History of Mediaeval Hindu India (being a History of India from 600 to 1200 A.D.) v1.c14.s6.49

v1.c14.s6.49

The Chālukyas ruled over the three Mahārāshtras viz. Vidarbha, Mahārāshtra and Kuntala. Their territory thus included Berar and the Marathi districts of C. P., Marathi districts of the Nizam's dominions and those of the Bombay Presidency and curiously enough also included the Kanarese districts of Bombay. These last have always been parts of the Mahārāshtra kingdom with whomsoever it may be and have therefore properly been called Southern Maratha country. Even under Vijapur these districts were with the Mahomedans and not with Vijayanagar. The Eastern coast was under the Vengi Chālukya branch and Āndhra perhaps was independent. Sometimes Āndhra too came under Mahārāshtra. The declared number of villages in the three Mahārāshtras was 99000 (see Aihole inscription) and Āndhra had 12000 villages. These numbers of villages were, as already stated, traditionally fixed and appear to have always been mentioned in records ranging from 600 to 1200 A. D. i. e. the period we are treating of. Pulakeshin II was, however, the master of the whole of the south from the Nerbudda to Cape Comorin, a country of 7½ lakhs as stated in inscriptions. This number is inexplicable. For even adding the probable number of villages in Pallava, Pāndya, Chola, Kerala, Ganga, Kadamba and other kingdoms towards the south, the number cannot come up to 7½ lakhs. To what this figure applies is a mystery as shown in a previous note.