History of Kanauj to the Moslem Conquest c15.s2.t8: Its results
History of Kanauj to the Moslem Conquest c15.s2.t8
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Its results
c15.s2.t8.1
The consequences of the renewed military activities were of course disastrous to the arms of Yaśovarman, but we seem to have no certain information as to what happened to his throne and person. The Rājatarangiṇī in one place claims that “the land of Kanyakubja from the bank of the Jumna to that of the Kālikā was as much in his (Lalitāditya’s) power as the courtyard of his palace,”³
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³ Bk. IV, verse 145, (Stein, p. 134). Cf. “Kimanyat Kanyakubjorvī yamunā pāratosya sā, Abhūdā Kālikātīram gṛiha-prāṇ-ganavadvaśe.” The Kālikā may be identified with the present Kālinadī, which joins the Ganges at a short distance below Kanauj.
c15.s2.t8.3
draḥ pratyabhāt Krityavedinām, Dīptam yat Lalitādityam priṣṭam datvā nyaṣevat.”
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and that Yaśovarman was “uprooted entirely” (samūlaṃ udapāṭayat).¹ Further, we are told that “swelled with pride the king (Lalitāditya) granted the land of Kanyakubja with its villages to the (shrine of) Āditya, (which he erected) at that town of Lalitapura” (Latpor).² It thus indicates that Kanauj was annexed to the dominions of Kashmir, and its king perhaps put to death during the course of the conflict.³ But elsewhere Kalhaṇa affirms that Yaśovarman, “who had been served by Vākpatirāja, the illustrious Bhavabhūti, and other poets, (himself) became by his defeat a panegyrist of his (Lalitāditya’s) virtues.”⁴ In the face of this dubious testimony, we would, therefore, suggest that although Yaśovarman was worsted in the fight, the stubborn resistance of the Kanaujias, as is evident from the reference to the “long duration” of the struggle, deterred Lalitāditya from proceeding to extremities, and he suffered his adversary after a nominal acknowledgement of supremacy to remain on the throne. Confirmation of this view may further be had from the *Travels* of Ou-Kông, according to which Mung-ti (Muktāpīḍa) was in alliance with the ruler of Central India (Yaśovarman) and together they blocked “the five passes” leading from Tibet. Here we may also refer to a hoard of Lalitāditya’s coins discovered in the Banda district of the United Provinces.⁵ This find, it has been urged, lends support to the theory that the kingdom of Kanauj passed under the jurisdiction of Lalitāditya and his coins became current there. Such a conclusion, however, does not appear to be quite warranted. The hoard may only represent part of the treasures Lalitāditya carried for the maintenance of his forces, which, to quote the evidence of the *Rājatarangiṇī*, progressed triumphantly eastwards to Gauḍa and other regions. The army perhaps encamped near Banda for sometime, and thus left its mark in the form of these coins.
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¹ *Ibid.*, verse 140, (Stein, p. 133).
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² *Ibid.*, verse 187, (Stein, p. 139).
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³ See *J. R. A. S.*, 1908, p. 777.
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⁴ *Rājaṭ.*, Bk. IV, verse 144, (Stein, p. 134).
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⁵ *J. A. S. B.*, Numismatic Supplement, XLI (1928), pp. N. 7-8
Linked texts (1)
- Rājataraṅgiṇī — Kalhaṇa, Sanskrit