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NOVEMBER, 1925]
ANCIENT TOWNS AND CITIES IN GUJARAT AND KATHIAWAD
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42. Våmanasthall Vamanasthalt or modern Vantthali is about 8 miles south-west of Junagad. In a local ranastambha 'inscription the place is called Vamanapura. The place is a very old one. The Mahabharata refers to a Vamana Tirtha 178 but gives no clue to its locality ; but in all probability it is the same as our Vamanasthali; for Girnar Mahatmya states that the central incident in Vamana incarnation took place at this very place and that the city was founded by Vámana himself. There is still a temple of Vamana at the place. It thus appears almost certain that V&mana tirtha of the Mahabharata is the same as our V&manasthali.
According to a tradition which seems to be trustworthy Vamanasthalt was the capital of the Kathiawad Viceroys of the Guptas 179 during the fifth oentury. Nor is there any necessary clash between the tradition and the inscriptional evidence which, as we have seen already, 180 points out to Girinagara being the capital. For the distance between the two towns is only about 8 miles, both were situated in one and the same Pauranic locality: and it is just possible that the Gupta Viceroys may be shifting in the summer to Girnar hills from Vamanasthalf like our present Viceroys shifting to Simla from Delhi.
Paro adatta the last local viceroy, says the tradition, was a weak ruler,-a statement which we can accept only if we regard the composer of the Junagad Skandhagupta inscription as a fulsome liar, but whether weak or strong he was overthrown by his General Bhattaraka who for & time continued to rule at Vamanasthali as a Gupta feudatory. But soon after the death of Skandhagupta [c. 480] he declared independence, and shifted his capital to Valabhi, placing a governor at V&manasthali, to look after the administration of the province.
Vamanasthall continued to be, throughout the Valabhi rule, & province of that dominion. Local governors had probably become hereditary chiefs, for Hiuen Tsiang speaks of a king of Saurashtra residing at the foot of Orjayanta mountain but being a feudatory of the Valabhi house. A grant of Dhruvasena III dated 332 ... records the gift of Pedhabhadra village in Vamanasthali distriot, thus proving that the district in question belonged to the Valabhi dominions. At the fall of Valabhi, the local viceroy became independent. Ho had no son and therefore appointed his son-in-law as successor. Thus was founded the Chadashama dynasty at Junagad in the ninth century.
The local kings it appears were not favourably inclined to Saivism, for we find that Malardja attacked and captured the city and took its ruler Graharipu prisoner for molesting pilgrims to Prabhasa. Graharipu promised to behave better and was reinstituted as a feudatory. But the Chûdaśamás, the Solankis found to be refractory feudatories; for Siddharaja Jayasimha had twice to undertake punitive expeditions to Vamanasthall. The same was the experience of the Vaghelas ; Viradhavala though married to the sister of the reigning brothers, could not induce them to pay the customary tribute. The sister's entreaties proved unavailing before the manly and independent spirit of her brothers. A fearful battle ensued in which both the brothers were slain. Nevertheless the victor could do nothing more than collecting his tribute ; for we know that the Chadasamas continued to rule right up to the sixteenth century when their dominions were annexed by Daulatkhan Ghori.
48. Visnagar or Visala nagara. This is a town of medieval origin founded by Visalded. Whether he was the Vaghela prince or the head of the confederaoy that drove the Muhammadans in 1146 is doubtful. 376 Chap. III, p. 85. 170 Ind. Ant., II, 312. 180 Pide back under. Girinagara.'
