lavanapras â da continued, "she threw her garland on this chair and vanished together with my dream. Now tell me what this means.'T
"Herenpon Someśvara addressed the chief, declared him to be the happiest of all Rajputs, since Fortune wooed him of her own accord, and heexhorted him to accept the charge laid upon him and to engage able ministers. Then Lavanaprasada appointed Vira dhavala 'to save* the country,' and he began to consider whom he should appoint his mantrs. But when the morning came the three companions rose in order to do what was to be done."
This story, which is told with additions and numerous embellishments by the later chroniclers Rajasekhara and Harshagani, means, if translated into plain English, that for a time Lavanaprasa da, and perhaps also Viradhavala, served Bhimadeva, but that later, either disgusted with his arrogance and folly, or in despair of overcoming his numerous enemies, they separated from him, and took what they could lay hold of. A remnant of regard for his rightful king probably prevented Someśvara from giving the naked truth, and moved him to introduce the Gurjararajalakshmî as dea ex machiná. If Somesvara does not misrepresent his own position at Lavanaprasada's court, he probably was not without influence on the latter's course of action. It is also probable that the same feeling prevents him from mentioning any hostile engagements which, no doubt, occurred between the two Dholkâ chief's and Bhimadeva. Throughout the remainder of his work he speaks of Viradhavala as of an independent prince, who owned allegiance to nobody, and ignores the king of Pathan entirely. The same line is adopted in the inscriptions of Viradhavala's two ministers Vastupala and Teja pala, who, as Someśvara states in the third canto of the Kirtikaumuli, were engaged shortly after the occurrence described above.
Kirt. II. SI-Yo vartate samprati chakravarti pade. tra bal; Blilma, the saptamachakravarti, is meant. § See Forbes, RAs ML, vol. I. p. 109.
Here I have left out one verse (100), which seems to me corrupt. It mentions a purohita Kumara.
Kart. II. 92-107.
This must be taken as the abdication of Lavanaprasida. as in the later parts of the Kirtikaumudi Viradhavala al-. ways appears as ruler.
