History of Mediaeval Hindu India (being a History of India from 600 to 1200 A.D.) v2.c29.s1.25

v2.c29.s1.25

Who was the first king that established his power in this Sambhar country it is difficult to state. The Harsha stone inscription begins its description of the Chāhamāna family with Gūvaka and when it uses the word Ādya or first we are tolerably certain that the word being taken with king and not with Gūvaka shows that the inscription looked upon him as the first great king of the Chāhamānas of Sambhar. The Bijolia inscription, however, begins with a verse which is not quite clear in its meaning, saying "There was a Brahmin (we take the reading vipra as suggested by Dr. Bhandarkar instead of viprah of the edition in A. S. R. LV) of Śrīvatsa gotra formerly in Ahichchhatrapura. From him was (descended or born) king Sāmanta of many Sāmantas or Sardars. ( पूर्णतल्ल (Purṇatalla) remains unintelligible) ; or we may translate the verse as " There was a Brahman of Śrīvatsa gotra in Ahichchhatra formerly, named Sāmanta. From him was born Purṇatalla ( a proper name) who had many Sardars." Whatever the correct translation, it is clear that this verse gives the goby to the later myth started by Chand that the first founder of the Chāhamānas was created by Vaśishtha on Mount Abu from his sacrificial fire. That story as we have already shown emanates from a poet's imagination only. But even this story given in this verse of the Bijolia inscription viz., that a Brahmin of the Vatsa gotra was the founder of the family is imaginery and suggested by a desire to explain the Vatsa gotra of the Chāhamāna Rajputs. We may, however, believe that there was a powerful Chāhamāna chieftain by name Sāmantadeva supported by many Sardars who belonged to Ahichchhatrapura (either Rampur or Nagaur) and who came to the Sambhar country and founded a kingdom there, since the Pṛithvīrāja Rāsā also gives the first great king after Chāhamāna as Sāmantadeva.