Indian Epigraphy c6.s5.12

c6.s5.12

According to the Mahakuta pillar inscription,² the Cālukya king Kirtivarman I (566-98 A.D.) of Bādāmi defeated the rulers of Vaṅga, Aṅga, Kaliṅga, Vaṭṭūra, Magadha, Madraka, Kerala, Gaṅga, Mūṣaka, Pāṇḍya, Dramila, Choḷiya, Āluka and Vaijayantī. It is impossible to believe that Kīrtivarman I actually came into conflict with such far off lands as Vaṅga, Aṅga, Magadha and Madraka, especially in view of the fact that, in the Aihole praśasti of his own son Pulakeśin II who can hardly be expected to have concealed any of his father’s glorious achievements, Kīrtivarman I is credited with military success only against the Nalas, Mauryas and Kadambas, all of whom were neighbours of the Cālukyas of Bādāmi. The real basis of the tall claim made on behalf of Kīrtivarman I in the Mahakuta pillar inscription seems to be imagination.