History of Kanauj to the Moslem Conquest c20.s2.t1.10

c20.s2.t1.10

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.