The Dynasties of the Kanarese Districts of the Bombay Presidency from the Earliest Historical Times to the Musalman Conquest c8.s11.179

c8.s11.179

⁴ It is mentioned in the Udayêndiram grant of a Gaṅga prince named Hastimalla, a vassal of the Chôḷa king Parântaka I. (Manual of the Salem District, Vol. II. p. 369; see also Epigraphia Indica, Vol. III. p. 165), and in an inscription of about the eleventh century A.D. at Kulbhavi in the Belgaum District (Ind. Ant. Vol. XVIII. p. 309), in which it is called "the banner of the divine Arhat." — There appears to have been an originally uniform practice of having one device for the lâñchhana or crest, used on the seals of copper-plate charters, at the tops, occasionally, of inscriptions on stone, and on coins, and another device for the dhvaja or banner; and, except in some metrical passages, the distinction is always marked by the use of the technical terms lâñchhana and dhvaja. The Pallavas had the bull-crest, and the banner bearing a representation of the club of the god Śiva. The Western Chalukyas of Bâdâmi, and doubtless the later dynasty of Kalyâṇi, had the boar-crest, and the pâlidhvaja or banner of a particular arrangement of flags in rows. The Râshṭrakûṭas of Mâlkheḍ had the Garuda-crest, and the pâlidhvaja, and also the ôka-kêtu or (?) bird-ensign. The Raṭṭas of Saundaṭṭi had the elephant-crest, and the Garuda-banner. The Kâdambas of Haṅgal had the lion-crest and the monkey-banner. The Kâdambas of Goa also had the monkey-banner; and the lion appears on their seals and coins. One branch of the Sindas had the tiger-crest, and the hooded-serpent banner; and another branch had the crest of a tiger and a deer, and the nîla-dhvaja or blue banner: And the Guttas of Guttal had the lion-crest, and the fig-tree and Garuda banners. — Among the later families there are some exceptions to the rule of shewing the crest on the seals of charters. The Kaḷachuryas of Kalyâṇi had the bull-banner; and the bull appears on the seals of the two charters which have come to light. The Yâdavas of Dêvagiri had the Garuda-banner; and the Garuda was used on the seals of their charters, — sometimes in connection with a representation of the monkey-god Hanumat, which may have been their crest (especially as in one instance it appears alone). The Śilâhâras, with the Garuda-banner, used the same device on their seals. The seal of the only copper-plate charter of the Raṭṭas of Saundaṭṭi that has come to light, shews the Garuda, — the device on their banner, — in spite of the elephant-crest being distinctly attributed to them. And the seals of some of the later charters of even the Râshṭrakûṭas of Mâlkheḍ, shew a representation of the god Śiva, instead of the Garuda-crest. — The Hoysalas of Dôrasamudra are represented as having both the tiger-crest and the tiger-banner. But the passages are in verse; and it is difficult to decide whether the device was that of the crest, or of the banner, or really of both.