History of Kanauj to the Moslem Conquest c9.s2.10

c9.s2.10

Next, the Haraha inscription, found in the Bara-Banki district (near Lucknow) of the United Provinces,⁶ mentions Iśānavarman’s victories over the Andhras, the Sulikas, and the Gauḍas, who, according to Mr. N. G. Majumdar “were all compelled to accept his sovereignty.”¹ But a close perusal of the inscription hardly justifies our drawing this conclusion. It describes the Gauḍas as being forced “in future to remain within their proper realm,” which shows that they were only checked in the course of their aggrandizement. Besides, Iśānavarman could not extend his suzerainty as far as Gauḍadeśa, when he had to bow to the steel of a king of an intermediate territory, viz. Kumāragupta, the later Gupta monarch of Magadha. Probably the Andhras and the Sūlikas were likewise the aggressors, and Iśānavarman’s engagements with them were more or less of the nature of a successful trial of arms, no annexation of their territories or imposition of Iśānavarman’s authority being implied.