Mysore and Coorg from the Inscriptions c10.6

c10.6

The king, in Hoysala times, and doubtless in others not specified, was attended by five ministers, the pancha-pradhānar (Cn 260, Ci 72). The prime minister was the sarvvādhikāri, sarvva-pradhāna, or siraḥ-pradhāna. He (in one case at least) was the tongue in the council, the other councillors being like statues (Dg 25). The functions allotted to the several ministers cannot be determined from the inscriptions. But under the Chālukyas there is mention in the eighth century of the great minister for peace and war (Kl 63). In the eleventh century he appears as the great Lāla Kannada minister for peace and war (Sk 106), and in the twelfth as the senior Kannada minister for peace and war (Sk 267). He apparently combined in himself the offices of secretary of state for foreign affairs and for war. Of the Hoysala kings, Vishnuvarddhana in 1125 is said (Cn 149) to have acquired Angara's sevenfold (*saptānga*) kingdom, and Ballāla II in 1183 is said (Bl 137) to have acquired Pāṇḍya's sevenfold (*saptānga*) kingdom; while the Vijayanagar king Bukka-Rāya in 1377 is said (Yd 46) to be ruling an empire perfect in its seven parts (*saptānga*). These are explained in the *Chandraprabha Purāṇa* as—the king, minister, ally, territory, fortress, treasury, and army. In Bl 128 the king is said to have acquired not only the *saptānga-rājya* but also the *chatur-upāya* or four expedients against an enemy (explained in the *Jaimini Bhārata* to be—sowing dissension, negotiation, bribery, and open attack), as well as the *panchānga-sanmantra* or fivefold wise counsels. These remind us of the *panchatantra*.