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THE DYNASTIES OF CENTRAL INDIA
III. THE KALACŪRIS OF DĀHALA
The Kalacũri is an important branch of the Haihayas, a very ancient race, which traces its origin from Sahasrărjuna. They have been referred to in the epigraphs from the sixth century A.D. down to the 15th century. Their early capital was at Māndhātā,” which later came to be known as Māhişmati.
The earliest reference to the Kalacūris during our period is found in the Jain inscription of Ravikirti from Aihole (634 A.D.), wherein it is stated that the Cālukya king Mangaleśa defeated them in the course of an expedition to the north. It seems that at that time the pressure of their power was felt in the Deccan. But during the later period, they extended their sway farther to the north upto the Tarāi and it became possible only after the gradual decline and downfall of the Gurjara Pratīhāras.
Gängeyadeva: We learn from the Purātana Prabandha-sangraha that Găigeya Kumāra, a prominent ruler of the dynasty, is called lord of Vārānasi (Vārāṇasīpati) whose reign is generally assigned from c. 1019 A.D. to 1041 A.D.4
It is known from the history of the dynasty that Gāngeyadeva was a powerful monarch of the Dāhala branch of Kalacūris. The Piawān rock inscription shows that Gāngeyadeva succeeded his father named Kokalla II as a king of Dāhala," and supports the extension of his power upto the Gangā in the north. The fact that Vārāṇasi was in possession of Ganga (Gängeya) is remarkably confirmed by the Moslem historians. Abu Baihaqi tells us in his work, the Tarikh-i-Subuktigin, that when Ahmed Niyaltigin, (c. 1030-40 A.D.) invaded Banaras (c. 1034 A.D.), that city belonged to the territory of Ganga.
The increasing power of Gāngeyadeva caused much anxiety to the contemporary king Paramāra Bhoja. The Bhoja-Gängeya-prabandha of the Purātana Prabandha-sangraha refers to a defeat of Gāngeyadeva at the hands of king Bhoja. It states that once Gāngeyadeva of Vārāṇasī invaded
astrideritaan
1 DV., Canto IX, V. 39 records that Puranic version : ध्वापतायते।
2 DHNI., II, pp. 738-39. 3 EI., VI, p. 2: 3patata Torta care sati 4 SJGM., II, p. 20: PRAT: Tor: 1 5 ASR., XXI, pp. 112-13 and plate XXVIII. 6 DHNI., II, p. 773. 11
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