History of Mediaeval Hindu India (being a History of India from 600 to 1200 A.D.) v3.c34.s6.57

v3.c34.s6.57

Commencing from Aparājita, therefore, the Śilāhāras became independent and more prosperous and began to be counted among the important ruling families of India. The family grew to greater renown still during the reign of succeeding kings ending with Aparāditya II, two inscriptions of whom dated 1185 and 1187 are found (J. R. A. S. Bombay XII p. 333). The latter calls himself, as others before him, Koṅkaṇa Chakravartin, a high sounding title indicative of independence and power. There were 11 kings from Aparājita to Aparāditya as shown in their genealogy and a period of about two hundred and ten years (990 to 1200 A. D.) roughly which gives the usual average of twenty years per king. Using this average generally, but keeping in view the dates of the known inscriptions of particular kings, we will assign probable dates for the reign of each (see the genealogy given at the end). The first king Aparājita thus we take to have ruled from 990 to 1010 A. D. He was succeeded by his elder son Vajjada and the latter was succeeded by his brother Arikesarin whose inscription (Thana plates A. R. I. p. 357 and Kielhorn’s genealogies) has been found and is dated 1017 A. D. We may, therefore, assign a short reign to Vajjada from 1010 to 1015. We have also to assign a short reign to Arikesarin in whose reign we may place the defeat of Konkan by Bhoja Paramāra mentioned in a grant of his dated 1020 A. D. (Vol. II p. 123 and E. I. XI p. 81), as his successor Chhittarāja, son of Vajjada, has left an inscription dated 1028 A. D., the well-known Bhandup inscription (I. A. V. p. 277). We, therefore, assign to Arikesarin a reign of ten years from 1015 to 1025 and to Chhittarāja a reign of twenty years from 1025 to 1045. The Bhandup grant of Chhittarāja is important in many respects which we will notice later on. His brother Nāgārjuna reigned after him and we assign a reign of ten years to him and to his successor his younger brother named Māmvāni a reign of 30 years from 1055 A. D. to 1085 A. D. An inscription of his time dated 1060 A. D. has been found in the well-known temple of Āmranātha (now pronounced Ambernath) near the G. I. P. station of that name about 6 miles from Kalyan. The king’s name is given as Mahāmvāni (sometimes given as Mamvani or Mammuni) and the record states that the temple was built of stone, in place of an old temple, by the Rājaguru or royal preceptor (Bombay J. R. A. S. IX p. 219). And there is another inscription found near the temple which records the erection of a building near it by a local officer (J. R. A. S. Bombay XII p. 329). This inscription is also of the same date viz. 1060 A. D.