A History of South India from Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar c11.25

c11.25

The Ikshvākus ruled over the Krishna-Guntur region. The Purānas call them Śrīpārvatīyas—rulers of Śrīparvata and Andhrabhrityas (‘Servants of the Andhras’). Though seven kings are said to have ruled for 57 years in all, only a few are known by name from inscriptions. Originally they were feudatories of the Sātavāhanas and bore the title mahātalavara. Vāsiṭhiputa Siri Chāntamūla, the founder of the line, performed the aśvamedha and vājapeya sacrifices. The reign of his son Virapurisadāta formed a glorious epoch in the history of Buddhism and in diplomatic relations. He took a queen from the Śaka family of Ujjain and gave his daughter in marriage to a Chutu prince. Almost all the royal ladies were Buddhists: an aunt of Virapurisadāta built a big stupa at Nāgārjunikonda for the relics of the great teacher, besides apsidal temples, vihāras and mandapas. Her example was followed by other women of the royal family and by women generally as we know from a reference to one Bodhisiri, a woman citizen. The last known member of the line is Ehuvula Chāntamūla, whose reign witnessed the completion of a devivihāra, a stupa and two apsidal temples. We hear also of a Sihala vihāra, a convent founded either by a Sinhalese, or, more probably, for the accommodation of Sinhalese monks; and a Chaitya-ghara (Chaitya hall) was dedicated to the fraternities (theriyas) of Tambapanni (Ceylon). Ceylonese Buddhism was thus in close touch with that of the Andhra country. The sculptures of Nāgārjunikonda, which include large figures of the Buddha, show decided traces of Greek influence and Mahāyāna tendencies, but do not depict the crowds of devotees that characterized the monuments of the preceding century.