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History of Mediaeval Hindu India (being a History of India from 600 to 1200 A.D.) v3.c35: Chapter XIII. The Eastern Gangas of Trikalinga and Orissa.

History of Mediaeval Hindu India (being a History of India from 600 to 1200 A.D.) v3.c35

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Chapter XIII. The Eastern Gangas of Trikalinga and Orissa.

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Anga, Vanga, Kalinga.

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During this sub-period of Hindu Indian history, a new kingly line came to power in the Kalinga country. The Eastern Gangas of Trikalinga are treated by Kielhorn as a Northern India line properly enough, though Kalinga (modern districts of Vizagapattam and Ganjām) is by race and language a southern country. But from the most ancient times, Anga, Vanga and Kalinga are always leagued together, as Bihar and Bengal or Orissa are leagued together in modern history. Kalinga was, however, in very ancient days taken possession of by Aryan invaders and though in prehistoric times it was considered a sin for Aryans to visit, much more to reside in the country, from before the days of Aśoka and even in the days of the Brāhmaṇas, Aryans came in numbers to settle therein. Aśoka conquered the country with great effort, killing a lakh of people and the country became Buddhist. The country consisted of three parts even in the days of Pliny and hence probably arose the name Trikalinga (Vizagapattam Gazetteer p. 26). This fashion of prefixing a number to names of southern countries may be seen in the mention of three Mahārāṣṭras, seven Konkaṇas and Trairājya Pallavas (Vol. I p. 286). What these three parts were it is difficult to state. They probably meant 1 Kalinga proper, consisting of the East Coast Districts of Ganjām, Vizagapattam and Godāvari 2 Andhra the territory above the Eastern Ghats and 3 perhaps Odra or Orissa to the north of the Mahānadi, Vengi being considered distinct from Trikalinga (Vol. I p. 304). Till about the end of the ninth century Kalinga was certainly under the Eastern Chālukyas of Vengi whose capital lay to the south of the Godāvari. The common people of the country were Dravidians and these and even the incoming Aryans then spoke and now speak the non-Aryan language called Andhra or Telugu.

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The Eastern Gangas who rose to power in the beginning of the 11th century, A. D., in their inscriptions, state that they originally came from the south (Kolāhala town in Gangavāḍi J. Bengal LXV part I p. 237) and were long established in the country. Taking advantage of the downfall of the Vengi Chālukyas about this time before the rising Chola power, the Eastern Gangas became independent under Vajrahasta. His son Rājarāja was married to Rūpasundarī daughter of Rājendra, a most powerful Chola king who practically destroyed Vengi power. Their son was Anantavarman Choda-Ganga, probably called so because he was descended from Gangas and Cholas. He was the most powerful king of this family, as usual the third and also as usual he reigned long. Inscriptions of these kings have been found and as the Gangas in a sense inherited the power and the system of government of the Eastern Chālukyas of Vengi, their inscriptions are very definite and always give the Śaka era of the inscription as also the exact periods of rule of the several kings. Nay they even give the exact date, day, month and year of the coronation of the last or most important king. And even the gotra of the family with detailed descent from the moon is given in their inscriptions. There is thus no indefiniteness about these kings or their dates and we proceed to give their history as deduced from their inscriptions. Unfortunately the praises of kings are as usual fulsome and without much historical detail. But there are a few references to contemporaneous kings and from these some light is thrown on the general history of Hindu India.

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The first important king who rose to power as stated above in Trikalinga was Vajrahasta II. His grant dated 1058 A. D. published in E. I. IV p. 175-189 gives full details about this family. It belonged to the lunar race and had the Ātreya gotra. The original ancestor who gave his name to the family was Gāṅgeya (not Bhīshma). It obtained power in Kalinga through the favour of Śiva named Gokarṇa whose temple was on the Mahendra mountain. The family was first feudatory, endowed with the five sounding instruments. It was divided into five branches which united sometime about the ninth century A. D. Vajrahasta who was crowned in 1038 A. D. is first styled Paramabhaṭṭāraka etc. showing that he was the first independent king. He was a Parama Māheśvara or devout devotee of Śiva, as usual with the kingly families of the time. It seems that he defeated both Vengi and Orissa kings. He ruled for 30 years. He has left some inscriptions two of which have been mentioned against his name by Kielhorn. His inscription dated 1058 is chiefly in prose and very terse and gives the exact time with not only the year, month &c. but the exact lagna and the position of the moon and other planets at the auspicious moment of coronation. He issues the grant from Kalinga-nagara which has been identified with the place now named Mukhalingam in the Pārlākimedi Taluka of the Ganjam District some miles distant from the sea.

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Vajrahasta was succeeded by his son Rājarāja in 1068 A. D. He ruled for eight years. In an inscription of his son Avantivarman (I. A. XVIII p. 166) we are told that he assisted Vijayāditya of Vengi against the Chola king as also Utkala (against probably the Sena king). Eastern Chālukya history given in Vol. I (p. 310) shows Vijayāditya ruling from 1043 to 1078. Before him there is shown an interregnum of 27 years which probably gave the opportunity to these Gangas of Kalinga to assume independence. In an inscription of the Brahmin feudatory Vanarāja of Rājarāja (E. I. IV p. 314) it is stated that Vanarāja first fought with Chola (probably in assisting Vijayāditya) and then conquered Vengi and plundered it, killing one Dānārnava. This inscription is dated 1075 A. D. and Rājarāja appears to have ruled till 1076.

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Rājarāja was married to Rūpasundarī a daughter of the great Chola king Rājendra but this did not prevent his fighting with Cholas for protecting Vengi. Anantavarman son of Rājarāja and Rūpasundarī succeeding Rājarāja became, as said above, the greatest king of this line. He has left many inscriptions (Kielhorn mentions four against his name, Genealogies E. I. VIII). The inscription dated 1080 noted above (I. A. XVIII p. 166) is most detailed. It mentions that Rājarāja fought against Dramila (Chola) and protected Vijayāditya. Anantavarman also himself set up Vengi in the east and Utkala in the west and thus set up two pillars of victory in two directions. Cholas allege that they conquered Kalinga at this time but it does not appear to be likely. Anantavarman is better known as Chodaganga a name which we have explained above. His coronation year is given as 1076 A. D. with exact details about the auspicious moment, and he made a grant on that account (I. A. XVIII p. 163) and there are three more grants of his dated 1081, 1118 and 1135 published in the same I. A. XVIII in one of which he makes a grant to a Śiva temple built by his father and hence named Rājarājeśvara.

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In the long detailed copperplate inscription published in Bengal J. R. A. S. LXV part I p. 240, it is stated that Chodaganga eventually conquered and annexed Utkala or Orissa and thereby got land, treasures, 1000 elephants, 10,000 horses etc. as from the churning of the ocean of Utkala.* This seems to show that at this time the Kesari dynasty ended in Orissa. It is further stated that Chodaganga built the present great temple of the god Jagannātha "who created and is coextensive with the whole world, a temple where even Lakshmī was glad to reside leaving her father's home" (V. 28). Chodaganga in his inscription calls himself Parama Vaishṇava. This change of worship shows that the Vishnu cult was now becoming supreme not only in Kalinga but also in Orissa and a little later in Bengal where Lakshmaṇasena also became a Parama Vaishṇava. Of this rise and spread of Vaishṇavism we will speak in detail in our religious survey chapter.

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In this long inscription of 105 long-metred verses besides the last prose portion, Chodaganga is praised the highest. He is further said to have defeated a Mandāra king whose capital was destroyed and who fled beyond the Ganges. Who this king was cannot be determined. Chodaganga reigned long described as 70 years in this inscription; but the coronation year of his son Kāmārṇava is given in this inscription as 1064 Ś or 1142 A. D. showing that Chodaganga ruled sixty-six years (1076-1142). His son's rule extended over 10 years only. Coming after a long reign his reign was naturally short as he must have been quite an elderly person when he came to the throne. In 1152 A. D. he was succeeded by his half-brother Rāghava who also ruled for a short time i. e. 15 years. He was succeeded by a third son of Chodaganga named Rājarāja in 1167; he probably came to the throne young and ruled 25 years when he was succeeded in 1192 by a fourth son of Chodaganga named Aniyanka Bhīma. Customary praise is bestowed on all these kings in this long inscription (Bengal LXV part II) and they are generally said to have defeated their enemies. Their coronation dates with auspicious conjunctions are, however, not given and this probably shows that their reigns were not very important. Aniyanka Bhīma or Ananga Bhīma naturally reigned only 10 years. Orissa seems to be now completely under the Gangas as a Gautama-gotra lunar-race Kshatriya feudatory of Orissa named Svapneśvara fought many battles for Aniyanka Bhīma and built the Svapneśvara-Meghavāhana (Śiva) temple in Orissa during his reign and recorded a Praśasti there (Bengal J. R. A. S. LXVI p. 18).

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∗ निर्मथ्योत्कलसिन्धुराजमपरं गङ्गेश्वरः प्राप्तवान्.. कीर्तिसुधाकरं.. लक्ष्मीं धरण्या समम् ॥ माद्यद्भासिसहस्रभनियुतं रत्नाभ्यसंस्थ्यानि वै तं सिन्धोः किमियं प्रकर्षमथवा भूयस्तदुन्माथिनं ॥

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Aniyanka Bhīma was succeeded in 1202 by his son Rājarāja who ruled for 17 years. Rājarāja is the last king we will notice in this chapter, though many kings ruled after him for about two centuries more and the last inscription we have of this line is one of Narasinha dated 1384 A. D referred to above as the long inscription in LXV Bengal (page 260). When and how this dynasty fell does not clearly appear but the country was probably seized by another family in the days of the Bahamani kings as will be stated later on.

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We may add a few general remarks about this dynasty. It was a lunar race dynasty and in its inscriptions following the Eastern Chālukyas, a detailed genealogy from the moon is given wherein Gāngeya is said to be a son of Turvasu, second son of Yayāti. The Turvasus along with the Yadus are mentioned in the Rigveda (Vol. II p. 288), but they are said therein to have finally become extinct or merged with the Pānchālas. In the Ganga inscriptions it is said that Turvasu was childless and obtained a son by propitiating the Ganges. The southern families Chola, Pāndya, Kerala and Kola are stated, in the Hari-vanśa also, to be descendants of Turvasu to whom in the division of earth, Yayāti assigned the south-east. Chola, Pāndya and other southern kingdoms are of ancient date; but that they do not claim descent from Yādavas shows that they are distinct from the Mahārāstra Aryans. The Gangas also in their inscriptions claim descent from Turvasu and belong to the southern mixed Aryan group.

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These Gangas were, however, thoroughly orthodox and of the Vedic religion. They were previously worshippers of Śiva. They patronised Śiva worship in Andhra which is even now predominently Śaivite. The later kings were, however, Vaiṣṇavas probably from inspiration from Orissa which was also previously Śaivite but in this period became the home of Vaiṣṇavism.

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These kings were as learned and patrons of learned men as kings in other countries at this time in India. Though the names of noted Sanskrit authors in their court are not yet known, we may accept the praise bestowed on these kings notably on Rājarāja and on Anantavarman Chodaganga in this respect viz. that Śrī and Sarasvatī both resided amicably in Rājarāja’s mouth and that Chodaganga was learned in the Vedas and the Śāstras and even in architecture and other fine arts as if Sarasvatī herself was his nurse.* His taste for architecture is immortalised in the Jagannath temple in Puri. He was in this way a true follower of Bhoja of Malwa. The Telugu language developed under the Gangas also and we actually find Telugu in an inscription of Rājarāja ( E. I. IV p. 314 ). The Lānchhana or crest of these kings was a bull.

Orissa

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We will conclude this chapter with a brief reference to Orissa which practically formed part of Trikalinga in this sub-period. Odra along with Paundra was Dravida or non-Āryan in ancient times and the home still of Śabaras, as also of Khonds, and of Bhuryas and Imayas, of Utkalas and Mekalas ( Cuttuck Gazetteer p. 17 ). It was, however, early settled by Aryans but these Brahmins and Kshatriyas in Buddhist times became degraded and new Brahmins and Kshatriyas came in the days of the Kesari kings and established Śiva worship in place of Buddhist worship introduced by Aśoka.

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∗ धात्री तस्य सरस्वती समभवन्नूनं न चेत्पीतवान् तत्सारस्वतमार्यबालकतमः श्रीचोडगङ्गेश्वरः ॥ तादृग्वेदमतिः कथं निपुणता शास्त्रेषु तादृक्कथं तादृक् काव्यकृतिः कथं परिणतिः शिल्पेपु तादृक् कथम् ॥ ( J. R. A. S. Bengal LXV p. 331 )

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The history of these Kesari kings is given in Vol. I chapter 12. They ruled from the 8th to 12th century. The Cuttuck Gazetteer states that some persons doubt the existence of these Kesari kings as no epigraphic evidence is found about them. But the Gazetteer adds that this doubt no longer can be entertained as two inscriptions of Udyota Kesari have been found, one in a cave in the Khandagiri hill and the other in the Brahmeśvara temple at Bhuvaneśvara. M. Sylvan Levi has also pointed out that in a Japanese version of a Buddhist Sūtra sent by a Buddhist monk in 796-798 as from a king of Utkala to a Japanese Emperor the king's name is given as Parama Māheśvara Mahārāja Śubhakara Kesari (Cuttuck Gazetteer p. 22). These are new facts which are found in this Gazetteer and though relating to history given in Vol. I we record them here for the sake of completing that history. The Gazetteer gives further details about the temples built at Bhuvaneśvar by these Kesari kings. These stately temples exhibit the fine architecture of the time and the ample resources of these kings.

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From Chola records we learn that Orissa was conquered by Rājendra in 1021 but the conquest was not permanent. The Eastern Gangas who became powerful hereafter, however, conquered and permanently annexed Orissa and an inscription of Chodaganga dated 1118 A. D. states that he was complete master of Orissa. The famous temple of Jagannāth, as already stated, was built by him (probably about 1150) as also a temple named Gangeśvara after him at Jaipur. Rāghava son of Chodaganga was defeated by Vijayasena of Bengal (Gazetteer p. 24) but it is doubted if this is the Rāghava defeated by him, as this Rāghava's rule extended from 1156 to 1170 and Vijayasena could not have reigned so late. We have already noticed the building of the grand temple of Megheśvara at Bhuvaneśvara by a brother-in-law of the next king (Aniyanka Bhima 1193-1198 ditto).

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Orissa was invaded by armies of the Sultans of Bengal (Lakhnauti) and in an inscription in a Jagannāth temple in Chateśvara in Cuttuck District, Viṣṇu a Brahmin minister of Bhima is said to have fought and defeated Yavanas. The Tabakat and other Mahomedan histories mention many raids by Bengal Mahomedan Sultans into Orissa and even Firoz Tughlaq of Delhi attacked it. The kings of Vijayānagar as also the Bahamani kings attacked Orissa and its Gajapati kings. At last in 1435 on the death of the last Ganga king, his minister Kapilendradeva with the aid of the Bahamani king Adilshah II seized the kingdom and founded a new solar dynasty ( Cuttuck Gazetteer p. 25 ).

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GENEALOGY OF THE EASTERN GANGAS OF TRIKLINGA.

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Vajrahasta I r. 35 years (984-1019)

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Madhukāmārṇava r. 19 years (1019-1038)

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I Vajrahasta II r. 30 years (1038-1068) Insc. 1058

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II Rājārāja r. 8 years (1068-1076) Insc. 1075 m. Rājasundri d. of Rājendrachola

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III Anantavarman Chodaganga r. 70 years (1076-1142) built the famous Jagannāth temple.

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| . . . . . | . . . . .
| | |

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IV Kāmārṇava V Rāghava r. 15 y. VI Rājārāja r. 15 y. (1167-1182) r. 10 years (1142-1152) (1152-1167) |

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VII Aniyanka Bhīma r, 10 years

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VIII Rājārāja r. 17 years (1192-1209)

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THE CHOLAS OF TANJORE.

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It is a phenomenon worthy of historical note that in the several divisions of India, forceful persons appeared at about the same time and established new kingdoms or raised the old to glory at the beginning of this sub-period of Mediaeval Hindu Indian history (except unfortunately in the Madhyadeśa or Kanauj). Thus Mūlarāja founded the Chālukya kingdom in Gujarat in 974 A. D. and Munja established the glory of the Paramāras in Malwa in 974 A. D. Tailapa founded the later Chālukya kingdom in the Deccan in the same year and the Chola king Rājarāja I raised the Chola kingdom of South India to power and fame in 985 A.D. While Mahīpāla again raised the tottering Pāla power in Bengal in 980 A.D., Dhanga estalished the Bundelkhand renown for valour in the battle of 980 fought with Sabuktagin who founded the young Ghazni kingdom itself in 977 A. D. The appearance of powerful men of energy and ambition in the last quarter of the tenth century A. D. and at about the same time is striking and leads to inferences which are outside the scope of history.

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Of such forceful men, Rājarāja Chola was not the least. He was the successor of Āditya Chola who had already done much to raise the Chola power by freeing it from Pallava dominion. Rājarāja I by his energy and valour raised the Tamil land or South India as we may call it, to the position of a South Indian empire and the Cholas enjoyed this position for nearly a century not only in South India but over a large portion of the adjoining territory. The history of this Chola kingdom (which properly falls within the period treated of in this volume) is well told by Mr. K. V. Subrahmanya Aiyar as also by Dr. Smith in his Early History of India and we give here a short summary of it from these authors, with a few remarks of our own, especially because the records of these Chola kings, numerous as they are, are solely in Tamil and Kanarese and thus are beyond our personal study of them.

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The Tamil country or South India is a distinct part of the Indian continent, in climate, soil, products, population and language. It is called Dravida in ancient Sanskrit literature, Dramila being another form often used in inscriptions. The people are Dravidian par excellence by race as the people of the Panjab are Aryans by race par excellence. Yet Tamil civilization was high in most ancient times and the Aryan immigrants being few were converted into Dravadians by language and even by race. The three kingly families Chola, Pāndya and Kerala are noted even in the Mahābhārata and the Harivamśa and are said to be descended from Turvasu son of Yayāti. The country is fertile but hot, plain in the east and mountainous in the west and produced even then certain articles which were its own viz. pearls, pepper and beryl prized in the western world which brought Roman gold to the land in abündance ( Smith ). We may add a fourth article viz. cotton and the Tamil country produced fine cotton cloth even in the days of the Mahābhārata; for Chola and Pāndya kings are said therein to have brought presents of extremely fine cotton cloth to Yudhishthira at the time of his Rājasūya or Imperial coronation. The Tamil country was thus prosperous and known from of old and Aryan, Buddhist and Jain religions strove for mastery here and the same intensity of religious animosity prevailed in this sub-period ( as we shall show in our chapter on religious survey ) as prevailed in ancient time and as even continues to this day.

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In this old Dravida country and in this old Chola family, Rājarāja I came to the throne in 985 A. D. Like all ambitious kings he first paid attention to the raising and maintaining of an efficient army and then expanding his territory by the aid of that force. He trained up the Vellakurais or local bowmen as Shivaji trained up the Mawlas and he had several regiments of these named after his own titles ( Aiyar’s Historical Sketch of Ancient Deccan p. 245 ). He also had an elephant corps and infantry ( in which Telugu people were chiefly enrolled ). He kept also select body-guards like Mahmud. He ruled in Tanjore and from thence extended his dominion south, west and north, by conquering Pāndya, Kerala and Pallava kings. He even destroyed the Chera fleet on the west coast. From these conquests he got immense booty in gold, silver and pearls which is not incredible. He also conquered Gangavāḍi, Kudamalai (Coorg), Nolambavāḍi (Bellary) and Vengi of the Eastern Chālukyas and even Kalinga. These conquests meant, in our view, not annexation but mere subjugation of the territories. For in Vengi he established Saktivarman an Eastern Chālukya king as his feudatory. He gave his daughter to the next successor Vimalāditya (See Vol. I p. 310); and this relationship was continued as Vimala's son and also grandson married Chola princesses. This sort of marriage is peculiar to the southerners who like to marry a daughter of the maternal uncle (a marriage prohibited by the Smṛitis) even from the days of Śrīkṛishna and Rukmiṇī, of Arjuna and Subhadrā. Rājarāja also conquered Ceylon and assigned a part of its revenues to the maintenance of the Rājarājeśvara (Śiva) temple he hereafter built at Tanjore, a temple which has perpetuated his name in South India (Aiyar p. 248). He finally attacked Satyāśraya, Western Chālukya king and defeated him signally with a force the number of which is exaggerated to 9 lakhs of men and a cruelty which extended to the slaughtering of women, children and Brahmins, a thing unheard of in Hindu conflicts. This conquest certainly added to his renown, power and wealth and enabled him to build the superb and stupendous Rājarājeśvara temple at Tanjore and also other structures elsewhere which testify to the high skill in sculpture and architecture of South Indian workmen and builders.

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But Rājarāja I was not only a great conqueror and a great builder but also a great administrator. South India is known from ancient times for its irrigation works but the great works of irrigation from the Kauveri were built by Rājarāja I. He also surveyed and settled the country in 1011 A. D. The survey and settlement was so minute that "even 52, 428, 800, 000 of a Veli was measured and assessed for revenue" (Aiyar p. 249). This establishes the reputation of the revenue administrators and mathematicians of those days in South India a reputation still possessed by its administrators and mathematicians. Dr. Smith mentions a revenue survey undertaken by a successor of Rājarāja in 1086 A. D., the date of the Doomsday register in England (E. H. I. p. 486 3rd Edn).

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¹ 52, 428, 800, 000

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As a devotee of Śiva Rājarāja loved the stirring hymns composed in Tamil by Śaiva saints like Appar and others (63 in number) and he set up their images and made provision for the recitation of their hymns in the Rājarājeśvara temple. It may be further stated that he set up the images of his father and his mother (who burnt herself with her husband's dead body as Sati) both of whom were revered as pious persons throughout the Tamil land.

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Lastly Rājarāja was a patron of music and dancing and he invited and settled in Tanjore female dancers as also singers, pipers and drummers. Nātyaśāstra was specially studied and practised in music-halls built for the purpose. Colleges were also built and learned teachers were appointed to them and they taught literature and Śāstra to students in these and in temples (Aiyar p. 251).

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Rājarāja was extremely religious, it need not be told, and he made many gifts to Brahmins and temples and his queens and officers also made such gifts. But the gift ceremony of Tulādāna made by him deserves a special mention viz. the weighing of the king in gold and its gift to Brahmins, a mode of gift which appears to have become very popular in this sub-period as it is frequently mentioned even in inscriptions of Kanauj and Trikalinga kings. It is further related that Rājarāja's chief queen passed through a golden cow on that occasion which thus multiplied the gift of gold to Brahmins (a manner of gift rarely heard or thought of). Of course Brahmins who are real Brahmins and who pass a religious life in teaching or worshipping deserve to be cared for by the state and such gifts served the purpose of modern educational and ecclesiastical endowments.

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The administration of the country under Rājarāja was detailed and civilized and registers were duly kept and supervisors appointed for all state business. Aiyar has not noticed, however, the elaborate village system of panchāyat administration which obtained in South India particularly and which is noticed by Dr. Smith who admires it and observes that it is a pity that it is no longer in existence. The details of this system we will try to notice in our chapter on the general survey of civil adminisration later on.

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Rājarāja was succeeded by his son Rājendra in 1014 and he was a greater king, if possible, than his father and ruled long till 1044 A. D. He made more extensive conquests; he not only reconquered the rebellious Pāndya and Kerala kings, but annexing their dominions appointed viceroys called Chola-Pāndya or Chola-Kerala (terms which show that the viceroys still ruled for the rightful Pāndya or Kerala). He also again defeated the Western Chālukyas (under Jayasinha III) and also the Ceylon king. Emboldened by these successes it is said that he led his conquering expedition right up to the Ganges subjugating Kalinga, Bengal (Mahīpāla I), Indraratha (?), Kosala and even Kanauj. He took the name of Gangai-Kond to signalise this extensive conquest and founded a city near Trichonopoly by name Gangai-Konda Cholapuram, the ruins of which in the Trichonopoly District are still admired, together with a vast artificial lake built by him with an embankment 16 miles long and with sluices at convenient places for irrigation (Smith E. H. I. p. 466). He even had a strong navy built and crossing the bay of Bengal conquered a part of Burma. Although these feats may have been exaggerated in his inscriptions, it cannot be doubted that he held extensive sway in the south-east. For even Al-Beruni mentions that south-east of Prayag almost the whole country (the present Madras Presidency and eastern parts of the C. P. and the Nizam's dominions) was under the Cholas. Such extensive sway could not have lasted long and we actually find Trikalinga and Chedi establishing their power about 1040 A. D. in the territory to the north of the Krishna.

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Rājendra was a warrior and also a learned man as the title pandit is found prefixed to his name in inscriptions. He is said to have sent an embassy to China and he certainly had a large fleet. Rājendra is said to have brought Northern India Brahmins and settled them in South India, a measure adopted by all religiously inclined kings in eastern and southern India of this time such as Ballālasena and others. The Chola empire attained its highest glory under Rājendra who was as usual, the third great king in this line.

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Rājendra was succeeded by his son Rājādhirāja who was a powerful king no doubt but rather cruel in his treatment of rebellious feudatories. He killed a Ceylon king and had a Chera king trampled under the feet of an elephant. It is not necessary to give details, but this shows that decline had set in. He defeated Āhavamalla (Someśvara) once but in the next battle of Koppam in 1052 A. D. he was killed on the battle-field. He was immediately succeeded by his younger brother Rājendradēva who was present and who was crowned on the battle-field itself. This is the only battle we know of in Hindu history wherein the death of the commanding king did not lead to defeat. The younger brother Rājendradēva by his bravery retrieved the fortune of the day and eventually conquered Āhavamalla who is said to have fled across the Tungabhadrā. It may be stated that the Cholas and the later Chālukyas of this period and the Pallavas and Early Chālukyas of the first sub-period (600-800), like France and Germany, were neighbours who took delight in constant fighting with each other and who by their bravery never gained advantage, one over the other, for any long time.

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Rājendradeva ruled for about 10 years from 1052 to 1062 and he was succeeded by his brother Vīra Rājendra who was also a capable ruler. Besides wars with the Pāndyas and Keralas, he had three successive fights with the Western Chālukyas, who divided empire over India south of the Nerbudda with the Cholas. The Deccan and South India kings usually attacked each other, though the Tungabhadrā was their natural boundary and though they had no cause for quarrel except ambition. Vīra Rājendra was successful for a time but in 1070 A. D. lost his life in a battle, being cursed, it is said, by the Jains of Belgola whom he had oppressed (Aiyar p. 262).

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Mr. Aiyar's account ends with the reign of this king but we have to continue the account until the end of the 12th century. It is strange that Aiyar does not mention the fact recorded by Bilhana that Vīrarājendra gave his daughter to Vikramānka Chālukya. It seems certain that after Vīrarājendra's death in 1070, the succession was disputed and Vikramānka went and placed on the throne of Kanchi (not Tanjore?) his wife's brother named Adhirājendra. He was, however, after Vikrama's departure soon murdered and eventually the succession went to Rājendra Chola II a son of a daughter of Rājendra I married to an Eastern Chālukya prince. This Rājendra had lived from his childhood at the Chola court and had even given up his paternal kingdom of Vengi on the death of his father in 1062 to his uncle. He, it is alleged, was adopted by Rājendra Gangai-Konda, (adoption among Kshatriyas of a daughter's son could not be valid). Whatever his claim, he may be said to have duly come to the throne and started a new Chola line called Chālukya-Chola by Smith. He came to the throne in 1074 A. D. (Smith assigns the four years from 1070 to 1074 to Adhirājendra the brother-in-law of Vikrama murdered); and he ruled vigorously for 48 years counting his reign from 1070, and his capital was Gangai-Konda-Cholapura. He is said to have defeated Anantavarman Chodaganga; but this defeat must have been an insignificant one, as we have seen that Chodaganga of Kalinga was a powerful king. This war is described in a Tamil poem Kalingatupparani (Gaurishankar's Tod p. 428 and I. A. XIX). The revenue settlement of Tamil country mentioned by Smith was carried out in his reign. His reign is also important for the fact that Rāmānuja the founder of the Śrivaishnava philosophy flourished during his time. Of this and the death of Adhirājendra his predecessor which is attributed to a curse of this great saint we will speak at length in the chapter on religious survey. Here it will suffice to remark that here began the great feud between Śaivism and Vaishnavism which has distracted Hinduism since that time and which for ever destroyed the unity of the Hindu religion which fortunately had subsisted through three centuries.

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Rājendra II who took a new title Kulottunga was succeeded in 1118 by his son Vikrama Chola who was also a powerful king. He had his hereditary fights with the Chālukyas, the Pāndyas and the Kalingas and others and his exploits are celebrated in a special poem (J. A. XXII p. 142). He was succeeded in 1135 A. D. by Kulottunga II who reigned for 11 years and who was followed in 1145 by his son Rājarāja II who ruled 19 years. From 1165 to 1267 A. D. four more kings ruled viz: Rājadhirāja 1172, Kulottunga III 1178, Rājarāja III and Rājendra Choda III 1216 and the kingdom of the Cholas was subverted by the Pāndya king Jatāvarman Sundara Pāndya. The final subjugation of South India or at least its dissolution by the Mahomedans hap [illegible text]ed later during the raids of Malik Kafur a general of Allauddin Khilji about 1310-11.

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There are a few general observations to make on this Chola dynasty. The Cholas represent themselves in their inscriptions as solar-race Kshatriyas born in the line from Śibi. But as stated before, the Harivaṁśa represents Chola, Pāndya, and Kerala as born from Turvasu in the lunar line. These kings were Śaivites and it is to be regretted that about the time of the fall of the first Chola portion, the kings became bigotted and departing from the usual tolerant attitude of Hindu kings used their political power to suppress Jainism and Vaishṇavism which was indeed a great blunder. The subject will be discussed fully later on. The ensign of the Cholas was a tiger. The Cholas struck many gold and silver coins which have been found.

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GENEALOGY OF THE CHOLAS OF TANJORE. (Gaurīśankar's Tod pp. 425 and 426)

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Parāntaka

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Aditya I Rājarāja I (1985-1014)

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d. Kamaradevi m. Vimalāditya E. Chālukya II Rājendra (1014-1044)

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Rājarāja E. | | | m. d. Ammagā III Rājadhīrāja (1044-1052) IV Rājendradeva VII Rājendra Kulottunga (1070-1118) |

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| V Vīrarājendra (1062-1070)

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VIII Vikrama Choda (1018-1135) |

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| VI Adhirājendra murdered in 1072

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IX Kulottunga II (1135-1146)

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X Rājarāja II (1146-1165). Interregnum

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XI Rājadhīrāja II (1192-1178)

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XII Kulottunga III (1178-1216)

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IMPORTANT FEUDATORY KINGDOMS OF SOUTHERN INDIA PART I.

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The two great kingdoms to the south of the Nerbudda which were almost empires, viz. the Deccan kingdom of western Chālukyas and the south Indian kingdom of the Cholas have been described as also the independent Śilāhāra kingdom in Konkan on the west coast and the independent Eastern Ganga kingdom of Trikalinga on the east coast. Besides these important kingdoms which flourished in the third sub-period of Hindu history (1000-1200) there were some important feudatory kingdoms which rose to greater power in the 12th century A. D. than before, recording inscriptions and which became independent and powerful in the 13th century, which require to be noticed, though their history in the 13th century is outside the scope of this history and will not be dealt with in this volume. The fall of southern India in the beginning of the 14th century under Allauddin Khilji and his general Malik Kafur is so important as to require a separate volume for its treatment. The history of these kingdoms in the 12th century though they were then feudatories must, however, be given in this volume and we proceed to give a short sketch of that history in this chapter and the following.

1 Yādavas of Devagiri.

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The first kingdom deserving notice is the Yādava kingdom of Devagiri (Daulatabad). Its founder is said by Hemādri to be Driḍhaprahāra who founded a small kingdom at Chandrapuri or Chandor in the Nasik District in about 843 A. D. (Gaurishankar's Tod and Bombay Gazetteer Vol. I part I). One of his descendants named Bhillama II was a powerful feudatory of Tailapa Chālukya of Kalyan. He fought bravely in the battle of Tailapa with Munja of Malwa in which Munja was taken prisoner. An inscription of his dated 1000 A. D has been found. His son named Vesugi ruled after him and Vesugi was followed by Bhillama III who was married to a daughter of Jayasiṁha III Chālukya and fought in several battles of his as his feudatory. After three intervening kings we come to Seuṇachandra who according to Hemādri’s Praśasti assisted the famous king Parmādi Vikramāditya Chālukya in obtaining the throne of Kalyan. An inscription of his (dated 1069 A. D.) has been found. After seven successors one Bhillama IV son of Apara Gāṅgeya assumed independence when Someśvara Chālukya after the rise of the Kalachūri intervening kings at Kalyan practically became powerless and Bhillama founded an independent kingdom in the north part of the Deccan and founding Devagiri made it his capital in 1187. A. D. Bhillama’s dominion eventually extended from the Nerbudda to the Krishna and he had fights with many neighbouring kings especially with the Hoyasala Yādavas of the south whom we will presently describe. He died about 1191 probably in a battle with the Hoyasalas. His son was Jaitugi or Jaitrapāla and he had a great fight with the Kākatīya Āndhra king Rudra who was killed in battle and whose son Gaṇapati was taken prisoner. But he liberated the latter and placed him on the throne of the Āndhras. Jaitugi was a learned man himself and a patron of learned men. The famous Deccan astronomer Bhāskarāchārya lived a little before his time as his son Lakṣmīdhara was the chief court-pandit of Jaitugi. He died about 1210 A. D. and he was succeeded by Siṅghaṇa another powerful king of this line. We stop our account of the Yādavas of Devagiri with Siṅghaṇa and leave their later history for later treatment, and also because that history is well-known. Eventually the kingdom was subverted by Mahomedans under Allauddin.

2 Kākatīyas of Warangal.

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The next kingdom to be noticed is the Āndhra Kākatīya kingdom to the east of Devagiri. The Kākatīyas claim to be solar-race Kshatriyas and they had a kingdom in Āndhra (above the Eastern Ghats) and their chief town was Annamakonda subsequently called Orungallu (Warangal). They were in the beginning, like the Yādavas of Chandod, feudatories of the Western Chālukyas. Their first independent king was Prola (son of Bela) and he began to reign about 1117 A. D. of which year an inscription of his has been found (Aiyyar p. 277).

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It is also dated 42 of the Chālukya Vikrama year which proves that this part of the country was till then subject to the Chālukyas. Prola ruled long till about 1160 and he is said to have defeated Taila III. He was succeeded by his son Rudra who certainly was a great king. He is said to have destroyed many hostile towns and settled the people therein at Orungallu. He built many temples and he patronised learned men. "His power was so great that all kings between Kānchi and the Vindhyas sought his protection" (Aiyyar-do). He was succeeded by his younger brother Mahādeva in about 1191 A. D. It is surmised by Aiyyar that Mahādeva was killed in the battle with Jaitugi Yādava mentioned before. Certain it is that Ganapati son of Mahādeva began to rule in 1198 and he ruled brilliantly for so many as 62 years and many inscriptions of his time have been found including one in the 62nd year of his rule. He is said to have successfully fought with Chola, Kalinga, Seuna, Karnāta, Lāta and Velanādu. Of course his war with Seuna or Devagiri Yādavas was a natural and hereditary one, being between neighbours and was waged with alternate success. His latest inscription found is dated 1250 A. D. He left no son and his daughter Rudrammā ruled after him for 30 years. The last king was Pratāparudra (1316) the famous patron of poets in whose reign, Pratāparudrīya a well-known work on poetics was written by Vaidyanātha and was dedicated to and named after him. The kingdom was eventually conquered by Mahomedans. The present state of Bastar in C. P. is ruled by chiefs who are said to be descendants of Kākatīyas (Gaurishankar p. 550).

3 Hoyasalas of Halebid.

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The third important kingdom was that of the Hoyasala Yādavas of Halebid or Dvārasamudra, in the present Mysore state. It was also in the beginning a feudatory of the Western Chālukyas of Kalyan (perhaps of the Rāshtrakūtas also). The first important king was Vinayāditya whose inscription dated 1040 A. D. has been found (Gaurishankar's Tod p. 333). His son Erayanga had three sons, the eldest of whom Ballāla was a noted feudatory of Jayasinha III, Chālukya king. The chief town of these Yādavas was Belāpur (modern Belur) upto this time; but his successor Bettiga alias Vishnuvardhana who was the first powerful and independent king of this line made Dvārasamudra his capital. He acquired independence from such a powerful overlord as the famous Vikramānka of Kalyan, though he did not actually succeed in defeating the latter. But he defeated other neighbouring kings, the Gangas, the Kadambas, the Tuluvas and the Pāndyas. Many inscriptions of his time have been found dating from 1115 to 1138 A. D. (Gaurishankar). His reign is more famous for the support he gave to Rāmānuja and the spread of Vaishnavism. He was converted to that faith by that saint and he built the famous Vishnu temple at Dvārasamudra which excites admiration even now, and another magnificent temple at Belur also.

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He was succeeded by his son Narasiñha who ruled upto 1173 and he was succeeded by his son Vīra Ballāla. This was the geatest king of the line. He defeated Brahma general of the last Chālukya king Someśvara and he also defeated the Yādava king of Devagiri in 1191 A. D. and in effect annexing Kuntala divided the imperial sovereignty of Southern India with those Yādavas. He first assumed the title Mahārājadhirāja of an independent king. He died about 1220 after a long reign and he was succeeded by his son Narasinha. The Hoyasala power declined from his time, though the kingdom remained powerful for about a century more when it was conquered and devastated by Mahomedans under Malik Kafur about 1310 A. D.

4 Pāndyas of Madura.

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The fourth kingdom which must be noticed though it remained feudatory throughout this sub-period is that of the Pāndyas famous from ancient times. The Pāndyas are mentioned with Cholas in the Mahābhārata and are also mentioned singly without their companions, the Cholas, in the Rāmāyana. Kālidāsa mentions a Pāndya king alone and not Chola as competing in the svayamvara of Indumatī in his Raghuvamśa and mentions Uragapura as his capital. This capital together with Pāndya power was destroyed by Karikāla Chola from whose time (about 100 A. D.) the Pāndyas became subordinate to the Chola or other powers through many centuries. Their next capital was Madura, mentioned by Pliny. This fact establishes that Kālidāsa flourished before Pliny i. e. in the first century B. C. as he mentions Uragapura and not Madura as the capital of the Pāndyas. This is, however, an incidental observation. The Pāndyas remained subordinate even in the present sub-periord (1000-1200) the Chola king Rājarāja having established Chola empire in the south in the beginning of the 11th century. It is only in the 13th century that Jatāvarman Sundara Pāndya became independent and established an extensive power (1251-1271). Kielhorn has given a connected genealogy of the Pāndyas from 1100 A. D. to 1567 A. D. but we think it unnecessary to give it here as the Pāndyas rose to power and assumed independence after 1200 A. D. Though Malik Kafur's invasion about 1300 shook Pāndya power, they continued to rule in the south of India (Madura and Tinnevelly Districts) for a long time. They always derived a large revenue from the pearl fisheries in the mouth of the Tāmraparnī river. With this short notice of the Pāndyas we turn to the Cheras or Keralas.

5 Keralas of Travancore.

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The history of Kerala or Malabar and Travancore during this sub-period has been patiently found out and laid before the reader by P. Sunder Pillai, M. A. in I. A. XXIV (pp. 249-257) and we make no apology for giving from it select facts here. Kerala or Cherala means hilly country and included Malabar in the north and Travancore in the south, on the west coast of Southern India. The Kongu land is sometimes included in it viz. the present districts of Salem and Tinnevelly but not naturally. In this corner of the south, as in the Himalayas in the north, the oldest Dravidian and Aryan races with their institutions and manners and religion are preserved yet as in a fossil form, from the Kanikar or hillman to the Nambudri the highest type of Aryan Brahmin (to which clan the famous Śankarāchārya belonged ). Language, ethnology, social condition and marriage customs of this part are, therefore, worth studying, being untampered by any revolutions within or invasions without. (But this land of Nambudri Brahmins and Nair (Nāgara) Kshatriyas sent out a religious invasion under Śankara which subjugated the whole of India). The history of Kerala goes back to the days of the Mahābhārata and the Rāmāyaṇa like that of the Eastern coast belonging to the Pāṇḍyas with whom they are always allied in ancient Sanskrit works.

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The present Travancore ruling dynasty is very old and official records give 35 generations to the present ruler from 1335 A. D. We have, therefore, to find the history of this dynasty before this period from inscriptions and Mr. Pillai has succeeded in evolving a tolerably clear account. It may be stated first that the alphabet in Travancore is different from the Sanskrit alphabet and is called Vattelatte or Chera-Pāṇḍya and even the era of Travancore is distinct being called Kollam era, the first year of which corresponds to 825 A. D. The first king of Travancore whose name is mentioned in a stone record is Vira Keralvarman. His date is 1135 A.D. He was a feudatory of Rājendra Chola in whose name and honour a Mahādeva temple was built. Venad or Travancore appears at this time to be a well-governed country paying taxes in kind and money. Vira Keralav. seems to be the first important king who secured power from Chola and Chālukya supremacy. He is mentioned in another inscription dated 1144 A. D. The government of the country included village organisations and temple authorities which shared power in the civil government.

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Stone inscriptions dated 1161, 1173 and 1180 A. D. mention the next kings Ravivarman, who ruled over Travancore including the southernmost districts independently, the Cholas having declined in power after Rājendra, Vira Udayamārtandvarman and Āditayarāma. Mr. Pillai thinks that the last king extended his sway northward by absorbing Kūpadeśam or country of Kūpakas, also a part of Malabār. Keralavarman II (Trivadi) is mentioned in a book and in a stone record dated 1193 A. D. and Virarāmavarman Tiravadi in a detailed inscription dated May 1196 A. D., which speaks of a body of six hundred who supervised the working of the temples and of chieftainships into which the kingdom was divided. This interesting detail shows that the administration of the state was chiefly in the hands of the peoples' representatives, a curious relic of ancient Vedic times. Next come Virarāmakeralvarman and Vira Ravivarman whose long document dated 1235 shows the nature of the land revenue system in their days. The capital was Trivendram even in those days.

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IMP. FEU. KINGDOMS OF SOUTHERN INDIA-P. II

1 Śindas of Yelburg.

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To the north of the Tungabhadrā, in Kuntala or Southern Maratha country, we have four important feudatory kingly families who require to be noticed in this volume, as they belong to this sub-period and as they were powerful though not independent. The first of them is the family of the Śindas of Yelburg in modern Nizam's tetrritory. They have recorded inscriptions in Kanarese which have been found. Their history is given in the Bombay Gazetteer Vol. I part II (p. 572-575) and we give here a summary of it with observations of our own. The part of the country ruled by these Śindas is collectively called Śindevādi Nād in inscriptions. This clearly shows that these Śindas were Marathas, though they ruled over a Kanarese-speaking territory. (As stated in Vol. II, however, the distinction between Marathas and Karṇātakas is illusory and not of race but of language). This territory extended from about Badāmi in the Bijapur District and included Bāgalkot and Naregal in the Dharwar District. There is another Śinda family mentioned in Ep. Ind. VII p. 306. The king Munja here is described as Bhogāvatīpuravarādhiśvara and Nāgavaṁśatilaka ruling in Pratyandaka four thousand.* In our view this Śinda family was the same family as the one appearing under the name of Sendraka in the first sub-period; a Sendraka chief Senānandarāja, maternal uncle of Pulakeśin Chālukya, is mentioned as requesting a grant of land in Karṇāṭaka between the Krishna and the Tungabhadra (Vol. I; p. 270). The Sendrakas belonged to the Nāgavaṁśa and the Śindas of Yelburg also belonged to the same vaṁśa; and even the Scindia family of the present day who are very probably their modern representatives are also of the Nāgavaṁśa. These Śindas of Yelburg were very powerful feudatory chiefs under the later Chālukyas. The first noted prince was Āchugi who had two sons Bamma and Sūrya who are mentioned in an inscription dated 1079. Bamma's son was Ācha or Āchugi II who was a noted general of Vikramāditya and who defeated a Hoyasala prince. He is mentioned in an inscription dated 1122 A. D. Āchugi's two sons Permadi and Chavunda II are mentioned in two inscriptions dated 1144 and 1163 respectively. Chavunda had four sons Āchugi III and Permadi by one wife and Bijjala and Vikrama by another wife. All these four are mentioned in inscriptions from 1168 to 1190 A. D. Probably after the fall of the later Chālukyas of Kalyan and the increase of the power of the Hoyasalas this Śinda family lost its power and was not able to establish an independent kingdom. Their country was eventually absorbed by the Yādavas of Devagiri whose dominion now extended to the Tungabhadrā.

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∗ Indeed there were several Śinda families, including one in Karahād territory (See Ep. Ind. Vol. XIV).

2 Rattas of Saundatti.

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The next feudatory family which deserves a mention is that of the Raṭṭas of Saundatti. Their history is given by Dr. Fleet in Bombay Gazetteer Vol. I part II p. 549-55 and we give here a summary of it. They were clearly descendants of a Rāshṭrakūṭa Imperial king of the Deccan and they ruled in the Kundi territory comprising 3000 villages which corresponds to a portion of the present Belgaum and Dharwar Districts. Their capital was Saundatti (Sugandhāvatī) and latterly Belgaum itself (Veṇugrāma). The Gazetteer doubts if these Raṭṭas were really descended from the Rāshṭrakūṭas, but the short name Raṭṭa for the Rāshṭrakūṭas is as old as the 9th century and even the modern Reddis may be Raṭṭas or Rāshṭrakūṭas and they also called themselves original lords of Laṭṭalūrapura. Their crest was a Sindūra (elephant) and their dhvaja (banner) carried a golden garuda which is shown in their seal. These chiefs were first subordinate to the Western Chālukyas and when the Kalachūri rebellion occurred they asserted independence. But being not very powerful they appear like the Śindas, to have been conquered by the Hoyasalas; their territory, however, was eventually absorbed in the kingdom of the Yādavas of Devagiri.

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