History of Mediaeval Hindu India (being a History of India from 600 to 1200 A.D.) v1.c20.7

v1.c20.7

भवितारः। ततश्चाष्टौ यवनाश्चतुर्दश तुरुष्कारा मुण्डाश्च त्रयोदश एकादश मौना एते वै पृथिवीपतयः पृथिवीं दशवर्षशतानि नवत्याधिकानि भोक्ष्यन्ति। तेष्वत्स्वेषु कैलिकिल यवना भूपतया भविष्यन्त्यसूर्याभिषिक्ताः। तेषामपत्यं विन्ध्यशक्तिस्ततः पुरंजयस्तस्मा-द्रामचन्द्रस्तस्माद्धर्मवर्मा ततो वङ्गस्ततोभूवन्दनस्ततः सुनंदी तद्भाता नन्दियशाः शुकः प्रवीरः एते वर्षशतं षड्‌वर्षाणि भूपतयो भविष्यन्ति”। Now in this quotation the Yavanas are twice mentioned and at a long interval. We should, therefore, take the first 8 Yavana kings as the Greco-Bactrian kings of the Panjab who ruled before the Christian era. The Turushkaras are probably the Yue-chi. Who the Mundas were and who the Maunas it is not yet explained by any person but we shall try later on to discover it. The rule of all these covered 1090 years. When they were overthrown the Kailakila Yavanas ruled the earth. Their first king was Vindhyaśakti* and he was followed by 2 Puranjaya 3 Rāmachandra 4 Dharmavarman 5 Vanga 6 Nandana 7 Sunandin 8 Nandiyaśah and 9 Suka Pravīra. These ruled for 106 years.” These details given for the Kailakila Yavanas alone lead to two inferences viz. (1) that the writer or rather recaster of the Vishnu Purāṇa lived a little after these Yavanas somewhere about the 9th century A.D. and (2) that he must have been a native of Āndhra or at least of the country where these Yavanas ruled. As the Yavanas are mentioned as reigning in the Khalimpur grant of about 800 A. D. the time of these Yavana kings is tolerably settled. And their country too though not mentioned in that inscription must have been no other than Āndhra which might have formed part of the Kanauj empire along with Bhoja. Matsya, Madra, Kuru, Yadu, Avanti, Kīra and others. We, therefore, hold on the authority of the evidence mentioned by Hunter supported by the Vishnu Purāṇa that from before the days of Hiuen Tsang the Kailakila or Kāinkila Yavanas ruled in Āndhra upto 800 A. D. and even later down to about 900 A. D. Their mention in the Bhāgavata is also confirmatory in this connection and is interesting. किलिकिलायां नृपतयो भूतन्नन्दो-ऽथ वङ्गिरिः । शिशुनान्दिश्त्र तद्भ्राता यशोनन्दिः प्रवीरकः ॥ इत्येते वै वर्षशतं भविष्यन्त्यधिकानि षट् ॥ (द्वा. अ. १). Here the period 106 years is the same; the name Kailakila is the same though given as that of a place and five kings are named whose names are nearly the same as in the Vishnu. The Bhāgavata seems to follow the Vishnu Purāṇa at a distance and must date after the 9th century. The other Purāṇas too mention Yavanas, but none mentions the Kailakila Yavanas, Vindhyaśakti and others and these Purāṇas notably Vāyu and Matsya in their present form are generally rightly taken as the oldest Purāṇas and may be supposed to refer to the Yavana kings of the Panjab alone. Munda and Mauna barbarians are mentioned by these also and they also preceded the Guptas most certainly.