Studies in the Geography of Ancient and Medieval India c5.s1.36

c5.s1.36

Although the *cakravarti-kṣetra* comprised the whole of Bhāratavarṣa, the claim of the conquest or rule over it on behalf of a historical monarch must naturally be regarded as conventional. Numerous Indian rulers are actually known to have made the claim; but, in none of the cases, the king in question can be taken as the lord of the whole of Bhāratavarṣa extending from the Himālayas to the Indian Ocean. These kings were rulers directly of only a part of India, although they conventionally claimed suzerainty over the whole of the country. Sometimes contemporary monarchs are found to make similar claims. There is, therefore, no doubt that the kings claiming conquest of or rule over the whole earth or all the quarters were merely imperial rulers as opposed to those of the subordinate rank. It is also to be remembered that a ruler was often regarded as a *dig-vijayin* type of *cakravartin* even if he succeeded in conquering a petty rival. The frequent representation of a prince inheriting his father’s kingdom as one who conquered the kingdom by the prowess of his own arms is a convention of the same type. By way of illustration, it may be pointed out that, in the Omgodu grant¹ of Skandavarman II, his grandfather Skandavarman I, son and successor of Kumāraviṣṇu described as the performer of an Aśvamedha sacrifice, is called *sva-vīrya-adhigata-rājya* probably owing to the fact that Skandavarman I succeeded in overcoming an obstacle that stood in his way to his paternal throne.