Early History of the Dekkan down to the Mahomedan Conquest c21.86

c21.86

Hemâdri, the celebrated author, principally of works on Dharmaśâstra, flourished during the reigns of Mahâdeva and Râmachandra and was minister to both In the introduction to his works on Dharmaśâstra he is called Mahâdeva's *Śrîkaraṇâdhipa* or *Śrîkaraṇaprabhu* In the Thânâ copper-plate of 1194 Śaka also, he is said to have taken upon himself the *âdhipatya* or controllership of all *karaṇa* This office seems to have been that of chief secretary or one who wrote and issued all orders on behalf of his master and kept the state record Hemâdri is also called *Mantrin* or counsellor generally In his other works and in the Thânâ plate Râmarâja instead of Mahâdeva is represented as his master Mahâdeva's genealogy and his own are given at the beginning of his works on Dharma Sometimes the former begins with Singhaṇa, sometimes with Bhillama, while in the Dânakhaṇḍa the exploits of Mahâdeva alone are enumerated The description of the several princes is often couched in general terms and consists of nothing but eulogy. But the Vratakhaṇḍa, which was the first work composed by Hemâdri, contains, as we have seen, a very valuable account of the dynasty from the very beginning, and by far the greater portion of it is undoubtedly historical.