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History of Kanauj to the Moslem Conquest c8: Chapter I. Introductory

History of Kanauj to the Moslem Conquest c8

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English

Contents

Chapter I. Introductory

Position and importance of Kanauj

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The petty town of Kanauj, lying in latitude 27°5' North and longitude 79°55' East in the Farrukhabad district of the United Provinces, is one of the few cities that have played a noteworthy part in the political life of Ancient India.¹ It has been the witness of the rise and fall of mighty empires, the appearance and disappearance of successive dynasties; and although this fascinating panorama of events chiefly unfolds itself during the centuries that intervene between the decline of the Guptas and the Moslem conquest, we may trace faint beginnings of its chequered career back even to the misty past of the Brahmanic age.

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¹ The importance of Kanauj in ancient times was probably due to its strategic advantages. The city stood on a cliff on the right bank of the Ganges, which was then the highway of commerce and communication, and it must have, therefore, been a convenient centre for river traffic in the upper Doab [see Samuel Beal, *The Travels of Fa-hian (Fo-kuo-ki)*, ch. XVIII, p. xliii; Thomas Watters, *On Yuan Chwang (Si-yu-ki)*, Vol. I (1904), p. 341; *Bāla-Rāmāyaṇa* of Rājaśekhara, Act X, p. 306, ed. Govindadeva Śāstrī (Benares, 1869). The river, however, now flows at a distance of some miles to the east (see *Gazetteer of Farrukhabad*, p. 217; *Imperial Gazetteer of India*, XIV, p. 370]. Besides, as observed by Cunningham, "the situation is a commanding one, and before the use of the cannon the height alone must have made Kanauj a strong and important position" (Cunningham's *Ancient Geography of India*, ed. S. N. Majumdar, (Calcutta, 1924), p. 436).

Origin and derivation of the name

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The *Rāmāyaṇa* of Vālmīki and other works contain an amusing story, describing its foundation and how it got the name Kānyakubja, from which Kanauj is said to be a modern derivation.¹ We are told that in early times there was a king named Kuśa, who married the daughter of the king of Vidarbha or Berar. He was blessed with four sons : (*a*) Kuśanābha, (*b*) Kuśāmbha, (*c*) Asūtaraja and (*d*) Vasu. Each of them, on being requested by the reigning monarch to protect the kingdom, founded a town after his own name. Of these, Kuśanābha founded a town called Mahodaya, meaning “of high prosperity.”² King Kuśanābha begot a hundred beautiful daughters by the celestial damsel Ghṛtācī,³ and one day, when they were sporting together in the royal gardens, Vāyu (the wind god)¹ became enamoured of their surpassing charms. He made a proposal to marry all the hundred sisters, but was met with a scornful refusal. Their rebukes further enraged the wind god to such an extent that he instantly changed them all into hunchbacks by his curses. From this circumstance (kanyānāṁ kubjatvaṁ) the city got its name Kānyakubja or Kanyā-kubja, meaning “the city of hunchbacked maidens.”² Historically the story is no doubt worthless except that it proves the high antiquity of both the town and its name.

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¹ Compare also : “Kannojam kila Kānyakubja-nagaram sā rājadhānī purā” (*Kānyakubja-Mahākāvya*, p. 194). Moslem writers usually write Qannauj قنوج (see e.g., *Ṭabaqāt-i-Akbarī*, Vol. I, p. 39, ed. B. De). Raverty, however, gives the form Kinnauj in his translation of the *Ṭabaqāt-i-Nāsirī* (I, p. 470, etc.). From the *Śarb-i-Ta’rīkh-i-Yamīnī* also the proper way of pronouncing Kanauj appears to be “Kinnauj” with the last letter but slightly enunciated (see Extracts in Elliot, II, p. 52). Fa-hian transliterates it as Ka-nao-yi or Kanoyi, and Thomas Watters is of opinion that it represents “the name which was probably in use among the natives” (Watters, I, p. 341). Accordingly Vincent Smith asserts that the name Kanauj is “ancient” and was “current fifteen hundred years ago” (*J. R. A. S.*, 1908, p. 767). Whatever the truth, this much is certain that the Prakrit transliteration used by Rājaśekhara in the beginning of the ninth century A. D. is Kaṇṇaujjā (Konow and Lanman, *Karpūra-mañjarī*, III. 5. p. 74, Harvard Oriental Series, 1901).

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² “Kuśanābhas tu dharmātmā puram cakre Mahodayam” (*Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa*, Bālakāṇḍa, canto 32, Verse 6, Calcutta, 1881).

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³ “Kuśanābhas tu rājarṣiḥ kanyāśatamanuttamam Janayāmās dharmātmā Ghṛtācyāṃ Raghunandana” (*Ibid.*, verse 11).

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¹ Also called a Ṛiṣi or “Great Tree Ṛiṣi” (Watters, I, p. 341; Samuel Beal, Buddhist Records of the Western World, Vol. I, pp. 207-08).

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² “Yad Vāyunā ca tāḥ kanyāḥ tatra kubjikṛtā purā, Kānyakubjamiti khyātaṁ tataḥ prabhṛiti tat puram.” (Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, (North-Western Recension, ed. Bhagvad Datta, 1931), Bālakāṇḍa, canto 33, verses 34-35). Yuan Chwang narrates a similar story with minor variations (cf. Watters, I, p. 341; Beal, I, pp. 207-09). See also Śiva Purāṇa, Dharmasaṁhitā, ch. 11, verses 39-52 (Calcutta, 1890); Kalhaṇa’s Rājatarangiṇī, ed. Durgāprasāda (Bombay, 1892), Vol. I, Bk. IV, verse 133, (Stein’s Translation, p. 132); Dowson’s Hindu Classical Dictionary (1914), pp. 149, 344, etc.

Variety of names

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Owing to a fondness for synonyms, the ancient Hindu often used different names for the same place, and this laxity of nomenclature is perhaps nowhere so noticeable as in the case of Kanauj. Its most commonly recognised name was, of course, Kānyakubja or Kanyākubja or Kanyakubja,³ which continues to occur in literature and inscriptions from the earliest to the latest period of its history.¹ Next, we find mention of the name Mahodaya or Mahodayā, meaning “full of high prosperity.” Although there are references to this name in earlier literature,² it did not hold the preference until the time of the Pratīhāras, when Kanauj was renovated to a life of opulence and power.³ That Kānyakubja and Mahodaya were names of one and the same city is also testified by Hemacandra’s *Abhidhāna-cintāmaṇi*,⁴ Halāyudha’s *Abhidhānaratnamālā*,⁵ and other lexicons.⁶

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³ Compare : “......... Athokanya-kanyā-kānyebhyaḥ kubjamityapi ......” (Keśava’s Kalpadrukośa, verse 16, p. 10, Gaekwāḍ’s Oriental Series, No. XLII, 1928), or, cf. “Daratstriyāṁ ca Daradā Kānyakubjaḥ Kuśasthalaṁ Kānyakubjaḥ Kānyakubjaḥ Kośalaḥ Kosalopi ca” (Ibid., verse 22, p. 6).

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¹ See also for the forms:
(a) Kānyakubja—*Ind. Ant.*, XVIII, pp. 13, 133; Kalhaṇa’s *Rājatarangiṇī*, ed. Durgā Pd. (Bombay, 1892), Vol. I, Bk. I verse 117, (Stein’s Trans. p. 22); Bk. IV, verse 145, (Stein, p. 134, etc.).
(b) Kānyakubja—*Ibid.*, Bk. VIII, verse 2453, (Stein, p. 191); *Rāmāyaṇa*, ante; *Mahābhārata*, III, ch. 116, verse 19; *Padma Purāṇa*, V (Sṛiṣṭi-khaṇḍa), ch. 35, verse 1; *Harṣacarita*, ed. Jivānanda Vidyāsāgara, (Calcutta, 1892), p. 425; *Ep. Ind.*, I, pp. 197, 203, verse 3, etc.
(c) Kānyakubja—*Ind. Ant.*, XVIII, pp. 16, 18; *Śiva Purāṇa*, *Dharmasaṃhitā*, ch. 11, verse 52; *Ep. Ind.*, I, pp. 219, 222, verse 22, etc.

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² See e.g., *Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa*, Bālakāṇḍa, canto 32, verse 6; *Padma Purāṇa*, V, ch. 35, verse 193.

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³ *Ep. Ind.*, V, p. 208; IV, p. 131; *Ind. Ant.*, XV, p. 305; *Bālarāmāyaṇa*, X, p. 306; *Kāvyamīmāṃsā*, ed. C. D. Dalal (1916), p. 8, etc.

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⁴ Cf. “Kānyakubjaṃ Mahodayaṃ” (verse 39, p. 166).

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⁵ Cf. “Kānyakubjā Mahodayā” (II, verse 132, p. 32).

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⁶ See also the *Śabdārtbharatnasamanvaya-koṣa*, line 6, p. 79 (Gaekwāḍ’s Oriental Series, 1932); and the *Vaijayantī* of Yādava-prakāśa, ed. Gustav Oppert (1893), Bk. I, Sec. 4, verse 7, p. 159, etc.

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Gādhipura or Gādhinagara was another name of Kanauj in early times.⁷ Gādhi, as we shall see below, was one of its celebrated legendary rulers, and it appears that the city came to be called after him owing to his great deeds.

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⁷ Compare e.g., “......... Mahodayaṃ Gādhipuram......” (Keśava’s *Kalpadrukoṣa*, verse 16, p. 10); *Śabdakalpadruma* (Calcutta, 1889), Vol. II, p. 85; Kalhaṇa’s *Rājatarangiṇī*, Vol. I, Bk. IV, verse 133, (Stein, p. 132). The name Gādhinagara occurs in the

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It was also known as Kuśasthala,¹ which in its etymological sense means "a spot of kuśa grass." Probably it derived this name from the fact that the kuśa grass, considered sacred for sacrificial purposes, grew there in abundance.² Or, alternatively it may be suggested that the place was called after king Kuśa, father of Kuśanābha, and thus signified "the residence or possession of Kuśa." Of a piece with this name is the synonym Kauśa, which is almost certainly a derivation of Kuśa.³

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¹ Cf. "Kuśasthalaṃ Kānyakubjaṃ" (*Abhidhāna-saṃgraha*, II (puravarga), verse 193, p. 9); *Śabdakalpadruma*, Vol. II, p. 85; *Harṣacarita* (Calcutta, 1892), p. 603; Cambay plates of Govinda IV: *Ep. Ind.*, VII, p. 43; *Mahābhārata* (P. C. Roy's Sanskrit text) V (Uddyogaparva), section 30, verse 19, etc.

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² We may compare this name with Kuśāgarapura, the designation of the old city of Rājagriha. According to Yuan Chwang the city derived its name from the excellent fragrant reed grass which abounded there (Watters, II, p. 148; Beal, *Life of Yuan Chwang*, p. 113).

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³ "Kanyākubjaṃ Gādhipuraṃ Kauśaṃ Kuśasthalaṃ ca tat" (Hemacandra's *Abhidhānacintāmaṇi*, verse 40, p. 166). See also Keśava's *Kalpadrukośa*, verse 16, p. 10, etc.

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The records of the Gāhaḍavāla dynasty represent its kings as protecting the four sacred places (*tīrthas*)—Kāśī, Kuśika, Uttara Kośala (Ayodhyā) and Indrasthāna; and Kielhorn was of opinion that in this list the name Kuśika stands for Kanauj.⁴

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⁴ *Ind. Ant.*, XV, p. 8, note 46; Ibid., XVIII, p. 13, note 33.

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Lastly we learn from Yuan Chwang that Kusumapura (*Keu-su-mo-pu-lo*) or "the city of flowers" was the original name, and it came to be invested with the name of Kanyākubja ("city of hunchbacked maidens")

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Gwalior Sāsbahū inscription, see *Ind. Ant.*, XV, pp. 36, 41, verse 6.

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only after the curses of the “great Tree Riṣi”.¹ Hindu authority in support of this synonym is wanting, but such a name seems to have been fairly current in ancient times. Indeed, the pilgrim notes that Pāṭaliputra—the earlier Imperial city—bore the same name.²

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¹ Watters, I, p. 341; Beal, I, p. 207.

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² *Ibid.*, II, p. 87; *Ibid.*, II, pp. 83, 85. On the authority of certain Jain chronicles of Gujarat Dr. Vincent Smith affirms that Kalyāṇa was another name of Kanauj (J. R. A. S., 1908, p. 768). The fact that ‘Mahodaya’ and ‘Kalyāṇa’ are almost synonymous words in Sanskrit, no doubt, lends some support to this view. See also Bühler, *Ind. Ant.*, VI, pp. 181, 183; D. R. Bhandarkar, *J. B. B. R. A. S.*, XXI, pp. 427-28.

Wider application of the name

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There are indications that the title of Kānyakubja was not restricted to the city only, but also extended to the neighbouring territory, or even to the kingdom of which it was the centre. Yuan Chwang gives the name *Ka-no-kü-she*, i.e., Kānyakubja both to the capital and the country, which he describes as being 4,000 *li* in circuit.³ Similarly, the Barah copper plate shows that at that period (836 A. D.) both the names Mahodaya and Kānyakubja were current, the former being used for the capital city, and the latter for a *bhukti* or province of the kingdom,⁴ of which Kālañjara-*maṇḍala* formed a part. Again, we learn from Rashid-ud-din’s *Jami-ut-Tawārīkh* that according to the Persians the designation Kanauj stood for Mahades (Madhyadeśa) or middle-land, one of the traditional nine divisions of Hind.⁵ In support of this, it may be added here that the Somnāthpattan *praśasti* of Bhāva Bṛihaspati, dated 1169 A. D., mentions the Kānyakubja-viṣaya as including Bānārasi i.e., Benares.¹ In the Gāhaḍavāla plates the city itself is called the Kuśika tīrtha and the name Kānyakubja is given to the kingdom. Thus Candradeva, the founder of the line, is invariably extolled as “one who had acquired the kingdom of Kānyakubja by the prowess of his arm.”²

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³ Watters, I, pp. 340-41.

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⁴ *Ep. Ind.*, XIX (January, 1927), pp. 17, 19.

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⁵ Elliot’s History of India, Vol. I, p. 54; see also *Alberuni’s India*, (Sachau’s Trans.), Vol. I, 9. 199.

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¹ Vienna Oriental Journal, III, pp. 7, 13, verses 5-6.

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² See Infra.

Legendary rulers of Kanauj

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One of the weakest spots in Sanskrit literature is the almost entire absence of any history. Thoroughly permeated with the idea of the unreality of material things, the ancient Brahmans have seldom cared to mark the footprints which kings and dynasties leave upon the sands of time. Their earliest attempts—the Rāmāyaṇa, the Mahābhārata, and the Purāṇas—are veritable mines of information for the then religious and social life, but as chronicles of political events they seem lamentably full of tale-telling and chronological absurdities. It is my object in the following pages to glean the kernel of historical fact from these authorities by winnowing as far as possible the outer husks of legends.

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According to all forms of tradition the progenitor of the ancient royal lineages was the mythical Manu Vaivasvata. He had a daughter named Ilā, who consorted with Budha and bore a son, Purūravas, also known as Aila.³ Purūravas is represented as a powerful ruler, holding sway over distant regions. He begat by the celestial damsel Urvaśī six sons named Ayu, Dhimān, Amāvasu, Dṛḍhāyu, Vanāyu and Satāyu.¹ Of these sons, as asserted by Pargiter, Āyu succeeded Purūravas at Pratiṣṭhāna, identified with the modern Jhusi on the confluence of the Ganges and the Jumna in Allahabad; and Amāvasu² founded “another kingdom, the capital of which was then or afterwards Kānyakubja (Kanauj)”.³ Amāvasu’s descendants continued to rule over this kingdom, and the Purāṇas⁴ give their names in the following order: (a) Bhīma, (b) Kāñcanaprabha,⁵ (c) Suhotra,⁶ (d) Jahnu, (e) Sumanta,⁷ (f) Ajaka,⁸ (g) Balākāśva, (h) Kuśa. Before we proceed further with the genealogy, let us pause to consider another account, which traces the origin of the dynasty to Ajamiḍha. It is given in the Mahābhārata⁹ and the Agni Purāṇa,¹⁰ and is further corroborated by the *Brahma*¹ and *Hari-vamśa Purāṇas*,² which, unmindful of any inconsistency, give the first version as well.³ According to this tradition, the divergent part of the genealogy would stand thus:

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³ Harivaṃśa, ch. 10, verses 7f.; Śiva Purāṇa, VII (Dharma Saṃhitā), ch. 60, verses 2-19. See Mbh. (P. C. Roy’s edition), I (Ādiparva) section 75, verses 12-20; Sec. 95, verse 7, (P. C. Roy’s English Translation, I, Sec. 75, p. 229; Sec. 95, p. 282) for another fantastic version giving the birth of Purūravas from the hermaphrodite Ilā.

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¹ Ibid., I, Sec. 75, verse 24 (Eng. Trans., p. 230). The names slightly vary in certain Purāṇas (Cf. e.g., Vāyu P., ch. 91, verse 51, Apte’s edition, 1905).

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² Called Vijaya in Bhāgavata P., IX, ch. 15, verse 3.

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³ Pargiter, Ancient Indian Historical Tradition, p. 258, to which I owe some valuable suggestions and references utilised here.

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⁴ Viṣṇu P., IV, ch. 7, verses 2-17; Brahmāṇḍa P., III, ch. 66, verses 22 f.; Vāyu P., ch. 91, verses 91 f.; see also Mbh., I, Sec. 75.

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⁵ Called merely Kāñcana in Viṣ. and Bhāg. P.

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⁶ Called Hoṭraka in Bhāg.

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⁷ Called Puru in Bhāg. and Sunaha in Bmd.

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⁸ The Bhāg. P. inverts the order of Ajaka and Balākāśva, whom it calls simply Balāka.

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⁹ Mbh., XIII (Anuśāsanaparva), Sec. 4, verses 2-7, (Eng. Trans. Ibid., pp. 15-16). In the Śāntiparva (cf. Mbh., XII, Sec. 49, verses 3-7) Sindhudvīpa is called Rajas, and the name of Vallabha is omitted.

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¹⁰ Cf. “Ajamiḍhasya Keśinyāṃ jajñe Jahnuḥ pratāpavān, Jahnor abhūd Ajakāśvo Balākāśvas tadātmajaḥ, Balākāśvasya Kuśikaḥ Kuśikād Gādhirindrakaḥ, Gādheḥ Satyavatī kanyā Viśvāmitraḥ sutottamaḥ” (Agni P., ch. 277, verses 16-17; Calcutta, 1882). It should be noticed here that Ajakāśva is substituted for Sindhudvīpa, and Vallabha is again omitted.

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¹ *Brahma P.*, ch. 13, verses 82-92 (Apte's edition, 1895).

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² *Harivamśa*, ch. 32, verses 43-53.

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³ *Br.*, ch. 10, verses 13-60; *Hv.*, ch. 27, verses 1f.

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(a) Ajamīḍha.

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(b) Jahnu (son of no. *a* by Keśinī).

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(c) Sindhudvīpa (son of *b*).

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(d) Balākāśva (son of *c*).

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(e) Vallabha (son of *d*).

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(f) Kuśika (son of *e*).

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(g) Gādhi (son of *f*).

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Satyavatī (daughter) ... Viśvāmitra.⁴

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⁴ In the second version also the names as given in the *Mahābhārata* and the *Purāṇas* slightly vary, but from Gādhi onwards all the lists agree.

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This derivation, however, does not seem to be correct. First, it goes against most of the *Purāṇas*, and those that give it do not in any way merit superior credence. The *Agni* is a late production, and the other two mar their value by their inconsistent accounts. Secondly, on this point the *Mahābhārata* also appears to make confusion worse confounded. At one place it refers to Ajamīḍha as belonging to the race of Bharata,⁵ and thus makes Viśvāmitra—if the above genealogy be correct—a remote descendant of Bharata. Elsewhere again it represents Bharata as the grandson of Viśvāmitra begotten on his forsaken daughter, Śakuntalā, by Duṣmanta or Duṣyanta.¹ These conflicting statements would lead us to believe that Viśvāmitra was both an ancestor and a descendant of Bharata—a supposition which is impossible in the natural course of things. One of them must, therefore, be untrue, and as the story of Duṣyanta is “one of the best alleged tales in ancient tradition”² it follows that Viśvāmitra was anterior to Bharata and consequently to Ajamiḍha, a descendant of Bharata.

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⁵ Cf. “Bharatasyānvaye caivājamīḍho nāma pārthivaḥ,

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¹ Cf. “Duṣyantaḥ khalu Viśvāmitra-duhitaram Śakuntalām nāmopayeme tasyāmasya jajñe Bharataḥ”—Ibid., I (Ādiparva), Sec. 95, verse 28, (Eng. Trans. Ibid., p. 284).

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² Pargiter, Anc. Ind. Hist. Trad., p. 100. For further discussion see the same.

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To turn to the accounts of these kings, we have unfortunately very little information of value. One of them, Suhotra, is described as having “performed many Rājasūya and Aśvamedha (horse) sacrifices. He brought under his sway the whole earth surrounded by her belt of seas, and full of elephants, kine and horses, and all her wealth in gems and gold.”³ He freed the earth from Mlecchas and forest thieves (vasumatīm mlecchāṭavika varjitām), which expression perhaps signifies that he succeeded in clearing out the aboriginal inhabitants from his kingdom. Another, Jahnu, who was probably two generations below Yauvanāśva Māndhātṛi, being married to his grand-daughter Kāverī,⁴ must have also

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³ Mbh., I (Ādiparva), Sec. 94, verses 26-29, (Eng. Trans. Ibid., p. 279).

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⁴ “Upaninyur mahābhāgā duhitritvena Jāhnavīm, Yauvanāśvasya pautrīm tu Kāverīm Jahnurāvahat”

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Babhūva Bharataśreṣṭha yajvā Dharma-bhṛitāmvaraḥ” Mbh., XIII (Anuśāsanaparva), Sec. 4, verse 2, (Eng. Trans. Ibid., p. 15).

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been a king of great renown, since the river Ganges is said to have been named after him as Jāhnavī.¹ These kings must have ruled over the surrounding regions from some capital situated on the very site of, or near Kanauj, since according to the Rāmāyaṇic legend, given above, the city was founded by Kuśanābha, son of Kuśa. It is noteworthy that even in the *Mahābhārata* the first definite mention of Kānyakubja as the capital is made during the time of Gādhi.²

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¹ A fable, however, is told to explain this name. Jahnu is represented as having drunk the waters of the river Ganges, and released them after the intercession of sages and celestials, whence the river came to be known as Jāhnavī, i.e., issuing from Jahnu (*Viṣ.*, IV, ch. 7, verses 2-3; *Vāyu*, ch. 91, verses 54-58; see also *Mbh.*, XIII, Sec. 4, verse 202; *Vālmiki Rāmāyaṇa*, Bālakāṇḍa, canto 43, verses 35-38).

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² See e.g., *Mbh.*, V (Uddyogaparva), Sec. 118, verse 4, (Eng. Trans., *Ibid.*, p. 345).

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Continuing the genealogy further, we are told that Kuśa was succeeded by his son Kuśanābha or Kuśāmba. He practised severe austerities in order to have a son equal to Indra, who, beholding the intensity of his devotions, took birth as his son³ and was known to the

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³ Cf. “Kuśastambas tapaste putrārthi rājasattamaḥ,

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(*Bmd.*, III, ch. 66, verse 28; *Vāyu*, ch. 91, verse 58; *Br.*, ch. 13, verses 86-87, etc.).

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Pūrṇe varṣa sahasre vai śatakratuṃ apasyata,
Sudurgaṃ tāpasaṃ dṛṣṭvā sahasrākṣaḥ purandaraḥ,
Samarthaḥ putrajanane svayaṃ evāsya śāśvataḥ,
Putratvaṃ kalpayāmās svayaṃ eva purandaraḥ,
Gādhir nāmābhavat putraḥ Kauśikaḥ pākaśāsanaḥ”

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(*Vāyu P.*, ch. 91, verses 63-65; *Bmd.*, III, ch. 66, verses 33-35; see also *Viṣ.*, IV, Sec. 7, verse 4; *Mbh.*, XII, Sec. 49, verses 4-6). According to another account of the *Mahābhārata* (I, Sec. 177, verse 3) Gādhi was the son of Kuśika: Cf.

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“Kānyakubje mahān āsīt pārthivo Bharatarṣabha,
Gādhīti viśruto loke Kuśikayātmasambhavaḥ.”

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The *Brahma P.* (ch. 13, verses 90-91) and the *Harivaṃśa* (ch. 32, verses 51-52) also make Gādhi the son of Kuśika, whereas world as Gādhi or Gāthi.¹ The legend of the god of thunder incarnating himself as Gādhi perhaps suggests that the latter had Indra, or one of its numerous synonyms, as his name. Or, it may be that he started some special form of Indra-worship, and thus became popularly associated with that god. He appears to have been a powerful prince and a contemporary of Arjuna, the Haihaya ruler, since we are told in the *Mahābhārata* that "at the time when Arjuna the king of the Haihayas was harassing the world, there lived on the earth a mighty monarch in the land of Kānyakubja, a sovereign whose military force was exceedingly great. And his name of Gādhi was famous in the world."² Being childless and desirous of a son, Gādhi repaired to the forest, where he was blessed with a daughter named Satyavatī. Ricīka, the son cf Bhrigu Aurva, asked for her hand, but the king did not like to bestow his daughter on the Ṛiṣi with matted locks, and at the same time he hesitated to provoke his wrath by direct refusal. The king, therefore, made an impossible demand of a thousand fleet horses, each horse to be brown in colour, and each to have a sable ear. Ricīka Aurva, however, with the help of the god Varuṇa complied with the king's request,³ and thereupon in the very city of Kānyakubja Satyavatī was married to the Ṛiṣi. Ricīka then consecrated two special mixtures (*caru*), one for

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¹ The *Purāṇas* and the *Epics* call him Gādhi, whereas in the *Aitareya Brāhmaṇa* (VII, 18) and the *Sarvānukramaṇī* (see *Vedic Index of Names and Subjects*, Vol. I, p. 225) he is known as Gāthi.

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² *Mbh.*, III (Vanaparva), Sec. 115, verses 20-21, (Eng. Trans., Ibid., p. 356).

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³ The steeds are said to have issued from "Aśvatīrtha" (*Viṣ.* P., IV, ch. 7, verse 7), which, according to Wilson, is in the district of Kanauj at the confluence of the Kālinadī and the Ganges (Wilson's Trans., *Viṣ.* P., p. 399, note 2).

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according to the *Rāmāyaṇa* (Bālakāṇḍa, canto 51, verse 19) he was the son of Kuśanābha.

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his wife and the other for her mother, infusing in them qualities suited to a Brahman and a Kṣatriya respectively.¹ These preparations, however, were interchanged with the result that Satyavatī’s mother, i.e., the wife of Gādhi, gave birth to Viśvāmitra or Viśvaratha² naturally inclined towards peace and piety; while Satyavatī herself was blessed with Jamadagni, whose son was the fiery Paraśurāma, who had a warrior’s propensities. This fable, otherwise historically worthless, is important for two reasons. It helps us to determine the historical position of Viśvāmitra, who is one of the most intriguing riddles in ancient Brahmanic tradition. He seems to figure at all times in defiance of chronology from the Ṛgveda down to the Epic period.³ But here we learn definitely that Viśvāmitra of Kānyakubja was contemporary with the Bhārgava Jamadagni, who was afterwards killed by Arjuna Kārtavīrya of the Haihaya clan.⁴ Secondly, the story records the simple fact of king Viśvāmitra’s translation from the Kṣatriya class to Brahmanhood. This change of class was quite natural in early Brahmanic history, but the narrators of the Epics and the Purāṇas were obliged to invent this monstrous fiction of the interchange of caru to explain it during a priest-ridden age, when such a “promotion” could hardly happen. But how this was actually brought about is again the subject of a fanciful legend.¹ Having ascended the throne of Kānyakubja, king Viśvāmitra is said to have gone out ahunting one day in the vicinity of the hermitage of Vasiṣṭha. There he seized the Cow of Plenty named Nandini,² but the sage having created an army of uncivilised tribes, such as Pahlavas, Draviḍas, Savaras, Kirātas, etc., routed the forces of Viśvāmitra and got back the cow. Mortified at this defeat by “Brahman prowess” (brahma teja), Viśvāmitra abandoned his kingship,³ and after practising severe penances successively earned the titles of Rājarṣi, Maharṣi and Brahmarṣi.⁴

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¹ Viṣ., IV, ch. 7, verses 8-16; Mbh., XII (Śāntiparva), Section 50, verses 8f; XIII (Anuśāsanaparva), Sec. 4, verses 1f. (Eng. Trans., Śāntiparva, XII, Sec. 50, pp. 148-150; XIII, Sec. 4, pp. 17-18, etc.).

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² Viśvaratha seems to have been the Kṣatriya name. Cf. “Viśvāmitrastu dharmātmā nāmnā Viśvarathaḥ smṛtaḥ, Jajñe Bhṛguprasādena Kauśikād vaṃśavardhanaḥ” (Vāyu P., ch. 91, verse 93; Bmd. P., III, ch. 66, verse 65, etc.).

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³ Probably there were more than one Viśvāmitras bearing the name as a patronymic or a personal designation, and in course of time owing to a lack of historical sense the Brahmans confused them all.

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⁴ Another synchronism may be established from the fact that after becoming a Brahman Viśvāmitra meddled in the affairs of the Ayodhyā kingdom, and successfully espoused the cause of Satyavrata Triśaṅku in opposition to Vasiṣṭha (see J. R. A. S., 1913, pp. 885-904; Ibid., 1917, p. 37f.).

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¹ Mbb., I (Ādiparva), Sec. 177, verses 1f. (Eng. Trans., Ibid., pp. 501-04); Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Bālakāṇḍa, cantos 51-56.

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² The cow is called Kāmadhenu or Śabalā in the Rāmāyaṇa (Ibid., ch. 53, verse 1, etc.). There are references in later works and inscriptions also to Viśvāmitra’s carrying away the prized cow (see e.g., Padmagupta’s Nava-sāhasāṅkacarita, XI, verses 64f. pp. 182-84; Nagpur stone inscription, Ep. Ind., II, p. 180; Arthuna inscription of Cāmuṇḍarāja, Ibid., XIV, p. 295).

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³ Macdonell and Keith, however, are doubtful about Viśvāmitra’s kingship. They say, “it may probably be dismissed as a mere legend with no more foundation at most than that Viśvāmitra was of a family which once had been royal. But even this is doubtful” (Vedic Index of Names and Subjects, Vol. II, p. 312). Against this we may also add the testimony of the Pañcaviṃśa Brāhmana (XXI, 12, 2), which calls Viśvāmitra king.

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⁴ Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Bālakāṇḍa, ch. 56f.

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After Viśvāmitra’s relinquishment of the rulership of Kānyakubja in favour of a life spiritual, the lordship of the Gāthins passed over to Aṣṭaka born of Mādhavi.⁵

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⁵ Mbb., V (Uddyogaparva), Sec. 118, verse 18, (Eng. Trans., Ibid., p. 347); see also Matsya P., ch. 37, verse 6; Brahma P., ch. 13, verse 91.

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He seems to have been a virtuous ruler as among others Bhīṣma recommends his name to be recited both at sunset and sunrise.¹ We further learn from the Mahābhārata that he performed the horse-sacrifice.² Aṣṭaka was succeeded by the shadowy Lauhi,³ with whom the ruling dynasty of Kānyakubja abruptly comes to an end.⁴

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¹ Mbh., XIII (Anuśāsana parva), Sec. 165, verses 55, 59, (Eng. Trans., Ibid., p. 772).

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² Ibid., III (Vanaparva), Sec. 197, verse 1, (Eng. Trans., Ibid., p. 599).

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³ Vāyu P., ch. 91, verse 103; Bmd., III, ch. 66, verse 75, Brahma P., ch. 13, verse 92.

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⁴ Pargiter conjectures that the sudden disappearance of this family was due to the northward depredations of the Haihayas that began about this time (see Anc. Ind. Hist. Trad., pp. 267-70).

Later notices of Kanauj

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Darkness then descends upon the fortunes of Kanauj, and the city sinks into oblivion for a long period except for the glimpse that we catch of it about the time of the Mahābhārata war. In his peace overtures Yudhiṣṭhira is represented to have said to Duryodhana: “We are desirous of peace; give us even a single province of the empire. Give us even Kuśasthala, Vrikasthala, Mākandī, Vāraṇāvata, and for the fifth any other that thou likest. Even this will end the quarrel.”⁵ Kuśasthala evidently stands for Kanauj, and we may, therefore, assume from Yudhiṣṭhira’s readiness to compromise his claims for these five towns that they were of some importance at that time.

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⁵ Mbh. V, Sec. 30, verse 19, (P. C. Roy’s Eng. Trans. V, Sec. 31, p. 77). In T. R. Kṛṣṇāchārya’s edition of the Śrīmanmahābhāratam, based on South Indian texts, we have the name ‘Avisthalam’ instead of ‘Kuśasthalam’ (V, Sec. 31, verse 19).

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We are next told that it was at Kānyakubja that the Buddha “descended to earth again after his glorious ascent to the Trayastriṃśa heaven.” The spot was marked by the erection of a Tope, which was the fifth of the eight great Topes connected with the Master's career¹. He also preached there a sermon on sorrow and impermanency, representing the body as being like a bubble or foam². Strangely enough, the story of Kanauj itself presents a striking illustration of the truth of this discourse!

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¹ Watters, I, p. 337.

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² Beal, *The Travels of Fa-hian* (Fo-Kuo-ki), ch. xviii, p. xliii. The insignificance of Kanauj at the time of the Buddha is, however, demonstrated by its omission in the *Jātakas*.

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During the rule of the Mauryas Kanauj, like other towns in the north, must have formed part of their wide dominions, but it was otherwise an obscure place that played no part in their history. After the death of Aśoka, the Maurya empire crumbled to pieces, and seems to have been parcelled out amongst his sons. One of the latter, named Jalauka, pushed his conquests as far as Kānyakubja in the east.³ The statement, however, is very confused, and should not be implicitly relied upon as authoritative evidence of the alleged fact.

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³ *Rājat.* Vol. I, Bk. I, verse 117, (Stein, Trans., p. 22).

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The next mention of Kanauj is to be found in the *Mahābhāṣya* of the celebrated grammarian Patañjali usually assigned to circa 150 B. C.⁴ He gives the form Āhicchatrī and Kānyakubjī in the sense of a woman born at these two towns respectively.⁵ The use of the adjective derived from the name of the town thus clearly shows that Kānyakubja was a well-known place in the second century B. C. and it must have been founded considerably earlier.

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⁴ Smith, *Early History of India* (4th ed.), p. 228; Keith, *A History of Sanskrit Literature* (1928), p. 428.

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⁵ Kielhorn, *Mahābhāṣya*, II, p. 233 (see under "Gotrāvayavāt," Adhyāya 4, Pāda 1, Sūtra 79 of Pāṇini).

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It is again assumed that Kanauj is mentioned twice, firstly under the name of Kanagora; and secondly, under that of Kanogiza, in the *Geography* of Klaudios Ptolemy, who wrote his great work sometime about 140 A. D.¹ Kanagora is placed in longitude 135°, latitude 30°40', and is enumerated as one of the seven towns belonging to the Prasiake (Prācya), or the East. Among other cities mentioned are Sambhalaka, Adisdara, and Sāgala, which perhaps represent respectively Sambhal in Rohilkhand, Ahicchatra (Adikoṭa) identified with Ramnagar in the Bareilly district,² and Sākala, the modern Sialkot in the Punjab according to Smith.³ Saint Martin, however, believes that it stands for Sakula or Saghela, mentioned in the Ceylonese chronicles among the royal cities of Northern India, and which in the opinion of Turnour is the same as Kuśinagara, so well-known in Buddhist traditions.⁴ As observed by Dr. Vincent Smith, "it would be natural to find Kanauj in this company, and it is possible that Kanagora may be intended for that city".⁵ But from the form of the name it would seem more reasonable to identify it with Karṇapura or Kanakapura, i.e., modern Cawnpore, a trading centre not far from Kanauj.

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¹ *Ancient India as described by Ptolemy*, ed. S. N. Majumdar Śāstri (Calcutta, 1927), pp. 134, 227-28; *Ind. Ant.* XIII, pp. 352-353, 380-81.

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² Compare also *Kātikā* on Pāṇini, I, 75, where both Ahicchatra and Kānyakubja are included in the Prācya.

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³ *J. R. A. S.*, 1908, p. 766.

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⁴ *Ptolemy's Ancient India*, p. 135.

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⁵ *J. R. A. S.*, 1908, p. 766.

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The second name, Kanogiza, which bears a great resemblance to Kānyakubja, is placed in longitude 143° and latitude 32°. It occurs in a list of inland towns of transgangetic India.⁶ Ptolemy, while giving here the name more correctly, has put the city hopelessly out of position with reference to the Ganges, from which he has removed it several degrees although it was actually situated upon its bank. To add to our difficulty, none of the towns Selampura, Kassida, Eldana, and Asanbara, mentioned in the list containing Kanogiza, can be identified with any degree of certainty. Thus, though it is tempting to identify the one on the ground of affinity in sound to Kānyakubja, and the other because it is more correctly placed, we have no positive evidence to show that these names represent Kanauj.¹

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⁶ *Ptolemy's Ancient India*, pp. 224-25.

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¹ On the other hand Kennedy says, "We have certain reasons for thinking that both Ptolemy's Kanagora and Kanogiza refer to Kanauj, and we know no reason to the contrary" (*J. R. A. S.*, 1908, p. 880). See also Cunningham, *Arch. Surv. Ind. Rep.* Vol. I (1862-63), p. 280; Smith, *J. R. A. S.*, 1908, p. 766.

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The first notice of Kanauj with some scanty details is in the work of Fa-hian, who visited the town about the beginning of the fifth century A. D. So far, the references to Kanauj were purely legendary and incidental, but the record of Fa-hian is of historical importance, as it contains the impressions of an eye-witness. His meagre account is as follows: "Fa-hian resided in the Dragon *Vihāra* during the summer retreat. After this was over, going south-east seven *yojanas*, he arrived at the city of Ki-jou-i (Kanauj). This city borders on the Ganges. There are two *Sanghārāmas* here, both belonging to the system of Little Vehicle. Going from the city six or seven *li* in a westerly direction, on the north bank of the river Ganges, is the place where Buddha preached for the good of his disciples. Tradition says that he preached on impermanency and sorrow, and also on the body being like a bubble or foam. On this spot they have raised a tower, which still remains."² It is evident from the above description that during the pilgrim's itinerary, when the power of the Guptas was at its meridian, Kanauj was quite an unimportant and negligible place¹. The sun of the glory of Pāṭaliputra was still in the ascendant, but it soon began to decline, and the next century saw the rise of another political centre that was destined to hold pre-eminence till the avalanche of the Moslem conquest.

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² Beal, *The Travels of Fa-hian (Fo-Kuo-ki)*, ch. xviii, p. xliii.

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¹ Notwithstanding this testimony, it was at one time asserted that the Guptas had their capital at Kanauj (See Prinsep, *Indian Antiquities*, I, p. 284; Burgess, *Arch. Surv. W. India*, II, p. 80; Frazer, *Literary History of India*, p. 251). In the light of later researches, however, the error has become too obvious even to need any refutation or discussion (see Smith, *J. R. A. S.*, 1908, pp. 769-70; *J. A. S. B.*, 1884, p. 184 f; Fleet, *C. I. I.* Vol. III; Allan, *Gupta Coins*; Raychaudhuri, *Political History of India*, etc.).

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