The Dynastic History of Northern India (Early Mediaeval Period) v1.c19.s4: (4) The Rāṣṭrakūṭas of Bihar
The Dynastic History of Northern India (Early Mediaeval Period) v1.c19.s4
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(4) The Rāṣṭrakūṭas of Bihar
v1.c19.s4.1
In my chapters on the dynasties of Bengal and Bihar and the Gāhaḍavālas, I have already referred to this line of Rāṣṭrakūṭas. In her Sarnath inscription, Kumāra-devī,⁴ the queen of the Gāhaḍavāla Govindacandra (*c.* 1114-1155 A.D.), refers to her maternal grandfather Mahana, the ruler of Aṅga (*Aṅgapa*) and ‘a peerless warrior of the Gauḍa country.’ Mahana is further described as ‘the venerable maternal uncle (*mātula*) of kings’ who had conquered the Chikkora Devarakṣita of Pīṭhī and maintained the glory of Rāmapāla. This led to the identification of Mahana with the Rāṣṭrakūṭa Mahana or Mathana of the *Rāma-carita* of Sandhyākara Nandī,⁵ who was the maternal uncle of Rāmapāla (*c.* 1084-1126 A.D.), and materially aided him in establishing his power. The *Rāma-carita* makes it clear that Mathana was a feudatory of Rāmapāla. The names of the following members of this family are supplied by the *Rāma-carita*¹ and the Sarnath inscription:—
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⁴ *EI*, Vol. IX, pp. 319-20. No. 42 of the Gāhaḍavāla Govindacandra; see above, p. 525.
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⁵ *MASB*, Vol. III, No. 1. See *supra*, Dynastic History of Bengal and Bihar, pp. 338 ff.
v1.c19.s4.4
¹ See in this connection *IHQ*, March, 1929, pp. 35-48.
Linked texts (1)
- Rāmacarita — Gauḍa Abhinanda, Sanskrit