The Dynastic History of Northern India (Early Mediaeval Period) v1.c14.149

Language: English

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I have already referred to the phantom successors of Nānyadeva (c. 1097 A.D.), who for about 200 years held Tirhut and claimed a nominal suzerainty over the valley of Nepal. The Vaṁśāvalis by transferring their contemporary Malla kings of the Valley into the "indefinitely elastic past," treat these Karṇāṭakas as the real rulers of Nepal. Thus Anantamalla for whom we have dates ranging from 1280 to 1307 A. D. is made a contemporary of Nānyadeva, while the latter himself is transferred to *Śaka* 811 (*c.* A.D. 889). According to the chronicles of Wright and Bhagwanlal, Harideva was the last direct descendant of Nānyadeva to rule in Nepal.¹ But we have already seen that two sets of kings ruled continuously and separately in Nepal and Tirhut during this period. In the Katmandu inscription of Pratāpa (malladeva) the name of Harisiṁha comes last in the list of 6 successors of Nānyadeva.² The same inscription calls him *Karṇāṭa-cūḍāmaṇi*, "the crest-jewel of Karṇāṭa." Caṇḍeśvara, the author of *Kṛtya-ratnākara* and *Kṛtya-cintāmaṇi*, who was a minister of Harisiṁha, designates his master as *Karṇāṭa-vaṁśodbhava* and *Karṇāṭādhipa*.³ Thus we can readily reject the assumption of the local Vaṁśāvalī, which try to connect him with the indigenous dynasties of the Nepal valley. The foundations for such statements of the local historians however may lie in the fact that Harisiṁha may have tried to pose as the legitimate heir of Nepalese sovereigns after his conquest of the Valley.

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In the beginning of his reign Harisiṁha appears to have ruled over Tirhut from his capital Simraon. Removed from the great highways of the Islamic armies, the Karṇāṭakas of Tirhut long succeeded in maintaining their independence. But in the reign of Harisiṁha an unexpected move on the part Ghiyāth ud-Din Tughluq Shāh (1320-25 A.D.) brought them into conflict with the Sulṭāns of Delhi. In 1324 Ghiyāth ud-Dīn undertook an expedition to Bengal. On his way back he passed through Tirhut.⁴ Firishta supplies the following account of the incidents on his journey. "It is related that as the Sultan was passing near the hills of Tirhoot, the Raja appeared in arms, but was pursued into the woods. Finding his army could not penetrate them, the king alighted from his horse, called for a hatchet, and cut down one of the trees with his own hands. The troops on seeing this applied themselves to work with such spirit that the forest seemed to vanish before them. They arrived at length at a fort, surrounded by seven ditches full of water and a high wall. The king invested the place, filled up the ditches, and destroyed the wall in three weeks. The Raja and his family were taken, and great booty obtained, while the government of Tirhoot was left in the hands of Ahmud Khan, the son of Mullik Tubligha, after which the king returned towards Dehly."¹ That this 'Raja of Tirhoot' was Harisiṁha appears to be suggested by the traditional date N.S. 444 (A.D.

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1324) of the latter's invasion of Nepal,² and the references in contemporary literature to his conflicts with the Musalmans. Thus in the *Dāna-ratnākara* of Caṇḍeśvara, he is described as having rescued the earth flooded by the *Mlecchas* while in the *Dhūrta-samāgama*, a two-act comedy played in Harisiṁha's court, he is said to have conquered the *Suratrāṇa* (Sulṭān). His invasion of Nepal however was forced upon him. Unable to meet the Sulṭān's armies in the open field he appears to have fled towards the northern hills. When Simraon, which is probably the 'fort surrounded by seven ditches' fell, he entered Nepal with his followers.³ I have already shown that the condition of Nepal at this period was such that it could offer no effective resistance to Harisiṁha. The reigning king Jayarudramalla appears to have submitted to the invader, who established his headquarters at Bhatgaon, and gradually extended his power over the whole Valley. The Vaṁśāvalīs describe the successors of Harisiṁha as the legitimate sovereigns of Nepal. Under the designation of the Sūryavaṁśī dynasty of Bhatgaon some of them give us the following list of these princes :¹