History of India, c. 150 A.D. to 350 A.D.: Naga–Vakataka Imperial Period c17.s2.56

c17.s2.56

Vishnu Gopa gives the genealogy up to Skandavarman I who is described here without ‘Siva’, as also by Skandavarman II, his father.¹ Simhavarman II gives the genealogy up to Vīravarman, a name which is not repeated again in the family line. These two branches really constituted one continuous line reigning one after the other; Vishnu Gopa’s plate (I.A., V, 154) is dated under the reign of his elder brother, on the extinction of whose line Vishnu Gopa’s son evidently succeeded. But there was still another junior branch from Skandavarman II. This branch is established by two copperplates (E.I., VIII, 143; E.I., VIII, 233). The first is the British Museum plate by Chārudevī, wife of Yuvamahārāja Buddhavarman, issued in the reign of Vijaya Skandavarman (II), and the second is by Buddhavarman’s son Kumāra Vishnu (III) whose grandfather’s name was Kumāra Vishnu (II) and whose great-grandfather was Vijaya Skandavarman. It is thus clear that Buddhavarman who is described as Yuvamahārāja by his wife in the reign of Skandavarman II was the son of Kumāra Vishnu II, and not of Skandavarman II as generally supposed. He was Yuvamahārāja to his grandfather, and his father had evidently predeceased him. His relationship with Skandavarman (II) is not given in the British Museum plate. We know that Yuvarāja’s office was a ministerial post open to grandsons even in the life-time of their fathers.² Thus, the complete Pallava genealogy for our period will be as follows (those who reigned are numbered; nos. 1 to 7a complete our period):