The Dynasties of the Kanarese Districts of the Bombay Presidency from the Earliest Historical Times to the Musalman Conquest c8.s6.96

c8.s6.96

Hemâdri, the celebrated author, principally of works on Dharmasâstra, flourished during the reigns of Mahâdeva and Râmachandra and was minister to both. In the introduction to his works on Dharmasâstra he is called Mahâdeva's Srikaranddhipa or Srikarana-prabhu. In the Thânâ copper-plate of 1194 Saka also, he is said to have taken upon himself the adhipatya or controllership of all karana. 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 Singhana, sometimes with Bhillama, while in the Dânakhanda 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 Vratakhanda, 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.