Jignasa Journal Of History Of Ideas And Culture Part 01

Author(s): Vibha Upadhyaya and Others
Publisher: University of Rajasthan

Page 162

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have been offered. Chapter 2 takes stock of the recent discoveries of the Väkātaka charters which constitute more than 50% of the total volume of the epigraphy of the Vākāțakas known earlier and with a major portion of whose discovery Shăstri was intimately associated. A perusal of it would leave no doubt that it is substantial not only in volume but extremely rich in contents and has helped remove some erroneous notions going round till recently. In chapter 3 Shāstri also drew attention of scholars to some coins attributable to the Vākāțakas. Literary sources, which are constituted exclusively by the Purāņic references, have not been dealt with in this part as they are discussed at length in part II. Having familiarized the readers with the source-material, in part II Shāstri provides a historical outline of the Vākātak a dynasty. The critical assessment of the evidence has led him to certain new conclusions some of which may be referred to here: the original Vākāțaka territory lay in the Vindhyan region of Central India wherefrom they immigrated about 300 A.D., under Pravarasena l into Vidarbha to spread their wings far and wide, Kāñchanakā (modern Nachna) was their first dynastic capital, the Vindhyan region continued under the dynasty till the time of Pịthivīşena I, Dāmodarasena and Pravarasena II were two distinct personages who ascended the throne one after another, Narendrasena's accession was disputed and towards the close of his reign he was deprived of his kingdom by his Vatsagulma cousins, and the Vatsagulma branch of the dynasty aspired to spread its wings in south and west from its very inception.
XIII Hans T. Bakker's The Väkätakas : An Essay in Hindu Iconology (1997) was the last work published on this subject in the twentieth century. Though certainly a highly valuable piece or research, in it Bakker tries to place the kingdom of the Vākātakas "on a par with the Gupta world" 53 His work is divided into two parts. Part I titled "The History and Religion of the Väkätakas' is further divided in 3 chapters: L. A Short History of the Vākātaka Kingdom (pp. 9-57); 2. The Hindu Religion in the Vākāțaka Kingdom (pp.58-79); and 3. The Vākāțaka Sites (pp. 80-92). In part II titled 'A Catalogue of Vākāțaka Hindu Sculpture' we find a detailed discussion on plates I to XL (pp. 93- 159). Then, there are 3 appendices: 1. The Kevala-Narasimha Temple Inscription (pp. 160-67); 2. Gupta-Vākātaka Genealogy (p. 168); and 3. Outline of the Vākāțaka Chronology (pp. 169-71). Finally, Bibliography (pp. 172-92), Indeices (pp. 193-211), Plates (pp. 213-60) and Maps (pp. 261-65) are given.
Though Bakker's work builds on the achievements of many earlier scholars, including V.V. Mirăshi, S.R. Goyal, Ajay Mitra Shāstri, A. P. Jamkhedkar and many others, yet it is different from the works of most of his predecessors. Firstly, Bakker considers it no longer productive to concentrate exclusively on one branch of the Vākātakas by ignoring or marginalizing the evidence with regard to the other branch. He writes:
The kings of Vatsagulma and Nandivardhana made up one family and their history is that of one family for all it is worth: divorce and rapprochement, dominance and submission, peaceful coexistence marred by fits of rivalry, occasionally erupting into
downright civil war. 54 He further writes:
Not only is the political history of both houses interlocked, but so is their religion and culture. An attempt will be made to show that the art of Ajanta can no longer be detached from the artistic achievements of the eastern Väkātakas. On the other hand