Indian Antiquary Vol 47

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarkar
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 226

210
THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY
[ August, 1918
Subha-chandra (in Navamuni Gumpha), (2) the inscription of the Chief Queen of Khåravela (in the Manchapuri care), and the (3) Udyots Kesari inscription in the Lalatendra Kesari Gumph supposed on epigraphical grounds to date from the 10th century A.D. (Ep. Ind., Vol. XIII, pp. 160, 165-166).
The emperor Asoka Hourished in the 3rd century B.O. If only after the lapee of a century or two, Jainism could leave such lasting evidence of its long continuance in the Kumara and Kumari Hills in close proximity to Dhauli,t it is difficult to um derstand why Buddhism should be dragged in to account for the existence of a thirteenth century Solar Temple which copper-plates of Ganga Kings (Narasimha Deva II and IV. JASB., 1906 and 1905) agree in attributing to Narasimha Deva I (Langulya Narasimha or Narasimha of the tail), a king whose name is also mentioned in this connection in Abul Fazal's Ain-i-Akbari.
Mr. M. M. Chakravarty has, after very minute and careful calculations, ascertained the periods of reign of the respective kings of the Ganga dynasty in Orissa and there cannot be the least hesitation in accepting (1238-64) as the period of first Narasimha's reign-- (JASB., part I, 1903). Mr. V. A. Smith also agrees in holding that the Konarak temple was built in the 13th century though he assigns the period between A.D. 1240 to 1280. The only inscription found at Konarak on the pedestal of an image since removed to the Indian Museum, though undated, may safely be assigned on paleographic and other grounds to the third quarter of the 13th century as has been done by Mr. M. M. Chakravarty in his note in the JBORS., Vol. III, part II, p. 283.
Though the palm-leaf record at Puri ascribes the erection of the temple to a mythical king of the Kesari dynasty-one of the so-called Caesars of Orissa as Dr. RAjendra Lala Mitra was pleased to style them--there are in the remains at Konarak no trace of any earlier structure which might reasonably lead to the presumption that the present foundations were laid on the ruins of an earlier shrine.
The late Dr. Fleet, in his paper on the Somavamsî Kings of Katak, rightly disbelieves the temple-chronicles and puts forth convincing arguments in favour of the supposition that except the two Somavampi kinge % of the 11th century-Yayati Kesari or Mah aśiva Gupta and Janmejaya Mah ab hava Gupta-the other Kesaris styled Kurma, Varába, &c., are mere figments of the chronicler's imagination (Ep. Ind., Vol. III, pp. 324, 336, et seq.). Except the inscription of Udyota Keśarf mentioned above no other inscription or copper-plate has been found of any other Kesari king. In Sandhvakara Nandi's Ramacarita (Asiatic Society Memoirs, Vol. I, p. 146, and p. 36, fika of sloka 5), there is mention of one Karna Kesarî. But of this king, also no inscription or any
1 Mr. Jayaswal says in his paper on the Hathigumph& inscription of the emperor Kharavela (JBORS.,, December, 1917, p. 448), that before the time of Khåravela there were temples of the Arhats on the Udayagiri Hille as they are mentioned in the inscription E. institutions which had been previously in existence.
Mr. B. C. Majumdar is or opinion that these kings had their naj at Sambalpore although their territories extended to Chandwar or Cuttack in Orissa (Ep. Ind., Vol. XI, p. 102).
• Simha iti Dandabhaktfbhupatiradbhataprabhay.lkura kara kamalamakula-tulitotkalia karne koyarf marityallabha-kumbhasamvabo Jayasimhab.