History of the Pallavas of Kanchi c9.21

c9.21

A doubt has been raised² whether the Vishṇugopa mentioned in the Allahabad pillar inscription is to be regarded as a member of the Pallava dynasty or otherwise. The Vishṇugopa, described as belonging to Kāñchi, could be no other than a member of the Pallava dynasty although he is not described as a Pallava affiliated to the Bhāradvāja-gotra as the kings of the copper-plate charters are. The consideration which makes the surmise almost certain is that the name is a characteristic Pallava name in the same manner as Nandivarman may be regarded as peculiar to the Pallava dynasty. The name does not occur in any other royal dynasty so far known to us. There is moreover no probability of any other royal dynasty having ruled at Kāñchīpuram just at the period of Samudragupta’s raid, other than the Pallava. All these considerations taken along with the fact that the chieftains mentioned in the Allahabad pillar inscription are associated only with the capital city of their kingdoms and not with their dynastic or family names, lead to the conclusion that Vishṇugopa, of Kāñchi, the adversary of Samudragupta, was a member of the Prakrit or early Sanskrit charters. We are not at present in a position to know anything more about him except his encounter with Samudragupta, and the probability of his being devoted to Vishṇu as is apparent by the name. No copper-plate, which may be expected to throw light on his reign, has been brought to light yet. But the passage in the Allahabad inscription makes it plain that in the middle of the fourth century A.D., there reigned on the banks of the Godavari and the Krishna and in their vicinity a number of powerful chieftains such as Hastivarman of Vengi, presumably identical with the Sālankāyana king of that name, Nīlarāja of Avamukta, Ugrasēna of Palakka and others.