The Early History of the Deccan (Parts I–XI) v1.c8.s2.24

v1.c8.s2.24

It was somewhere in Berar or in the western Madhya Pradesha that Vindhyaśakti first carved out a small principality. His capital Purikā was certainly situated somewhere in this part of the country, but has not yet been identified. Probably Vindhyaśakti was originally a local officer or *zamindār*, who gradually increased his sphere of influence, taking advantage of the absence of any strong central power. No specific exploits of his are, however, known. It is unfortunate that the Ajanta record, while growing eloquent over the bravery of this ruler, which, we are told, extorted the admiration of gods and made him the oriflamme and hero of his family, should have kept us in the dark about the names of the enemies defeated or the territories annexed by him. His name Vindhyaśakti, however, suggests that his military activities resulted in giving him control over a portion of the Vindhyan territory. The *Purāṇas* mention him among the kings of Vidiśā, the capital of Eastern Malwa. We may therefore safely conclude that the warlike achievements of Vindhyaśakti resulted in the annexation of the districts of Betul and Itarsi and Hoshangābād to his kingdom, which probably comprised a portion of Berar only in the beginning. The districts annexed by Vindhyaśakti were a kind of no-man's-land in his time, and he had probably to encounter no serious opposition during his career of expansion. Vindhyaśakti, however, did not, it would seem, assume any regal titles during his lifetime and received no formal religious consecration. His achievements were soon completely eclipsed by the more glorious exploits of his illustrious son. His name therefore was omitted from the genealogy of the family, when it was first formally set out and written down 125 years after his death.