Political History of Northern India

Author(s): Gulabchandra Chaudhary
Publisher: Sohanlal Jain Dharm Pracharak Samiti Amrutsar

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POLITICAL HISTORY OF N. INDIA FROM JAIN SOURCES
which may mean the northern possessions of the Rāştrakūtas with the province of Lāta as a centre. The probability, therefore, is that it was by defeating the Răstrakūța prince Indrarāja that Dharmapāla regained Kānyakubja and bestowed it upon Cakrāyudha who was probably kept out of his possessions by the Răştrakūta power. In any case it seems to me that with the available data it is more reasonable to identify Indrarāja of the Bhāgalpur copper plates with the Rāstrakūța prince of the same name than with Indrāyudha mentioned in the Harivansa.1 But expressing my difference of opinion on this point with the learned scholar, I may say that it is a forced assumption due to absence of any other alternative, and this alternative is furnished by the Jain work Prabhāvaka Carita in the shape of ĀmaNāgāvaloka, whose identification with Indrarāja of Bhāgalpur copper plates seems more likely. Before attempting to place any arguments over the proposed identification, I want to discuss here the difficulties in case of the identification with Rāştrakūta Indrarāja. We know that Indrarāja was merely in-charge of the Lāța-mandala and nothing farther north. It is generally assumed that, that province was reconquered by Govinda III and handed over to his brother Indra. But no record, contemporary or later, attributes the conquest of that province to him. The word 'Íśvara' in the expression ‘Taddattalāțeśvaramandalasya' which occurs in the Baroda plates may well be due to metrical exigencies. It may be pointed out that the Baroda plates of Dhruva II use the expression "Lātiyam mandalam yastanaya iva nijasvāmi dattam rarakşa'. The fact, that the donee in the Pimpri plates of Dhruva is a resident of Jambusāra, would also suggest that southern Gujarāta was included in the Rästrakūta kingdom before the accession of Govinda III.2 The question, however, of the appointment to rule northern possessions does not arise. Moreover, the Rāstrakūta records do not claim the conquest of Kanauj at this time. Though the Sanjan record refers to the resounding of the Himālayan caves by the noise made at the times of the bath of the army of Govind in the Gangā, it is however possible that this may be merely a poetic exaggeration and the army of Govinda may not have marched much beyond the Gangā-Jamunā Doāb. And since Kanauj was not conquered, the probability of defeating a Rāstrakūta prince Indrarāja and from him capturing the Kānyakubja by Dharmapäla does not arise. On the other hand, we have another alternative to prove the validity of the Bhagalpur copper plates. This alterna
1 Ibid., p. 37 2 Altekar, A.D., The Rāstrakūtas and Their Times, p. 70, fn. 65. 3 Ibid., p. 66 fn. 52.