HISTORY

ANCIENT PERIOD

[The section on ancient history is contributed by Mahamahopadhyaya Dr. V. V. Mirashi, Nagpur University, Nagpur. The account from 1294 A.D. to 1761 A.D. has been contributed by Dr. B. G. Kunte, M.A., Ph.D. (Econ.), Ph. D. (History), Joint Editor and revised by Shri P. Setu Madhav Rao, M.A., I.A.S. (Retd.), Executive Editor. The account from 1761 onwards has been contributed by Prof. R. V. Oturkar, M. A.]

As NO EXPLORATION OR EXCAVATION OF ANY PREHISTORIC SITE IN THIS DISTRICT HAS YET BEEN UNDERTAKEN, it is not possible to give a detailed account of the prehistoric period of its ancient history. The excavations done at Brahmapuri in Kolhapur have brought to view the remains of the historical period only. However, from the excavations done at Nevasa in the Ahmadnagar district, some characteristic peculiarities of the Deccan culture in the chalcolithic period may be gleaned [Summarised from H. D. Sankalia's Indian Archaeology Today, p p. 88 f.]. " The earliest habitations of the people in that period must have been in the river valleys. The thick forests which must have covered them first were cut down with their stone and copper tools. The elevated sites on the banks of rivers were then chosen for a settlement. Each settlement may have consisted of about 50 to 100 huts. The huts were small, measuring 10 ft. by 9 ft. and were either rectangular or circular. They were constructed with wooden posts, the walls being of mud and the roof of bamboo matting, dry leaves, etc., covered with a layer of mud. The houses were furnished with large and small storage jars, bowls (vatis) and vessels (lotas) with long spouts. Their red surface was painted in black with geometric designs or figures of animals. They wore garments of cotton and probably also of (wild) silk. For their ornaments they used beads of semi-precious stones, crystal, terracotta and rarely of copper and even of gold. Silver was unknown. Bangles were made of copper, burnt clay or bone, rarely of ivory.

For weapons, they used products of chalcedony blade industry, flat copper axes and slings with round balls of various sizes. Their tools were made of dolerite and copper. They pounded their grains with plano-convex rubber stones. Besides, they ate beef, mutton, pork, venison and river fish. Hunting and animal grazing formed their main occupations.

They buried their dead either within the house floor or outside. The children were buried in wide-mouthed urns. The dead were provided with bowls, spouted vessels and necklaces of copper and carnelian.

Economically these people were in a pastoral-cum- hunting-cum agricultural stage and lived in small villages on river banks. They still used stone for various purposes, the use of copper being rare. This kind of life continued until it was changed by a fresh influx of people who came with a knowledge of iron, agriculture and town-planning in about the fourth century B. C. Who these people were is not definitely known, but one plausible conjecture is that they belonged to some of the Aryan tribes. This theory, however, needs confirmation by stronger evidence.

The above gleanings are from the archaeological excavations at such sites as Nevasa. We shall next see what light is thrown on this period by literary sources. According to literary tradition, when the Aryans penetrated to the Deccan, the whole region was covered by a thick jungle, which extended southward from Central India. Agastya was the first Aryan, who crossed the Vindhya and fixed his residence on the bank of the Godavari. This memorable event is commemorated by the mythological story which represents Vindhya as bending before his guru Agastya when the latter approached him. The sage asked the mountain to remain in that condition until he returned from the south, which he never did. Agastya was followed by several other sages who established their hermitages in different regions of the south. The cluster of hermitages' on the bank of the Godavari was called Jana-sthana to distinguish it from the surrounding forest country. They were constantly harassed by the original inhabitants of the region who are called Raksasas in the Ramayana. "These shapeless and ill-looking monsters testify to their abominal character by various cruel and terrific displays. They implicate the hermits in impure practices and perform greatest outrages. Changing their shapes and hiding in the thickets adjoining the hermitages, these frightful beings delight in terrifying the devotees. They cast away their sacrificial ladles and vessels; they pollute cooked oblations and utterly defile the offerings with blood. These faithless creatures inject frightful sounds into the ears of the faithful and austere hermits. At the time of the sacrifice they snatch away the jars, the flowers and the sacred grass of these sober-minded men." [Muir's Original Sanskrit Texts.]

In course of time a large kingdom was founded north of the Godavari by Vidarbha, the son of Rsabhadeva. His capital was Kundinapura in the Amravati district of the country since then known by his name. Agastya married his daughter Lopamudra. Agastya is the seer of some hymns of the Rgveda. His wife Lopamudra is also mentioned in the Rgveda I. 179, 4. The country became well known in the age of the Brahmanas and the Upanisads, in which it is frequently mentioned. The Ramayana in the Uttarakdnda states the story of king Danda or Dandaka, in whose time Vidarbha was devastated by a violent storm. Danda was a son of Iksvaku and grandson of Manu. He ruled over the country between the Vindhya and the Saivala mountains from his capital Madhumanta. He led a voluptuous life and once upon a time he violated the daughter of the sage Bhargava. The sage then cursed the king that his whole kingdom would be devastated by a terrible dust-storm. The whole country between the Vindhya and the Saivala mountains extending over a thousand yojanas was consequently turned into a great forest, which since then came to be known as Dandakdranya. It was in this forest that the Sudra ascetic Sambuka was practising penance. As this was an irreligious act according to the notions of those days, Rama beheaded him and revived the life of a Brahmana boy who had died prematurely. The place where Sambuka was beheaded is still shown on the hill of Ramtek, 28 miles from Nagpur.

The Central part of the Deccan was divided into several countries known by different names. Thus the region to the north of the Godavari, now included in the Aurangabad district was known by the name of Mulaka. This country, together with its capital Pratisthana (modern Paithan) is mentioned in Pali literature. To the north of it lay the country of Rsika, now called Khandes. To the east of Rsika was Vidarbha, which has already been described. Along the southern bank of the Godavari extended the country of Asmaka (Pali: Assaka), which comprised the modern Ahmadnagar and Bid districts. This region came to be included in the country of Kuntala, which extended far to the south. It included what is now known as the Southern Maratha Country as well as North Karnataka and the Simoga and Citaldurga districts of the old Mysore State. In an inscriptional passage the upper valley of the Krsna is said to be included in the country of Kuntala. [Mirashi, Studies in Indology, Vol. I, p. 9.] In the Udayasundari-katha of Soddhala (11th Century A.D.) Pratisthana on the Godavarl is said to be the capital of the Kuntala country. In early times, Kuntala was probably included in the larger country called Maharastra. The Aihole inscription (7th Century A.D.) speaks of three Maharastras, which probably comprised Vidarbha, Western Maharastra and Kuntala. In later times Kuntala came to denote the predominantly Kanarese country now included in the Mysore State. It is described as a seven and a half lakh province. The Early Calukyas of Badami and the Later Calukyas of Kalyani were known as Kuntalendras or lords of Kuntala. In the earlier days, however, the districts of Kolhapur, Satara, Solapur and Sangli, which are now Marathi-speaking, were included in Kuntala. As we shall see later, the Early Rastrakutas of Manapura, who were ruling over this territory, were known as Kuntalesvaras (or rulers of Kuntala).

Coming to historical times, we find that all this territory was included in the empire of Asoka. No inscription of the great Emperor has been found in the Deccan, but one set of his rock-edicts was engraved at Sopara (ancient Surparaka in North Konkan). Another edict issued evidently by his Dharma-mahamatra in his fourteenth regnal year, has been found at Devtek in the Canda district of Vidarbha. [Ibid., Vol. I, p. 46.] Again the fifth and the thirteenth rock edicts of Asoka mention Rastrika-Petenikas and Bhoja-Petenikas respectively. Many scholars take Petenikas mentioned in these edicts as referring to the residents of Pratisthana (modern Paithan), but Dr. L). R. Bhandarkar would prefer to take the word to mean ' hereditary'. Be that as it may, the Rastrikas were undoubtedly the rulers of this region; for they came to be known later as Maharathis.

After the overthrow of the Maurya dynasty in circa 184 B.C. the imperial, throne in Pataliputra was occupied by the Sendpati Pusyamitra, the founder of the Suhga dynasty. His son Agnimitra was appointed Viceroy of Malva and ruled from Vidisa, modern Besnagar, a small village near Bhilsa. Vidarbha, which had seceded from the Maurya empire during the reign of one of the weak successors of Asoka, was then ruled by Yajnasena. He imprisoned his cousin Madhavasena, who was a rival claimant for the throne. The sister of Madhavasena escaped to Malva and got admission as a hand-maid to the queen under the name of Malavika. Agnimitra, who had espoused the cause of Madhavasena and had sent an army against the king of Vidarbha, fell in love with Malavika and married her. The Malava army defeated the king of Vidarbha and released Madhavasena. Agnimitra then divided the country of Vidarbha between the two cousins, each ruling on one side of the Varada (modern Wardha). The story of Malavika forms the plot of the Sanskrt play Malavikagnimitra of Kalidasa.

Kalidasa does not state to what royal family Yajnasena and Madhavasena belonged and these names do not occur anywhere else. Still, it is possible to conjecture that they may have been feudatories of the Satavahanas. From the Hathigumpha inscription at Udayagiri near Bhuvanesvara, we learn that Kharavela, the king of Kalinga, who was a contemporary of Pusyamitra, sent an army to the western region, not minding Satakarni. The latter evidently belonged to the Satavahana dynasty as the name occurs often in that family. Kharavela's army is said to have penetrated up to the river Kanhabenna and struck terror in the hearts of the people of Rsika. The Kanhabenna is evidently the river Karihan [Ibid., Vol. III, p. 46.] which flows about 10 miles from Nagpur, and not the river Krsna which flows south-west from Udayagiri, as some scholars suppose. Kharavela's army thus invaded Vidarbha. He knew that as the ruler of Vidarbha was a feudatory of Satakarni, the latter would rush to his aid. When Vidarbha was thus invaded, the people of Rsika (Khandes), which bordered Vidarbha on the west, were naturally terror-stricken. No actual engagement seems, however, to have taken place and the army returned to Kalinga perhaps at the approach of the Satavahana forces.

Satakarni belonged to the Satavahana family. This family derived its name from king Satavahana, [Ibid., Vol III, pp. 1 f.] who rose to power soon after the death of Asoka and had his capital at Pratisthana (Paithan in the Aurangabad district). It received support from the local rulers called Maharathis, with whom it formed matrimonial alliances. This dynasty is called Andhra in the Puranas, but that it originally hailed from Western Maharastra is indicated by its earliest inscriptions which are found in the caves at Naneghat near Junnar and at Nasik. Its earliest coins have been found at Aurangabad and in Vidarbha. In later times it extended its rule to Andhra as shown by its later inscriptions and coins found in that region. The Puranas call it Andhra evidently because it was ruling in that country when the Puranic account was compiled in the early centuries of the Christian era.

Though king Satavahana was the founder of this family, he is not mentioned in the Puranas. The first king of the Andhra (i.e. Satavahana) dynasty mentioned in the Puranas is Simuka (Srimukha), who is also known from a relievo statue of his in a Naneghat cave. We do not know the extent of his kingdom, but it is surmised to have extended at least from Junnar to Pratisthana (Paithan). When he ended his rule, his son Satakarni was a minor and so his brother Krsna ascended the throne. He has left an inscription in a cave which he got excavated for the Buddhist monks at Nasik. The next ruler of the dynasty is Satakarni I, who is also known from a relievo statue in the same Naneghat cave. He seems to have extended his rule over the whole of the Deccan and even carried his arms north of the Narmada. King Kharavela of Kalinga, who was his contemporary, is said to have sent an army to the west, not minding Satakarni, who is probably this very ruler. When the army reached Kanhabenna, which, as shown above, is probably the Kanhan flowing near Nagpur, it struck terror in the hearts of the people of Rsika (Khandes). There was no clash of arms on this occasion, but two years later, Kharavela penetrated further west as he claims to have received submission from the Rathikas and Bhojakas, who were probably ruling in the Deccan as feudatories of the Satavahanas.

Satakarni performed the Rajasuya and Asvamedha sacrifices (the latter twice), which probably commemorated important victories or supremacy in the Deccan and, as such, had political significance. He performed several other Srauta sacrifices such as Agnyddheya, Aptorydma, Dasrdtra, Trayodasaratra. Arigirtisatrirdtra, Satardtra and Gavamayana, all of which were marked by munificent gifts of horses, elephants, land and kdrsapanas. They are recorded in a large, but now sadly mutilated inscription in a cave at Naneghat.

Satakarni left behind two sons, Vedisri and Saktisri, who are mentioned in the Naneghat inscription. Vedisri, who succeeded him, is described as a very brave prince whose army was always victorious and who became the lord of Daksinapatha (Deccan). [Ubid., Vol. I, pp. 122f] The Sangli district was evidently included in his dominion. He was succeeded by a number of rulers who are named in the Puranic lists, but about whom they furnish little information except their reign-periods which also vary in different Puranas and even in the manuscripts of the same Puranas. But one or two of them are noteworthy. The thirteenth ruler in the list was named Kuntala Satakarni who is said to have ruled for eight years. He took this name probably because the Kuntala country formed an important part of his dominion. Another noteworthy ruler is Hala, the reputed author of the Gatha-saptasati, a unique collection of seven hundred Prakrt verses descriptive of the social, religious and economic life of the period. Hala flourished in the first century A.D. [Ibid., Vol. I, pp. 76 f]

Some years after Hala's reign Maharastra was conquered by the Saka Ksatrapas. Nahapana, a Saka Ksatrapa probably appointed by the contemporary Kusana Emperor, was ruling over Kohkan, Poona, Nasik and some other districts of Western Maharastra as also some portions of Central India as far north as Ajmer. Vidarbha also was under the rule of another Ksatrapa named Rupiamma as disclosed by a pillar inscription recently discovered in the Bhandara district. [Nagpur University Journal, Vol. XVI, pp. I f.] The Satavahanas were therefore obliged to leave Western Maharastra and Vidarbha and repair to the southern part of their dominion, but Gautamiputra Satakarni soon retrieved the fortune of his family. He made a daring dash into Vidarbha and occupied Benakata or the Vainganga district. Thereafter he invaded Western Maharastra and defeated Nahapana somewhere in the Nasik district. This is shown by the inscription in one of the Nasik caves wherein he is called Benakataka-svami or the lord of Benakata (Vainganga District). He extended his rule to a large part of the peninsula as his chargers are said to have drunk the water of the three oceans. The following provinces are specifically mentioned as comprised in his dominion: —

Rsika (Khandes), Asmaka (Ahmadnagar and Bid districts), Vidarbha, Akara and Avanti (Eastern and Western Malwa), Suratha (Kathiavad) and Aparanta (north Konkan).

That his empire extended much further is shown by the description that the mountains Setagiri (near Nagarjunkonda), Sristana (Kurnul district) and Mahendra (between the Godavari and the Krsna) were situated in his kingdom.

After defeating Nahapana Gautamlputra called back the silver coins of the Saka Ksatrapa and restruck them. The Jogal-tembhi hoard contained more than 10,000 silver coins so counter-struck. He himself issued a large number of potin coins with the figure of an elephant with uplifted trunk on the obverse, and the Uijain symbol on the reverse. [Mirashi, Studies in Indology, Vol. Ill, pp. 38 f.] In the hoard of potin coins found at Tarhala in the Akola district of Vidarbha, out of nearly 1200 coins as many as 575 were of Gautamiputra.

Gautamiputra Satakarni was succeeded by Vasisthiputra Pulumavi, who also ruled over an extensive kingdom, but seems to have lost some northern provinces like Akaravanti and Surastra to the Ksatrapas. He was succeeded by his brother Vasisthiputra Satakarni, who married the daughter of the Saka Ksatrapa Rudradaman I. Among his successors the most noteworthy was Yajnasri Satakarni, whose inscriptions and coins have been found over a large area. They show that he ruled over an extensive kingdom stretching from Konkan in the west to Andhradesa in the east. He issued among other types the ship-type lead coins indicative of his rule over the maritime province of the Coromandel coast. [Ibid., Vol. Ill, pp. 17 f.]

Within about fifty years after Yajiia Satakarni the rule of Satavahanas came to an end. The Satavahanas were liberal patrons of learning and religion. As stated above, the early kings of the family performed Vedic sacrifices and lavished gifts on the Brahmanas. Gautamiputra, Pulumavi and Yajnasri, like the early king Krsna, excavated caves and donated villages to provide for the maintenance, clothing and medicine of the Buddhist monks. As stated before, the Gathasaptasati, an anthology of 700 Prakrt verses, is by tradition ascribed to king Hala of this family.

During the period of the Satavahanas the Kolhapur and probably also the Sangli districts were governed by some princes of the Kura family. The coins of three kings, viz., Vasisthiputra Vilivayakura, his successor Madhariputra Sivalakura and the latter's successor Gautamiputra Vilivayakura have been found in the excavations at Brahmapurl, a suburb of Kolhapur. They have the figures of the bow and arrow on the obverse and the Caitya and the tree on the reverse. Rapson identified Gautamiputra and Vasisthiputra of these coins with the Satavahana kings Gautamiputra Satakarni and Vasistiputra Pulumavi, but from the biruda Maharathi prefixed to the name of Madhariputra Sivalakura on a coin published by Kundangar, it is clear that these princes were not identical with the homonymous Satavahana kings but were their feudatories.

About 250 A. D. the Satavahanas disappear from the stage of history. Then there arose several families in different parts of the vast Satavahana empire. Northern Maharastra was occupied by the Abhiras. The founder of the dynasty was the Abhira Rajan Isvarasena, the son of Sivadatta, who has left an inscription in a cave, at Nasik. He started an era commencing in A. D. 250, which later became well-known as the Kalacuri-Cedi era. Judging by the expansion of this era, Isvarasena and his descendants seem to have ruled over a large territory comprising Gujarat, Konkan and Northern Maharastra. He was followed by nine other kings, whose names, unfortunately, are not given in the Purdnas, which state that they ruled for 167 years. From a casket discovered during excavations at Devni Mori in Gujarat, we know the name of one of these kings as Rudrasena. [Ibid., Vol. IV] His family name Kathika also has become known from the same source. He was ruling in the year 127 of the Abhira era, corresponding to A. D. 376-77. The Abhiras were supplanted by their feudatories the Traikutakas in circa A. D. 415.

The names of three Traikutaka kings are known from their inscriptions and coins, viz., Indradatta, Dahrasena and Vyaghra-sena. Dahrasena performed an Asvamedha and was, therefore independent; but his successor Vyaghrasena had to acknowledge the suzerainty of the Vakataka king, Harisena.

After the downfall of the Satavahanas the Vakatakas rose to power in Vidarbha. This dynasty was founded by a Brahmana named Vindhyasakti I, who is mentioned in the Puranas as well as in an inscription in Cave XVI at Ajanta. The Puranas mention his son Pravira, i.e., Pravarasena I in connection with the ruling family of Vidisa. He ousted Sisuka, the daughter's son of the Naga king Vidisa who was ruling at Purika at the foot of the Rksavat or Satpuda mountain. He had an extensive empire in the Deccan. He performed several Vedic sacrifices including four Asvamedhas and assumed the title of Samrat (Emperor). According to the Purdnas he ruled from the aforementioned city of Purika. [D. K. A., p. 50; Dr. Mirashiaccepts JayaswaPs reading Purikam Canakan-ca-vai in place of Purim Kancanakam-ca vai.

Altekar mentions that Purika is connected with Vidarbha (modern Berar) and Ashmaka by ancient geographers. The Purika province is mentioned along with Vidarbha and Ashmaka in the Markandeya Purana (R. C. Majumdar and A. S. Altekar: The Vakataka-Gupta Age, p. 96).] He had four sons, among whom his extensive empire was divided after his death. Two of these are known from inscriptions. The eldest son was Gautamiputra, who predeceased him. His son Rudrasena I held the northern parts of Vidarbha and ruled from Nandivardhana, modern Nandardhan near Ramtek in the Nagpur district. He had the powerful support of Naga king Bhavanaga of the Bharasiva family, who ruled at Padmavati near Gwalior, and who was his maternal grandfather. Rudrasena I was a devout worshipper of Mahabhairava. He had no regard for the ahimsa precepts of Asoka. He had, therefore, no scruples in getting some portion of the aforementioned Devtek inscription of Asoka's Dharma-mahdmdtra chiselled and getting his own record incised in its place. The latter proclaims the construction of his dhafma-sthdna (temple) at Chikkamburi (modern Chikmara near Devtek).

Rudrasena I was followed by his son Prthivisena I. He ruled for a long time and brought peace and prosperity to his people. Candragupta II, the famous Gupta king of North India, appears to have sought his aid in his war with the Western Ksatrapas of Malva and Kathiavad and later cemented that political alliance by giving his daughter Prabhavatigupta in marriage to Prthivi-sena's son, Rudrasena II. The latter, however, died soon after accession, leaving behind two sons Divakarasena and Damodara-sena alias Pravarasena II. As neither of them had come of age, Prabhavatigupta acted as regent for the elder son Divakarasena for at least thirteen years. [According to Altekar, she carried on the administration for a period of about twenty years. (R. C. Majumdar and A. S. Altekar, The Vakataka-Gupta Age, p. 112).] She seems to have been helped in the administration of the kingdom by the military and civil officers sent by her father Candragupta II. One of these was the great Sanskrt poet Kalidasa, who while residing at the Vakataka capital Nandivardhana, must have often visited Ramagiri (modern Ramtek), where the theme of his excellent lyric Meghaduta seems to have suggested itself to him.

Prabhavatigupta has left us two copperplate grants. The earlier of them, though discovered in distant Poona, originally belonged to Vidarbha. It was issued from the then capital Nandivardhana and records the dowager queen's gift of the village Danguna (modern Hinganghat) to a Brahmana after offering it to the feet of the Bhagavat (i.e. god Ramacandra) on Kartika sukla dvadasi, evidently at the time of the parana after observing a fast on the previous tithi of Prabodhtni Ekddasi.[Nandivardhana is most probably Nagardhan (also spelt as Nandardhan) near Ramtek, about 13 miles north of Nagpur. This city is also identified with Nandpur, 34 miles north of Nagpur (R. C. Majumdar and A. S. Altekar: The Vakataka Gupta Age, p. 114).] Some of the boundary villages can still be traded in the vicinity of Hinganghat.[Mirashi, Inscriptions of the Vakatakas (C.I.I., Vol. V), pp. 6 f.]

Divakarasena also seems to have died when quite young. He was succeeded by his brother Damodarasena, who on accession, assumed the name Pravarasena of his illustrious ancestor. He had a long reign of thirty years and was known for his learning and liberality. More than a dozen grants made by him have come to notice. One of them, made at the instance of his mother Prabhavatigupta in the nineteenth regnal year, is noteworthy. The plates recording it were issued from the feet of Ramagirisvamin (i.e. god Ramacandra on the hill of Ramagiri or Ramtek) and record the grant which the queen mother made as on the previous occasion after observing a fast on the Prabodhtni Ekddasi [Ibid.,Vol.V,pp. 34 f.].

Pravarasena II founded a new city, which he named Pravara-pura and where he shifted his capital some time after his eleventh regnal year. He built there a magnificent temple of Ramacandra evidently at the instance of his mother, who was a devout worshipper of that god. Some of the sculptures used to decorate this temple, have recently been discovered at Pavnar on the bank of the Dham, 6 miles from Wardha and have led to the identification of Pravarapura with Pavnar. [ Mirashi, Studies in Indology, Vol. II, pp. 272 f.]

Pravarasena II is the reputed author of the Setubandha, a Prakrt kdvya in glorification of Ramacandra. This work has been highly praised by Sanskrt poets and rhetoricians. According to a tradition recorded by a commentator of this work, it was composed by Kalidasa, who ascribed it to Pravarasena. The latter is also known from some Prakrt gdthds, which were later incorporated in the Gathdsaptasati. [Ibid., Vol I, pp. 81 f.]

Pravarasena II was succeeded by his son Narendrasena, during whose reign Vidarbha was invaded by the Nala King Bhava-dattavarman. The latter penetrated as far as the Nagpur district and even occupied Nandivardhana, the erstwhile Vakataka capital. The Rddhapur plates record a grant which Bhavadatta had made while on a pilgrimage to Prayaga. The plates were issued from Nandivardhana, which was evidently his capital at the time. [Ep. Ind., Vol. XIX, pp. 100 f.] In- this emergency the Vakatakas had to shift their capital to Padmapura near Amganv in the Bhandara district. A fragmentary copper-plate inscription, which was proposed to be issued from Padmapura, has been discovered in the adjoining Durg district of Madhya Pradesh. [C. I. I. Vol. V, pp. 76 f.] This Padmapura is probably identical with the birth-place of Bhavabhuti, who flourished in a later age.

The Nalas could not retain their hold over Vidarbha for a long time. They were ousted by Narendrasena's son Prthivi-sena II, who carried the war into the enemy's territory and burnt and devastated their capital Puskari, which was situated in the Bastar district of Madhya Pradesh. Prthivisena, taking advantage of the weakening of Gupta power, carried his arms north of the Narmada. Inscriptions of his feudatory Vyaghra-deva have been found in the former Ajaigadh and Jaso States in Central India. [Ibid., Vol. V, pp. 89 f.]

The elder branch of the Vakataka family came to an end about A.D. 490. The territory under its rule was thereafter included in the dominion of the other or Vatsagulma branch, to which we may now turn.

The Vatsagulma branch was founded by Sarvasena, a younger son of Pravarasena I. Its capital was at Vatsagulma, modern Basim in the Akola district of Vidarbha. This branch also produced some able and learned princes. Sarvasena, the founder of this branch, is well known as the author of another Prakrt kdvya called Harivijaya, which has, for its theme, the bringing down of the Pdrijdta tree from heaven. This kavya has received unstinted praise from several eminent rhetoricians like Anandavardhana. [ Mirashi, Studies in Indology, Vol. I, pp. 99 f]

Sarvasena was followed by his. son Vindhyasena, called Vindhya-sakti (II) in the Basim plates which he issued in the 37th regnal year. [C. I. I. Vol. V, pp. 93 f.] There plates record the grant of a village in the visaya (district) of Nandikada (modern Nanded). Vindhyasena followed a vigorous policy and defeated the lord of Kuntala, who probably belonged to the Early Rastrakuta dynasty of Manapura. Vindhyasena, like his father and grandfather, assumed the title of Dharmamaharaja. His aforementioned Basim plates record the earliest grant of the Vakatakas known so far. The genealogical portion of the grant is in Sanskrt and the formal portion in Prakrt. This shows how the classical language was gradually asserting itself under the patronage of the Vakatakas. All earlier inscriptions of the Satavahanas are in Prakrt, while all later grants of the Vakatakas, like those of other dynasties, are in Sanskrt.

Vindhyasena was followed by his son Pravarasena II, about whom little is known. The Ajanta inscription says that he became exalted by his excellent, powerful and liberal rule. He seems to have had a short reign; for when he died, his son was only eight years old. The name of this boy prince is lost in the Ajanta inscription. He was followed by his son Devasena, whose fragmentary copper-plate inscription, found somewhere in South Berar, is now deposited in the India Office, London. [C. I. I. Vol. V, pp. 101 f.] Another record of his reign, inscribed on stone, was recently discovered at Basim. It is dated in the Saka year 380 (A.D. 455-56) and records the excavation of a tank named Sudarsana by Svamilladeva, a servant of Devasena. [Dr. Mirashi Felicitation Volume, pp. 372 f.]

Devasena had a very righteous and capable minister Hasti-bhoja. He looked after the affairs of the State and pleased all subjects. Devasena entrusted the government of his kingdom to him and gave himself up to the enjoyment of pleasures.

Devasena was succeeded by Harisena in circa A.D. 475. He carried his arms in all directions. A mutilated verse in the Ajanta inscription states that he conquered Avanti (Western Majva) in the north, Kosala (Chhattisgadh), Kalinga and Andhra in the east, Lata (Central and Southern Gujarat) and Trikuta (Nasik district) in the west and Kuntala (Southern Maratha Country) in the south. [C. I. I., Vol. V.pp. 106 f.] He thus became the undisputed suzerain of the entire country extending from Malva in the north to Kuntala in the south and from the Arabian Sea in the west to the Bay of Bengal in the east.

Harisena is the last known Vakataka king. As we, have seen, he had an extensive empire in the Deccan. It crumbled soon after his death. The causes which led to the sudden disintegration of this mighty empire have not been recorded in history, but the eighth chapter of the Dasakurrmracarita of Dandin, who flourished only about 125 years after the fall of the Vakatakas, seems to have preserved a living tradition about the last period of Vakataka rule. [Mirashi, Studies in Indology, Vol. I, pp. 165 f.] It seems that Harisena's son, though intelligent and accomplished in all arts, neglected the study of the science of politics (danda-niti). He gave himself up to the enjoyment of pleasures and indulged in all sorts of vices, neglecting the affairs of the State. His subjects imitated him and led a vicious and dissolute life. Finding this a suitable opportunity, the crafty ruler of the neighbouring Asmaka country, sent his minister's son to the court of Vidarbha. He ingratiated himself with the king and egged him on in his dissolute life. He also decimated his forces by various means. Ultimately, when the country was thoroughly disorganised, the ruler of Asmaka instigated the ruler of Vanavasi (North Kanara district) to invade Vidarbha. The king of Vidarbha called all feudatories to his aid and decided to give battle to the enemy on the bank of the Varada (modern Wardha). But while he was fighting with the forces of the invader, he was treacherously attacked in the rear by some of his own feudatories and was killed on the battlefield. Thus ended the Vakataka kingdom after a glorious rule of two hundred and fifty years.

The Vakatakas were patrons of art and literature. In their age the Vaidarbhi riti came to be regarded as the best style of poetry and several excellent works were then produced in Vidarbha. Some Prakrt kavyas were also produced in this period, which made the VacchomI (Vatsagulmi) riti famous. Three of the caves at Ajanta viz., the two vihara caves XVI and XVII and the Caitya cave XIX were excavated and decorated with paintings in the time of Harisena. Several temples of Hindu gods and goddesses were also built. The ruins of one of them have come to light at Pavnar. [Ibid., Vol. II, pp. 272 f.] Others are known from references in copper-plate grants.

According to the Puranas, the Vakataka king Pravarasena I had four sons, all of whom ruled as kings. Two of them are known from inscriptions. The eldest was Gautamiputra, whose son Rudrasena I founded the Nandivardhana branch. The second son was Sarvasena, who established himself at Vatsa-gulma (Basim in the Akola district). Where the remaining two sons were ruling is not known definitely. But one of them may have been ruling over Southern Maharastra. He seems to have been overthrown by Mananka, the founder of the Early Rastrakuta dynasty. The history of this dynasty has been unfolded during the last few years. From three copper-plate grants which have been discovered in Southern Maharastra, we get the following genealogy [fcirf., Vol. I,pp. 178 f.]: —

Mananka
|
Devaraja
|
______________________________________________________
|                                             |                                               |
 Mana alias Vibhuraja                   Avidheya                                  Bhavisya      
                                                                                               |
                                                                                            Abhimanyu

Mananka, the founder of this family, flourished in circa A.D. 35Q. He founded Manapura, which he made his capital. He is described in one of the grants as the ruler of the Kuntala country. As stated before, Kuntala was the name of the upper Krsna valley in ancient times. A copper-plate grant of his grandson Avidheya has been discovered at the village of Koroci near Kolhapur. It records the donation, by the Early Rastrakuta king Avidheya, of the village Pandarahgapalli to a Brahmana of the Samaveda on the fifth tithi of the dark fortnight of Kartika in his fifteenth regnal year. Some of the villages mentioned in the grant as boundaries of the donated village can be identified in the Satara district.[Loc. cit.] Another copper-plate grant of Mana alias Vibhuraja of this family has been found at Hingnl Berdi in the Dhond taluka of the Poona district. [Ep. Ind., Vol. XXIX, pp. 174 f.] So these Early Rastrakutas were ruling over Poona, Kolhapur, Satara, Sangli and Solapur districts or over the Southern Maratha country. Their capital Manapura is probably identical with Man, the headquarters of the Man taluka of the Satara district. [Mirashi, Studies in Indology, Vol. I, p. 184.]

These Rastrakutas of Manapura sometimes came into conflict with the Vakatakas of the Vatsagulma branch. The Pandarahgapalli grant of Avidheya states, Mananka harassed the rulers of Asmaka and Vidarbha. On the other hand, an inscription in cave XVI at Ajanta states that king Vindhyasena (i.e., Vindhya-sakti II) defeated the king of Kuntala, who was evidently of this Early Rastrakuta family.

From certain passages in the Kuntalpsvaradautya, a Sanskrt work ascribed to Kalidasa, which have been cited in the Kavyamimamsa of Rajasekhara, the Srngaraprakasa and the Sarasvatikanthabharana of Bhoja and Aucityavicaracarca of Ksemendra, we learn that the famous Gupta king Candragupta II—Vikramaditya sent Kalidasa to the court of the king of Kuntala. Kalidasa was not, at first, well received there, but he gradually gained Kuntalesa's favour and stayed at his court for some time. When he returned, he reported to Vikramaditya that the lord of Kuntala was spending his time in enjoyment, throwing the responsibility of governing his kingdom on him (i.e., Vikramaditya). This Kuntalesa was probably identical with Devaraja. the son of Mananka. [Ibid.,Vol. I, p. 187.] Through the influence of Candragupta II the two royal families of the south viz., the Vakatakas and the Early Rastrakutas were reconciled with each other. Later, Harisena, the last known Vakataka king, raided Kuntala and exacted a tribute from its king. It is noteworthy that in the eight ucchvdsa of the Dasakumaracarita the king of Kuntala is described as a feudatory of the Emperor of Vidarbha.

After the downfall of the Vakatakas, Kuntala seems to have been occupied for some time by the Visnukundin king Madhava-varman I. He had married a Vakataka princess who was probably a daughter or some near relative of the Vakataka king Harisena. Taking advantage of the opportunity that had presented itself by the downfall of the Vakatakas, he extended his dominion far and wide. He performed no less than eleven Asvamedhas and thus attained a position of unquestioned supremacy in the Deccan. He is known to have overrun Daksina Kosaia or Chhattisgadh and occupied the capital (Sripura) of Trivara (i.e. Tivaradeva). That he had annexed Maharastra also can be conjectured from the description of his grandson Madhavavarman II in the Ipur plates as the lord of Trikuta and Malaya. Trikuta is the well-known name of the hill which borders the Nasik district on the west. Malaya is equally well-known as the name of the southern portion of the Western Ghats. A copper-plate grant of this Madhavavarman has been found at Khanapur, the chief town of the Khanapur taluka of the Sangli district. It records the donation, by Madhavavarman I, of the village Retturaka (modern Rethare Budruk) to the south-east of the Krsnavena (i.e. the Krsna). The boundary villages mentioned in the grant can also be identified in the vicinity of Rethare Budruk. [Ep. Ind., Vol. XXVII, pp. 312 f. ]

The Visnukundins, who had their capital at Verigi in the Andhra country could not retain Southern Maharastra for a long time. It was probably reconquered by the Rastrakutas. Northern Maharastra was occupied by the Kalacuris of Mahi-smati, modern Mahesvar in Central India. They also had a large empire extending from Konkan in the west to Vidarbha in the east and from Malva in the north to the Krsna in the south. The founder of this family was Krsnaraja, whose coins have been bund all over this territory. He established the Mauryas as his fendatories in Konkan. That Vidarbha was included in his empire is shown by the Nagardhan plates of his feudatory Svamiraja dated in the Kalacuri year 322 (A.D. 573). These plates were issued from Nandivardhana, which seems to have maintained its importance even after the downfall of the Vakatakas. Svamiraja probably belonged to the Rastrakuta family.

Krsnaraja was succeeded by his son Sahkaragana, whose copper-plate grant has been discovered at Abhona in the Nasik district. It is dated in the Kalacuri year 347 (A.D. 597). His other inscriptions have been discovered in Gujarat. He was succeeded by his son Buddharaja, who was involved in a fight with the Calukya king Mahgalesa on the southern frontier of his kingdom. Before we describe this engagement, we must briefly review the history of the Early Calukyas of Badami.

The Calukyas of Badaml rose to power in the first half of the sixth century A.D. The Badaml stone inscription of Pulakesin I, who is the first independent ruler of this dynasty, is dated in A.D. 543. [Ep. Ind., Vol. XXVII, pp. 4 f.] He performed the Asvamedha and several other Srauta sacrifies. He was succeeded by his son Kirtivarman I, who made some conquests in South India and is described as the night of destruction to the Nalas (of the Bastar district), the Mauryas (of Kohkan) and the Kadambas (of Vanavasi in North Kanara).

When Klrtivarman I died, his son Pulakesin II was a minor. So his younger brother Mangalesa succeeded him. He defeated Buddharaja, the Kalacuri king, who was ruling in North Maharastra, Gujarat and Malva and also Svamiraja of the Calukya family, who was ruling over Revatidvipa (modern Rcdi in the Ratnagiri district).

Mangalesa's reign ended in disaster and he lost his life in a civil war with his nephew Pulakesin II. Just about this time the Calukya kingdom was invaded from the north by one Govinda, who probably belonged to the aforementioned Early Rastrakuta family. Pulakesin adoptqd conciliatory measures in dealing with him as he was a powerful king. His descendants do not, however, appear to have held Southern Maharastra for a long time: for Pulakesin soon annexed both Southern and Northern Maharastra and extended the northern limit of his empire to the Narmada. That be ousted the Rastrakutas from Southern Maharastra is shown by the Satara plates of his brother Visnu-vardhana, which record the grant of a village on the southern bank of the Bhima. Pulakesin also defeated the Kalacuri king Buddharaja and annexed his kingdom. He is said to have thereby become the lord of three, Maharastras, viz., Northern Maharastra, Vidarbha and Southern Maharastra or Kuntala. The Rastrakutas of Vidarbha, who were previously feudatories of the Kalacuris, transferred their allegiance to the Calukyas and like the latter, began to date their records in the Saka era. Two grants of this feudatory Rastrakuta family have been found in Vidarbha—one dated Saka 615 was found near Akola and the other dated Saka 631 was discovered at Multal in the Betul district of Madhya Pradesh. [Ibid., Vol. XXIX, pp. 109 f., Ind. Ant., Vol. XVIII, pp. 230 f.] They give the following genealogy: —

Durgaraja
        |
        Govindaraja
        |
         Svamikaraja
        |
Nannaraja alias Yuddhasura

Pulakesin obtained a resounding victory over Harsa, the lord paramount of North India. Thereafter, he assumed the title of Paramesvara (Emperor). He defeated the rulers of several countries such as Aparanta (North Kohkan), Kosala (Chhattisgadh), Kalinga (Orissa), Pistaputra (Pithapuram) and Kanci (Conjiveram). He made the Colas, the Keralas and the Pandyas his allies. He thus became the undisputed lord of South India.

During the reign of Pulakesin I the Chinese pilgrim Hiuen Tsang visited Maharastra. He has left us the following graphic picture of the country and its people [S.Beal, Buddhist Records of the Western World (pub. by Sushil Gupta), Vol. IV pp. 448 f.]—"The soil is rich and fertile. The climate is hot; the disposition of the people is honest and simple; they are tall of stature and of a stern vindictive character. To their benefactors they are grateful; to their enemies relentless. If they are insulted, they will risk their lives to avenge themselves. If they are asked to help one in distress, they will forget themselves in their haste to render assistance. If they are going to seek revenge, they first give their enemy a warning; then, each being armed, they attack each other with spears. If a general loses a battle, they do not inflict punishment, but present him with women's clothes, and so he is driven to seek dath for himself. Each time they are about to engage in conflict, they intoxicate themselves with wine, and then one man with a lance in hand will meet ten thousand and challenge them to fight....... Moreover, they inebriate many hundred heads of elephants, which, rushing forward in mass, trample everything down so that no enemy can stand before them. The king, in consequence of possessing these men and elephants, treats his neighbours with contempt. He is of the Ksatriya caste and his name is Pulakesi."

Pulakesin was killed in battle at Badami in circa A. D. 642 by the Pallava king Narasimhavarman, who conquered Vatapi (Badami) and assumed the title of Vatapikonda.

Vikramaditya I, who succeeded Pulakesin, appointed his younger brother Dharasraya-Jayasimha to govern South Gujarat, North Konkan and the Nasik district. Dharasraya placed his elder son in charge of Gujarat and appointed the other son Mangalaraja to govern North Konkan. Later, a family claiming descnt from Hariscandra was ruling over North Konkan and the Nasik district.

During the reign of Vikramaditya II, a descendant of Pulakesin II, Gujarat was invaded by a formidable force of the Tajikas (Arabs). The Navsari plates of Avanijanasraya Pulakesin, the youngest son of Dharasraya-Jayasirhha, give a graphic account of this battle. The Arabs had already defeated the Saindhavas, the Cavotakas, the Surastras, the Mauryas and the Gurjaras and were attempting to penetrate into the Daksinapatha (Deccan), but Avanijanasraya-Pulakesin inflicted a crushing defeat on the invaders. The Calukya Emperor then honoured Avanijanasraya with several titles, one of which was Anivarataka-nivartayitr (the Repeller of the unrepellable). [C. I. I., Vol. IV, pp. 138 f.]

Kirtivarman II, the last of these Early Calukyas, was defeated by the Rastrakuta prince Dantidurga some time before A. D. 754, when he issued the Samangad plates. Klrtivarman continued to rule for a few years more, but he had lost the paramount position in the Deccan.

The Calukyas of Badami were known for their patronage to architecture and sculpture. They got several caves excavated at BadamI and decorated them with the sculptures of Hindu deities and also built temples at Pattadakal and other places. The Elephanta caves near Bombay are by some scholars referred to their age; but they are more likely to have been excavated by their predecessors the Early Kalacuris, who were devout worshippers of Mahesvara and patronised the Pasupata sect of Saivism. [Ibid., Vol. IV, Introduction, pp. cxlvii. f.]

Dantidurga was the real founder of the Rastrakuta Imperial power.[Mirashi, Studies in Indology, Vol. II, pp. 16 f.] His Ellora cave inscription mentions five ancestors beginning with Dantivarman, but we know nothing about them. The family probably belonged to the Aurangabad district, where its earliest records have been found. The earlier members of the family were probably feudatories of the Early Calukyas. Dantivarman made extensive conquests. The Ellora cave inscription records his victories over the rulers of Kanci, Kalinga, Srisaila, Malava, Tanka and Lata. But these do not all seem to have resulted in the acquisition of territory. His war elephants are said to have rent as under the banks of the Maha-nadi, the Mahi and the Reva. Though there is much exaggeration in the description of his conquests there is no doubt that he conquered Karnataka, Maharastra, Vidarbha and Gujarat.

Dantidurga was succeeded by his uncle Krsna I, who completed the conquests and shattered the power of the Early Calukyas. He was not only a great conqueror but also a great builder. He got the great Siva temple at Ellora, originally called Krsnesvara, but now known as Kailasa, cut out of solid rock. It is one of the noblest monuments of India. A contemporary inscription tells us that the great architect who excavated it was himself surprised to see it finished and despaired of repeating the feat.

The Rastrakuta family produced several great conquerors, who boldly invaded North and South India and achieved memorable victories. Dhruva alias Dharavarsa (A.D. 780-793) was the first among them. He defeated both the Guriara Pratihara king Vatsaraja and the Pala king Dharmapala, who were contending for supremacy in North India and pressed as far as the Doab. Since then the two sacred rivers Ganga and Yamuna began to appear on the Rastrakuta banner.

Govinda III, the son and successor of Dhruva, proved to be a still greater conqueror. After obtaining an easy victory over the Ganga king Muttarasa ruling in Gangavadi, he led victorious campaigns in Central and North India. He first defeated the Gurjara-Pratihara king Nagabhata II and his ally Candragupta in Central India and then routed Dharmapala of Bengal, who had espoused the cause of Cakrayudha of Kanauj. He next marched victoriously to the north until his horses drank and his elephants plunged thmselves into the spring waters of the Himalayas. He then returned to the Narmada and marching along the bank of the river, he conquered the Malava, Kosala, Kalinga, Vanga, Dahala, and Odra countries. He next spent the rainy season at Sribhavana (modern Sarbhon in Gujarat) and afterwards marched with his forces to the bank of the Turiga-bhadra. Using Alampura (or Relapura) on the bank of the river as his base, he led his campaigns against the Keralas, the Colas, the Pandyas and the Pallavas. Even the king of Lanka submitted to him, sending two statues—-one of himself and the other of his minister—to his camp at Hclapura. [Ep. Ind., Vol. XXXII, pp. 157 f.]

Govinda III was succeeded by his son Sarva-Amoghavarsa I, who was a man of peaceful disposition, but whose reign was full of troubles. He had first to fight with the Eastern Calukyas of Vengi, the Gangas of GahgavadI and his own relatives in Gujarat. He loved and encouraged science and literature and treated all religions with equal reverence. He voluntarily retired from public administration to engage himself in religious pursuits. On one occasion he offered a finger of his hand to the Goddess Mahalaksmi of Kolhapur to ward off a public calamity. [Ibid., Vol. XVIII, p. 248.] Such instances are rare in the history of any country.

Another noteworthy king of the Rastrakiita family was Indra III, the great-grandson of Anioghavarsa I. Like his illustrious ancestors Dhruva and Govinda III, India also led victorious campaigns in North India. Lie followed the route of Bhopal, Jhansi and Kalpi in the course of his invasion of Kanauj, the Imperial capital of Tndia for more than three hundred years. At Kalpi his army was encamped in the courtyard of the temple of Kalapriyanatha, well-known to Sanskrtists as the place where all the plays of the Sanskrt dramatist Bhavabhuti were staged. [Studies in Indology, Vol. I, pp. 35 f.] His horses crossed the Yamuna at Kalpi and then marched on Kanauj, which he completely devastated. The Gurjara-Pratihara king Mahipala fled to Mahoba to seek the help of his Candella feudatory Harsa. Indra Ill's northern campaign was a memorable event unparalleled for its brilliance in the history of the Rastrakutas.

Indra III was succeeded by his son Amoghavarsa II, who died within a year and was succeeded by Govinda IV. He was known for his liberality and rightly had the biruda Suvama-varsa (the gold-rainer). On the occasion of his coronation he donated six hundred agrahara villages and three lakhs of gold coins to Brahmanas, and eight hundred villages and four lakhs of gold coins and thirty-two lakhs of silver coins (drammas) to temples. A copper-plate grant of him found at Sangli, whfch was issued from the capital Manyakheta and dated Saka 855 (A.D. 933) records the donation by him of the village Loha-grama in the Ramapuri 700 to a Brahmana who had emigrated from Pundravardhana. [Ind. Ant., Vol. XII, pp. 249 f.]

The Rastrakutas of Manyakheta (modern Malkhed) and the Kalacuris of Tripuri (Tewar near Jabalpur) were matrimonially connected and their relations were generally cordial. But in the reign of Govinda IV they became strained. The Kalacuri king Yuvarajadeva I espoused the cause of his son-in-law Baddiga-Amoghavarsa III, the uncle of Govinda IV, and sent a large army to invade the Rastrakuta dominion. When the army reached the Payosni (modern Puma), a pitched battle was fought near Acalapura, between the Kalacuri and Rastrakuta forces, in which the former became victorious. This event is commemorated in the Sanskrt play Viddhasalabhanjika of Rajasekhara, which was staged at Tripuri in jubilation at this victory. [C. 1.1., Vol. IV, Introduction, pp. lxxviii f.]

The Rastrakuta feudatories who rose in rebellion against Govinda IV deposed him and placed his uncle Baddiga-Amoghavarsa III on the throne. He was a man of quiet nature and spiritual temperament, who left the administration entirely to his ambitious and able son Krsna III. Like some of his illustrious ancestors, Krsna also led an expedition to North India and captured the forts of Kalanjara and Citrakuta. He succeeded his father in A.D. 939. He then led an expedition against the Colas and defeated them in a sanguinary battle at Takkolam in the North Arcot district. He next led his victorious arms to Ramesvaram, where he built two temples. Hearing of his resounding victories, the kings of Kerala, Pandya and Ceylon submitted to him. He also placed his own nominee on the throne of Vengi. He became thus the lord paramount of the whole of South India.

The Rastrakuta power became weak after the death of Krsna III. Within six years his large empire crumbled like a house of cards. Taila II, the founder of the Later Calukya dynasty, who was a Mahasamanta of the Rastrakutas, suddenly came into prominence. He defeated and killed in battle Karka II, the last Rastrakuta king, and captured his capital Manyakheta. He had to fight against the Colas, the Pandyas and the Paramaras. The Paramara king Vakpati-Munja planned to invade the Calukya dominion, but his wise minister Rudraditya advised him not to cross the Godavari, which was the boundary between the Calukya and Paramara dominions. Munja did not heed his advice and was taken captive by Tailapa. He was placed in a prison where he was waited upon by Tailapa's sister Mrnalavati. He fell in love with her and foolishly disclosed to her the plan of his escape. She communicated it to Tailapa, who is said to have made him beg from door to door and then beheaded him.

Some inscriptions of the Later Calukyas have been found either in the Sangli district or the adjoining territory. Thus the Kauthe plates [Ind. Ant., Vol. XVI, pp. 21 f.] of Vikramaditya V, the grandson of Taila II, dated Saka 930 (A.D. 1009), were issued by the king from Kotitlrtha at Kolhapur and record the grant of the village Koddasi in the Kundidesa (Belganv district) to a Brahmana of the Yajurveda. Another copper-plate grant found at Miraj [Ep. Ind., Vol. XII, pp. 309 f], dated in the Saka 946 (A.D. 1024), which was issued from near Kolhapur, registers the donation of the village Madadujhuru to a Brahmana of Rgveda which was made by the aforementioned Vikramaditya's brother Jayasimha II.

Among later kings of this Calukya family the most famous is Vikramaditya VI, the founder of the Calukya-Vikrama Sarhvat. He ascended the throne in A.D. 1076. He had to fight against the Colas, the Calukyas of Gujarat and the Hoysalas and he signally defeated them. He also led an expedition against Vengi. He married a princess named Candralekha, who belonged to the Kolhapur branch of the Silaharas. In the Vikramahkadevacarit Bilhana has drawn a graphic picture of this princess and has described her svayamvara held at Karahata (i.e. Karhad). [Cantos VIII and IX.] It is said to have been attended by well-known rulers of all parts of India, viz., those of Cedi, Kanya-kubja, Kalinjara, Malava, Gurjara, Pandya, Cola and others. Bilhana's description is after the model in Kalidasa's Raghn-vdahsa, Canto VI, and deserves little credence. But that Vikramaditya had married a Silahara princess of unrivalled beauty was known in distant Kashmir. In the Rajatarangvni Kalhana describes how when Harsa, the king of Kashmir, saw a portrait of Candala (i.e., Candralekha) the beautiful wife of the Karnata king Parmandi (i.e. Vikramaditya VI), he became smitten with love. He vowed in the open court that he would obtain Candala after overthrowing Parmandi. He even took the vow that he would not use unboiled camphor till then. Kalhana holds the king to ridicule for his foolishness. [Rajatarangini, Taranga VII, vv. 1119 f.]

The princess must have been the daughter of one of the uncles of the Silahara king Marasimha, who was governing Karahata. Bilhana has not named her father. He only states that he was ruling at Karahata and was therefore probably a provincial governor.

Vikramaditya's reign is renowned on account of some learned men who flourished at his court. Balhana who was patronised by him, wrote the Vikramankadevacarita, which is his poetical biography. Another famous author who flourished at his court was Vijnanesvara, the author of the well-known commentary Mitaksard, on the Yajnavalkya-smrti.

The decline of the Calukya power commenced soon after the reign of Vikramaditya VI. Taila III, the last Calukya king, was overthrown by the Kalacuri Bijjala, who was his Commander-in-Chief, in A.D. 1157. The Kalacuri usurpation lasted for about two decades. Bijjala's reign is noted for the rise of the Lingayat sect.

In the time of these Later Calukyas a branch of the Silaharas established itself in the Southern Maratha Country. Like the other two Silahara families ruling in North and South Konkan, this family also traced its descent from Jimutavahana and had the standard of the Golden Eagle. Like the family ruling over North Konkan this family originally hailed from the town of Tagara, modern Ter in the Osmanabad district. Its tutelary deity was Mahalaksmi of Kolhapur, whose boon its members claim in the grants to have secured. Inscriptions mention three capitals of this family viz. Valavada now called Radhanagari, Kolhapur and the hill fort of Kiligila or Pranalaka (modern Panhala, 12 miles to the north-west of Kolhapur).

The genealogy of the family may be stated as follows [The years of reign mentioned in the table are approximate.]: —

Jatiga I      (c. A.D. 940—960)
|                           
Nayivarman     (c. A.D. 960—980)
|                           
        Candra       (c. A.D. 980— 1000)
|                            
          Jatiea II       (c. A.D. 1000—1020)
|                            
_________________________________________________________
       |                                    |                                                              |        
Gonka                           Guvala                                 Kirtiraja Candraditya
(c. A.D. 1020-1050)                                                                                  
|                                                                                                       
Marasimha                                                                                                           
(c- A.D. 1050—1075)                                                                                      
      _____________________________________________                                
       |                    |                   |                |                   |                                
Guvala II          Gonka             Ballala         Bhoja I         Gandaraditva                    
(c. A.D. 1075 1100)                                              (c. A.D. 1100—1140)              
                                                         |
                                                              Vijayaditya
                                                            (c. A.D. 1140—1175)
                                                           |
                                                          Bhoja II
                                                            (c. A.D. 1175—1215).

In the beginning Jatiga I may have acknowledged the suzerainty of the Rastrakuta Emperor Krsna III (A.D. 939-967), but after his death when the power of the Rastrakutas declined, the successors of Jatiga I seem to have thrown off their yoke.

Gonka, the son and successor of Jatiga II is described in the grant of his son Marasimha as the ruler of Karahata-Kundi region. Karahata is modern Karhad in the Satara district, while Kundi was some part of the Belganv district. He is also described as the ruler of the Mirinja-desa and the whole of the large country of Konkan. Mirinja is of course Miraj in the Sangli district. [Cave Temples of Western India, pp. 101 f.]

One of the noteworthy king of this family was Gandaraditya who is known from several grants. He claims to he the sole ruler of the Mirinja-desa together with seven khollas and also the country of Konkan. He constructed a tank which he named Gandasamudra near the village of Irukudi. He built the temples of all the three religions Hindu, Buddhist and Jain on its bank. [Ţ. B. B. R. A. S., Vol. XIII, pp. 1 f.] In another grant the king, in response to the request of the minister Mailapayya, donated lands for the temple of the god Khedaditya at Brahmapuri, a suburb of Kolhapur. [Ep. Ind., Vol. XXIII, pp. 28 f.]

Gandaraditya was succeeded by his son Vijayaditya in A. D. 1140. He appears to have taken an active part in the conspiracy to depose the Later Calukya king Tailapa III. It is said that with his help Bijjala got the sovereignty. He is also said to have reinstated the deposed ruler of Sthanaka, who was probably the Silahara king Aparaditya.

Vijavaditya was succeeded by his son Bhoja II, the last and the greatest ruler of this line. On account of his great valour he obtained the name of Virabhoja. He assumed Imperial titles Rajadhiraja, Paramesvara, Paramabhattaraka and Pascima-Cakravarti. [lnd. Ant., Vol. X, p. 76 n. 1.] This could not be tolerated by the Yadavas who were then establishing their sovereignty. Singhana, the mighty Yadava king of Devagiri, invaded the Silahara kingdom and laid siege to the fort of Pranala (Panhala). He defeated Bhoja and put him into prison in the fort.

Like their brethren of North Konkan, the Silaharas of Kolhapur also extended their patronage to learned men. One of these was Somadeva, the author of Sabdarnavacandrika, a work of Jainendra Vyakarana.

In the last quarter of the twelfth century A. D. the Yadavas of Devagiri came into prominence. They had previously been ruling over Seunadesa (Khandes) in an earlier period as feudatories of the Calukyas, but Bhillama, the son of Mallugi, declared his independence and made himself master of the whole territory north of the Krsna. He then founded the city of Devagiri, which he made his capital. His son Jaitrapala killed Rudradeva of the Kakatlya dynasty on the field of battle and released his nephew whom he had put into prison. Under Jaitrapala's son Singhana the power of the family greatly increased. We get considerable information about his victories from the four stone inscriptions of his general Kholesvara at Ambejogai in the Bid district. Kholesvara was a native of Vidarbha, but was residing at Arhbe, where he has left his inscriptions. Some more details are furnished by a later copper-plate grant of Ramacandra found at Purusottampuri in the Bid district. [Ep. Ind. Vol. XXV, pp. 199 f.]

Singhana achieved several victories. He defeated the Hovsala king Vara-Ballala, the Kakatlya king Ganapati and Laksmidhara, the lord of Bambhagiri, modern Bhamer in Dhulia district. He confined Bhoja II of the Silahara family on the hill of Pranaja, i.e., Panhala, about 12 miles to the north-west of Kolhapur. Most of these victories were won by his Brahmana general Kholesvara. The latter vanquished also Arjunavarmadeva, king of Malva, and even pressed as far north as Varanasi, where he put Ramapaja to fight. Kholesvara constructed several temples in Vidarbha and also established agraharas on the banks of the Payosni and the Varada. The former agrahara still exists under the name of Kholapur in the Amaravati district.

Sihghana was succeeded by his grandson Krsna, who obtained victories over the kings of Gurjara, Malava, Cola and Kosala. The Gurjara king was Visaladeva and the Malava ruler was jaitugideva. The contemporary Cola king was Rajendra III (A.D. 1246 —1279). The Kosala king was evidently the contemporary ruler of Ratanpur in Chhattisgadh, who was probably the successor of Jajalladeva defeated by Sihghana, but no records of his reign have yet been recovered. An inscription of the reign of Krsna has been found in the temple of Khandesvara in the Amaravati district. It is dated in the Saka year 1177 (A.D. 1254-55) and records the donations of some gudydnakas for the offerings of flowers in the temple of Khandesvara. [Ihid., Vol. XXVII, pp. 9 f.]

Krsna was succeeded by his brother Mahadeva. From the recently discovered Kalcganv plates- [Ibid., Vol. XXXII, pp. 31 f.] we know the exact date of his coronation as 29th August A.D. 1261. The most notable event of his reign was the annexation of North Konkan after defeating Somesvara of the Silahara dynasty. Mahadeva left the throne to his son Amana, but the latter was soon deposed by Krsna's son Ramacandra, who captured the impregnable fort of Devagiri by means of a coup d'etal. [lbid., Vol. XXV, p. 205.] He won several victories mentioned in the Purusottampuri plates dated in the Saka year 1232 (A.D. 1310). he is said to have defeated with ease the ruler of Dahala (i.e. Cedi country), subjugated the ruler of Bhandagara (Bhandara) and dethroned the king of Vajrakara (modern Vairagadh). He is further credited with a victory over the Muhammedans, whom he drove out of Varanasi. He built there a golden temple dedicated to Sanigapani (Visnu). His minister Purusottama received from him the grant of four villages, which he formed into an agrahdm and donated it to several Brahmanas on the day of the Kapilasasthi in the Saka, year 1232. The agrahara was named Purusottamapura after the donor. It is still extant under the original name on the southern bank of the Godavari, about 40 miles due west from Parbhani. The villages together with their boundaries can still be identified in the vicinity of Purusottampuri. [Ibid., Vol. XXV, p. 208.]

A fragmentary inscription of the time of Ramacandra is built into the front wall of the temple of Laksmana on the hill of Ramtek. In the first half it gives the genealogy of Ramacandra and in the second half it describes the temples, wells and tirthas on and in the vicinity of the hill which it names as Ramagiri. The object of the inscription seems to have heen to record the repairs to the temple of Laksmana, done by Raghava, a minister of Ramacandra.

In A.D. 1294, Ala-ud-din Khilji invaded the kingdom of Ramacandra and suddenly appeared before the gates of Deva-giri. Ramacandra was taken unawares and could not hold out long. He had to pay a large ransom to the Muslim consueror. He continued, however, to rule till A.D. 1310 at least; for the aforementioned Purusottampuri plates are dated in that year. He was succeeded by his son Sankaradeva some time in A.D. 1311. He discontinued sending the stipulated tribute to Delhi. He was then defeated and slain by Malik Kafur. Some time thereafter, Harapaladeva, the son-in-law of Rama-cantra, raised an insurrection and drove away the Muham-medans, but his success was short-lived. The Hindu kingdom of Devagiri thus came to an end in A.D. 1318.

Like their illustrious predecessors, the Yadavas also extended liberal patronage to art and literature. During their rule a peculiar style of architecture called Hemadpanti after Hemadri or Hemadpant, minister of Mahadeva and Ramacandra, came into vogue. Temples built in this style are found in all the districts of Maharastra. Several learned scholars flourished at the Yadava court. Of them Hemadri was the foremost. During the reign of Mahadeva he held the post of Stikaranadhipa or Head of the Secretariat. He was appointed Minister and Head of the Elephant force by Ramacandra. He was as brave as he was learned and liberal. He conquered and annexed to the Yadava kingdom the eastern part of Vidarbha called Jhadi-mandala. Hemadri is well-known as the author of the Caturvarga-cintamani, comprising live parts, viz., (1) Vratakhanda, (2) Danakhand, (3) Tirthkhanda, (4) Moksakhanda and (5) Parisesakhanda. Of these the third and fourth khandas have not yet come to light. Hemadri's work is held in great esteem and has been drawn upon by later writers on Dharmasustra. Hemadri wrote on other subjects as well. He is the author of a commentary on Saunaka's Pranavakalpa and also of a Sraddhakalpa, in which he follows Katyayana. His Ayurvedamsayana, a commentary on Vagbhata's Astangahrdaya and Kaivalyadipika, a gloss on Bopadeva's Muktdphala are also well-known.

Hemadri extended liberal patronage to learned men. Among his proteges the most famous was Bopadeva. He was a native of Vedapada (modern Bedod) on the bank of the Wardha in the Adilabad district of Andhra Pradesh. Bopadeva is said to have composed ten works on Sanskrt grammar, nine on medicine, one for the determination of tithis, three on poetics and an equal number for the elucidation of the Bhagavata doctrine. Only eight of these are now extant. The Mugdhabodha, his work on Sanskrt grammar, is very popular in Bengal.

Marathi literature also flourished in the age of the Yadavas. Cakradhara, who propagated the Mahanubhava cult in that age, used MarathI as the medium of his religious teachings. Following his example, several of his followers composed literary works in Marathi. They are counted among the first works of Marathi literature. Mukundaraja, the author of the Vedantic works Vivekasindhn and Paramumrta, and Jnanadeva, the celebrated author of the Bhavarlhadipika, a commentary on the Bhagavadgita, are the most illustrious writers of that age.

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