Indian Antiquary Vol 62

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Charles E A W Oldham, S Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarka
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 118

106
THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY
[ JUNE, 1933
with the Kalacuris of Ratanpur. We know, for instance, that Jâjalladeva I of Ratanpur35 and Someśvara of Cakrakotya 36 claim victory over each other. It is, therefore, likely that at this period also the ruling princes of the two dynasties were on inimical terms and, therefore, the Någa chief sought the aid of Sindhuraja against Kamalarâ ja and his ally Vajjúka of tho Komo Mandala.
The identification of Vajjûka with Vajránkusa is rendered probable by the mention of the hermitage of the sage Vanku, which lay on the way to Ratnavatî, the capital of Vaj. ránkusa. Dr. Bühlert proposed to connect the name Varku of the sage with the geographical name Vanku of the Nagpur prasasti, verse 54. The two have no connection whatever, for Vankshu (as read by Kielhorn) mentioned in that verse of the prasasti is the name of a river of the north, on the banks of which, softened with filaments of saffron, the king of the Kîra country is said to have been taught to sing the praises of the Paramara king Lakşmaņadeva,38 while the hermitage of the sage Vanku was situated, as we have seen, to the south of the Narmada. It is noteworthy that the late Prof. Kielhorn, who has edited the inscription in the Epigraphia Indica, followed Lassen in reading Vankshu, and not Vanku as proposed by Dr. Bühler. I connect the name of the sage with that of the god Vankesvara, whose temple was erected in Tummâņa before the time of Ratnadeva.39 Knowing, as we do, that the names of deities are often derived from those of the individuals who erect temples in their honour, 40 it is easy to conjecture that the temple of Vankeśvara may have been erected by some one named Vanku, and he may well have been a sage as stated in the Navasáhosánkacarita. We can at least infer that the idea of locating the hermit. age of a sage named Vanku must have suggested itself to the poet when he heard of the temple of Vankeśvara in Tummana. This temple was so well-known that Tummana, where it was situated, is called in one record Vanko-Tummana.1
We know that a son of Kokkalla I of Tripuri founded a kingdom in Tummaņa. From a remark in a charter of Jajalladeva I it appears that his descendants had to desert it after some time. It appears that towards the close of the tenth century Kalingaraja, a scion of the same dynasty, again occupied Tummâna and made it his capital. The place was, therefore, a flourishing one in the time of Sindhurája, and it is not surprising that the latter occupied it before marching on Ratnavati, the capital of Vajránkusa, which must have been situated not far from it. The close similarity between the names Ratnavati and modern Ratanpur in Chattisgadh, tempts one to identify the two. From the records of the Kala. curis of Ratanpur we know, however, that Ratanpur was founded by Ratnadeva or Ratnaraja," the son-in-law of Vajjúka, and if this statement is correct it could not have been in existence at this period. Beglar" has recorded a tradition current in Ratanpur that the place was, in ancient times, called Manipura, which is mentioned in the Mahabharata as the capital of a Näga king by whose daughter, Chitrangada, Arjuna had a brave son named Babhruv hana. 45 As our poet has slightly changed the names of persons and places figuring
35 See Ratanpur Stone Inscription of Jajalladeva, E.I., I, p. 32. 38 E.I., X, pp. 25 f. 37 1.A., XLVIII, p. 172. 3 Nagpur Prasasti, E.I., II, p. 182. 30 Cr. श्रीवकेशसुरालयप्रभृतयो रत्नेश्वरायास्तथा। यत्रोबानमसरव्यपुष्पसुफलं चारूच्चमानं वनम् । रत्नेशेन ससौधसयनिचि
473 freeHT: f r a: Tot 14:11 E.I., 1, p. 32. 46 Compare, o.g., Nohaleśvara dedicated by Nohala, the wife of Yuvarjadeva I of Tripuri.
*1 fagtagorretnigFhru : 1 afrTigreita 40177 24:1 A copper-plate of Ratnadeva II, Ind. His. Quarterly IV, p. 31.
12 TA ETT: :m a : Treits i STATE a fare il E.I., 1, p. 32. 43 C4.
S on ya Tar: tr asfat Fhiamartwi Farheitsraufa ftati ibid., p. 32. * A.S.T. Cunningham's Reports, vol. X, p. 216. 16 cf, Adiparvan, adhyâya 215, and Advamedhika parvan, ad. 95 (Bom. Ed.)