The Rashtrakutas and their Times c8.34

c8.34

This line obviously refers to हिरण्यगर्भ महादान which Dantidurga had given at Ujjayini, as we know from the recently published Sanjan plates of Amoghavarsha I. It is, therefore, clear that Maharaja S'arva who is mentioned in V. 25 of the Das'avatara record must be obviously Dantidurga, whose exploits are the topic of eulogy from V. 23. If we assume that it is Amoghavarsha I and not Dantidurga who is referred to in the last line of V. 25, which refers to king S'arva, we shall have to suppose that the record passes over, entirely unnoticed, as many as four rulers, viz. Krishna I, Govinda II, Dhruva and Govinda III. This is extremely improbable, since the author of the Das'avatara inscription has devoted several verses to describe the imaginary careers of the predecessors of Dantidurga. He would have waxed ten times eloquent in describing the all-India exploits of Dhruva and Govinda III; Buhler, who had edited the record, had realised that king S'arva could not be identified with Amoghavarsha I; he had proposed to regard him as a brother or a minister of Dantidurga. (A. S. I., V, pp. 186 ff.) This view, however, overlooks the fact the V. 25 describes the महादान ceremony of S'arva as something which other kings could not have thought of emulating, even in dream. This statement would have been altogether inappropriate and wide of the mark, if S'arva were a younger brother or a minister of Dantidurga. To conclude, the last ruler mentioned in this record is Dantidurga S'arva and therefore the record may well be a contemporary document. But as it is incomplete, one cannot be positive on the point.