Indian Epigraphy c16.s2.151

c16.s2.151

Instead of the epithets *Paramabhāgavata* for a Vaiṣṇava ruler and *Paramamāheśvara* for a Śaiva king, we have differently worded epithets in rare cases. Thus the Vākāṭaka queen Prabhāvatiguptā called herself *Atyantabhagavadbhaktā* (staunchly devoted to the Bhagavat or the god Viṣṇu) and *Bhagavat-pād-ānudhyātā* (meditating on, or favoured by, the feet of Viṣṇu),³ while the epithet *Atyantamāheśvara* is found in the records of her son Pravarasena II.⁴ A number of rulers including the Traikūṭaka kings of the 5th century A.D. preferred to call themselves *Paramavaiṣṇava* (a devout worshipper of Viṣṇu).⁵ Probably they followed a school different from the Bhāgavata. The worship of the *Avatāras* (incarnations) of Viṣṇu is reflected in eipthets like *Paramanārasimha* (a devout worshipper of the Narasiṃha or man-lion incarnation of Viṣṇu) adopted by king Lakṣmaṇasena of Bengal, though most of his records represent him as *Paramavaiṣṇava*.⁶