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of the SUKRITASAMKIRTANA of ARISIMHA
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Durgāprasād and published in the Bombay Kāvyamālā, speaks of a fortunate war with the Muhammadas princes of Sindh and Ghazani. Since Bilhana was in Aṇhilvād during Karna's reign, and probably made an unsuccessful attempt to become the court poet of that king, his statement deserves credit. Then Someśvara, Arisimha's contemporary, narrates, in the Surathotsava,1 found by Dr. Bhandarkar, that his ancestor Ama, house-priest of king Karna, compelled an evil spirit (kritya) raised by the house-priest of the king of Dhārā, to kill its originator. The reason why the Paramāra prince's priest sought to destory the Chaulukya ruler was that the latter had invaded the dominion of Mälvä. Someśvara then without hesitation confirms Arisimha's assertion, and we may accept it as a fact that the feud between Mälva and Gujarat did not rest during Karna's reign.
Of Jayasimha's deeds it is related, vv. 23-38, that his cavalry bathed their horses in the Ganges (v. 32), that the air walker Barabaraka' carried him about in the atmosphere (v. 33), that he took prisoner Yaśovarman, king of Dhārā (v. 34), that he had the tank called Siddhasaras dug (v. 35), and a high pillar of victory (kirtistambha) built (v. 37). All these points are sufficiently known. It is only of interest that Barbaraka has here, as also in most of the other Prabandhas, become a purely mythical being. Verse 36 speaks of Jayasimha's worship of his mother, and alludes indeed to the narrative (Prabandhachintamani, p. 139), according to which the king, at the request of Mayaṇalladevi, remitted a tax imposed on pilgrims going to Somanathapaṭṭana by the officials at Bahuloḍa.
Verses 39-43, referring to Kumārpāla, first praise the favouring of the Jaina religion by this king, who abolished the confiscation of the goods of tradesmen dying without male heirs, and caused Vihars to be built in every city. Then his victories over the Jangalesa, i. e., Arņorāja of Sakambhari or Sambhar, and over the Kaunkana emperor, i. e. the Kadamba king Mallikarjuna, who ruled over the Konkan (Kirtikaumudi, II. 47 48 ), are celebrated. With respect to the latter, Arisimha gives a note which contradicts Someśvara's reports, but shews on the other hand that the representation of the later Prabandhachintamani is correct. It says, verse 43" What is wonderful in this strong one's (Kumarapala's) conquering even the Jangala princes, seeing the ruler of the marshland, the Kaunkaņa emperor, was defeated by his very tradesman (banij)?"
Someśvara, in the Kaumudi, ascribes both victories to the king himself; in the Prasasti of Tejaḥpala's temple at Abū (vv. 35-36) on the other hand, the first is ascribed to the Paramara Yasodhavala and the second to his son Dhārāvarsha. Merutunga, on the other hand, records in the Prabandhachintamani, p. 201 ff., that the Srimali-Vania Amrabhata, son of the counsellor Udayana, advanced twice. against the king of the Konkan. At first he suffered defeat, but in the second campaign he is said to have slain Mallikarjuna.
Kumarapala's successor is called in verse 44, Ajayadeva instead of Ajayapāla. This form of the name is also found elsewhere (see Ueber das Leben des J. M. Hemachandra, S.55, note 6). Like all Prabandhas, the Sukritasamkirtana mentions
1. Report on the Search, etc., 1883-84, p. 20.
2. See Bühler, Ueber das Leben des J. M. Hemachandra, Ss. 39-40.
3. See Ueber das Leben des J. M. Hemchandra, S. 9 and note 28.
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