History of the Pallavas of Kanchi c9.s2.82

c9.s2.82

The earliest member of the Sanskrit charters figures as Kālabhartṛ in the Vēlūrpāḷayam plates, a name which along with his son’s name Chūta-pallava, sounds more eponymous than real. Kālabhartṛ is presumably identical with Kāṇagopa of the Kaśakkuḍi plates.¹ In the above arrangement we have indicated the possibility of Kālabhartṛ being identical with the Kumāravishṇu I of Ōmgōḍu No. 1 and Chūta-pallava with Skaṇdavarman I. Mr. Krishna Sastri who also makes this identification says that there is nothing in common between Kālabhartṛ and Kumāravishṇu.² The description of Kālabhartṛ as the ‘head-jewel of the family’ and as Vishṇu the husband of Indira (Lakshmi) in verse 6 of the Vēlūrpāḷayam plates lends support to the identification of this king with Kumāraviṣṇu of the Ōmgōḍu grant which suggests that his other name was a synonym of Viṣṇu. It is even possible that this Kumāraviṣṇu whom we identified with Kālabhartṛ was the same person as Viṣṇugopa, the adversary of Samudragupta. This identification has not been made hitherto, although there is nothing unreasonable in this view.