The Dynastic History of Northern India (Early Mediaeval Period) v1.c14.197

v1.c14.197

This inscription not only revives the high-sounding titles of his father but claims that he laid low at his feet the crests of the diadems of all the neighbouring princes. The dates on the colophon of MSS. which were copied during his reign range from 522 to 547 (1411—1426-27 A.D.).¹ These dates make him a contemporary of Śaktisiṁhadeva, the descendant of Harisiṁha, who according to Chinese annals was ruling in Nepal in 1413-1418 A.D. But his inscription appears to show that after 1418 the descendants of Harisiṁha lost all power in the Nepal valley; and this is consistent with the fact that the Chinese in 1427 got no response from them when the emperor Hiuen-te tried to renew friendly relations. Thus it seems likely that the claims to imperial power made by Jyotirmalla had some basis in fact. Another interesting feature in this inscription is the epithet ‘husband of Rājalladevī’ applied to his father (Jaya)-Sthitimalla, who is simply referred to without any titles as belonging to the *Sūryavaṁśa*. This probably suggests, as Bendall observed long ago, that “It was through his mother and not through his father that Jyotirmalla had any hereditary claim to the throne.” Jyotirmalla was not only a patron of literature as is evidenced by the large number of MSS. of his reign, but was also an author himself. We have already drawn attention to the treatise known as *Siddhi-sāra*, a work on astrology which claims to be composed by this king.²