The Dynastic History of Northern India (Early Mediaeval Period) v1.c18.326

v1.c18.326

*Aśvapati-gajapati-narapati-rāja-trayādhipati....... Vidyā-vicāra-vācaspati-Śrīmat-Kānyakubja-vijaya-rājye-Saṁvat* 1253, *Vaiśākha Sudi 11 Bhaume* (Tuesday, 29th April, A.D. 1197).¹ Though unfortunately the inscription does not name the ruler of Kanauj, we may guess that he was no other than the Hariścandra of the previous inscription.² It is however doubtful whether Hariścandra had any control of Kanauj and the surrounding territory. Though there is no conclusive evidence in the Muslim chronicles that Kanauj was actually captured,³ yet the fact that the two above inscriptions were discovered in the Mirzapur and the Jaunpur districts seems to be significant. I have already pointed out the very close connection of the Gāhaḍavālas with Benares and the territories round about it, and it seems likely that the power of Hariścandra lingered for some time in the more inaccessible parts of the same region. The absence of the name of the sovereign lord of Vijayakarṇa, the local prince of the Chunar region, in the Belkhara epigraph may have some connection with the statement of the *Ṭabaqāt-i-Nāṣirī* that in about A.D. 1196 the fiefs of Bhagwat or Bhugwat ( بھکوت ) and Bhīūlī or Bhīwalī ( بھیولی ) were conferred upon Muḥammad ibn Bakht-yār.⁴ These fiefs were situated between the Ganges and the Karmanasa eastward of and adjoining Chunar-garh. The absence of the royal name in the Belkhara record may reflect the unsettled condition of the neighbouring countries due to the repeated incursions of the Turkish bands under Muḥammad, the fame of whose alertness, bravery and the booty they acquired, had "become noised abroad."¹ But in spite of the success of the Muslims, the fact that the successors of Jayaccandra continued to issue inscriptions and grant lands shows the limitations of the victory of the Turks. The battle of Chandwar had given them only the possession of the more important cities and strongholds; the country-side beyond the reach of the Muslim posts still continued to be under Hindu rule.²