Ancient History of the Deccan c6.s1.32

c6.s1.32

The Taḷaguṇḍa inscription (Ep. Ind., Vol VIII, page 30) gives a version, probably historical, of the origin of the Kadambas. There was a brahman belonging to the Mânavya gôtra named Mayûraśarman who was a native of Sthânakundur (Taḷaguṇḍa) and belonged to a family called Kadamba since a kadamba tree sheltered their house. He came to the capital of the Pallava empire to study the Vêdas and there had a quarrel with a horseman. Hearing it said that the brahman caste was inferior to that of the Kshatrias, he got angry, put himself at the head of a band of adventurers and attacked the Pallavas in the forests of Sri Parvata. With the help of Bṛihad-Bâna and other kings, he succeeded in founding the kingdom of which Banavâsi (Vaijayanti) was the capital. Mr. K. G. Sankara Iyer of Trivandrum in his excellent article on "The age of Kâlidâsa" published in the "Quarterly Journal of the Mythic Society," (Bangalore, Vol. VIII., July 1918) says: "It is probable that Mâyuraśarman took advantage of the confusion caused by Samudragupta's southern expedition to set himself up as an independent ruler". This hypothesis accords with the chronology we have adopted.