The Dynastic History of Northern India (Early Mediaeval Period) v1.c17.s1.13

v1.c17.s1.13

Rai Bahadur Hiralal suggested that the sons of Bālārjuna being driven out from the Śrīpura kingdom by the dynasty which is usually designated as the 'Śarabhapura kings,' gradually carved out a new kingdom in that portion of the Mahanadi valley which is now known as the Sambalpur tract in Orissa.¹ Whatever may be the value of this suggestion it appears certain that the memory of their sovereignty in Śrīpura did not prevent the Orissan Somavaṁśīs from changing some of the more important features of their administration. For though the Orissan kings had similar names and were also known as 'lord of Kosala' (*Kosalendra*), yet we miss the well-known *Garuḍa* of the Śrīpura kings on their seals. Their seals, like those of the Kalacuris of Tripurī and Tummāṇa, bear the figure of the *Gaja-Lakṣmī*. But this difference of the seal need not necessarily indicate a separate lineage, as branches of the same tribe are sometimes found to have different seals. Thus while the seals of the Kalacuris of Tripurī and Tummāṇa contained the figure of the *Gaja-Lakṣmī*, those of the Kalacuris of Gorakhpur and Kalyāṇa bore the figure of a bull. The difference of the emblems on the seals however shows that the founder of the new branch must have been separated from his relatives of the old branch by a comparatively long interval. It is not unlikely that he may have been influenced by his neighbours the Haihaya and the Śarabhapur princes to adopt a new seal.