History of Kanauj to the Moslem Conquest c20.s2.t1: Religion

History of Kanauj to the Moslem Conquest c20.s2.t1

Language: English

Religion

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The Gahaḍavāla kings, like the Pratihāras whose religion has already been stated, did not confine their devotions to one member only of the great Hindu pantheon. Thus, while they officially describe themselves as "*Paramamāheśvara*," i.e., "devout worshippers of the god Śiva," their records also invoke in the beginning the blessings of Śrī (Lakṣmī), the goddess of prosperity, and Dāmodara (Gaṇeśa), and on the seals attached to the copper-plates there are representations of the flying Garuḍa and conch-shell (Pāñcajanya conch?), which may indicate their predilections towards Vaiṣṇavism. Indeed, one of the Kamauli inscriptions even asserts that Jayacandra was initiated, with the consent of his father, as a devotee of the god Kṛṣṇa on the 10th tithi of the bright half of the month of Āṣāḍha of the Vikrama year 1224, corresponding to Sunday, the 16th of June, 1168 A. D.—the day of his installation to the dignity of Yuvarāja.¹ But so marked was the royal eclecticism that according to a Bodhgayā inscription in later life Jayacandra, out of reverence for a Buddhist monk named Śrīmitra, himself became his disciple "with a pleasing heart and an indescribable hankering."² Moreover, we are uniformly told in their documents that the Gāhaḍavāla monarchs made grants "after having worshipped the sun (sūrya), after having praised him (Śiva), after having performed adoration to Vāsudeva, and after having sacrificed to the fire an oblation of abundant milk, rice and sugar, and after having offered oblations to the manes."

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¹ Ep. Ind., IV, pp. 118, 119.

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² Ind. Hist. Quart., V. (1929), p. 26, verse

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Turning now to the matter of popular religion, the outstanding features during both the Pratīhāra and Gāhaḍavāla periods were the worship of idols and the variety of gods. Temples were built in large numbers, being known as "devagṛhas"³ or "caityas."⁴ With their lofty spires, rich ornamental designs, and graceful sculptures, the construction of these elaborate structures must have entailed great engineering skill and workmanship. Sometimes, it is interesting to note, they were even hewn out of a single piece of rock.⁵ But unfortunately almost all these noble monuments of the liberality and religious zeal of the princes and peasants alike have disappeared owing to the ravages of time, or were razed to the ground by the iconoclastic fury of the victorious Moslems. For instance, the Tāj-ul Maāsir¹ and Firishta’s account² testify that in Benares alone Sihābuddin Ghori destroyed more than one thousand temples, and raised mosques on their foundations.

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³ Ep. Ind., IX, p. 200, line 17.

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⁴ Ind. Ant., XVI, p. 175. In the Pehoa inscription the word "Sthāna" occurs for a sanctuary (Ep. Ind., I, pp. 186, 188).

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⁵ Ibid., I, pp. 157, 159, verse 27. Cf. "Ramyesmin-ekaśile Viṣṇuḥ bhaktyā pratiṣṭhito bhavane."

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¹ Elliot, History of India, Vol. II, p. 223.

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² Briggs, I, p. 179.

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Among the gods, Viṣṇu was the most highly venerated. The Siyadoni inscription gives several names for him such as Viṣṇubhaṭṭāraka, Nārāyaṇabhaṭṭāraka, Vāmanasvāmideva (also mentioned in the Ahār inscription), Cakrasvāmideva, Tribhuvanasvāmideva, and Murāri.³ In the Gwalior inscription of Bhoja he is called Narakadviṣa,⁴ and in the Buckala record the term Parameśvara occurs for his image.⁵ The Pehoa inscription, however, simply describes him as the god riding on garuḍa (Viṣṇu garuḍāsana).⁶ The Gāhaḍavāla copper plates often allude to the god Vāsudeva and the temple of Ādikeśava at the confluence of the Varuṇā and the Ganges. We may also add here that the Ahār epigraph (No. VII) refers in general terms to all the ten incarnations of Viṣṇu, but in other documents there is specific mention of only three manifestations of the deity, viz., Kriṣṇa or Hriṣīkeśa, Varāha, and Vāmana.

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³ Ep. Ind., I, pp. 168, 173-79.

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⁴ Ep. Ind., XVIII, pp. 107, 110, verse 1.

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⁵ Ibid., IX, p. 200.

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⁶ Ibid., I, pp. 187, 189.

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The inscriptions further mention such gods as:
(a) Sūrya, also called Taruṇādityadeva,⁷ Indrarādityadeva or Indrādityadeva,⁸ or Gaṅgāditya.⁹ Another form of the sun was Lolārka,¹⁰ whose festival is even now annually celebrated in Benares during the rainy season. In the Siyadoni inscription occurs the term Bhaillas-vāmideva, which according to a Bhilsa record was a designation of the sun.¹

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⁷ Ibid., IX, pp. 1, 5.

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⁸ Ibid., XIV, pp. 180-85.

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⁹ Ibid., IV, pp. 121-23.

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¹⁰ Ibid., V, pp. 116-18; IV, pp. 128-29.

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¹ *J. A. S. B.*, XXXI, p. 112.

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(b) Siva (Jhusi inscription), also called Umāmaheśvara (Siyadoni inscription) or simply Maheśvara (Gāhaḍavāla plates), Trilocana,² Lacchukeśvara Mahādeva, so named after Mathanadeva’s mother (Rajor inscription), Yogasvāmin,³ Paśupati,⁴ and Śambhu (Haddala grant).

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² *Ind. Ant.*, XVIII, pp. 11, 13.

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³ *Ibid.*, VI, pp. 174, 175 (Asni inscription).

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⁴ *Ep. Ind.*, VII, p. 95. (Lucknow Museum plate of Kirtipāla dated 1111-12 A. D.).

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⁵ *Ep. Ind.*, IX, p. 279.

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(d) Kumāra (Kārtikeya) with his host of Mātṛikas i.c., female companions who performed wonderful deeds.⁶

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⁶ *Ibid.*, VIII, pp. 109, 114, verse 22.

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(e) Mahākāla (Partabgarh inscription) or Kāla-priya (Cambay plates) in Ujjain.

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Among other names and temples of gods we come across Nityapramutideva⁷; Aghoreśvara, Indramādhava, Lauḍeśvara, Pañcoṁkāra;⁸ Krittivāsas⁹ etc.

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⁷ *Ibid.*, III, p. 266.

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⁸ *Ibid.*, VIII, p. 153, lines 18-19.

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⁹ *Ibid.*, IV, p. 126, line 22.

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The inscriptions refer to names of goddesses also, such as Bhagavatī or Durgā (Partabgarh inscription) or Vaṭayakṣṇīdevī;¹⁰ Sri Aṁba Lohidevī (Siyadoni inscription);¹¹ Kanakadevī or Kāñcanadevī, Gandhadevī, Sarvamangaladevī (Ahar inscription); Śrī or Lakṣmī (Gāhaḍavāla inscriptions); Vasudhārā¹ etc.

Linked texts (2)

Tārīkh-i Firishta — Muḥammad Qāsim Hindū Shāh Firishta 1606, Persian
Tāj al-maʾāthir — Ḥasan Niẓāmī, Persian