History of Orissa from the Earliest Times to the British Period v1.c21: Chapter XIII
History of Orissa from the Earliest Times to the British Period v1.c21
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Chapter XIII
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In the dark period which intervenes between the fall of the Kara dynasty and the conquest of Northern Orissa by the Eastern Gaṅgas of Kaliṅganagara, several petty dynasties ruled over different parts of Orissa. Among them the best known are the Śulkis, Nandas and the Tuṅgas. At one time I supposed that the term Śulki was a modern corruption of Śolāṅki, *i. e.*, Chālukya or Chaulukya of the inscriptions, but the discovery of the Haraha inscription of the Maukhari Īśanavarman of v. s. 611-554 ¹ has placed the Śulkis in a different position. We learn from the 13th verse of this record that:
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¹ *Epi. Ind. Vol. XIV, pp. 110-21.*
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"Who, being victorious and having princes bending at his feet, occupied the throne after conquering the lord of the Andhras, who had thousands of threefold rutting elephants, after vanquishing in battle the Śūlikas who had an army of countless galloping horses, and after causing the Gauḍas, living on the sea-shore, in future to remain within their proper realm.²"
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² *Ibid., p. 120.*
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This proves that even in the middle of the 6th century A. D., the Śulkis occupied some portion of Orissa between the Gauḍas of Bengal in the North, and the Andhras in the South. The Śulkis are known from a number of their grants on copper plates, the majority of which were discovered recently in the Dhenkanal State of Orissa.
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Previous to this discovery this family was known from two inscriptions only of Kulastambha. The late Mr. Monmohan Chakravarti, the pioneer of historical research work in Orissa, published the earliest known grant of the Śulki kings in 1895, but at that time the dynasty and the mediæval history of Orissa was so little known that even the name of the king, Kulastambha, could not be correctly read.¹
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¹ *Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Vol. LXIV, 1895, pp. 125ff.*
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The next inscription was discovered sixteen years later and was brought to notice by Mr. Nagendra Nath Vasu in three separate publications :
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(1) *The Archæological Survey of Mayurbhanja Vol. I, pp. 157 ff.*
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(2) *Banger Jatiya Ithihās, Vaiśya Kāṇḍa, pp. 303-04.*
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(3) *Baṅgīya Sāhitya Parishad Patrikā, Vol. XVIII, pp. 59 ff.*
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According to the genealogy given in this inscription Kāñchanastambha was an ornament of the Śulki family. His son was Kalahastambha alias Vikramāditya. His son was Raṇastambha and his son, again, Kulastambha. This Kulastambha is called *Paramabhaṭṭāraka* and a *Rāṇaka*. Immediately before his name, but without any epithet or word denoting the relationship between the two, comes the name of Raṇastambha, who is styled a *Mahārājādhirāja*. In 1911 the late Mr. V. Venkayya compelled me to accept Kalahastambha as another name of Raṇastambha. I pointed out to the then editor of the Epigraphia Indica that Raṇastambha being a *Mahārājādhirāja* could not be the same person as Kalahastambha a mere *Rāṇaka*. But the editor thought that according to South Indian Epigraphy this is the only way of denoting the relationship. Therefore, inspite of the apparent discrepancy the mistake was allowed to stand.¹
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¹ *Epi. Ind. Vol. XII. p. 156.*
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The discovery of the Dhenkanal plates raised more complications which must be studied in detail before the entire situation can be grasped. Plate A of the Dhenkanal collection does not contain any genealogy of the donor, Raṇastambha, who is styled *Mahāsāmantādhipati*. This grant was issued in the year 33 of the dark half of *Kārttika*.² Grant B of the same collection is one of Kulastambha who is styled *Mahārāja* and *Gondamādhinātha*, "The Lord of the Gondamas." Mahāmahopādhyāya Dr. Hara Prasād Sastri, the learned editor of the Dhenkanal plates, rightly concludes that at the end of 1.5 of the grant B, certain lines have been omitted which are to be found in plate C of the reign of Jayastambha. In plate B Vikramāditya is mentioned as the first person of the dynasty. The same verse in plate C substitutes Kulastambha’s name for that of Vikramāditya. We meet common verses once more in 1.10 of plate B and 1.³ of plate C which introduce Raṇastambha, as in the case of the Talcher plate of Kulastambha edited by me in 1911. Plate B introduces Kulastambha without any connecting word denoting relationship immediately after Raṇastambha.
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There is no date in plate B.³ In plate C, which is more or less complete, we find the name of Kulastambha in 1.², that of Raṇastambha in 1.4 and immediately afterwards we find that his son was Jayastambha. This plate also does not bear any date.¹ From this plate it is certainly clear that Kulastambha was the grandfather and Raṇastambha the father of a Jayastambha, who is also styled Lord of all the Gondamas but a Mahārājādhirāja. Plate D of the Dhenkanal set is very simple, as it does not contain any metrical portion. It states that the donor Jayastambha was the son of Nidayastambha. The fifth plate or plate E is also a grant of a king named Ālānastambha, who is styled *Paramabhaṭṭāraka*. In the genealogical portion of this plate we find a number of details which confirm the statements of the Talcher plates of Kulastambha. Thus, the first person in the Śulkī family is mentioned as Kāñchanastambha. From him was born Kanādastambha, which is evidently a mistake for Kalahastambha. No other names are legible in the metrical portion of plate B. In the prose portion, which follows immediately, we find Jayastambha, the son of Ālānastambha, as the donor.² We are, therefore, faced with a number of varying genealogies of kings bearing similar names. All of these kings belong to the same locality, as all the plates were issued from Kodāloka or mentioned that place as the locality from which the order was issued. In order to understand the genealogical portion it will be necessary to place all of them together :
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² *Journal of the Bihar and Orissa Research Society, Vol. II, 1916, pp. 397-8.*
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³ *Ibid. pp. 401-03.*
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¹ *Ibid.*, pp. 406-7.
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² *Ibid.*, pp. 413-15.
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I. The Talcher plate states that the donor Kulastambha was the son of Raṇastambha, grandson of Kalahastambha and the great grandson of Kāñchanastambha.
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II. Dhenkanal plate A : Raṇastambha, no genealogy, but the year 33.
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III. Dhenkanal plate B : Kulastambha, his father Raṇastambha, his father Vikramāditya but no date.
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IV. Dhenkanal plate C : Jayastambha, his father Raṇastambha and his grandfather Kulastambha, but no date.
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V. Dhenkanal plate D : Jayastambha and his father Nidayastambha, but no other name and no date.
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VI. Dhenkanal plate E : Jayastambha, his father Ālānastambha, his father Kaṇadastambha (probably a mistake for Kalahastambha) Vikramāditya and his father Kāñchanastambha.
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VII. Orissa plate of unknown locality : Raṇastambha, his father Kulastambha and his grandfather Kāñchanastambha.¹
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¹ Ibid., pp. 168-71.
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VIII. Puri plate of Raṇastambha,² son of Kulastambha.
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² Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Old series, Vol, LXIV, 1895, pp. 125-26.
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The plate from some unknown locality (plate VII in the list given above) in Orissa proves the Northern extremity of the territory of the Śulkis. As proved by my teacher Mahāmahopādhyāya Dr. Hara Prasad Śastri, this charter of Raṇastambha records the donation of some land in the village of Jāṛā in the sub-district (Khaṇḍa) to a Brāhmaṇa named Pauchuka, son of Hari, grandson of Baghu of the Kāṇva Śākhā of the Yajur-veda. After mentioning the boundaries of the land to be granted the scribe mentions that the Khaṇḍa was situated in the district (Maṇḍala) of Rāḍhā. Rāḍhā has already been proved by me to belong to Western Bengal, consisting of the major part of the modern Burdwan Division.¹ The village and sub-district of Jārā has been correctly identified by the learned editor of this plate with a village of that name in the modern district of Hooghly. Jārā was until lately a very large village near the boundary of the districts of Hooghly and Midnapur. The learned editor also notes that there is a body of cultivators in the district of Midnapur who call themselves Śuklī and trace their origin to a place called Kedāloka. The term Śuklī has been produced, without any doubt, by the modern Sanskritizing tendency from the old Śulki, and Kedāloka is without doubt the Kodāloka of the inscription. The Śulkīs, therefore, belong to Northern Orissa, which once contained the modern district of Midnapur. With the exception of this information there is nothing of historical importance in the whole range of Śulkī inscriptions.
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¹ History of Bengal Vol. I (Bengali) 2nd Edition, B. S. 1330, pp. 322, 327; N. G. Majumdar, Inscriptions of Bengal, Vol. III, 1929, pp. 69; 94.
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Plate A of the Dhenkanal series records the grant of the village of Kolāmpoṅka to a Brāhmaṇa named Bhaṭṭa Sudarśana of the Gautama gotra and the Vājasaneya Śakhā of the Yajur-veda. The most interesting feature of this grant is the mention of Stambheśvarī as the tutelary deity of the Śulkīs. In the cases of other dynasties of Orissa this goddess Stambheśvarī is called the deity who had given boons to the kings of the Bhañja dynasty. Plate B of the Dhenkanal set is by the same Kulastambha who granted a Talcher plate. This prince is styled a Mahārāja and the Lord of the Gondas. The charter records the grant of the village of Jhaṛabāḍa in the Khaṇḍa of Goyilla in the district (Maṇḍala) of Śaṅkhajoti to a Brāhmaṇa of the Kāśyapa gotra of the Mādhyandina Śākhā named Bhaṭṭa Bṛihaspati, who had immigrated from the village of Nidhati in the Middle Country (Madhya-deśa). Plate C of the same set was issued by Jayastambha, son of Raṇastambha, who is called Mahārājadhirāaj and Lord of the Gondas. This charter records the grant of the village of Chandrapura in the Khaṇḍa of Koṅkula in the district (vishaya of Goyilla) apparently of the Kodāloka Maṇḍala to a Brāhmaṇa of the Śāṇḍilya gotra, Chhandoga charana and Kauthuma Śākhā of the Sāmaveda, named Babana, who had immigrated from Kolāñcha. The only interesting point in this record is the name Kolāñcha which is also to be found in the Pachabh plate of Saṅgrāmagupta.¹ This Kolāñcha is mentioned in the genealogical tables of Bengali Brāhmaṇas as the place from which king Ādiśūra of Bengal obtained Brāhmaṇas versed in the Vedas who are regarded as the progenitors of most of the high class Brāhmaṇas of Bengal. It is evident from a comparison of the genealogy that Jayastambha was a brother of Kulastambha being the son of Raṇastambha and the grandson of Kalahastambha alias Vikramāditya. Plate D of the same set is also a grant of Jayastambha, who appears to be the same as the donor of the previous grants but his genealogy is omitted. He is simply called son of Nidayastambha. The charter refers to the grant of the village of Llolapura in the district (*Maṇḍala*) of Koḍāloka to a Brāhmaṇa named Ṛshivaka of the Kāśyapa *Gotra* who had immigrated from Mutavashu on the occasion of a Solar eclipse. Plate E of the same set is also a charter granted by Jayastambha. There is regular genealogy in this inscription consisting of the names of Kāñchanastambha, his son Kanādastambha or Kalahastambha, *alias* Vikramāditya, his son Ālānastambha and his son, Jayastambha. The charter records the grant of some village or land in the *Khaṇḍa* of Tahākula in the district (*Maṇḍala*) of Kagabimulākatmaśiṅga, to a Brahmana named *Chitra-dīkshita* Gobbarahuti-Śraman of the Parāśara *gotra*, who had immigrated from the village of Hastipada. The grant of Raṇastambha from an unknown locality contains the names of Kāñchanastambha, his son Kulastambha or Kalahastambha, and his son Raṇastambha. The charter records the grant of some land in the village of Jārā in the sub-district or *Khaṇḍa* of the same name in the district or *Maṇḍala* Rāḍhā. In the Puri plate of Raṇastambha the genealogy begins with Kulastambha, his son, whose name is omitted, but is mentioned later on. The entire plate is full of mistakes and it is impossible now to restore any part of it, though many new inscriptions have been discovered in later years. The charter records the grant of the village of Kankanira, in the *Khaṇḍa* of Ulo in the district of Śaṅkhajoṭikā, which is also mentioned in Dhenkanal plate B, to a Brāhmaṇa of the Vatsa *gotra*, of the Yajur-veda, named Vatsapālaka. The second Puri plate records the grant of the village Pajara in the same sub-district to a Brāhmaṇa named Veluka. The discovery of many other inscriptions of the Sulki dynasty has rendered older speculations of the identity of Kulastambha futile.¹
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¹ Journal of the Bihar and Orissa Research Society, Vol. V, 1919, pp. 582-96.
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¹ *Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal*, Old Series, Part I, Vol. LXIV. 1895, pp. 123-27.
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Small shrine in right hand corner of the ground floor—Rani Nur Gumpha
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The Tuṅgas are known from fewer inscriptions, and the earliest record of this dynasty was published by Prof. Nilmani Chakravarti, M. A., in 1909. This inscription records a grant of land by a king named Gayāḍatuṅga. He is said to have belonged to the Śāṇḍilya *gotra* and to have acquired royalty for himself. Their original home was Rohitagiri, which is also mentioned as the home of the Chandra kings of Vikramapura or Eastern Bengal. The first king was Jagaṭtuṅga, the grand-father, the second was his son, Salāṇatuṅga, the father of Gayāḍatuṅga. The charter records a grant in the village of Toro, in the district (*Vishaya*) in the division *Maṇḍala* of Yamagarta to a number of Brāhmaṇas who have immigrated from Ahichhatra in the United Provinces to the village of Kuruva in the district (*Vishaya*) of Oḍra. The village lands were distributed in the following manner:—(1) one-sixth *Māla* to Dado, son of Govinda, and grandson of Kāka Ojhā, (2) the same quantity to Trivikrama and Purushottama, sons of Vishnu Dikshita, (3) one-eighteenth *Māla* to five brothers, Rāmadeva, etc., sons of Madhusūdana, (4) the same quantity to Vishnu, son of Duvilla, (5) the same quantity to Ghallo, son of Sāha, (6) one-sixth *Māla* to Nārāyaṇa, son of Ghallidāma, (7) one-twelfth *Māla* to the three brothers Śrī-Ghosha, etc., sons of Vedaghosha, (8) one-eighteenth *Māla* to Trilochan, son of Trivikrama, (9) one-thirtysixth *Māla* to Baladeva, son of Avida, (10) one-twelfth *Māla* to Manorava and Devaśarman, sons of Pauma, and (11) the same quantity to Sadhovana, son of Ananta. The term *Māla* means a cultivable field which was probably the standard. None of the localities have been identified. The grant is not dated and has been assigned to the 11th century A. D.¹ The second inscription of the Tuṅga dynasty was discovered in the State of Tālcher and was brought to notice for the first time by Mr. Nagendra Nath Vasu, but was re-edited by me in 1916.² This inscription is also a charter of the same king, the genealogy and the historical information is practically the same. This charter records the grant of the village of Vāmaitalla in the district (*Vishaya*) of Tuṅkerā to three Brāhmaṇas. Half of the village went to Devaśarman, son of Padama, one-fourth to Vṛṣṭideva, son of Lallada and his son Rāmadeva. The family of Devaśarman had immigrated from the Utharutha Bhaṭṭa or Brāhmaṇa village in the district of Varendra or Northern Bengal to the village of Savir in the district of Oḍra or Orissa. He belonged to the Kāśyapa *gotra* and the Kāṇva *sākhā* of the Yajur-veda. Vṛṣṭideva and his son, Rāmadeva, had immigrated from Śrāvastī and belonged to the Vātsya *gotra*, though his *sākhā* and Veda were the same as that of Devaśarman. The inscription contains the peculiar word *Rupya* followed by the numerals 40 and 4 which cannot be explained. The only other known inscription of this dynasty is the Bonai plate of Vinīta-tuṅga II. This king belongs to the same family as Gayaḍatuṅga, as he called an emigrant from Rohitagiri and as belonging to the Śāṇḍilya *gotra* three generations of kings are mentioned: Vinitatuṅga I, his son Khaḍgatuṅga, and his son Vinitatuṅga II; the charter records the grant of the village of Koinjarī in the district (*vishaya*) of Khambāi, in the *maṇḍala* Yamagartta to a Brāhmaṇa named Harshānala of the Hārīta *gotra*. The donor, Vinitatuṅga II, is styled Mahārāja Rāṇaka, Lord of the eighteen Goṇḍas and one who has obtained the five great sounds.¹
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¹ *Proceedings and Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, New Series, Vol. V, 1909, pp. 347-50.—Pls. XVII-XVIII.*
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² *The Archæological Survey of Mayūrbhañja, Vol. I, pp. 152ff. With plates, P. & J. A. S. B. Vol. XII, 1916 pp. 291-5; Pls, III-IV.*
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¹ *Journal of the Bihar and Orissa Research Society*, Vol. VI, 1919, pp. 238-40.
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Among the minor dynasties which abounded in Orissa until mediaeval times mention must be made of Jayasiṃha of the Dhenkanal plate. His genealogy is not given in Dhenkanal plate F. But from the mention of the district of Yamagartta it seems that he had preceded the Tuṅgas. The characters are older than the 11th century A. D. The charter was issued from the royal residence at Mandākini and record the grant of the village of Kāryāṭi in the district of Yamagartta to two Brāhmaṇas named Mahendrasvāmin and Skandasvāmin of the Autathya *gotra* and the Bahvṛicha *charaṇa* of the Ṛigveda.² The grant is dated in the year 99 of some unknown era. The donor Jayasiṃha is called Lord of all Gondamas and one who had obtained the five great sounds. A new dynasty of Buddhist Kings of Orissa is known from the Bonai second plate of Udayavarāha. In this inscription the genealogy begins with Uditavarāha, who belonged to the Mayūra family and was an inhabitant of Tālai *maṇḍala*, but had emigrated from the hermitage of Vaśiṣṭha at Chitrakūṭa.
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² *Ibid.*, Vol II, 1916, pp. 416-9.
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In his famiy was born Tejavarāha (Tejovarāha) and his son was Udayavarāha. The donor is styled Māhārāja-Rāṇaka, who had obtained the five great sounds, and the devout Buddhist (*Parama-saugata*). The charter records the grant of the village of Kondāsamā attached to the *vishaya* of Kokelā, in the *maṇḍala* of Tālai to two Brāhmaṇas named Bhaṭṭa Purushottama of the Parāśara *gotra* and Vājasaneya *charaṇa* of the Yajur-veda and Bhaṭṭa Bachāpā of the Kauśika *Gotra*.¹ Up to the time of writing no other inscription of the dynasty has been discovered.
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¹ *Ibid., Vol. VI, 1919, pp. 241-45.*
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Another dynasty of little known chiefs of Orissa are the Nandas who are known to us from two inscriptions only. The most important among these two records is a dated inscription recently published by Prof. A. Banerji-Sastri, M. A., PH. D., of the Patna College. The chiefs of this dynasty claimed to be descended from Nanda, who is not specified. It may be the mythical Nanda, the cow-herd, the foster-father of the hero-god Kṛṣṇa, or it may be the Nanda kings of Magadha. The first chief was Jayānanda, and his son was Parānanda, Parānanda's son was Śivānanda, whose son was Devānanda, surnamed Vilāsaṭuṅga. The genealogy is exactly the same in the two records discovered up to date. The first of these published by Dr. A. Banerji-Sastri was discovered in the state of Dhenkanal. This charter records the grant of a field called Śilodā in the district (*khaṇḍa*) Jārāsama of the Airapaṭṭa Maṇḍala to a Brāhmaṇa named Bhaṭa, who was an inhabitant of Jambuvadā and had emigrated from Khambhavaṇa and belonged to the Navarchhasya *gotra*. This grant is dated in the style of some of the early Gaṅga plates, in which the hundreds and tens are expressed in ancient letter numerals but the units in the decimal notation. The date in this plate appears to be the year 373 of the Harsha era, the bright half of the 5th day of Bhādra¹ equal to August, September 978-79 A.D. In this grant the king’s name is written Devānanda in the seal and the metrical portion, but in the prose portion it is written from Dhruvānanda (l. 25). The grant was issued from Jayapura. The second inscription was also discovered in the Dhenkanal State and was handed over to me for publication by Pundit Tarakeśwar Ganguly of the Mayur-bhañj State. The genealogy is exactly the same and the king’s name is identical both in the metrical and the prose portion. This charter records the grant of the village of Laṃheva in the district (vishaya) of Potodā in the province (maṇḍala) Airapaṭṭa to a Brāhmaṇa named Vahmad-dhara, who had emigrated from Puṇḍravarddhana or northern Bengal and who was an inhabitant of Nārāyaṇapura. The donee belongs to the Kāṇva śākhā of the Yajur-veda and the Kṛṣṇātreya gotra. This grant is not dated. In both inscriptions the king is called the chief of the great Sāmantas; he is styled a devout Buddhist (Parama-saugata) in the dated plate but a Śaiva in the new plate. Nothing further is known about the Nanda chiefs.
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¹ Journal of the Bihar and Orissa Research Society, Vol. XV, pp. 87-91. The date is not Saka 1373 as the learned editor imagines.