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DELHI l , JNIVERSITY LISiARYCI. No. \J .2\\ '" .2 .. . . \ '.1) l-

Ac. No. 2- < t:S '? '1 Dale of rel~sc for loan

This book should be returned on or before the date last stampedbelow. An overdue charge of 0.5 nP. will be charged {or eachday the book is kept overtime.

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Law~~_ !_l_el!_f!_ar:£~Series. Pub. No.2

THE

EARLY PALLA V A

BY

DINES CHANDRA SIRCAR, M A.,. . .,Premehand Royehand Student, Calcutta University,

Author of

Snccessors of t he Si1to'IJi1h{/na~ In the Eusreru Deccan-

Published By

MOTILAL BANARSI DASS]>rojlt"ldm s,

The Punjab Sanskrit Book Depot, Lahore

1935

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"Printed byJITENBRA NATH DE

at the Sreekrishna piinting Works259, Upper Chitpore Road, Calcutta.

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10

S~AMAPRASADMOOKER JEE , E sq .,M.A~,

BARRISTER -AT-LAW,M. L. c,Vice-Chancellor, Calcutta University. with the

author's best regards.

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CONTENTS

SUBJECT

I. Early History of the Kaiici Region

II. Rise of the Pallavas

III. Date of Sivaskandavarman ,

Appendix-Importance of the Asvrnedha

PAGE

I

8

15

20

IV. Early Pallava Genealogy from Inscriptions of the Nellore-Guntur Region 24

V. Genealogy and Chronology of the Early Pallavas of KMci 28

Appendix- The Vayalur List of Early Pallava Kings 33

VI. Sivaskandavarman and Skandavarman 35

VII. Chendalur GIant of Kumaravi~Qu II 42

VIII. Udayendiram Grant (No. I) of Nandivarman 44

IX. Omgodu Grant (No. 1) of Skandavarrnan II 45

X. Crown-prince Visnugopa and Dharma-maharaja Sirnhavarman 47

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CORRIGENDA.

PAGE

I37121322252 8

31

LINE9154IS38153

2622

CORRECTIONKanci

possession of Gautarmputraed. 1924the t radrnoalpartev.dentlv IS a corruptionfe I u7an

Visnugopa

A. D 436or437

497-537 A.D\~

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T H E

E I1RL V P I1L_L I1V I1S

EARLY HISTORY OF THE K A N e J REGION.

T HE earl~est reference to Karicipura seem: ,to,be that"in the .tlaluibhMUII (iv, 2, seco,ndahmkal of the great grammanan Patan)all whose date, B.C. 150, may now be relied

upon" (Bam. Gaz., I, ii, p. 140), Patafijali is now generally taken to have been a contem-porary of the first Sunga king, Pusyamitra, who reigned from circa 185 to 149 B. C. accor-ding to Smith (EM. Hist. Iiul., 4th ed., 20Bff.). The mention of Kaiiclpula in theMtlhablllz~ya goes to show that Kaiicl became a place of importance as early as thebeginning of the second century B . C, It is however not certain whether Kai'ici was ofpolitical or commercial importance in the age of the ilf(tliab 1tti~!Ia.

If traditions recorded by the Chinese pilgrim Yuan Chwang are to be believed, Kauerrose to prominence even earlier than the age of the Maltabl/(l,I/U. This Chinese pilgrimtells us that he noticed a I>tupa about hundred feet high, built by king Asoka in the city ofKaiicl (Beal, Buil. Rec, Wes. lYor., II, p. 230) . In this connection we may also notethe mention of Asoka or Asokavarman as one of the early Pallava kings in themythical portion of the later Pallava inscriptions. Hultzsch appears to be right intaking this Asoka or Asokavarrnan as "a modification of the ancient Maurya kingAsoka", The claim of having this great Maurya emperor as predecessor is to be foundalso in the Rajararangin], the traditional history of Kashmir (i, vv. I02~I06). Though

the genealogy of Asoka given in the Kashmir chronicle does not tally with the Mauryagenealogy found in the Pursnas, the description of the Kashmir king named Asoka"who had freed from sins and had embraced the doctrine of Jina (i.e. Buddha), coveredSuskaletra and Vitastara with numerous sr17pws", clearly shows that he is no otherthan the great king of Pa\aliputra. The inclusion of Maurya A50h in the traditionalPallava genealogy is therefore not impossible.

, If however we take the find~spots of Asokan inscriptions so far discovered in the farsouth as establishing the southernmost boundary of the Maurya empire in Asoka's time.it would appear that the Kaiicl region lay outside that empire. Nevertheless, if traditions

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2 EARLY PALLA VAS

recorded in early Tamil works are to be believed, the Maurya frontier at the time ofCandragupta, grandfather of Asoka, possibly extended far to the south of Kanci. "Wehave seen that in the south the Maurya power, at one time, had probably penetrated asfar as the Podiyil hill in the Tinnevelly District. In the time of Asoka, the Mauryafrontier had receded probably to the Pennar river near Nellore, as the Tamil kingdomsare referred to as prachamia or border states and are clearly distinguished from theimperial dominions (v~jit(, or ,·ajtt-vi.'$ctI/u) which stretched only as far south as theChitaldrug District of Mysore" (Raychaudhuri, Pol, Hisi. Anc. Ind., 2nd ed., p. 195).If then the Kanci region was once under the Mauryas, it may not be altogether impossiblethat owing to the commercial importance of its position Kane! attracted the notice of aMaurya emperor or a viceroy of the southernmost Maurya province, who assigned thisSanskritised name to a Dravidian original like Kaccippedu 1•

The exhaustive list of countries, mentioned in Gautarni Balasri's inscription, overwhich Gautarniputra SatakarQi jrl"said to have ruled, does not mention any district of thefar south. This fact along with the conspicuous absence of inscriptions and coins ofGautamiputra Satakarl)i in the Andhra region possibly goes to show that the country wasoutside the kingdom of this Satavahana king. It must however be noticed thatGautarniputra Satakarl)i has been described in that famous Nasik Cave inscription as lordof the Vindhya, Rksavat, Pariyatra, Sahya, Krsnagiri (Kanheri), possibly Srisaila(maca's ir i+~na = Mar /.l/a s r ior 8ri-sla~w ?), Mahendra, Malaya, Setagiri and Cakoramountains. Malaya and Mahendra, quite well known in Sanskrit literature, have beenidentified respectively with the Western Ghats (to the south of Nilgiri) and the EasternGhats. If there is in the list really the name of 'Srisaila, it is to be found in theKurnool District of the Madras Presidency. Cakora has been mentioned along withSrigaila in the Puranas. It is therefore possible that Gautamiputra SatakarQ'i claimeda sort of suzerainty over the whole of southern India. Since there is no mention of theHimalaya, the list of mountains in Gautamiputra's kingdom does not appear to bealtogether conventional. Another important point in this connection is the king's epithetti'smlludu-toya'pilu''L'(~h(ma, which says that his war-horses drank water from thethree seas. We are to notice that the inscription does not refer to the conventional caiuh-sanuulra, but only to iri-samudra (three seas) which evidently signifies the Western

(Arabian) sea, the Eastern sea (Bay of Bengal) and the Southern sea (Indian Ocean). Thetraditional southern expedition of Maurya Candragupta and the southern expeditions ofthe Calukyas of Badami and Kalyani, of the Ra~trakatas of Malkhed and later of Sivaji andHaidar Ali show that it was almost a custom with great Deccan kings to lead expedi-tions to the far south. Is it impossible that Gautamiputra Satakami's vague claim of

I. At the time of A~()ka. the southernmost Maurya province had its headquarters at Suvar"agiri which has

been identified by Hulrzsch with Kanakagiri in the Nizam's dominions to the south of Maski (Oorp. [118. Ind.I, p. xxxviii).

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EARLY PALLA VAS 3

suzerainty over the whole of Southern India originated from such a southernexpedition ?1

The Arnaravati inscription of Vasi$thiputra Pulumavi (A. S. S. I., I., p. 100; pl.

LVI. no. I), Amaravati inscription of Sivamaka Sata (siri-Sivamaka-Sada : tu«. p. 61pl. LVI, no. 2), Chinna inscription of Gautarniputra Yajiia Satakaroi (Ep. Ind , I. p.,95), Kodavali inscription of Vasisthiputra Candra Sati (Cada Sata : ibul., XVIII. pp. 316ff.) and the Myakadoni inscription of Pulurnavi (il>id., XIV, p. 155) however clearly showthat the successors of Gautamiputra SatakarQi certainly ruled in the Andhra region. Thissoutherly extent ion of the Satavshana power may have been due to the rise of the houseof Castana who seems to have established himself at Uiiayini and to have been acontemporary of the Greek geographer Ptolemy (c. 140 A.D.) and of the Satavahana kingVasisthlputra Pulumavi, son of Gautamiputra SlitakarQ.i. We know from the Junagadh

inscription (ibid., VIII, pp. 44 ff.) that Castana's grandson Rudradarnan (c. 130-150 A.D.),who f~r sometime ruled conjointly with his gr~n~ather, 2 ~as rei~ning o~er some of thecountnes that were formerly under the possessloJil~GautamlPutra Sarakarni.

The occupation of the Andhradesa and adjoining districts by the later Satavahanasis also proved by numismatic evidence. According to Rapson (Ont. O. Brit. Mus., p.lxxi), the Satavahana coins found in the Kistna-Godavari region "fall into two classesdistinguished from each other both by their type and their fabric." In the district ofthe first fabric. coins of the following five kings have been found (ibid., lxxii) ;

I . Vasisth lpu tra sri-Pulu rn av i,

2. Vasi$thlputra Sivasrl SatakarQ.i.3. Vasisthiputra sri-Candra Sati.4. Gautarniputra srl-Yajna SatakarQi, and5. srl-Rudra SatakarQi.

In the district of the second fabric are found coins struck by the following threekings (ibid., p. lxxiv) :

I. sri-Candra Sati.2. Gautamiputra sri"Yajna SatakarQi. and3. sri-Rudra SatakarQi.

Some lead coins found in the Anantapur and Cuddapah Districts have been takenby Rapson to have belonged to some feudatories of the Satavahana kings (ibid.,p. lxxxi), This suggestion appears to be supported by the following facts. Firstly, in the

I. A Nasik inscription possibly refers 10 a southern expedition led by Gautarnlputra SarakarQi who seems

to have once encamped at Vaijayanrl. Vaijayar.ti which was later the capital of the CU!U S;;'lakar;;:is andafter them of the Kadambas has been identified with modern Banavasi in the North Kanara District of the

B~mbay Presidency. .2. Raychaudhuri, Op. eit., pp. 317 fr .

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4 EARLY PALLAVAS

Chitaldrug District has been found a coin of one Sadakana (Sarakarl)i) Ka!alaya Maharathiwho was most probably a feudatory of the great Satavahanas : secondly, the Myakadcni(Bellary District) inscription of Pulumavi shows that the Bellary region was called thejanapc&da (district) of Satavahanihara and that it was under the rule of a governor(lIwhaSellrtjl(&ti) whose name was Skandanaga. This fact seems to show that the southerndistricts of the Satevahane kingdom were ruled by military chiefs .

•From what has been said above it is perfectly clear that the dominions of the laterSatavahanas extended as far as the borders of the district of Kaiicl. We shall nowconsider the question whether Kaiicl could have formed a part of the Satavahanakingdom.

There is no epigraphic evidence to prove that the Satavahana kings ruled over Kaiicl ;but certain lead coins with "ship with two masts" on one side and the Uiiain symbol

on the other have been discovered on the Coromandel coast between Madras andCuddalore. "That they belong to the Andhra (Satavahana) dynasty seems certain fromthe Uiiain symbol which forms their reverse type, and from such traces as remain of thecoin-legend. On the solitary specimen on which these traces admit of any probablerestoration the inscr. appears to be intended for Si7"i-Pu[llf.lJl.a]visa(no. 95, p. 22 ;pl. V)". 1 Of course, mere discovery of some coins of a certain dynasty in a certain areamay not prove that that particular area was under the direct control of the rulers of thatdynasty. But this distinct type of ship-coins found exclusively in the Coromandel coastpossibly supports the view that at least the issuer (or issuers) of the ship-coins had some

sort of political supremacy over the coast region. But who ruled the coast countryduring the time of the later Satavahanas who had most probably issued theship-coins?

According to some scholars, "The coast-region in which these coins are foundwas in the third century B. C. inhabited by the Colas; but before the middle of thesecond century A. D. it seems to have passed into the power of the Pallavas who werethus contemporary with the later Andhras (i, e., Satavahanas)."2 This view howevercan be proved to be unwarranted on the evidence of the Periplus of the EruthraeanSea and the Geography of Ptolemy.

We .can not expect to get the name of Kaiiclpura in the Perinlus as this workdoes not attempt to give an exhaustive list of cities and towns of the countries about whichit speaks. The Kanel region was possibly not a separate political unit at the age of thiswork (c. 80 A. D). The Periplus says: .. § 59. From Komari (= mod. Kurnsrika)towards the south (actually toward NNE) this region extends to Kolkhi (= Karkai on theTarnraparni in the Tinnevelly Dist, ; Smith, op. cit; p. 469) ...... ; and it belongs to the

I. Ibid., pp.lxxxi-ii2. Ibid.. p, lxxxii,

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EARLY PALLAVA5

f'andian kingdom. Beyond Kolkhi there follows another district called the Coast country(= Coromandel or Cola-mandala coast), which lies on a bay, and has a region inlandcalled' Argaru ( = Uragapura = mod. Uraiyur near T anjore)....... §60, Among the market-

towns of these countries and the harbours where the ships put in from Darnirika and fromthe north, the most important are, in order as they lie, first Kamara, then Poduka, thenSopatrna : in which there are ships of the country coasting along the shore as far asDamirika : and other very large made of single logs bound together called Sangara ; butthose which make the voyage to Khryse and to the Ganges are called Kolandia and arevery large." We do not definitely know whether any of these three ports mentionedby the Periplus belonged to the district of Kanci ; but the fact that the Periplus afterreferring to the Coast country refers to Masalia ( = District round Masulipatam) possiblysuggests that the borders of the Coast country touched, in the age of the Peripln s, thoseof the district round Masulipatam. This suggestion, it should be noticed, is in accord

with the tradition which says that "the Chola country (Cholamandalam) was boundedon the north by the Pennar and on thesouth by the southern Vellaru river; or, in otherwords, it extended along the eastern coast from Nellore to Pudukottai, where it abutted onthe Pandya territory" (Smith, op. cit., p. 480).

In the Geogl'aphll of Ptolemy (c. 140A. D.) who gives a fairly exhaustive list ofcountries, cities and important places, we do not find the name of Kaiici ; but thedistrict of Kai'ici can be satisfactorily identified from Ptolemy's map of India. The orderof the position of countries in the east coast has been thus given in Ptolemy'sGeoqrapln], VIII,i :

1. Country of the Pandiones (= PaI)Qyas) with its CISpital at Modoura(= Madura) 125

0 16°20', ruled by Pandion (§ 89) ;

2. District of Batoi (§ 90) with its metropolis at Nisamma 125 0 10' 10 0 30'(§ 12) ;

3. Coast of the Soringoi (= Colas) with its capital at Orthoura 1300 16 0 20',ruled by Sernagos (§ 91) ;

4. Arouarnoi with its capital at Malanga 130" 13°, ruled by Basaronagos(§ 92) ; and

5. District of the Maisoloi (called Maisf,lia in § 15) with its metropolis at, Pitundra 1350 18' (§ 93).

It is clear from the situation of the above countries that on the way from thedistrict of Masulipatam to the Pandya country, i.e., to the south of the former, lay firstthe country of Arouarnoi, then the coast of the Soringoi, and then Batoi. This "coastof the Soringoi" is evidently the same as the "Coast country" of the Periplus whichseems to represent the Cola-mandala of Sanskrit literature. Its capital Orthoura appearstherefore to be the same as Argaru of the Periplus, and U~aiyor ( = Uragapura) of the

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6 EARLY PALLA VAS

present day", But what about this Arouarnoi which has not been mentioned in thePeripius, but has been placed between the Cola-mandala and Masulipatam by Ptolemy?In this connection it is interesting to note what Prof. S. K. Aiyangar says about thecountries of this coast. "The east coast region. however. beginning with the river Veliarflowing across the state of Pudukottah now and emptying its~lf into the Bay of Bengalwhich marked the orthodox southern boundary of the Cholas, constituted the Chela-mandalarn which actually extended northwards therefrom to as far as the river SouthPennar where began the division known as Aruvanac;!u. which extended north-wardsalong the coast almost as far as the Northern Pennar" (Intro. to Pallaoas of Ktmchi byR. Gopalan, p. xi-ii), There can hardly be any doubt that this Aruvanac;!u between theNorthern and Southern Pennars is the Arouarnoi of Ptolemy's Gengraphy. This Arouarnoiis practically the same as the Kand-maQc;!ala. i.e. the district round Kand. It musthowever be noticed that the capital of this district. in the time of Ptolemy. was at

Malanga which appears from Ptolemy's map to have been far to the north of Kand.j

It now appears that the Cola-mandala or the Cola coast which at the time of thePeriplus was possibly bounded by the PaQc;!ya country in the south and the Masulidistrict in the north was divided into two kingdoms in the age of Ptolemy (c. 140 A. D.).What is however more interesting is that in the time of the Greek Geographer. theCola-mandala proper was being ruled by a king named SlIr-nagll. while Aruvanadu,the northern part of the former Cola kingdom. was under the rule of a king namedBasaro-ntIga. We can not be definite whether these two names really represent Indiannames like Sura-naga (or Snrya-nsga) and Vaira-naga (or Varsa-n aga) :but there can be

no doubt that in Ptolemy's time the Cola kingdom as well as the district round Kand wasruled by princes who belonged to the family of the Nagas, The existence of the Nagas inthe Coromandel coast seems to be further supported by the existence of a city calledUaraga-pura in the Pandya country and another of the same name in the Cola country.Uraqa, as we all know. is the same as Naga. It is however difficult to ascertain whetherthe "inland region called Argaru (= Uraga-pura)" was being ruled by the Nsgas(= Uragas) in the age of the Periplus; nevertheless the name supports a conjecturethat in or before that time a place in the heart of the Cola country was under the Nagas."

I. It must be noticed that a city called Argaru 125 0 15' 14 0 20' has been mentioned by Ptolemy (Geo!J.

VII. §Il) as belonging to the Pa~4ya country. It can however hardly be identical with Argaru (=Uragapura)of the Pcriplus which, as we have seen. places it in the Coast country beyond the kingdom of Pandion.

Ptolemy's Argaru in the Pi~4ya country is evidently the same as Uragapura mentioned bv 'fI::~lidisa as thecapital of the PaQqya kings (Ra!J/IIl, VI. 59-60). That Uragapura of these tWO Greek authors is different is alsoproved by the fact that while the PCI'ipi!IS has it as "a region inland called Argaru". Ptolemy's map places the

city just on the sea-shore (Plates in La ncogl'apllic de Pfolemec par Renou, Paris. 1925).2. It may alternatively be suggested that Uragapura is really a Sanskritised form of the Tamil name

U,:_aiYiirliterally. "city of greatness" ?). We must however notice that as early as the beginning of the

Christian era the locality (or localities) was known to foreigners not as U~aiyljr. but as Uragapura [cf,

Argaru).

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EARLY PALLA VAS 7

In this connection we should also notice the Buddhist traditions of Ceylon andSiam which speak of a Naga country on the coast near the "Diamond Sands," to thesouth of Dantapura, between the mouth of the Ganges and Ceylon (Cunningham,

Anc. Geog.Ind., ed. 1911, pp. 611-12). This country has been called Majerika. We donot know whether Maierike, is the same as Masulika (Masulipatam) or a district named. after (he Manihira branch of the Godavari, or it is Ptolemy's Arouarnoi where the Nagaking Basaro-naga once ruled. But the traditions seem to support the existence of a Nagacountry on the eastern coast. Much value of the traditions is however vitiated by the factthat the epochs to which the two traditions refer are irreconcilable. The Ceylonese traditiongives the date as B. C. 157, while the Siamese tradition gives A.D. 310-313. If webelieve in the latter tradition (and also in the fact that the tradition refers to the Nagasof the Coromandel coast), the Pallavas would appear to have risen to prominenceafter A. D. 313. This however seems to be improbable.

Before the middle of the second century therefore not the Pallavas but the Nagaswere ruling the coast country.

As scholars generally take Ptolemy's Siriptolernaios (siri-Pulurnavi), ruler of Baithana(Paithan in the Aurangabad Dist.) to be the same as Vasisthiputra sri-Pulurnavi, son ofGautarniputra SatakarQi, we see that Besaro-naga, ruler of the Kaiicl region, and Snr-naga, ruler of the Cola-mandala, reigned contemporaneously with this Satavahana kingwho possibly was the first to establish the Satavahana power in the Andhra country(Pol. Hist, Anc. Ind., 2nd ed., p. 313)1. It may not be altogether impossible that thesuccessors of Basaro-naga acknowledged the suzerainty of the powerful successors ofVasistblputra Pulurnavi, such as the great Grautamiputra Yajiia SatakarQi. It should benoticed here that Pulurnavi of the ship-coins appears to be the same as - the king of theMyakadoni inscription, who was probably a successor of Vasisthiputra Pulurnavi and wasthe last king of the direct Satavahana line.

1. Vasi~!hiputra Pulumavi has been called "lord of the D",k~iQapatha" in the Nasik inscription of year 19.In line 12 of the Junagadh inscription (J:'o. Ind., VIII, pp. 44 If.), the S1ka king Rudradlman (c. 130.150 A.D.)

mentions his Sltav!hana contemporary (Pulumavl ?) as "S!takarQi. lord of the Dak~Qiipatha."

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II '.

R IS E O F THE PA LLAVA S .

S CHOLARS are now generally of opinion that the Pallavas were not indigenousto the Kaiici region. Thus Prof. S. K. Aiyanger says, "The Pallavas Seem neverthe-

less to have been foreign to the_localit,y as far as our evidence takes us at present" (op.

c~). The question is now: When did the Pallavas attain political supremacyin the Kaiicl region ~

We have already seen that about the middle of the second century A. D., whenPtolemy is known to have written his Geograpli!/. the above region was being ruledby the Nagas. The Pallavas therefore could not have ruled as a recognised politicalpower in the same locality before the middle of the second century of the Christianera. They are however believed to have risen to prominence certainly before themiddle of the fourth century A .D. which is the time of Samudragupta's Allahabad pillarinscription. This record. as we all know. ~ns a certain kaiiceyaka ~QugoQawith whom the Gupta king (c. 330-375 A. D.) came in conflict Ouring his South Indiancornpaign- crhis "Visnugopa, ruler of Kaiicl" has been unanimously taken to havebelonged to the Pallava family)

To about the same period should be assigned the Mayidavolu (£'p. Ind., VI. 84)and Hirahadagalli Ubid., I. p. 2.) grants of the Pallava ruler Sivaskandavarman, andthe British Museum grant (ibicl .• VIII. p. 143) dated in the reign of a Pallava kingnamed VijaYIl-Skandavarman, These grants are written in Prakrit and are unanimouslytaken to be the earliest available epigraphic records of the Pallavas. There ishowever difference of opinion regarding the date of these epigraphs. But. as weshall show in the next section. they appear to belong to the first half of the fourthcentury A. D. The Pallavas therefore seem to have attained political supremacy inthe Kaiicl region after the middle of the second but before the beginning of the fourth

century of the Christian era. Now. the next question would be: Who were the Pallavasand how did they succeed in obtaining mastery over the Kaiicl region from the handsof the Nagas ?

It is almost certain that the Pallavas originally were executive officers under theSatavahana kings 1. They were most probably in charge of the government of districtswith titles like MalllJrathi and MahliS811tipati. i. e. governor. There is inscriptionalevidence to prove that the Satavahana kings took their officers from the families of

I. A iyangar,Op. ril., p. xv ; Sewell,H is t. 111 s.8. Inri•.s.v., C. 225 A .D .

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EARLY PALLAVAS 9

the Guptas and Nagas, A Nasik inscription, mentions an officer named Siva-gupta,and the Karle inscriptions refer to Gupta and Sivaskanda-Gupta (Pol. Hist, Anc. Ind.2nd ed., p. 332). We have already seen that a Naga chief named Skanda-naga wasruling the Bellary District in the reign of Pulurnaviwho was possibly the last Satavahanaking of the main line. The Pallavas may have been officers like the Gupras andNagas,

But, who were the Pallavas ?' Were they identical with the people calledPalhavas in inscriptions and literature? Some scholars are in favour of the identifica-tion. Their arguments may be summed up as follows. The Palhavas. i. e. theParthians. are known from inscriptions and coins to have been ruling in North-W~nrnala In the beginning of the Christian era. In the time of the Periplu s, "Parthian'princes [who] were constantly driving each other out", were occupying the valleyof the Indus. This people possibly pushed a little down to the south when they camein conflict with the Satavahane king Gaurarniputra Satakarni who is called "subduerof the Sakas, Yavanas and Palhavas." Indeed, from the Juna~adh inscription ofRudradarnan we learn that a Palhava governer named Suvisakha, son of Kulaipa,was ruling the district of Anarta ~ and Surli.~~ra under that great Saka king. (If, as itseems to be, the territory of the Palhavas lay not far off from the Satavahana kingdom,if they really came in conflict with the Satavshanas at the time of GautamiputraSa.takarl)i, if the Palhavas accepted offices in the government of neighbouring kings,and if the Satavahana government accepted services of persons belonging to theneighbouring tribes, there is nothing impossible in the suggestion that the Palhavas

were employed by the Satavahana kings and eventually carved out a principality inthe south of the Satavahana kingdom after the decline of the latter. )

I. See H. Krishnasastri, E'p. Ind .• XV, p. 246. "The origin of the Pallava. has been obscure. A suggestionhas been thro;;; out biMr. Venkayya that they may have been connected with the Pa!havas, mentioned inthe Mahabharata and the Puranas and there classified as "foreigners outside the pale of Aryan society (.J. Sure,I' .... for 1916-17, p. 217 f.). it i:i true that here the Pallavas are so classed with the Sakas, Yav anas and'olll~r foreign tribes; nevertheless the possibility of their being a class that originated from an intermingling ofthe Brahmanas with the indigenous Dravidian tribes is not altogether precluded. This presumption is confirmedpartly by a curious stll:tement made in the Rii.yako!a copper plates (ahuu, Vol. V, p, 52) that A."vatthaman. theBrahma.,a founder of the race, married a Naga woman and had by her a son called Skanda iishya, Other

'

copper plates (e. g., S.1. 1., Vol. II, p. 353, w. 16 & 17) which relate a similar story mention in the name ofSkandasishya the name of the eponymous king Pallava, after whom the family came to I::ecall"d Pallava. Henceiit appears almost probable thaI the Pallavas like the Kadambas of Banavii.si (Dy. Ka», Di.<l. p. 2E 6 andfn. 2), the Nolambas of Mysore (Rice's l1Iy,~orcand Ooory frum 1118., p, 55), the Mat;yas of Oqqavaqi

l(Oqqadi in the Vizagapatam district) and other similar dynasties were the products of Brahma::la inter-connectionswith the Dravidian races, as the stories related of their origin indicate. The Pallavas are however referred to inan early Kadamba record of the 6:h century A.D. as K.shatriyas, and their earliest sovereigns are stated to have

performed Vedic sacrifices like the Aryan kings of old."2. Anarta is the district round modern Dvaraka.

.place has been referred to both as Anartapuri and Dvi!.raka.

In the Mahabharata (XIV; 52. 59 ; 53. I) die ~me~. '

2

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10 EARLY PALLAVAS

- We however think that there are some very strong grounds against the identifica-tion of the Pallavas with the people called Palhava ( j.e., [h~ Parthians). (If the peoplewho were called Pulltaua at the time of Gautamiputra Satakarni and Rudradarnan,'that is to say, during the first half of [he second century A. D., is [he sameas the Pallavas whom we find stationed at Kaficlat about the end of the third century,how are we to explain the fact that the latter have never been called Pulluuia eitherin the records of their own or in records and works that refer to them? It isimprobable that within the short period of about 150 years a tribe had IIttirlyf~rgotten its original name, so much so that not even for one did' uset at name In t e whole course of their history, though Indian literature in all succeedinga:ges has recognised a tri~~j Ptdhft'5: sometimes even side by .side with ['.!litem«- -nother important point in this connection is that in the Hirahadagalli grant the

earliest known Pallava king, Sivaskandavarman, who appears to have ruled in thefirst quarter of the fourth century A. D., is reported to have performed the .L1svwlledrt

sacrifice. /There is no evidence that kings belonging [0 foreign dynasties or triceslike the Saka, Kusana, Guriara, HOQa and others ever performed the Horse-sacrifice,even when they were Hinduisedj/ It seems highly improbable that a foreignerwould be very favourable to the obnoxious practices followed during the course ofthis sacrifice. Unless an immigrant tribe hopelessly forgets its self and imbibe utterorthodoxy of Hinduism, it seems impossible for its members to be able to exposetheir wive~_ to such indelicate practices as are necessary in performing the Horse-sacrifice 1. loThe performance of this ou r-and-out Brahrnanical sacrifice by the earliest

known Pallava king seems to go against the theory of foreign origin of the Pallavas.,

(The next important point is that the family of the Pallavas is known even fromthe earliest record to have belonged to the Bharadvaia gotra 2.) This Bharadvaia gotraof the Pallavas can hardly be imitated ftom the gctra of any efarlier dynasty that ruledIn the Deccan. The Satavahanas of the main line, whose records the Pallavas- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I. I am indebted f"r this suggestion to Dr. H. C. Raychaudhuri of the Calcutta University. i-ordetails about the Asvamedha sacrifice, see §ukla-Yajurveda, XXlI-XXV, with Mahldhara's commentary thereon.

For the indelicate portion, see ibid., XXIII, 18-25. ~llalllra to be uttered by the queen of the performer of

this sacrifice: alllbe='mbike='mbrtlike na 9Ilii na-yaN kas=rana I sasllsly=a~t·al.'all .~!Ibltadl'l'l.·rtl!tklill.!pila-rlisin-jll.1 II Mahldhara's commentary: uuul = a!)alllane = ~I'o= 't/yCW!=lidliya say-t"yal(£= iti mayo,

gmllyaie. After pronouncing another mantra, the queen sit> (according to Mahldhara, lies down) besidethe sacrificial horse. Queen: fa, ubhou. catUI'U{1 pada{! sall.I]JI'CIsliraYliva; Adhvaryu: sl'a"ge ldtep1·orl,lIu·iill,ti.II,t. After the Adhvaryu covers the bodies of the queen and the horse with a sheet of cloth, thequeen says: t'l,'.~ll riij'/, "e/oel/,ii, reio dadhiitu, and then according to Mahldhara: malti'i'~ 8t'ayal1! =CV=(ihca-l;i~l!ctm=£ikl,'.~!la sva-yon(6!t slltiipayali. See also fsalaJlatlta-Bl'itlwtctl,!a, XIII, iv. 2 and Successorsof th e SataeMlallas bt the Eastern. Deccan, p, 111.

2. According to K. P. Jayaswal (Tfist. Ind., p. 182), "The Pallavas were a branch of the Vaka!akas,"The theory however is obviously untenable, as the former is known to have belonged to the Bharadvaja gotra,while the latter belonged to the Vi~"uvrddha gotra,

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EARLY PALLAVAS 1 .1

imitated in drawing theirs, did never specially mention their own gotra, The VinhukadaCutu-Satakarnis however calld themselves MciIlCTvya-!Iotm- Haritt-putra. This titlewas imitated by the Kadambas who succeeded the Cutu SatakarQis in the Kuntalacountry. The Calukyas who appear to have. originally been provincial governorsunder the early Kadambas, got the title in their turn along with the sovereignty of theKanarese country. Since the Pallavas do not use rnetronyrnics like their predecessorsland since their Bharacivaja gotra cannot be reasonably' proved to have been imitatedfrom any preceding ruling dynasty of the Deccan, it seems possible that they wereoriginally Brahmanical Hindus of the Bharadvaia gotra and therefore belonged toNorthern India 1.

Panini (IV. I. I! 7) seems to say that the Sungas belonged to the Bharadvaia gotra.From the Puranas we know that the Sungas succeeded the Mauryas on the throne of

Magadha, and the Malavikagnimitra informs us that a secondary capital of the Sungaswas at Vidisa (mod. Bhilsa in the Jubbalpore District). Is it altogether impossible that

1the Pallavas really ,'were a branch of the Sungas of Vidisa, who gradually pushed to~he so~tf~ ~ook. se:,vices under t~e S~tavahanas and eventually carved o~t a principal.it yIn the Kan::1region" ? The fact that tne Pallavas never try to connect themselves with' - the"solar and lunar dynasties, famous in Indian legends, at least seems to show that theybelonged originally to a Brahman family of Northern India. If a Brahman familyrises to royal dignity, it can hardly look back for past glory to the Surya and CandraVW/lsas which were Ksatriya dynasties. They can however claim connection withB lUirarivajll Drona, the great epic king of Northern Pancala, who was a Brahman/:..y birth, but took the profession of the Ksatriyas, Cf the case of the Sena kings of7gal, who refer to themselves in their inscriptions as BmllIlHt,fc.~(tI,.i!1((.

But, how did the Pallavas occupy the Kaiici region which was once under theNagas ? This question is difficult to answer, as we know nothing definitely about

I. The Purat;lic genealogy of the Pallavas, based of the name of their gctrar~i, does not appear to have

been imitated. See ·FI~€t, Bom, (Iav, I, ii. p. 342, ncte. "The PuraQic genealogy of the Rashtrakutas makesits lirst appearance in the Sliligli grant i hul . . : 1111 . ,Vol. XII, p. ~47). The pretended historical genealogy of the

Western Ganges may have been concocted a little earlier, l ut was more probably devised about A. D. 950

(A'p. lud.; Vol. III. p. 169). The Cola Purd.,ic genealogy is apparently lirst met with in the ]la(II"!lallu-l',,/,lltli

(Fllei.Aut., Vol. XIX, p. 329) which was composed in the reign of the Eastern Chlilukya king KulcrtungeCholadeva I, A. D. 1063-1112. And rhc Pura.:ic genealogy of the Eastern Garigas of Kallnganagara is first

presented in a record of A. D. 1118-19 (lci., Vol. XVIII, p. 165).- Th e PuraQic genealogy of the p..llavasis the earliest such pedigree that has as yet come to light. And possibly the discovery of it in some ancient

record set the later fashion which became so general."

2. It may be noted that the early G~lig\3 claimed to have beloJlg~ j 'to the KaQvliyaQa p.otra. Thus they

claim connection with the famous KliQvd.yaQaloyal line that succeeded the Sungas en the throne of M",gaJha. Vile

however do not know whether the claim can be an i.llitati,on, nor do we know whether the f"mil>'-n~me Oai1fN

has anythit:lg to do w.th the famous North Indian river named Galiga.

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12 EARLY PALLAVAS

the Pallava kings who ruled before Sivaskandevarman. or his father whose name is.as yet unknown I• Indeed, later Pallava inscriptions, such as the Kasakudi platesof Nandivarrna-Pallavarnalla(S. Ind. Ins., II, p. 342), the Velurpalaiyam plates of

Nandivarman III (ibid., p, 50B) and the Vayalur pillar inscription of Rajasirpha (Ep.Ind., XVIII, p. 150), have mentioned the names of some early Pallava kings otherwiseunknown and have traced the Pallava pedigree from Lord Brahman, through Hisdescendants, Angiras, Brhaspati, SafTlYu. Bharadveja, Drona, Asvanhaman, Pallavaand Asoka (or Asokavarrnan), There can be no questi~out the unhistoricity ofthis part of the genealogy. It is obviously fabricated on the basis of the name ofthe gotra,r.'ji of the Pallava family. We know that the Pallavas belonged to theBharadvaja gotra which has the prauaras, Bharadvaia Aflgirasa and Balhaspatya.Pallava is evidently the eponym, while Asokavarrnan "can scarcely be considered ahistorical person, but appears to be a modification of the ancient Maurya king Asoka."

It~~~d that the order and from of names mentioned after Asokavarrnanin the ~~~art of the Pallava genealogy are not uniform in the differentinscriptions. Hultzsch therefore remarked on this part of the Kasakudi grant (S. Ind.Ins., II. p. 343). "It must rather be concluded that. at the time of Nandivarman nothingwas known of the predecessors of Sirnhavishnu but the names of some of them.and that the order of their succession and their relation to each other and to the subse-quent line of Sirnhavishnu,were then entirely forgotten." This part of the Pallava genea-logy may be compared with the mythical genealogy of the Calukyas about which Fleet

says, "For 'the above account (.')cil. Calukya genealogy before Pulikesin I). a certainamount of foundation may be derived from the fact that from the time of Pulikesin IIonwards. the Western Chaiukyas were constantly at war with the Pallavas, who weretheir most powerful and inveterate foes. coupled with a tradition of the later Kadambas

. that the founder of the Kadamba family was a certain Trinetra or Trilochana. But inother respects, the account is a [arraqo of vague legends and Purdnic myths of no autho-rity" (BOlli. Gaz.• I. ii. pp 341~2). It is therefore difficult to believe that the mythicalportion of the Pallava genealogy is much useful for the purpose of authentic history.Nevertheless it is tempting to make a few suggestions.

0). Verse 6 of the Velurpalaiyam inscription says that Viraknrca, son of Core-pallava obtained the insignia of royalty along with the hand of a Naga princess (cf.p l!rmind/,C I-Su ,ta yi;, Mel!= 1.{jl'ahid= raja-cihnam = akhilam), We have seen above thatthe Nagas were rulers of the Kancl region before the rise of the PallavasIn that locality; it is therefore not impossible that Virakorca married the heiress

1. Acccrding to Sewell (lIist. Ins, S. Ind., p, 17), "Bappa", i.e. the father of Sivaskandavarman,

was a name assumed by Jayavarman of Ihe Kondamudi grant. This theory is untenable in view of the fact thatJayavarman belonged to the Brhatphaliyana gotra, but the Pallavas are known 10 have belonged to the Sharadvlja

gotra. See my note in Journ . .Andlt. Ilist, Res. SO!!.,VIII. p. 105; also SIl!!. Sl it .East. Dec.,p. 33n.

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EARLY PALLA VAS 13

of the last Naga king of Malanga and thus became the first Pallava king ofthe district round Kaiicl. 1 Some very late inscriptions (of about the .l lth century)mention a king named Trilocana as the earliest illustriou L. . .O£. . .the

Pallavas. e is a so called T rinetra, rinayana, Mukkanti-Pallava and MukkaQti-Kac;lu-.;;tti (Butterworth, Nellore Inscription», I . p. 389, II, p. 671 ;cf. Ep. u«. XI. p. 349).He is described as having, like Siva, a third eye on the forehead and is believed by somescholars to have been a historical person who was the founder of the Telugu-Pallavas andwho ruled over tracts of the Telugu country (An, Rep, S. I. Ep. 1916, p. 138; lyenger,History of the Tamils, 364 , 384 ). The historicity of this Trilocana-Pallava is impossiblein view of the facts that a similar Trilocana is said to have been the progenitor of theKadambas in some Kadamba inscriptions of about the same period (Ep. Cttrn., VII. Sk.236) and that all the early Pallava records deny the possibility of the existence of anysuch early king named Trilocana-Pgllava. Many scholars have now discarded thisTrilocana as purely mythic8l "The name Trilocana seems to have passed from theKadamba inscriptions of the west to the Pallava inscriptions of the east" (Moraes,Kadambn-kula, p. 8, note I).

(ii), The name of the father of Virknrca who was possibly the first king of thefamily was Cata-pallava. May Pallaoa, the name of the dynasty. have anything to do-with the second sylable of the name of the first Pallava king's father 7 2

(iii). A successor of Virakoraca was Skandasisya who came in conflict with aking named Satyasena (verse 7). Was this Satyasena in any way connected with thePalakkaka Ugrasena of the Allahabad pillar inscription. who possibly ruled at Palakkada(sometimes a seat of Pallava government) in the Nellore region ?

(iv). Another successor of Virakuraca was Kumsravisnu (verse 8) who is creditedwith the siezure of K5.i'icl (urhUa-kMicinuyara). Does it mean that the Pallavas firstruled at Malanga, the Naga capital, which possibly lay somewhere to the north of Kaiici

1. Many scholars think that the Cu!U-§atakan~is of Kuntala were Nagas and that the father-in-lew ofPallava Vlrakurc~ belonged to the family of these Cuju-Nsgas. Since we have proved Naga occupation of

the Kind region just before the rise of the Pallavas, the above suggestion seems to be more plausible. Mr.

Jayaswal (Hist. Intl., p, 189) is inclined to identify the Naga relations of the Pallavas with the Bhii.ra~ivas(possiblyNagas) of Central India. His arguments however are not convincir-g.

2. I have elsewhere suggested that the names Kadasuh« and Palloea are possibly of totemistic origin.

Tree-names like Kada7nba, of tribes and families, many of which are totemistic, are quite common in India.When, on the other hand, we find that a sept of the Mundas is called Chirko i.e. mushroom (Risley. TrillPlI and'

(J as tes o f B en ga l,II, 1892,p. 103) an:! another is called.Sewar i.e, moss (p, 108) and that a toternistic section of

the Rautias is called Kharia i.e. blade of grass (p, 123),the possibility of Palla va, l.e, twig, having originally 1\

totemistic significance in connection with the Pallavas may not appear altogether impossible. Risley (p. 471 m"nrions

Pallab as 1\ subcaste of the Goalas of Bengal. This eviden.y is a corrup'tion of the Sanskrit word vullabltameaning "cow-herd",

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IA EARL Y PALLAVAS

and that Kumaravisnu was the first Pallava king to have his capital at Kaf i c l ?1 Had theColas, then, .becorne again master of their country and occupied the Naga territory·as far as the city of Ka f i c l?

(v). A successor of Kumaravisnu was Euddhavarman, who is called submarine fireto the sea that was the Cola army (col(t.sai'lly-tiI'!/ava-t·(i(!av-aani). Does it signify thecontinuation of the war with the Colas, which we have supposed to have begun in thereign of Kumaravisnu ?

I. If this KlJma.ravi~Clu is identical with Kurriil.ravi~t:'u I of the Chendalur grant,· the above suggestion

is improbable. Kafi~i became the capital of t~ Palla vas long -before the time' of Kumaravi~Clu I. In that case

y,_.lt-ila}u;T.ci.-l1l1,yaruwould pos.ibly mean recovering Kind from the temporary occupation of-the'Colas •.

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I I I

DATE OF S IVASKANDAVARMAN .

T H EMayidavolu and Hirahadagalli grants of Sivaskandavarman and the BritishMuseum grant dated in the reign of king Vi;jll!la-Skandavarman are the earliest

available records of the Pallavas. They are written in Prakrit,while the later epigraphsof the early Pallavas are in Sanskrit. We have already noticed that there is a controversyover the date of these records and, therefore, of the Pallava rulers namedSivaskandavarman and Skandavarrnan, to whom they belong. Fleet thought thatthese kings should be placed after the Pallava king Visnugopa mentioned in theAllahabad pillar inscription (Bolli. Gaz., I. ii, 319). According to this scholar thereforethe two Pallava kings reigned about the last quarter of the fourth century A. DProf. Dubreuil (A n co Hi8. Dec., p. 70), on the other hand, assigns Sivaskandavarman.whom he indentifies with Vii(J!I~t-Skandavarman, to about A. D. 250-275, i. e. about the.third quarter of the third century. It is however now generally believed that the king orkings mentioned in the Prakrit grants of the Pallavas ruled before the time of Visnugoparuler of KaRel, mentioned in the Allahabad pillar inscription (Krishnasasrri,Ep, Iud.,

XV, p. 243; Jayaswal, H is t, Ind ., p. 181) .Here I am going to show that Sivaskanda,varrnan probably reigned in the first quarter of the fourth century and that V(7ft!ltl-

Skandavarman of the British Museum grant was possibly a different king who seemsto have reigned a little later than Sivaskandavarman.

Ptolemy who wrote his Geou/ apln) about A. D. 140, mentions (VII, i. 63 and 82)Tiastenes ( = Castana) ruler of Ozene (Uiiayini) and Siriptolemaios (= siri-Pulurnayi or"mavi) ruler of Baithana (Pa ithan in the Aurangabad Dist.)as his contemporaries. TheAndau inscriptions. issued in the joint-reign of Castana and his grandson Rudradarnan'are dated in the year 52 which must be referred to the Saka era and should correspondto A. D. 130 (Raychaudhuri, Pol. Hist, Auc. Ind., 2nd ed .. pp. 307 ff.l. Castana'scontemporary Pulumsvi who has been indentified with Vasisthipurra sri Pulumavi. sonof Gautarniputra SatakarQi (ibid., p. 313), must also have ruled about the sametime.

According to the },lretsllre- P urana, which is the only work that gives a fullerlist of the Satavahana kings and seems therefore to be more authentic as regards.Satavehana chronology than the other Puranas, the following Satavahana kings ruledafter Vasi$!hiputra Pulurnavi (See Rapson, Cat. C. Brit, Mus., p. Ixvii),

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16 EARLY PALLAVAS

1. Sivasrt [SatakarQi]2. Sivaskanda Satakarni3. Yaji'ia~riSatakarQi .

4. vijaya5. Candasri [Satakami]

7 years.7 years.

29 years.!

6 years.10 years."

6. Pulo~a[vi]59 years.7 years."

66 years.

The only inscription of Pulorna or Pulumavi, the last king of the list, has beendiscovered at Myakadoni in the Bellary district (gp. Iwl., XIV, p. 153). We therefore

cannot be definite as regards his rule over the Andhradesa proper.' But the Amaravatiinscriptions of Vasisthlputra Pulurnavi and Sivarnaka Sada (= Sivaskanda Satakarni ?), theChinna (Kistna Dist.) inscription of Yajfia SatakarQi and the Kodavali (Godavari Dist.]inscription of Cada Sita or Sati (Candasri or Candrasri ~atakarQi) leave no doubtthat at least the Satavahana kings of the list, who ruled before Pulurnsvi of theMyakadoni grant, were rulers of the Andhra country (A. S. S. I.. Vol. 1 . pp. 61 and100; Ep. Iiui., I. p. 95; XV III, p. 316). As Vasisthiputra Pulumavi son of Gautarni-putra Satakami is known to have ruled in the second quarter of the second century,it appears that the Andhra country was under the Satavahana yoke at least up to thebeginning of the third century A. D.

According to Krishnasastri (E'p. ina" XVIII. p. 318), the second year of CadaSati (Candasri or Candrasri SatakarQi) is equivalent to A. D. 210. We may thereforearrange approximately the chronology of the above kings as follows.

1. Siva~r; 5atakarni2. Sivaskanda Sat~karJ')i3. Yaji'ia(sri) Satakarl)i4. Vijaya4. Cal)Qa(sri) 5atakarQi

circa A. D. 160-166.'167-173.174-202.203-208.209-218.

According to the M(tf,"'!Jf/-P'ltl'll~I(t., Viisisthiputra Pulumavi ruled for twenty-eight

J. The real name of this Idng is Yajr\a SatailarQi (see my note in J. R . zl. S., July. 1934, p. 560; also

Slle. 8iif. Eaet, Dcr. , p, 4n). The Chinna inscription is dated in his twenty-seventh year (1< . . ) .Incl., I. p, 95).The Puranic tradition' ascribing II reign-period of twenty-nine years to him therefore seems to be true.

2. The real name of the Puranic Ca~<la~rl appears to have been Ca~<la (or Candra) ~atakar':li. He isnever called Candrasrl or Cal)Qasri in inscriptions and coins.

3-. The Myakadoni inscript ion W'p. Ind., XIV. p. 153) of Pulumsvi is dated in his eighth regnal year. Hetherefore appears to have ruled for more than seven years.

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EARLY PALLAVAS 17

years. He therefore seems to have ruled from about A. D. 132 to 159. 1 This date,though approximate, corroborates the fact that Vasi~thipLJtra sri-Pulurnavi was a contem-porary of the Greek geographer Ptolemy who wrote his book about 140 A. D. andof the ~aka ruler Castana who is known to have reigned in A. D. 130.

The Iksvakus who succeeded the Satavahanas in the rule of the Kistna-Guntur region0. e. the Andhra country)" must therefore have risen to prominence not before the timeof CaQc;Ia(sri) SatakarQi. The sovereignty of the lksvakus over the Andhradesa thusappears to have begun from about the end of the first quarter of the third century AD.Vasi~thlputra Carntamuia I. the first known [k.vaku king, should be placed after the timeof Candatsri). He could not have been a feudatory of (he Satavahanas, as he is said tobe a performer of the A;u;IIlIIedlw and I iij 'pelJlI. sacrifices. According to theSatnpdha,Bl'lzlulIrll.'t'1 (V, [.1.[3)," the performance of the "tl}apel/a bestows on theperformer a superior kind of kingship called Sciml'I1j1lft, while Kieth has rightly pointed

out that the Asvamedha "is an old and famous rite, which kings alone can bring, toincrease their realms" (Net. P hil . ~·etl. Upanis., p. 343). It is perfectly clear fromstatements contained in the Buud hli'laWf"Srrtlltc£8litl'll (XV, I), the Apastallllm-

SwlttasTifm (XX, i. I. quoted in the S(lbrl(}k'dp{(d/,'lIlIr'_P(f,l'i.~i·~t(£, s. v.) and the1'aiflil'7l1a-BJ'ri,hl/lw./ff, (III. viii, 9. 4 ; V, iv, 12. 3) that a feudatory ruler could neverperform the Asvamedha sacrifice."

We do not know for how many year, the lksvaku king Vasi~!hiputra Carptarnnlaruled over the Andhra country. It is however known from the Jaggayyapetta records

that his son, Virapurisadata, reigned at least up to his twentieth year, while according to

I. From a d,ff~renl point of view, Prof, Rapson has also carne to practically th" same conclusion. Thelast known date of Nahapana, the records of whose reign, according to many scholars, are dated in the5aka era, is Saka 46= 124 A. D.; his reign could not havs extended much beyon I that date. Gautarnjputra Sata,

karnl's success over Nahapana almost certainly took place in the eighteenth year of his reign (cf. Nasik Ins.,Ep. Ind.,VIII, p. 71; Karle Ins., ibid., VI '. p. 64). Th e eighteenth year of Gautarnlputra is therefore A. D. 12 4 or 124 + J:.

Gaurarnlputra 5atakall;Ji thus seems to have ascended the throne in A. D. 106 or 106 + J'. The latest inscriptionaldate of this king is year 24, which would correspond to A D. 130 or 130+x. His son Vasi~!hlputra Pulurnavi

appears to have lost much of his territories to the Sab ruler RuJradam3.n before Pulumavi's 19th regnal year an.:!before Saka 52 (A.D. 150), which is the date of Rudradarnan's Junagadh inscription. According [0 Rapson thereforethe accession of Vasighlputra Pulumavi look place in about A. D. (150-19",,) 131. See Rapson. "p. ril., pp. xxvi-ii, xxx, xxxvi-viii, The chronology we have proposed here would place Vasi~thipulra Pulumavi approximately

in A. D. 132·159 and Gauramlputra Sllaklr -, i, who seems to have ruled for about 24 years, in A. D. 107,131.2. The Ik~vaku records have been discovered at Llaggayyapella in the Nandigram [aluka of [he

Kistna District t I ru ! •.Jill., XI, p. 257) and at Nagarjunikonda in the Pain ad taluka of [he Gumur District (Ep.Ind., XX, p, I).

3. Cf.1·ii:ia uu: riija.~iiym="dl'ti. bharat], samrtir!==i,rijnpe!lp.11=ti.!:amJ{1 h·i rajya/!I, pnrrtl!'8timrrijllal(!; !.-rima/leta t'ni 1'Iijti san! /'Iir/ = bltat'i'IIIIl/, etc.

4. See Kieth, Bluclc raJ!I.~. pp. cxx ii-iv ;and my note in Ind. ()II/t.. I, p. 311 ; also Sue. Slit. East.Dee., pp. 107 fF . See moreover the Appendix below, pp. 20 fF. ,where [he whole Question has beendiscussed.

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1 8 EARLY PALLAVAS

the Kottampalugu record, Ehuvula Camtamula II, successor of Virapurisadata and thelast known king of the dynasty, ruled at least up to his eleventh year. It is thereforereasonable to suppose that these three Iksvaku kings together ruled for about more than

half a century. The end of the reign of Camtarnula II thus appears to have fallen in thefourth quarter of the third century A. D.

According to the evidence of the Mayidavolu grant, dated in the reign ofSivaskandavarman's father, the Andhrapatha (i. e. the Andhra country) with itsheadquarters at Dhamnakada (Dhanyakataka) passed from the lksvakus to the possession ofthe Pallavas. Pallava Sivaskandavarman. who was like Camtarnnla I a performer of thegreat Vaiapeya and Asvamedha sacrifices, was preceded in the suzerainty of theAndhraparha at least hy his father who must have ruled [he country after EhuvulaCarntamula II. Sivashndavarman therefore can hardly be placed earlier than A. D. 300.

This view, moreover, can be confirmed by an altogether different line of argument.There is a great linguistic difference between the grants of Pallava Sivaskandavarman

and the records of the lksvaku kings. like the Satavahana grants and all other earlyPrakrit inscriptions, the Iksvaku records found at Jaggayyapetta and Nagarjunikondaexpress double-consonants by single letters. The Mayidavolu and Hirahadagalli grantsof Sivaskandavarman, on the other hand, express them, in many cases, by two letters.Though the grants of Sivaskandavarrr.an are in Prakrit, the legend on the seals of boththe grants are written in Sanskrit. The HirahadagaIIi grant, moreover, ends in alIIahyn/a. which is also written in Sanskrit. This linguistic difference between the

epigraphs of the known Iksvsku kings and those of Sivaskandavarman (one of whosegrants is dated in the reign of his father) clearly points to the fact that there was aninterval between the reign of the former and that of the latter. Consequently, Siva-skandavarrnan could not have ruled much earlier than the beginning of the fourthcentury A. D. He cannot however be placed later than [\'uiic:elJalm Visnugopa whocame in conflict with Samudragupta about the middle of that century. We haveelsewhere shown that Pailava Sivaskandavarman ruled earlier than Salaflkayana Deva-varman who was a predecessor of Salaflkayana Hastivarrnan, the V(li'hgeyaka

contemporary of Samudragupta (sf'e Lud, Culi., I. pp 498 ff; also Ind. Hi8~. Quart.,IX, p. 212 and Journ. Ind. Hist., XIIl. p. 37). He therefore appears to have reignedabout the first quarter of the fourth century.

We have elsewere shown that the word vijftlln, in names like Viiaya-Skanda-varrnan, is not an integral part of the name, but is a simple honorific.! The name ofthe PaIIava king mentioned in the British Museum grant therefore is Skandavarrnan,Some scholars think that the word sioa in the name Siva-Skandavarrnan, is also anhonorific like vijn!Ja in the other names and that the Pallava prince siva-Skandavarmanof the Mayidavolu and HirahadagaIIi grants is identical with king l'ijrlya-Skandavarman of

I. Ind, Hisi, Q!lltl'f. • IX. p, 2(18; also Sur. Slit. East, Dee., po, 54.55.

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EARLY PALLA VAS 19

the B ritis:, J'vbseum grant. The absenceof any ki:;g named Sivaskandavarm~n and theexistence of many Skandavarrnans in ,0 ':: tra::L o:;a!: i sc:::fe arly P alla vab ing - soand also

the use of the word[;h'fl. in the KadamS3. inscripaons, as an honorific in names like

viju.l/I1-.§io:l-Mlndhltrvarm:l.n,1~1 j1:I' t- '; :;n l-Mr5e~3.Var:Tu- , a .n :: !I'lj l. 'I(I-.~il·a-Kr50av:!rman(ll), are taken to be proofs insupport c·r this theory. (, must ~owe\'er be noticed [hatthere is not even a singleinstance where the wad .~i!'("1:3 siaclv esed as an honorific,It may be argued thatf>ivrt in rhe names cf S:va3kan:la\'a .r~~ ., of the Banavasi ins-c rip tio n (L ud ers, List, no. I[24', and Sivaskandavarrnan of the fv1alavalli inscription(ibid .• no 1196) is only an honorific compounded with the names, These personsbelonged to royal fam ilies. But Sivaskandagacra ist're name of an ordinary person inthe Karle inscription no. 19( ':b;d . .no. 1105) and 5ivask3.n::E h (S ivaskandansge?) is thatof an ordinary offi::er ina N asik inscriptio; ') ofFulurruvi Uhi,! .. no. ! 124}. Sincehonorifics are not known to have been usedby ordinary persons, it !s clear thatS ivaskandavarman was certainly not an improper name in ancient India. The nameof Sivaskan::la S itabrQi int'ie Puranic list of 'r;,e And;,ra (5itavanana.! kings. where noother king's name is mentioned with an honorific, is also in support of this suggestion.Since the traditional list of early Paliava kings is07 veri doubtful authority, we canhardly make out anything from the non-mention of Sivaskandavarman init . Theidentification o f S ivaskmdavarman of the M ay;davolu andHirahadagalli grants withSkandavarrnanof the B ritish M use:Jmgra nt isth ere fo re e xtreme lydoubtful.

A s the British M :Jzum grant is also written in Prakrit, a linguistic consideration maybe useful in ascertaining its date.This grant expresses double-consonants. in all cases,by

tw o letters. and generallyfollows th e spellingaccepted in literaryPrakrit, Ith as moreo ve rth e u-ual imprecatory verses in Sanskrit. There can thereforebe hardly any doubt thatthe British M useum grant is later than the grants of Sivaskandavarrnan. Skandavarrr.anseems to have been a successor (immediate successor?) of S ivaskandavarman-

Such linguistic considerations have ledus tob elie ve th atth e Pallavakings of th e Prakntrecords, Salaflke.yana Devavarrnan of the Eilore grant, Kadamba )\t\ayOrasarman of theChand ra va lli in sc rio tio n(A.R .. J[{/.~. A.rc . .sUIT .• 1929. p. 501. the Kadarnba king of t:"eMa la va lli re co rd(FJp . Carli .• VII. Sk. no.264). Vinhukada SatakarQ i of another l'-h!avallirecord (ib .. no.263)1 and Brnatphalayana .Jayavarman of the Kondarnudi grant" may all

be placed roughly between about the beginning and the m:ddle of the fourth century."

I. Lingiuscic consideration seem. to suggest that the Banavasi inscriptkn find . ..J ill . •XiV, p, 331)

belonged to an earlier Vi.,huka~a Satakar;;i.2. The cijf<rence in rhe paJaecgrapny between the Kondamudi plates and the seal attached t: them may !:e

taken to suggest that Jayavarman ruled a little earlier than the time suggested by the linguistic ~tan;lard of the

Kondamudi grant. The legend on the seal is however in Sanskrit; ;1 therefore cannot be mu::h earl ier than -:00 A.D.

J. My paper on the Date { If Palfat·([. .~h·asl·aml(l/'flriJ1ail was lirst pU,bli,heci in Journ. t-: m«.XIlI.!pp. 297 ff; the questlon WIlS pre '/ i~usly oiscussed in my paper, Date o rSalarli.'liyall a Dtl·(ua,.",ali, In

Ind, Cult. , I. pp.:498 If. see also Sue. su. East, Dec . .p 74 n.

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APPENDIX

IM P O R T A N C E O F T H E A S V A M E D H A

I a note inInd. Ouli., I , pp. 114~115, it has been suggested that since M adhavavar~man IVisnukundin and Pravarasena IVakaraka have been called sim plyM(&htlraja.

(not MaluJ./·liJllclhiro}a) in the inscriptions, they are to be taken as petty feudatorychiefs even though they performed theAsvamedha, In support of this theory, Prof.D . R. Bhandarkar says that "even a feudatory chieftain can perform a H orse-sacrifice(ibid., p. 115) and that theAsvamedha"mayor may not be preceded by arlia-vduya."(p, 116). These theories however are not only against the evidence of the Sruti literaturebut also go against the evidence of theinscriptionsof these kings.

In inscriptions, Pravarasena I has been calledSGlllru( which never signifies asubordinate chieftain (cf.~wlll'at[j()] vlili:at,' kanal/l. ni« harajf1,-&ri~ P raoaraeenasuaetc. in the Balaghatplates, EjJ. Iiul., IX , p. 270, 1.4; also the Chammak plates,Oor».IIl.~ . Ind., Ill, p. 235)1. That M adhavavarman I was not incapable ofdig-vijayc&

is proved by a reference[0 his expedition for conquering the eastern countries in theP olamuru gran t(Jllu.l'n. A. Hiet. Res.Soc., VI, p. 17). .J1C&/1I1rCijudhiI'Eiju,based onruia~irtiJII etc. of the Scytho-Kusanaswas in early times not very often used in SouthIndia. The Kadamba kingKrsnavarman I who performed theAsvamedhasacrifice

ruled over the Kuntala country about the end of the 5th centuryA. D. In inscript ions.he is sympiy styled Dharma-lIll1/iitriijrt-not Dharma-Ala/.atil,jar! h. riij'l like P allava~ivaskandavarman and others. The Devagiri grant(r1ld. Ant., V II, p. 34) howevercalls him ek-idapatru, "possessor of the sole umbrella", which, as scholars havesuggested (Moraes ,Kodambukula, p. 39n), "is indicative of universal sovereignty". TheBirur gr~.nt(Ep. Oarn., VI, p. 91) moreo ver calls himdllkjil.!iiprdlm-vaSltrfIClti-v(tsupati,"lord of the riches of the land ofDaksinapatha'', which "clearly shows thatKrsnavarrnanI claimed a sort of suzerainty over the whole of the Deccan". See mypaper on J( a da mbaK-n~lfIVlll'm.an I in An. Bltand.. Or. Re». Inst., XVI.pp. 160 ff. .

I. A critic of my vi-ws has tried to explain the passage sUlltrii,l(iol 'Ilii.klilukiinilJ(t as "mere overlord

of the Vak.ltak.n" (Ind. al~lt., 1, p. 7J~). There is however a number of instances (e.g. in the ea-ly ~aJ1ava

and Kadambs grants) which prove beyond doubt that vitka.(aI,rmau,t here means "of (i.e, belonging to) the

Vilkitak!family." Another critic takes (ibid., 11. pp. 54-55) sa·mni{-t·iikti{ak<1nii,J(' to be one word in compo-

sition and points out that the passage has been used only in connection with the name of Pravarasena I which fact, I

he thinks, shows that the Viikii.!akas lost their original imperial position after the time of that king. This inter-

pretatbn however suoports our view that Pravarasena I Vaka\aka was a SUflt1·ii.t.. The Dudia plates (Ep. I nd ., I II ,p. 260 & -n. 7). it should be noted, read sa,rnriita[1 which. according to Kielhorn, is. apparently a mistake for

Bamrii.j~l.

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EARLY PALLA VAS 21

Keith has pointed out that the Asvarnedha "is an old and famous rite, which kingsalone can bring, to increase their realms" (Ret. Phil. Ved. Upanis., p. 343). TheBaztdhayanrz Srwtin Sutr« (XV, 1) says that a king victorious and of all the land should

perform this sacrifice. According to the Tnitti!'i!J1l Br. (III, 8, 9.4), "he is poured asidewho being weak offers the Asvarnedha", and again (V, 4. 12.3), "it is essentially, likethe fire offering, an llt.';IIJlIl(t-lIojiia, a sacrifice of great extent and elaboration". SeeKeith, Biack Yains, pp. cxxxii-iv. According to the Apn.stambft Smilla S. ~XX, I.I)l,a universal (survab/ul'ltllw) king can perform the Asvarnedha, but not ~II = fipiF anuri-universal (uliun;a,blwlIlI/rt) king. It is clear from these statements that a subordinateruler could never celebrate the Asvamedha.· A performer of the Asvarnedha may nothave been a ruler of the earth from the North Pole to the South Pole or of India fromthe Himalaya to the Kumarika; but he must have been an independent ruler of aconsiderable portion of India.

An essential feature of the Asvemedha, besides the actual slaying of the horse. isthat about the completion of the performance, at the bidding of the Adhvaryu "a lute-player, a Raianya, sings to the lute three Gathas, verses, made by himself which refer 10

uictories ill battle connected IlJit h the sacrifice "(Keith, Rei. Phil. Veel. Upuui».p. 344). Further, "As revealed in the later texts, the sacrifice is essentially one of princelygreatness. The steed for a year roams under guardianship of a hundred princes, ahundred nobles with swords. a hundred sons of heralds and charioteers bearing quivers

and arrows, and a hundred sons of attendants and charioteers bearing staves" (HaL Br.,

XIlI, 4. 2. 5; Baudh. Sr. S., XV, 1). See Black YlljUII, loc. cit. To manage theserequirements is simply impossible for a subordinate chief.

Moreover, that the progress of the Asvamedha was sometimes impeded whenother kings challenged one's authority to perform the sacrifice, is not only proved fromthe early cases referred to in Sltt. Br. (XIII, 5. 3. 21-22) and ;,l/n/ulb/ui. (XIV, 74-84),but is also proved by a tradition recorded in such a late work as Kalidasa's Mtllu1."I.;-

uunimitra (Act V). It is stated that Pusyarnitra Sunga's sacrificial horse was let loose toroam for a year at its own will under the guardianship of his grandson Vasurnitra whowas attended by a hundred princes and brought the horse back after defeating theYavanas as the horse perchance reached the southern bank of the Sindhu and wascaptured by the Yavana horsemen. That the Asvarnedha couid not be performedwithout some sort of diu-vlji/.!/(t is further conclusively proved by an eighth century

I. See ,'5a}Jdakalp£!dl'!II/la.-pa'l'i~i.tt(l (Hnabadi Office, Calcutta}, S. v. ~l~t'{l./lledha.

2. In place of n = (i.pi there is an alternate reading api, wnich is a later interpol allan according to Keith( Blur I. 'l"ajlls, p, exxxu ). The interpolation seems to show that ({~tiJ'l:a"'lI/ltlJln (=nol master of all the land)

kings could. also perform the Asvarnedha. The word asci roahhtuuu« however never means a feudatory. Thealternate reading only show; that in later times kings who wcse powerful but who did not claim to be ruler of. the

earth (i. e. the major portion of the country) did also perform the A~vamedha. It must howeller' be noticed.lh~

the alternate reading goes against all the old texts quoted above.

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22 EARLY PALLAVAS

inscription of the Pallavas. The Udayendiram grant no. 2 (Ind. Ant., VIII. p. 273)records that Udayacandra. general of Nandivarrna-Pallavamalla defeated the Nisada kingPrthivivyaghra who uias IIccomlJtlllY7:ng the Aioamedha-turaiutama i. e. horse let loose

in connection with a horse-sacrifice. This instance proves beyond doubt that the essentialfeatures of the Asvarnedha hardly changed even as late as the 8th century A. D. Thefamous poet Bhavabhnti who flourished in the same century also recognises the abovecharacteristic when he refers to the sacrifice as akmmed ha iti vislJaja!JiniiI1~ k!,}atriyana.m= It(jrtsvalctb s(p'va-!cj(ttl'iYrI-puribltiJ,vi mil han = ulkar.,.l-n·i.,karfjl,b (Ullm'ocarilct,

Act IV).l

Prof. Bhandarkar rhinks (Ind. Oult., I. p. 116) that the number of performance ofthe Asvamedha could be increased by simply multiplying the amount of dak~ilJ.i1 payableto the Brahrnanas, This view is however based on a wrong interpretation of the follow-ing verse of the Mahabha. (XIV, 88. J 4) :

evam = atra maharaja daksinsrn tri-gunarr;kuru If rit aun. /J/'f1.jrttu te raj~ brahrnana hy = atra karanarn II

The verse obviously implies that, according to a Brahmanical theory, the meritaccruing from the celebration of the Asvarnedha and not the Asvarnedha itself couldbe tripled if the performer offered three-fold dak~i~la to the Brahrnanas."

In Ind. Cult. II, pp. 140-141. Mr. J. C. Ghosh has quoted the Hllrivwl'sa toshow that feudatory rulers could also perform the Asvarnedha, Vasudeva, father ofKrsna, lived in Gokula on Mount Govardhana in the vicinity of Mathura; hewas engaged in cattle-rearing and was a kru-rt-diiyaka to Karnsa, the king ofMathura (H·l/'ilJrtI!7.§a, LVI, 1162-61). After the fall of Kamsa, the family ofVasudeva removed to Dvaraks. In Krsna's conversation with Indra there is an incidentalreference which says that while in Dvaraka Vasudeva performed an Asvamedha (ibid.,CL, 8574). a It will be seen that Mr. Ghosh's contention is clearly beside the mark. Thequestion at issue is whether Vasudeva was a feudatory of the Mathura kings at the timeof cAl'imziiuy the sacrifice after he wvs established in Dvaraka. There is absolutely noproof to show that he was. We do not know whether the Dvaraka region ever scbrnir-ted to the kings of Mathura. It must also be noted that the evidence of traditions recor-ded in works like the Hariuamsn should always be taken with a grain of salt. Harioomsa

is obviously written for the exaltation and glorification of the family (7Jr111l{;(I,) of HariI. I am indebted for this and for some other references to Dr. H. C. Raychaudhuri. That the A~vamedha

did not loge its original and essential significance in later times is also proved by the Vaidyanath 'Temple inscription

which refers to Adityasena as flu·stu, so,lIIudr-antar= vasunrlh.aru,ya ya./t=ciAllo,11ledh=adya-maTtaJ, :ru, t i2ncil l. l.2. Another supporter of Prof. Bhandarkar's thecry says (Ind. Cult., I, p. 637 n), "The AiWamedha

certainly had a great imperial significance in the old days. But in the period under review it must have lost that

importance, Otherwise it would not have been repeated so often." It may however be pcinted out that the

A'vamedha is known to"have been repeated" many times even "in the old days." ct. e. g. Bharata Dau~yanti's 133

.Mvamedhas in Sat. Br, XIl1, 3.5.11; also JOIlI'n. Ind. Hist., XlII, p, 40 and Sue, Sitt. East. Dee , p 109.3. Bangabasi Ed., Vi~t;luparva, 91, 24.

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EARLY PALLAVAS 23

(i.e. Krsna-Vasudeva) and like similar treatises in honour of other religious heroes is notfree from extravaganzas incident to a pronounced theological bias. The critical historiancan hardly hope for sober history in such texts, On the contrary the probability is that

the parent of the hero of the tale has been given more than his due. In the New Testa-ment the saviour of the Christians is described as the son not of a mortal man but of God,and in the Sau ndaranaaui« (II, vv.32, 39 etc.) etc. glories of the mightiest rulers areput on the head of a petty Sakya chief named Suddhodana.

Mr. Ghosh moreover does not appear to take the evidence of the l/Clril'lIlllf;{/ as awhole. While describing the Asvarnedha that was attemped by .Ianamejaya, 1IIiri'VItlll[..a

itself (Bangabss] Ed., Bhavisyaparva, II) makes it clear that the horse-sacrifice could not becelebrated by a petty chief. When the Sarpa-yajii" was finished, Janamejaya collec-ted materials for the celebration of an Asvamedha. Then he invited the rtt:ik.~, purohi-

iu«and

aciJ,rYllsand said, "I am desirous of celebrating a horse-sacrifice, Do ye dedi-cate the horse" (verses 5 & 6)."1 Knowing however that the king's sacrifice would not be

succes-ful, the omniscient Vyasa warned him not'ro begin the Asvamedha. The sagesaid, "The Sruti lays down that the Ksatriyas should celebrate the A,~ntl/led ho the fore,1II0.~t of sacrifices. O J ! account of the greatness of it. Viisau« will violate you.r sncri-fice (verse 28).~ "0 slayer of enemies," the sage added,"as long as the world wili last, theKsa'riyas will not be able to collect materials for your horse-sacrifice" (v, 35), a Theking became very sad and said," "Console me by saying that the Asvarnedha will again beundertaken by kings" (v. 58). '1 To this Vyasa replied, "As energy counteracted by anotherlives in it, so (the knowledge of) the Asvamedha, although stopped, will exiu in the godsand Brahmanes. There wi l lbe one Senanl. fi an A udbhij iu, a DI ii" and a descendant ofKasyapa, who will revive the Asvarnedha in the Kali age tv, 39,40). ,; Could this greatsacrifice, of which the H.ctriI'C1111fw speaks in so high terms, be performed by a pettyfeudatory chief?

I. Yak:yc'I/(",(1 vii,/,imedhella Imyltl'.' = =!tI,~(:ilJalti1ll =·il i.2. A£<t,amcdhal/. l.'J"atu"rc,:IIIlII' /'·,:atriytim'ill.1 l"t,·i,~rlllall. ten« bhiirmu: it! !Jf,j;;UJ(l. t'tiSIIL'II

dlta1·,~ayi,~y9,ti.That the Asvam~:lha. could be performed only by the great kings is also proved by the fact that Vasava

(= Indra] is alway, represented as [ealous of its performance, The IInrit'a11.lsa describes how he endeavoured

to spoil the A~vlmedh a of JJ.namejayJ. (Bh.vi~yap.rvl, 5). Note also what VI~vavasu says to the' king, "0

king, thou hast celebrated three hundred sacrifices r Vasava therefore cannot forgive thee any longer" (/ri-!Jllj'ii(t-

Aata-yajctlnal(1 Vtl·saz'a.~Idlll.l na 1I1r,~!Jufe, ibid., 5.2·1). In this connection note what Prof. Bhandarkar

himself says in another occasion (.b'.1., XIX, App., p. 2, n. 5), "As lndra is represented as being suspicious of

Govinda Gupta's power, the latter seems to have been a supreme ruler."3, Tmyu ('rilan.1 kralli'ii ==(" =ai,'u Z·(ijilllcdll(l.l(" paranlll}I(I., k,:atl 'i!Jii 11 = tlIl11l'i,!Jail I i ?Jtirrtd=

blmm.jr = dhar i 11o.ii.4. rad!1 = asli punar = tlt'rllir =YlIj;;asy =ti",.as(I.!J(SI'tl 1II1l1/i.5. The reference ISpossibly to Pusyamltra Sunga.6. TTpiifta·1Jaj7.ndecc,~!tbl'tlhma(le,~=tipapat'~!Jlllc, Irja,,,i. t'ytiltrfali.llrj{J,._~=It:ia"!I=t'I'=,'it(,U:!t/ltle

alldbllljjii bltm;ilti. klls=rii seuan; ka~'YalJOit'IJall. ascamccllllf.I(1klt/i!}!I!J" punall pmly,illlll'i,:!J e1ii .

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IV

EARLY PALLAVA GENEALOGY FORM INSCRIPTIONS

Of THE NELLORE-GUNTUR REGION.

SOME Sanskrit records of the Early Pallavas have been found in the Nelloreand Guntur districts, which at one time formed the Northern part of the kingdom of

KaRel. The Pallava genealogy constructed from these records cannot be quite easilyand satisfactorily assimilated into the traditional list of early Pallava kings Found inlater records. The Pallava kings mentioned in these northern inscriptions, moreover,can scarcely be i.ientified without difficulty with the PaHava princes mentioned in theinscriptions of the rulers of Kanci. It is therefore convenient to discuss the Early Pallavasof the northern records separately.

The Omgodu grant, no. 1 (Ep. Ind., XV, 246), issued from the sthiina or city ofTambrapa in the 33rd year of king Skandavarman, furnishes us with the followingIiS( of king3 :

I. Maharaja Kumaravisnu ; his son2. Maharaja Skandavarman (I) ; his son3. Viravarman; his son4. M3.haraja ,~"i-VU(l1J(t,Skandavarman (II).

Next we come to the Uruvupalli grant (Jud. Ant., V, p. 50) of prince Visnu-gopavarrnan. issued from the 8t/Ui1Ul of Palakkada, in the 11th year of MaharajaSimhavarrnan. Here we get the following names:

I. Maharaja Skandavarman (I); his son2. Mahar1ja Viravarman ; his son3. Maharaja Skandavarman (II) ; his son4. Yuvamaharaja Visnugopavarrnan.

There can be no doubt that prince Visnugopavarman, issuer of the Uruvupal1igrant, was the son of king Skandavarman II who issued the Omgodu grant no.I. There is however difference of opinion as regards the identification of kingSimhavarman in whose reign the grant of the prince was issued. According toto Fleet, Maharaja Simhavarrnan was possibly an elder brother of the YuvamaharajaVisnugopa, According to Hultzsch however king Sirnhavarman of the Uruvupalligrant is the same as Visnugopa's son Sirnhavarrnan who issued the Omgodu (no. 2),Pikira and Mangalur grants. "The term Y1tl"11'I7ja or Yuvamal.araio which is prefixedto Visnugopa not only in his Uruvu pall i grant, but in the two grants of his sen

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EARLY PALLAVAS

Sirnhavarman, suggests that he never ascended the throne, but that the succession 'passedfrom his father Skandavarman II to his son Sirnhavarman. The .reason of this neednot have been premature death. If it is assumed' that Vi;';l)u,gopa declined to take upthe reins of government or was prevented from doing so by some other reason unknownhe may well havebeen alive during the reign of his son Simhavarmanto whose eleventhyear I would assign-li.tf]hrtL'iU as an Indian philosopher will say-the Uruvupalli grant"(.Ep. i,«, vm .pp. 160-16).

Three inscriptions of Vi~l .ugopa's son Sirnhavarrnan have a, yet been discovered.They are the Orngodu (no. 2) grant issued in his fourth year from a vij{/!/((.·ska/luhii-

·vara (Ep. lusl., XV. 246), t:l~ Pikira grant issued in his fifth year from the uijauu-sk-indhu/;/1m of the M~m'Hur.l-vls3.~a (ibid., VIII. pp, 159 ff.) and the Mxngalur grantissued in his eighth year from D"'153.napura (Ind. Ant., V, 154). They give us thefollowing genealogical list:

I . Maharaja Viravarman :his son2. Maharaja Skandavarman (II); his son3. Yuvamaharaja Visnugopa : his son4. Dharma-maharaja l Simbavarman

Next we come to the fragmentary Darsi record (Ep. 111d . I, p. 397). The onlyinformation we get from this inscription is thlt it was issued from the (f.IlIl:st!/(i/.I(! (city)of Daianapura by the great-grandson of a Pallava king named Virakorcavarrnan. Theform israkorca (cf, Virakorcavarman of later grants) shows considerable Prakrit influencewhich proves that the grant belongs to the period immediately following the age of the

Prakrit grants. We have already noticed that the Prakr.t records of the Pallavas arenot written in the early inscriptional Prakrit and that they have in them passages andverses couched in Sanskrit. It must also be noticed that the Omgodu grant (no. 1) ofking Skandavarman II is dated in his 33rd regnal year, (lit the 18th tit hi a] the thirdfortniqht. of Henuu.ia. This is an old form of dating used in almost all Prakrit ins-cnptions. Like the Dars: grant, therefore, the Omgodu grant (no. 1) also seems to havebelonged to the same period, i. e. the early Sanskrit period. Sanskrit grants showingconsiderable Prakrit influence appear to me not much later than the beginning of thefifth century A. D. The)' m3 .Ybe roughly placed between the middle of the fourth andthe beginning of the fifth century. ~

I. Other South Indian kings (e. g. the Kadamba Icings Mr.:e6avarman and R3VIVarnJ3n) abo used thetitle Dllarmnmaluil'lija. According to Fleet (Emil. rta«: I, ii. p. 288, note 5), the title m zans "a J/,,/iiiriijn

by, or in respect of, religion," and may be rendered by "9, pious or riteous JiahiircIJn"; but what it actuallydenotes is "a Jlahiircija who, at the particular time of the record, was engaged in an act of religion (dlla:l'ma)."Some kings are called Dltarmamalnlrcijl1,lltinija. Cf. Pallava Sivaskanaavalr]1an ; Ganga Nitimarga.KongU!:>iv"rm~_Perrnanadi and his successors (op. cit., p. 303. note 3). The epithet D"arl/lrt-mnhiidij(~, as Dr. Raychaudhurisuggests to me, seems to have been connected with the peculiar boast of these kings to be Jlljli.IJII!JIt-(I(}.~-

(i~·asamza-dllflrm-oddltara(la-llitya-salllladdha.

2. For two such dates expressed in the old fashion in the Kadarnba grants. see bf'lou;..

4

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2 6 EARLY PALLAVAS

It is possible that the great-grandson of Virakorcavarman. who issued the Darsigrant. was a predecessor of king Skandavarrnan II. Consequently. Virakorcavarman,great-grandfather of the issuer of the Darsi grant. was probably a predecessor of Kumara-

visnu, great-grandfa.hzr of the issuer of the Omgodu grant (no. I).We have now to consider the seventh and last of the Sanskrit grants so far

discovered in the Nellore-Guntur region. It is the Narasaopet record (commonly calledthe Chura grant). issued from the camp at Palotkata (= Palakkada) during the reign ofvijaya-Visnugopavarman (II). son of Simhavarrnan, grandson of Malial ai(£ Visnugopa-varman (I) and great-grandson of Kandavarman (i. e. Skandavarman). See A n. Rep,S. Ind. Ep. 1914, pp. 10 & 82. The grant is not daced; its language is Sanskritand the alphabet use i is Telugu. It registers the king's grant of the village of Cura in{he Karmarastra to a Brahman named Casarnisarrnan who belonged to the Ka;yapa

gotra and was an inhabitant of KUQQur.1

The fact that the first three names of the Narasaopet list viz. ( I) Kandavarman(i. e. Skandavarman), (2) Visnugopavarrnan (I) and (3) Sirnhavarman, are foundexactly in the same order in the Omgodu (no. 2). Pikira and Mangalur grants of Sirnha-varman makes it almost certain that Visnugopavarrnan II of the Narasaopet grant was ason and SU5CeS50r of the issuer of the above three grants. Two points however havebeen advanced (ihid., p. 82) against the possibility of this identification. First. it hasbeen said that the characters in which the Narasaopet record is engraved are compare-tively more modern than those used in the grants of Sirnhavarman. Secondly. it is

argued that in the Uruvupalli, Orngodu (no 2). Pikira and Mangalur grants, the sonof Skandavarman and father of Simhavarrnan has been mentioned as a Yuvaraja or Yuva-maharaja. while in the Narasaopet grant Visnugopavarrnan I is called ~"4[ahuruja. It hastherefore been observed that Visnugopavarman II of the Narasaopet grant "mu'st be alater king and very probably one of the missing group imrnediatly preceding the line ofSirphavarrnan and Sirnhavisnu whose history is pretty certain" tloc. eit ), The granthas been assigned to the beginning of the 7th century A. D.

In connection with the first point however we should notice the fact that thecharacters used in the Omgodu grant (no. 2) of Sirnhavarrnan, son of Visnugopavarrnan

(I), are remarkably similar to those of the Narasaopet grant of Visnugopavarrnan II.Krishnasastri therfore thought that the Omgodu grant (no. 2) "must have been a copyof a grant of the 5th-6th century A. D.. put into writing in the 7Ih century. though nodirect evidence. external or internal. is to be found on this point from the wording ofthe grant itself. The numerous mistakes made by the engraver may possibly point tothis conclusion" iEp, Ind .• XV. p. 252). If the Omgodu grant (no. 21 is believed tohave been an early record copied about the beginn;ng of the 7th century A. D.. what

1. The same as Ih~ native: village of Siv.~arman, r..cioient of the Polamuru grant of VI~QukuQ~inMil.dhavavarman I . See Ind. Hist. QllaI·I .•IX . p. 959 and Sue, Slit . East. Dee., p. 93.

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EARLY PALLAVAS 27

is the objection if we think that the Narasaopet grant was also an early inscriptionlikew ise copied about the sam e tim e?

As for the second point, it may be said that the epithet M aharaja applied toVisnugopavarrnan I in the N arasaophet grant, which should properly beYuvarnahsraja

is a m istake due to the engraver's inattention. The possibility of such a m istake becom egreater, if we believe that theNarasaopet record is an early grant copied years after, likethe Omgodu grant no.2, about the beginning of the 7th centuryA. D.

F rom the seven S anskrit copper-plate grants, therefore, the follow ing genealogicalist of the E arly P allava kings m ay be prepared:

I . M aharaja Virakorcavarrnan (D arsi grant) ; his successor------ ----- --------- ----------------- .----.

2_ Maharaia Kumaravisnu :his son

3. M aharaja S kandavarm an(I) ; h is so n4 - Maharaja V iravarman; his son5. Mahara ja Skandavarman(II) ; issued the Omgodu grant no. I in his

33rd year; his son

5A. Maharaja Simhavarrnen (I ?) ; he is according to F leet the P allava king referredto ' in the U ruvupalli grant; hisexistencehowever is doubtf ul;

5B . Yuvarnaharaja Visnugopavarrnan(I); issued the U ruvupali grant; did notrule as M aharaja; seems to have been wrongly called M aharaja in the N arasaopet granhis so n

6. M aharaja Simhavarrnan (II?); issued the Orngodu no. 2, P ikira andM angalur grants respectively in his 4th, 5th and 8th years; his son

7. M aharaja V isnugopavarrnan (II); issued the N arasaopet grant.

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v .

GENEALOGY AND CHRONOLOGY OF THE EARLY PALLAVAS

OF K A N C r .

WE do not know w~ether the Palla;a ki~gs discussed in the last section ruled overthe whole of the kingdom of Kanci. It IS however probable that some one of the

princes of the Pallava house of Kii.ncl.who was originally made a viceroy of the northernpart of the Pallava kingdom by the king of Kiiiicl. carve:! out a separate principaliry in

that part. independent of his overlord. If this suggestion is to be believed. the. kings of themain line of the Pallavas appear to have been ruling at Kar,cl side by side with the branchline that was ruling in the northern part of the old kingdom of Kancl. Here we shalltry to see what we know about the history of KaRel after the time of the Pallava kings ofthe Prakrit grants.

We have seen that Kllfiel was under a Pallava king about the fourth quarter of thethird century A. D. That king was succeeded by his son Sivaskandavarman who ruledabout the first quarter of the fourth century A. D. He was possibly succeeded by a kingnamed Skandavarman. In the British Museum grant of the time of this kmg. there is

mention of the Pallava Yuvamaharaia Buddhavarman and of the Yuvarnaharaia's sonwhose name has been doubtfully read as Buddhyankura. It is not known whetherthis crown-prince Buddhavarman and his son ever ascended the Pallava throne of K'iiici.

In an attempt to fi·xthe date of the early Pallava kings of Kaiicl. we are fortunate tohave at least three points whereon we can stand with confidence.

(i) The first of these points is supplied by the Jain work. Loknuih hag'l (Rep.

MilS. Arch. Dep., 1909 & 1910), where the precise date of the completion of the workis given as the 22nd year of Sirnhavarman, lord of the Pallavas. and as 80 beyond 300years of the Saka era. The 22nd year of a Pallava king named Sirnhavarrnan therefore

comes to be equivalent to Saka 380. i.e. A. D. 458. According to S. Jha the date given inthe Lokaoibhtiqa corresponds to the Ist of March. 458 ; but according to Fleet to the25th of August, 458. Any way. the 22nd year of the Pallava king Simhavarrnancorresponds to A. D. 4';8. He therefore began to reign in (458-22 =) A. D. 436(Ep. i-«, XIV. p. 334).

(ii) The second point of importance is furnished by the Penukonda plates of theGanga king Madhava tibid., 331 ff.> which. according to Fieet, are to be assigned, onpalaeographical grounds. to about A. D. 475. It may be noticed here that the charactersof this epigraph are remarkably similar to that of the epigraphs of the Salankayana king

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EARLY PALLAVAS 29

Nandivarman II (e.g. the Peddavegi grant; Journ. A lid h. iu«. Res. s», I. 92ff) whomI have placed about the middle of the fifth century A. D. (Jnd. Hist. (jU.UI't., IX, 208ffanci Sue. Sui. East, D3C. , p. 62.). The Penukonda grant was issued by the Ganga king

Madhava-Sirnhavarman, son of Ayyavarm3.n, grandson of M3.dhava and great grandson ofKonkanivarrnan. But the greatest point of historical importance in this inscription is that ittells us of M3.dhava-Sirn',avarman being installed on the throne by the Pallava kingSkandavarrnan and of his father Ayyavarrnan being installed by the Pallava kingSimhavarrnan. We have seen that Fleet ascribes the Penukonda plates to circa 475A.D.; it is therefore almost certain that the Pallava king Sirnhavarrnan who installedAyyavarman, father of the Ganga king Madhava-SifTlhavarman of the Penukonda plates,is identical with the Pallava king Simhavarrnan who. according to the LolawibhiiUII.,began to rule in A. D. 436.

(iii) The third point of importance is supplied by the Allahabad pillar inscriptionof Samudragupta, which refer; to the Gupta king's conflict with a certain 7{Jilicc'!I({./w

Visnugcpa. This "Visnugopa of Kai'ici" has been taken by all scholars to have belonge:lto the family of the Pallavas. Samudragupta is believed to have reigned from circa 330 to375 A.D. This dating appears possible from the facts that his father Candragupta I beganto rule in A. D. 320 1 and that the earliest date of his son Candragupta II, according to theMathura inscription (Ep. o«, XXI, Iff). is (Gupta 61 +320=) 381 A. D. Since it isproved from the Prakrit records that the Pallavas were master of the kingdom of Kai'iciduring the first half of the fourth century A. D., it is almost certain that the f{i/licI'f}u!\'lt

Visnugopa of the Allahabad pillar inscription was a Pallava king who ruled in themiddle of that century whi::h is the time of Sarnudragupta's South In:::liancampaign.

Let us now see whether these three Pallava kings+Sirphaverman. Skandavarrnanand Visnugopa, whose date is fairly correct-can be found in the epigraphs of thePallavas themselves. The evidence of the Penukonda plates recording the installationof two consecutive Gangs kings-Ayyavarman, and his son Madhava Sirphavarmanwho seems to have been named after his father's overlord-vby the Pallava kings,Simhavarman and Skandavarman, renders it most likely that the Pallava kingSirphavarman was the father and immediate predecessor of Skandavaiman. Itis very interesting in this connection to note that the Udayendiran grant (no. I) ofNandivarman (Ep·. Ind., III, 142), issued from K3i'iclpura. is the only known Pallavarecord, where we find a Pallava king named Singhavarman (Simhavarrnani succeededby his son Skandavarman. The genealogy given in this record is:

1. Skandavarman I ; his son2. S in gh ave rrn an :his son

J. Smith. Ear. Hisi, hul., 4th e.i., p. 295. "The firs! year of th~ Gupta era, which continued in use

for several centuries, and in countries widely separated, ran from February 26. A. D. 320, 10 March 13, 321 ;of which dates the former may be taken as that of the -coronaticn of Chandtagupte I."

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30 EARLY PALLAVAS

3. S kandavarrnan Il :his son4. N andivarrnan.

These four kings are mentioned exactly in the same order in the Vayalur grant

of Rajasimha (ibid., XVIII. 150; see Nos. 41-44), though the relation of one withthe others is not specified there. We are therefore inclined to identify the Pallavaking Sirnhavarrnanof the Lo/wribhagre and the Penukonda plates and Skandavarmanof the latter, with respectively the second and the third king of the above list.

Beside the Udavendiran grant, there is another Sanskrit grant belonging to (heearly Pallava rulers of Kancl. This is the Chendalur grant of Kurnaravisnu I[ (ibid.,

VIII, 233ff.) issued from Kii.nclpura in the king's second regnal year. The grant sup,plies us with the following line of kings:

1. Maharaja Skandavarman ; his son2. Maharaj:\ Kumaravisnu I; his son3. Maharaja Buddhavarman ; his son4. Maharaja Kurnaravisnu II ; 2nd year.

According to Hultzsch (ibid., p, 334), "The alphabet of the Chendalur plates ismore archaic than those of the Kuram and Kasakuc;li plates, but resembles those ofthe Pikira, MiIiga!ur and Uruvupalli grants, from which it differs chiefly in theomission or horizontal strokes at the top of letters. But a point which stamp it asmore modern is the fact that r, k, and subscribed lL consist of two vertical lines of

nearly equal length, while in the Pikira, MarigalOr and Uruvupalli grants the leftline is still considerably shorter. Hence we may conclude that the four Pal1avakings of the Chendalur plates ruled in the interval between Simhavarman (.of theOmgodu no. 2, Pikira and Mangalur grants) and Sirnhavisnu (o:ofatherof Mahendra,varman I, ace, circa 600 A. D.)".

We have already seen that Simhavarman, the second of the four kingsmentioned in the Udayendiram grant, ruled from A. D. 436 to not earlier than A. D.458. Thus his father Skandavarrnan I appears to have ruled at Kanc! about thefirst quarter of the fifth century, and his grandson Nandivarman seems to have

ended his rule about the beginning of the sixth century A . D. The accession ofMahendravarman I to the throne of Kaiicl is supposed to have taken place about theend of the same century, owing to his being an older contemporary of the WesternCalukya king Pulakesin II (A . D. 608-642). Mahendravarman I was preceded by hisfather Sirphavisnu and grandfather Simhavarman (see verses 10-11 of the. Velur-palaiyam grant; S. I. I., Vol. II: p. 363). Between Nandivarman, the issuer of theUdayendiram grant, who seems to have ruled up to the beginning of the sixth century'and Sirnhavarrnan, grandfather of Mahendrav1:!.rman I. the Vayalur record placesthree kinjs named (I) Sirphavarrnan. (2) Sirnbavarrnan and (3) Visnugopa.

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EARLY PALLAVAS 3i

The Vayalur grant thus places five kings between Nandlverrnan andMahendravarman I. i. e. in the sixth century A. D. roughly. Since the rule offive kings co /ering about a century does not appear impossible. since the

existence of four earlier king, (Nos. 41-44 of the Vayalur list) has been provedby the Udayendiram grant and since it is possible that the Greater Pallavas C 'fthe line ofMahendravarman I did not forget even their immediate predecessors, rhc t'ircc ki!'~~;(Nos.45-47) placed by the Vayalur record between Nandivarrnan and I\bh .....dra-varrnan's grandfather may be historical persons, though w e have as yet no ,','l'I'0t,'!a,iv,proof of their existence. We therefore think that the four kings of Kallc: n-cntioned III

the Chendalur grant ruled before the kings of the Udayendirarn grant. Th.: kin~:; \ .1[ 'theChendalur record however appear to have rube! afrer Viil"}ugopa who c.unc in conll.ctwith Samudragupta in the middle of the fourth century A. D. We have a!r,:ady S,Yn

that in the first half of the fourth century Karlcl W35 occupied by the Pallava kings whoissued the Prakrit charters.

There are references to some Pallava rulers of Kanc! in the inscriptions of th ..Kadambas. An epigraph of the Kadarnba king Ravivarrnan (Ind. Ant., VI :2~)) mentionsCaQQadaQQ<\,the lord of Kanci, who was defeated b y the Kadamba monarch. VV " , :do notdefinitely know whether Candadanda is the name or a / 1 ; 1 'II .« of the ruler l'lt 'K:lllci whofought with Ravivarrnan. He cannot be satisfactorily identified with any I;;n~ of thetraditional list of early Pallava kings. His contemporary, the Kadarnba kill~ Ravivarrnanappears to have ruled about the end of the fifth and the beginning of the jx,;l century(497-5'7 A. D. according to Ktolamba-kulu by Moracsr. The Ana]i inscription ( " : p .Ourn., XI, p. 142) mentions a Pallava king whose name has been read as Namkldsa andwho was possibly a contemporary of the Kadamba kin; Kr·~Q:lvarillan I. But lne rradingof the name Nanakkssa is doubtful. 1 According to Moraes. Krsnavarrnan [ ruled from '1/'5to 480. A. D. Another Pallava king named Santivannan or Santivaravarllla:l has beenmentioned in the Hebbata plates (A'll. Rep. S. [111/. Ep., 1925 , p, 98 ) of the Kadarnbaking Visnuvarman. This Pallava king is possibly also mentioned in the Birur ~~hILS iL:»,Carn., VI, p. 91). But he cannot be satisfactorily identified with any of the Pallava kingsknown from the traditional list. It must also be noticed that excepting CaQQad~I)(;b noneof these kings is expressly said to have ruled at Kanc!.

We thus come to know of the following early Pallava kings who appear to haveruled at Kai'iclbefore the rise of the Greater Pallavas of [vla:lenJraVarman's line:

1. Father of Sivaskandavarman; about the end of the third century A. D, ;his son______________________ - .__ . ' ___00. -- _

1. In Jour«. Ind. Hist, XIII, p. 22 note, it has been suggested that the reading of the P'''3gC would be

s'&a-de8a-k.~ayenani.~k(isifa, If this reading is to be accepted, the name of the Pallava king referred to in Ihe

Anaji inscription is not as yet known.

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3 2 EARL Y PALLA VAS

2. Sivaskaridavarman; about the beginning of the 'fourth century : issued thePrakrit grants discovered at Mayidavolu and Hirahadagalli.

3. Skandavarman; the British Museum grant was issued in his reign; he is not

definitely known to have ruled lit Kanci.4. Visnugopa : came in conflict with Ssrnudragupta (circa 330-375 A. D.) about

the middle of the fourth century A. D.

5. Skandavarrnan : his son6. Kumsravisnu 1 1 ; his son7. Buddhavarman; his son8. Kurnaravisnu II ; issued the Chendalur grant.

9. Skandavarman 0); his son10. Simhavarman : he ascended the throne in A. D. 436 and ruled at least upto

A. D. 458; his sonII. Skandavarman (II) ; his son12. Nandivarman; issued the Udayendiram grant.

_-- . _- -------------------------13. Candadanda, who came in conflict with the Kadamba king Ravivarman about

the first quarter of the sixth century. Ca'~lqtldUwJlt may have been a biruda of No. 12or possibly of one of his three successors mentioned in the Vayalur grant (Nos. 45-47).

14. Simhavarman l~ : his son15. Sirnhavisnu : his son16. Mahendravarman I ; ascended the throne about A. D. 600.

I. May this Kumaravi~J;lUI be identical with Kumaravi~~u, greet-grandfather of the issuer of the Omgodu

grant no. I? The first difficulty in this identification is that Kumaravi~.,u of the Omgodu (no. I) grant has been

called a performer of the A/lI;amedlla sacrifice, while the Chendalur grant does not credit Kumaravi~l)u I with

any such distinction. This is however an argumeniltm ex silentio. Another difficulty is that while according tothe Chendalur grant Kumaravi~l)u I was succeeded by his son Buddhavarman and grandson Kumaravi~l)u

II. according to the Omgodu grant no. 1 Kumaravi~Qu was succeeded by his son Skandavarman I.

grandson V'ravarman and great-grandson Skandavarman II. In this connection we must notice that the

Vayalur record places a Skandavarman between Buddhavarman and Kumarvi~J;lu II. May it be that this

Skandavarman was a son of Kumaravl~l)u I, who was made a viceroy of the northern part of the Pallava kingdom

and eventually carved out a principality there? In the Omgodu grant no. I Skandavarrnan I. son of KDmaravi~l)u,

has been called St·ft-v·'il-y-ilclMyala-l·iljya" which epithet possibly supports the above suggest ion.

2. It is doubtful whether Suphavarman, grandfather of Mahendravarman I, ruled at Kand.

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APPENDIX.

T H E VAYALUR LIS T OF EARLY PALLAVA K INGS .

W Ehave already said. th~t the tra~i~onal list of early Pallava kings given insome late records IS . In our opinion. not much valuable for the purpose of

authentic history. All recent writers on Pallava history however have put much faith inthe genealogical list given in the Vayalur grant of Raiasimha, Thus. the lateMr. H. Krishnasastri said. "It looks. therefore. as if the authors of the Kasakudi.Udayendiram and Velurpalaiyam plates. all of which are admittedly later thanthe Vayalur record. but not much later. drew these stray names for airing theirknowledge of early Pallava chronology purely from memory and were not alwayscorrect" (Ep. Ind. XVIII. p. 147). This scholar and many others think the Vayalurlist historically valuable. There are however reasons to believe that the earliernames of this list are all legendary and unhistorical and that the rest of the list hasin it not only the names of a single branch of the Pallava family.

The following is the list of Pallava kings given in the Vayalur record :

l. Brahman. 14. Ghrtaka.2. Aftgirab. 15. Kalinda.3. ~rh;:!.spati. 16. Jyamalla.4. Sarnyu. 17. Ripumalla.5. Bharadvaja. 18. Vimala.6. Drona, 19. Kongani.7. Asvattharnan. 20.Kalabharta."8 . Pallava.! 21. Cutapallava,9. Asoka." 22. Virakurca (I)."

10. Harigupta. 23. Candravarman.I I - . Bhatadarta. 24. Karala.

12. Soryavarman. 27. Visnugopa (II).13. Visnugopa (I). 26. Skandamula,

I. Nos. 1-8 are also mentioned in the Kuram (8. I.r. ·1, [44 If.). Udayendiram no. 2 (Ind. A,tlt.,

VIII. 273) and Velurpalaipam plates (R.I. L, 11.508). These names are evidently legendary.,2. Aioka is mentioned in the Kasakudi (S. 1. I,. II, 342) and Velurpalaiyam plates. In the latter

inscriptioll' he is called Asokavarman. According to Hulttsch. the-name i$a modilication of AloJu.. the "reat

Maurya king. of Pi.{alipulf8.l-

3. There is no proof that Nos. [0-20 ware hiltQtiGal persons,

4. He was possibly Ihe- first ki!l~ f ~ ~family,

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34 EARL Y PALLA VAS

27. Kanagopa. 39. Srrnhavarrnan(I).28. Virakorca (11).1 40. Viravarman.29. Skandavarm an (D . 41. S kandavarman (V ).

30. Kurnaravisnu(I).

42.Sirnhavarrnan (II).'

31. Buddhavarman (I). 43 .. Skandavarm an {Y [)~32. Skandavarman (II). 44 Nandivarman 5

33. Kurnaravisnu(11).2 45. S irphavarrnan (1111.34 Buddhavarman UI). 46. S rrnhava rman ( IV '.35. Skandavarm an( 111 ) . 47. Visnugopa (IV).36. Visnugopa (III). J 48. Sirnhavarrnan(V).37. Vrsnudasa. 49. Sirnhavrsnu.38. Skandavarman (IV). 50. Mahendrava.rman;e tc ., e tc ,"

I. The Velurpal,l.Iyam record appears to identify Virakorca I (No. 22) with Viraknrca II (No 28).

Trns fact possibly show. that Nos. 23-27 are unhistcrical, May Vir3.kOrca (II) be Identical With Virakorca-varman of the Dars; plate ?

2. This Kumi!.raVl~r;tul issued the Chendalur grant.

3. This VI~r;tugopa may have been the contemporary of Samudragupta. On paileographlcal grounds

however the contemporary of Samudragupta (circa 330-375) cannot be placed after the- issuer of the

Chendalur grant.

4. POSSibly the king mentioned In the Penukonda plates of about A D. 475. According to the

] , o1 . c s f J i b1 inga ,he ruled from 436 to about 458 (Ep.lnil., XIV, p.33Iff.). Names 40-42 are found conse-

cutively In the genealogy of the Pallavas of the Nellore-Guntur region. See Nos. 1-6 at page 27 above.5. He Issued the Udayendlram grant no. I.

6. He ascended the throne about 600 A. D.

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V I

SIVASKANDAVARMAN AND SKANDAVARMAN .I, toT H Eearliest known Pallava king is Sivaskandavarman who issued the Mayrdavolu: and Hirahadagalli grants. In the latter grant Sivaskandavarman refers to his fatheras Mahilruja-bappa.qami. Buhler (Ep . Ind., I. p. 8, note 15) and following him manyother scholars think that Bappu is probably the name of Sivaskandavarman's father;and in this connection Fleet's article in Ind. Allt., XV p. 272, is referred to. Bop pu

of course may signify a personal name, as we find this name in the list of recipients ofthe gift recorded in the Hirahadagalh grant itself. 1 We must however remember thatin many early copper-plate grants including some of the Pallavas, the kings calledthemselves IJtlppa-blUlUiiraka-pildllbhakia, "devoted to the feet of the lord, the father."The word bappa there mea-is "father" and cannot be a personal name, as the fathersof those kings are definitely known to have borne names having no connection With theWOld bap p«. It must also be noted that the traditional lists of early Pallava kings do notmention any name even slightly resembling Bappa. Bappa therefore cannot be takenas the name of Sivaskandavarman's father without further evidence.

In the time of Sivaskandavarman the Pallava kingdom of Kafici certamly includedthe Andhra country in the north and the Bellary district in the north-west. From thePenukonda plates of the Ganga king Madhava we know that in the middle of the fifthcentury the Gangas of Mysore acknowledged the suzerainty of the Pallavas of Kafici.It is possible that this region was under the Pallavas as early as the time of Sivaskanda-varman who was the most powerful king among the early Pallavas. This suggestionseems to be supported by the T algunda inscription according to which the early Kadarn-bas of Banavasi (a place to the west of Mysore) also acknowledged Pallava supremacy."

\

I Cf. Bappa the name of the progenitor of the Guhrlors of Mew ..r. .2. According to the Talgunda inscription of Kadamba S;>nuvarman. MayOra~arman went to Kanc; for

studying the Vedas. There he took part in the palla1!-ii§t:asul~tsfha-k{/laha, became enraged at the treatment

he recieved there, and then, having trained himself to warlike exercises, eaSily overpowered the Pallava

frontier guards and established himself at 5riparvata (In

the Kurnool district I. The Pallava king look the fieldagainst him; but being unable 10 subdue him installed him as king over the territory extending from the WesternOcean (Arabian sea I 10 the Prehara (river 1). But what is the meaning cf ( iS r ;a sa lt ts l "a Imlaha? According

to the lexicon Trikiil,l(JuSe~a, the word 8al~18tllameans kroi« i.e, sacrifice. (Cf. sall ' ,lsthallsanuil'ti-/.-rattt/filcarilS=ca tJija'I'ii~tra!Jall, verse 753). May then the word a.§L·a~amstha mean Horse sacrifice? (See -Journ.

Ind. Hist, XII, p. 354 If.). If this explanation is acceptable, it would appear that the quarrel cf MayOra~arman

.with the Pallavas arose in connection with an A~vamedha sacrifice. Among the Early Pallava~ only 5lvaskanda-

varman and Kumi!.ravi~"u of the Omgodu (no. I) grant are known 10 have parformed the Horse-sacrilice.Mayurdarman was possibl)' a contemporary of one of these kings. As we have seen, these two kings were not-far from each other in time. II is therefore possible that even al the time of 5ivaskandavarman the Pallava

kingdom extended upto the Arabia.n sea in the west.

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36 EARLY PALLAVAS

MayoraSarman, the first king of the Kadamba family, is there said to have been installedby the Pallava king of Kaiici. This Mayorasarman cannot be placed long after ~ivas-kandavarman. We have seen that Sivaskandavarman ruled in the beginning of the

fourth century, while scholars place Mayorasarman about the middle of the same centuryCAne. Hisi; Dec., pp. 95-96; Kadamba-kulo, p, 18). Indeed' the Prakrit languageof the Chandravalli inscription of Mayoraserman (All. Rep. M./ls. Arch. Sur»; ,929, p.50)shows thatthis Kadamba king ruled sometime later than the accession of Siveskandavarrnan,The use of s (I. I) and the numerous double consonants like TIl '"(1. l), tr, Il (I. 2), sth,nd (1. 3), etc., appears to prove that the Chand~avalli inscription was engraved notlong after the execution of the Mayidavolu and Hirahadagalli grants of Sivaskandavarman.He can therefore be rightly placed about the ~iddle of the fourth century A.D~· ,

1. The Mayidavolu grant was issued from Kamcipura by the Pallava Yuuamaha-

raja Sivakherndavamma ( = Sivaskandavarman) on the fifth lunar day, of the sixth fort-night of summer in the roth year of the reigning Pallava king who was almost certainlythe father of the Yuvamahilraja, but whose name is not mentioned in the grant.By this grant the Pallava crown-prince, for the increase of his victory, religious merit andstrength, offered with libations of water the village of Viripara situated in the Andha-patha (= Andhrapatha) to two BrahmaQas, Puvaketuia and Gonamdiia, who belonged tothe Agnivesya gotra. The executor of the grant was Sivaskandavarman himself, andthe order was accordingly sent to the 1Jiipata (vyiiprla), i. e. governor, of Dharnnekada(Dhanyakataka). Dhamriakada which has been identified by different scholars withDharanikota, Arnarsvatl, Bezwada and NagarjunikoQc;la, was evidently the headquartersof the Andhra province incorporated in the Pallava kingdom. To the village ofViripara were granted all the immunities enjoyed by the Bl·lIhmadegas. 1 The wordbrahmadeija therefore means not only "a deya (grant) to Brahrnenes," but like thetechnical terms brahmairii deoatrii, dw(tsiit, etc. signifies a religious donation whichimplied certain immunities. Of the immunities or parihuras, the following only arespecified in the Mayidavolu grant. (1) A -lcma-khiidaka, (2) A-rafha.qarwvtnayika.(3) A-pa1"a71lpflrii-b,,zivadlza, (4) A·bluu:!a-pave.'1a and (5) A-/f'ilra·colalca-vino,si-k ha~a-sa'!1viisa.

A-lmw-khudaka is in Sanskrit a-lanana-khatuka ; by this immunity the grantor gaveup the royal right of digging .salt in the village granted. About the next pariil'arq Senartsays (Ep. Ind., VI, p. 68), "The word seems to represent ariLslitrasaT(lvinayikll ;, butetymology alone is an unsafe guide in the interpretation of technical terms. Vine~i isonly used in a moral sense. Could we think of translating: 'exempted from the police,

I. 'Ac(;Ording 10 Kau!ilya's .Artllabiitra (Samasastry's 2nd ed. p. 47), "those who perform,sacrifices

(rtvik), spiritual I!uides liieiirya) prieus I pl(roltita I, and those learned in -the Vedas ( flrotrilla) sh",U begranted Br",hm",deya lands yielding suflk.ient produce (abltiTflpadiiyaJca) and exemeted Frem 1" ' "5.nd fines

(a·datlqa·A·ara)".Brahmad.ya is also mentioned wh-n Kau!ilya says (II, 20) that the dm:.t/e (rod) pF S (:ubil:5( 192 a1~guli8 ) in length was used in measuring Brahmadeye and Atithya lands.

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EARLY PALLA.VAS

the magistrate of the district (rilsh{ra : compare Dr. Fleet's Gt/.pta lrl&.·ripli(m~, p. 32note). or of: 8. 1"iishtrill t' This would remind us of those ~rant::;in which. on ~he otlwrhand. it is stated that the right or punishing theftsand . : - f f~~ . ; , z - s .is reserved b vthe kin:S.,or

of those in which the right to punish the 'ten offences' (1)(1'' '1' ' ' ' .111(11'11.'[tl"; S~, e.!1. ~A lina plates. }. 67in Dr. Fleet's Gup:« Inscr.ptions. p. ;7;1 and th e r~0.Banu;t3.rkinscription, l. 17, ibid .. p. 2J7) is transferred to the donee.'~-i P'il"I!!I;'~fnH~(lli-vadlia has been called a-p.lrrll{lpUI'lI-ot.liir·(kUuhllliUf(I" in the Hirahad.\~3.l1i ~ra.nt andhas been translated by buh:cr as "free from the taking of the oxen in succession". Thisparihiira seems to suggest that the villagers 113.d to supply bullocksfor thl;" bullock. carts .used by royal officers when the latter went on a tour through the country, .~!,h.ll./(tpaH'$('implies that no troups should enterthe village o r Viripara and C.\US'o! d srurbances.Battles therefore could not be fought on th e f ieldsof this village. The next pari bar« isvery important. According ro Hcltzsch, kttra means "boiled rice; and (,Iliukll (~)l{!.k(.

of the Hirahadagalii grant) is the S3.m~as cullaki i.e, pot, The word t'imisi has not as .yet been explained, Possibly it means "fuel", The words khat(1, and 1>!l.ltil'till'~ respecti-vely mean "cot" and "dwelling". This paritutr« then implies exemption from theobligation of supplyingboiled rice, water-pots, 1 ' / 1111 , ' 11 .cots and dwellings to th e officerswho visited the place. In this connection it is interesting to note the views of ManulVII, vv. 1 i5-1 19). According to this law-giver, the king must appoint a headman calledgramika over each village. a daMn or clai<e.~(l over each unit of ten villages, a l'illl,~lltiAIi

over each unit of twenty villages, a &!!fdw over each unit of hundred villages and a'1aharsadhipnii over each unit of thousand villages. As remuneration, the head of

thousand villages should enjoy a city, that of hundred villages a village, that of twentyvillages five kula« of land. that of ten villages one kula of land. but

yani raia-pradeyani pratyaharn gr~ma.vasibhil:t I

anna-pan-endhan-adini grarnikas ~ tan = avapnuyat II

"The headman of the village should get all of what is daily payable by the villagersto the king in the shape of food (all7w), drink t)Jii'llll) fuel and other things (inrl/,tIIl-altl)".

By the above pari Mm then the village would appear to have been exempted from itsduesto the qriimika. But the words khntl:(i (cot) and .~!lII/I.'ji.~{e dwelling) should possibly bereferred to officers who came to the village on tour, the orilll/ilm being probably more

or less a settled inhabitant of the village. In connection with this jJul'iltiim we must alsorefer to line 8 of the Kudgere grant of Kadamba Mandhatrvannan (gil· .1 1 1 11 ••VI. p. 12)where the immunity is mentioned as a-ldw(viH:il.S-illldtlllfl, "exempt from (the dury ofproviding) cots, abodes and boiled rice". 1

. The villagers of Viripara and the royal officials are asked to exempt (he village andto cause it to be exempted with ail the above parihiiru«, It is also said that one who

I A Tamil record of'- A . "D .140'1 ";;fer~ to revenue in rice (8uka/t.·"hukl-11dtlytel IlnJ anolher of 1240mentions "all the revenue in paddy exc\uJing tolls and the small lax for the village police and IOcludir'8 thethree handfuls of peddy; the rice in Karlik .."; etc. (S. 1 . 1 ., I. pp, 82, 119).

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38 EARLY PALLA VAS;

would . transgress the royal edict and would give or' cause to be given . any trouble otannoyance to the donees. on him the royal authority should infilict bodily punishment. .

The ends of the ring that holds the plates together are secure in an elliptical seal

which bears iii relief "an animal couchant and facing the proper right-apparently a bull.as it has a-hump on its back-and below it the legend Sivnska tndaoarmonal; ? ) in 'analphabet which appears to be slightly different from that of the inscription" (ibid .• p. 84).The seals seem to have been kept ready in the record-office and were attached to a setof copperplates when the latter was prepared.' .

At the beginning of the Mayidavolu grant. there' is the word dithmlt. i. e . "hasbeen . seen", . exactly as on the last plate of the Hirahadagalli 'grant. This possibly refersto a practice of examining the grants after the copying of the plates from a set kept inthe' king's record-office.

II. Hirahadagalli is a place in the modern Bellary district of 'the'Madras Presidency,_The copper-plate grant discovered there was issued from Kamcipura on the fifth dayof the sixth fortnight of the rainy season in the 8th year of the Pellava Dharma-maharajadhiraja Sivaskandavarman who is said to have belonged to the Bharadvaj~gotra and is credited with the performance of the Agnistoma,Vajapeya and Asvarnedhasacrifices. By this record the king granted a garden situated in the southern boundaryof a village called Cillarekakodurpka as a pnrihiira, i, e. an honorific grant. (seel1JanltS(tl'[Lhita. VII. v. 201). Two niuartanas of land were also granted' in a villagecalled Apigi. one for a threshing floor. and the other for a house. along with fourAddhilca/J and two Kolikue. The grant was made in favour of a number ofBrahmal)as;' the chief among whom was Agisarnaja (= Agnisarrnarya). Addhika(= Ardhikll) according to Buhler is "a labourer recieving half the produce'." It Ii~sbeen referred to in the Ellore grant of Sli.lankayana Devavarrnanas Addhiya-manussa(see Miti1k~r.u·a on Yajiiavalkya. I. 166). Koliks, as Blihl~t says (Ep. Iud., I. p. 9.note); "corresponds to Sanskrit Kaulikah and may mean 'weavers'. BULit is also possibleto think of the well-known tribe of the Kalis. who are slaves." .. :

The village of Cillarekakodumka. as also possibly Apini. was situated in theSatahani-ranha (Satavahaniya-rastra) which is evidently the same as Satavahani-ha.r~mentioned in the Myakadoni inscription of Pulurnavi uu«, XIV. p. 153) ana

corresponds roughly to the present Bellary district. The garden of Cillarekakoc;l~ri1ka.is said to have been originally granted by Sivaskandavarman's father. This part of'theold Sa:tavahana empire was therefore occupied by the Pallavas as early as the' time ofthat king. that is to say. before circa 300 A. D. . ..

The following officials. employed in the different parts of the vi!$oY(I. have been'mentioned in connection with the observance of immunities':" (1) Rajakumara!,·' (2).Senaoati,(3) Ragh.ikfl..(4) Ma~avika. (5) Dessdh ikata , (~)Gamagamabhojaka .. (l) yallava.'{B) Govallava. (9), Amacca. (10) Arakhadhikata. (II) Gumika. (12). Tuthika •..and(13) Neyika. Along with these are also mentioned (.I4) the Sarpcarantakas and (15~ -the

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01

Uth inellprolsergeaBuhler

is evideKumarathe sarr~arm('s"have bee,as a vi~ayrJto have betC s e e M a ri'U f

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f

bI'ii,

J t e d

the.ption

,te 28),'illagers,states,"

p in thewas the

I

f • I~cn"Cuar

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EARLY PALLAVAS 41

and somewhat battered seal. about an inch in diameter. is attached. The emblem onthe seal is an animal facing the proper right. which. according to Buhler. may be intendedfor a deer or a horse.' Below the emblem stands the word Sivaslwlldavarllll/.l.lcl/j the

last three letters of which are defaced and doubtful. It is certain that the legend on theseal was written in Sanskrit like the matcaalo.at the end of the inscription which reads8vasti go-b"i11I1nct~l(t-Zekllftlw.-vucaka-srotrbhll(t~1 iti, This along with the fact thatthe Mayidavolu and Hirahadagalli grants sometimes express double consonants bytwo letters show that these two grants were executed in a time when Sanskrit had alreadymade its way in the field or South Indian epigraphy.

III. The British Museum plates appear to have been originally found at Kondakurin the Guntur district of the Madras Presidency. They were issued in the reign of siri-l.'ijaya-Khandavamm9. (Skandavar.nan), We have already discussed about the identi-fication of Sivaskandavarman of the Mayidavolu and Hirahadagalli grants and Skanda-varman of the British Museum grant and have shown that the identification is extremelydoubtful.

The donor of the grant is Carudevl. wife (devi) of the Pallava YuvarnaharajaBuddhavarman and mother of a prince whose name has been conjecturally read byHultzsch as Budhyankura, The relation of Maharaja Skandavarman and YuvarnaharaiaBuddhavarrnanis not specified in the grant. .

By this grant Carudevi seems to have addressed the villagers and officials atKadaka (Kataka) to the effect that a certain field to be ploughed by Atuka on thewestern side of the drinking well below the 1·fija-tmlilgct. containing four niuartu nu«

of land. had been given by her highness for the increase of her highness's life andpower, to the god Narayana of the Kuli-mehatarake temple at Dalura, ThisKuli-mahidaruka-deoalcuia appears to signify a temple established by a Mahattaranamed Ku]i, The villagers and officials have been asked to exempt the field with allimmunities and to cause it to be exempted. The executor of the grant was Rohanigutta(Rohinigu pta).

The most interesting feature of the grant is that though it is written in Prakrit, itcontains two imprecatory verses (bahubhir= uasudht: datla etc.) which are in Sanskritand are so common in the Sanskrit copper-plate grants. This fact and the fact that thegrant expresses double consonants. in all cases. with two letters. appear to suggest that theBritish Museum grant is slightly later than the grants of Sivaskandavarman.

The seal of Skandavarman attached to the British Museum gram bears a standinganimal which faces the proper right and looks like a deer. but must be meant for a bull.the crest of the Pallavas (d. Boni, Gaz .• I. ii, p. 319. note 5). and. over the back of thebull. a few indistinct symbols which may be taken for the sun. a crescent. and perhapsone or more stars (Ep. Ind .• VIII. p. 144).

I. The animal is most probaly a bull which was the: crest of the Pallavas (see Ikuu, (;Ct:r.., I. ii, p,

319, note 5,).

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VIICHENDA LUQ GRANT O FKUMAllAVI~~U II

T HE Chendalur grant was issued from vijaya,Kafidpura in the fifth tithi of thebright half of Kartika in the 2nd regnal of the Pallava king Kumaravisnu II, who

was the son of Maharaja Bcddhevarman, grandson of Maharaja Kumaravisnu I andgreat-grandson of Maharaja Skandavarman.

Like many other Pallava rulers. Kurnaravisn u IIcalls himself K(Iliyuga-do-rii1:a-SWIllU dhl!1l1l-(Jddh(l.ra~;a-ltily(~sa/lnltddha.· This epithet is also used by Vi?l).ugopa-

varrnan, Simhavarrnan, and Nanclivarman of the Udayendiram grant. The Pallavakings thus appear to have boasted of being called "Defender of Faith"; and theepithet possibly refers to the fact that they were determined to purify their Brahmanicalfaith which was influenced by heretical doctrines like Buddhism in the time of the laterSaravahanas and the Ik;ivaku5. Kumaravisnu IIhas some epithets· in common withVisnugopavarrnan of the Uruvupalli grant. Like Visnugopa and his son Simhavarrnan,he is called bJIIl(lttl)"i-p'1tiillludltl/!ttn' and param,,-bllilg,[l.'af(l: and like the records ofthose two princes the Chendalur grant begins with the adoration jitW!l b/;ag(ltJlJf.l.

He was evidently a Vaisnava in faith.

The record is an order to the villagers of Cendalura in the Karrnakarastraand toall the ll(liyo!Jikas and I'allahlws employed there. Chendalur, the find-spot of theinscription. is a place in the Ongole Taluka of the Nellore district. Hultzch hascorrected Karrnrnaksrsstra as Karmarastra known from several inscriptions. Karmma-

kara~ra seems to be the same as Kamakaratha mentioned in a Nagarjunikonda ins,cription.

The word I!(ti!lof}i/m is derived from lIillUlj1t and is evidently the same as lIiyo!lill

which appears to mean "governor of a district" (d. niYO!li kurmasasioa (iyuklo t'!Ici-

prta~=c(t sal; ; Hemocandra), Va./la,bhu means either the king's favourites or keepersof the royal cattle.

It is said that there were eight hundred pat(ikdx (pieces) of kl/(I,[ land (riija't'wslll

bhutca st hitam} in the-village of Cendalura. and'rhat by this grant the king offered 4.32pattikfls out of that land as a Brshrnadeya {!ll"alwl{ulet/a-mal'Y(lda!lii} to a Brahmar)anamed Bhavas~andatrata who belonged to the KauDQinya gotra and Chandogya sntra,The lands given did not include what was previously granted for the enjoyment of gods(devabhogil,lIu 1 a-I'wjjat!t). The grant was executed with a hope for the increase of theking's longevity. strength, victory and wealth. in accordance with the !i(du-uyiiya (lawsrega-ding the Imh':J , l ike.devuluela,bhik,iultala J etc.) and. was made immune with alithe 'pari lii'irei:;.' .. ,-. . .

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EARLY PALLA VAS 43

The villagers and officers were ordered to observe the immunities and to see thaothers observed them. People who would violate this order have been threatened wiphysical punishment. The charter ends with the7IIailgllla-(Jo-brii1I11utllall rsic.) nonda-

til, .~ast?l = asd u. prai(lbh!la'~I, which reminds us of a similar1l/a~lga.la. at the end of theHirahadaga lli g rant o f S ivaskandavarman.

The wordpattikft. ordinarily means "a piece of cloth"; on analogy. it seemsto mean "a piece of land". We do not know whetherpnt(ik(1 here sig nif ie s a p artic ularla nd -mea su re like th euioartuna. The land is said to have been situated in the Ka~a-cakara bhoga of the K almmakara~ !ra.Bhoqa is evidently the sam e asblmkt! of NorthIndian inscriptions. I t signifies a territorial unit like "district". C f. Pallava-bhogg(K ai'icl ?) m entioned in theM(~hi;'l'(tlfl.S(' ( Ind. Cu lt.,I, p. Ill)

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VIII

UDAYENDIRAM GRANT (N o.1) O F NANDIVARMAN.

T HE Udayendiram grant was issued from Kaficlpura on the fifth tithi of the brighthalf of Vai;akha, possibly in the first year of the Pallava king Nandivarman, son of

Skandavarman II, grandson of Sirnhavarrnanand great-grandson of Skandavarman I. Likethe other reigning Pallava kings, Nandivarman is called kaliyuga-do·Hivasanna-dltarm-odd harana-n itua-sa 1 1nad dha. H is epithets bhagavat-pa4-ilnud IIyata and parama-bhiigavatll along with the fact that his grant begins with the adoration jitmp. bhaqaoaii),shows that he was a Vaisnava like Visnugopa, Simhavarrnan and Kurnaravisnu II.

Udayendiram. the find-spot ot Nandivarman's grant, is a place in the North Arcotdistrict. The grant is full of textual mistakes; the characters moreover do not belongto the early Pallava period. According to Kielhorn (Ep. Ind., III, p. 143), the grant isto be palaeographically assigned to about A. D. 680; according to Fleet however it wasfabricated about 955 A. D. But the fact that the four kings mentioned in it are givenexactly in the same order in the Vayalur record and that the style and phraseology ofthe grant are very similar to those of the early Pallava records, seems to prove that thegrant was copied, though by an incompetent scribe, from an early genuine record.

By this grant, the Pallava king Nandivarman offered four pieces of iira~lya land inthe Kaficivayil-grama of the Adeysra-rastra, accoring to pii.rva-bhog(t-rnm·yadii, to aBrahma!)a named Kulacarrnan ( = Kulasarmen) who was an inhabitant of Kaficivayil andbelonged to the Kausika gotra, Pravacana satra and Taittiriya carana, The lands weregranted in accordance with Brahmadeya-maryada, with all the immunities and with theexception of devabhoga-hala, for the increase of the king's longevity, strength, victoryand wealth. It is said that the four pieces of forest-land in Kaficivayil-grama are to bemade immune with all the parihnra« and that anyone who would violate the ordershould be physically punished.

The seal of Nandivarman attached to the Udayendiram grant is circular. Itcontains in bas-relief the figure of a standing bull facing the proper left. There is a muchworn and illegible inscription at the margin (lot'. ("it),

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IX

OMGODU GRANT ( NO . I) O F SKANDAVARMAN II.

I Nthe Orngodu grant (no. I) of Skandavarman II, the reigning King's great-grandfather,Kurnaravisnu.has been called asvamerlhrtyiJ,j'i, i. e. perfomer of the Horse-sacrifice.

He was therefore a great king who was possibly a successor of Virakorcavarman of theDarsi plate.

Kurnaravisnuwas succeeded by his son Skandavarman I who is mentioned in theOmgodu (no. I) and Uruvupalli grants. He is said to have been a parnmo-brohmamja ;

but his most significant epithet seems to besva-viry-lldhi(jafn-l'liilJu,

which means tosay that he obtained the kingdom by his own valour. His father was a powerful kingwho performed the great asvarnedha sacrifice. The significance of this epithet maytherefore be that after the death of Kumaravisnu, Skandavarman I quarrelled with hisbrother who was probably Kurnaravisnu'ssuccessor at Kai'icl, and carved out a separateprincipality in the northern part of the Pallava kingdom. Kurnaravisnu's successor atKai'ici was possibly Buddhavarman mentioned in the Chendalur grant.

The son and successor of Skandavarman I was Viravarman who has been called"the sole hero in' the world" in all the inscriptions. He was possibly a warrior ofconsiderable importance. According to Krishnasastri (Ep. Ind., XV. p. 249). thisViravarman is to be identified with Virakorcavarrnan of the Darsi plate. Darsi, identi-fied by some scholars with Dasanapura, is a place in the Podili division of the Nelloredistrict. Only the first plate of the Darsi grant has been discovered; it was edited byHultzsch in Ep. Ind., I. 357. The grant was issued from the (t(lhifitha1,1ftof victoriousDasanapura by a Pallava king whose name and genealogy cannot be known until themissing plates of the grant are found. Only the name of Virakorcavarman. great-grandfather of the issuer. is known. The Sanskrit form of the name is Viraknrca whichis found in the Vayalur and Velurpalaiyam records. The use of this Prakritised nameappears to show that the grant was issued at a time when Prakrit was still lingering in the

field of South' Indian epigraphy. The identification of this king with Viravarmanhowever seems to me doubtful. since these two distinct forms (viz. Virakurca andViravarman) are found as names of different kings in the Vayalur list of early Pallavakings. Virakorca of the Darsi plate may be the same as (the second) Virakarca ofthe Vayalur list.

Viravarman was succeeded by his son who is called sri-llifctya-Skandavarmanin his own Omgodu , grant (no. I). but simply Skandavarman in the inscriptionsof his descendants. He has some epithets in common with Kurnaravisnu I of theChendalur grant and also with Skandavarman II of the Udayendiran grant, Though

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46 EARLY PALLAVAS

he is not called paramn-bheuaoato, his opithet bhllgavad-bhakti-sadbhavarsambhi.ivitasaroa-kaluana in the grants of his grandson shows that he was a Vaisnave,

The Omgodu grant (no. 1) was issued from the victorious city of Tambrapain the 33rd regnal year of Skandavarman II, on the thirteenth tithi of the thirdHemanta-paksa. This form of dating resembles that used in the early Prakrit grantsand is remarkably different from the form of dating used in the Sanskrit glants of'the Pallavas, It therefore shows that Skandavarman II ruled not long after the kings'of the Prakit charters. W~ have already shown that some parts of the Mayidavolu.r¥irahadagalli and Bridsh 'Museum grants are written in Sanskrit and that the issuersof those grants could not have ruled long before the kings who issued theSanskrit grants. We have also suggested that the Sanskrit grants showing consider-'able Prakrit inAuence may roughly be placed in the period between lthe middle "oF

'the'fourth and the beginning of the fifth century A.D.'By this grant the king made a Brahrnadeyaof the village of Orngodu in the Karma-

ra~tra. and offered the same with the exception of the devabhoga-hala, in a form oflSal~ika-d.una. to a doi-ueda and .~oqaitga-pa,/ ' t /gaBrahmana named Golasarrnan of theKMyapa gotra,: The Karma-raspa in which Omgodu was situated has been taken to bethe same as Karnrna-nadu of later T elugu inscriptions and has been identified with thejiorthem part of Nellore and' southern part of Guntur. According "to Kri~hnasastri(Ep, Ind. , XV. p. 254). Orpgodu may be the same as modern Ongole, the headquartersof the Ongole taluka of the Guntur district. Of the boundaries of Orngodu given in the

Omgodu grant (no. 2) of Sirphavarman, Kodikim may be identical with modern Koniki'near Ong~le and Penukapa!rll'may be the same as Pinukkiparu mentioned as the family

.name of certain Brahrnanas who were recipients of a village called T andantottam nearKumbakonam (8. I. I.. II. pp, 519. 532).

The 'seal of Skandaverman J [ attached to the Orngcdu grant (no. I) is almost cir-cular. . It is totally worn away, and has no trace of any symbols, "though it may bepresumed to have had on it originally the recumbent bull. as in the case of other Pallavagrants" (Ep. Ind,. XV. p. 249).

I. It should however be noticed that two grants of the Kadamba kings Mrgesavarman and ~avivarman

who ruled about the end of the 5th and the beginning of the 6th century are dated in the old fashion. One is~a'ted in the 4th year of Mrgdavarman on the full- moon day of the 8th fortnight of Var~i (Ind. Ant., vii, pp.

37-38) and th~ other in the 11th year of Ravivarman on the 10th tit/ti of the 6th fortnight of Hemanta (ib., vi.p. 28) This old way of expressing dates in such a late period is certainly due to Jain inAuence. The inscription

of Mrgda ,records the grant of a village in three equal shares to the holy Arhat and great Jinendras, to the!"IahisramaQa-sarpgha of the Svetapa!as (i.e, the Sve!l!.mbara Jains) and to the same of the Nirganthas (i.e. the

Digambara Jains).' The inscription of Ravivarman records the grant of lands to the Jinas in order that theceremony of ablution might always be performed without fail on the full-moon days. To the ,JaiQ monksIhe year Wasdivided in seasons and fortni~hts.

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X.

CROWN-PRINCE VI~1':JUGOPA AND DHARMA-MAHARAJA

SIMHAVARMAN.1

VlS~UGOPA or Visnugopavarrnan, son of Skandavarman II. did not asc~nd thethrone. His Uruvupalli grant was issued in the II th year of the reign of Maharaja.

Simhavarman. Fleet thought that this Sirphavarrnan was an elder brother of the Yuv~~aha.,raja (or Yuvaraia) Visnugopavarrnan. Hultzsch, however. suggests that he is no otherthan Visnugopa's son who issued the Omgodu (no. 2), Pikira and Mangalur grants ..According to the latter view therefore the Pallava throne passed from Skandavarman IIdirectly to his grandson Simhavarman.

In the Uruvupalli grant Visnugopavarrnan calls himself pra:jiJ,-salllraI1i(wa-paripi7.1-·

an-odyoga-8atatIJ-s£ltra-vr{Jta-dik~itrt and raku ,i-OI£~la-sal'va--sIJ,ltdol!rz-viii!li"iU. which'he could not have said it he was not a ruler of subjects. As a crown-prince he was.possibly in charge of a district of the Pallava kingdom. The district of which he was thegovernor probably had its headquarters at Palakkada from where the Uruvupalli grantwas issued. As we have already noted. both Visnugopa and his son Sirnhavarrnan arecalled parama-'JlzilfJavatc£ in the incriptions all of which begin with the adoration Jifrtl/I

bllagcwatu. They were evidently Vaisnava. In this connection. the name Vi11111!J0P,jand the dedication of 200 nioartanas of land (595 acres according to Kautilya, but148'6 acres according to his commentator; see Sue. Silt. East. Dec .• p. 41 n.) to thegod Vi,lIlt!tura are also to be noted. '

In all the inscriptions of Visnugopa and Sirnhavarrnan, the Pallavas have beencredited with the performance of many asvamed/ut8 or many krai us, So far we knowonly of two Pallava kings who performed the Horse-sacrifice. The first of them isSivaskandavarman of the Mayidavolu and Hirahad ... galli grants. and the second. is .

KumaraviSl)u. grandfather of Skandavarman II who issued the Omgodu grant (on. I).The former is also credited with the performance of the AgnNollut and V,Urtpe!lrt

sacrifices.In the Omgodu grant (no. 2) of Simhavarman, the Pallavas have been referred to

as vallabha which is evidently the same as 8ri-lJall~blllt. of the Ma,ngalur.grant. It isinteresting to note that titles like Sri-vall(tbh(t. prthivi-vaUabha etc .. were adopted byindividual Calukya kings of Badami." We do not_k~ow_~het~.:':!~ Calukya~ appropriat-

I. The Calukya antagcmst of Pallava Narasirphavarman has been e.lred Val!abh~_rilja (JelLi bahuko

fJallabha-ritjasya etc, of the U"ayendiram granl, no. 2. Ind. Ant .. VIII. p.273). In the Samanga ih mscnp-tion (t·bid •• XI. p, 111 I . the Calukya conte.nporary of Rl~!rakll!a Danndurge (II) has been. ~lIed V...!abha. Inthe Y" ..ur _!In:lMiraj grants (ibid., VIII, pp. 12.(4). the Calukyas themselves refer 10 the greatness of their fam.l),

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4 S EARLY PALLAVAS

ed the title of the Pallavas. It is however certain that the Ra~trakata kings who succeededthe Calukyas in the sovereignty of the Deccan appropriated these titles and weretherefore known an Vallabharaia. Arabic travellers of the 9th and 10th centuries men-tion a powerful dynasty of the Balharas who ruled at Mankir. According to R. G.Bhandarkar (80m. Goz , I. Pt. ii, p. 209), Balharsis an Arabic corruption of Vellabhara]aand the Balharas of Mankir are no other than the Ra~traka!~s of Manyakheta. 1

I. The Uruvupalii grant of Visnugopavarrnan was issued from the glorious andvictorious sihiinu of Palakkac;la. By this grant, the Dharma-yuvarnaharaia Visnugopavar-man, who belonged to the Bharadvaie, gotra and the Pallava family, -issued an informationabout his grant to the villagers of Uruvupalli (situated in the MUlJc;lara~tra) and anorder to all the uYllktukas, all the naiYlJokas, ruja-vallabhas and sa-iicaJ'antakas whohad to make the following gift of the crown-prince immune with a llthe pilrihuras. Thegrant was in the form of 200 ni,:al'tanas of lands which were made a deoabhoqa to beenjoyed by the god Visnuhsra whose temple called Visnuhsra-devakula was built bythe senupati Visnuvarrnan at a place -called Kandukara(or Kenduka ra ). -The object ofthe grant was the increase of longevity and strength of the grantor. It, is warned thatanyone who would transgress the order would be liable to-physical punishment. Theplates are said to have been given in the 11th year of Sirnhavarrna-rnaharaia,on thetenth day of the dark half of Pausa,

Ayuktaka which is synonymous with niyogin, karma-sacioa and V1lii.prta, seemsto mean "governor of a district". The passage asmin vi,~(tye s(trvnyu-ktaical,l possiblyshows that there were several ayuktakas employed in a ~single vi.~(ty(t. The wordItaiyyoka is evidently the same as n(liyo[Jik(t of the Chendalur grant which is derivedfrom niyaga (office, employment) and seems to mean governor". The wordruja,vallabluz may signify favourites or subordinates of the Pallava King. It may alsopossibly refer to keepers of the royal horses cr cows 2

• Sancarantaka has already beenexplained. It is the same as s(tncu1'a of Kautilya's Arthasustra. For the appoinmentof spies in the king's own state to report him about the conduct of his officials andsubjects, see Manusalll,hitii., VII. 122.

as rJaliaMa'·lija-lak.~mi. These are only a few of the examples. Dr. Ray Chaudhuri points out to me thatthe fu Iter from of the epithet is sri-p-r.thiv'i-vallabha which pos;ibly suggests that these Vai,,,ava kings claimed

to have been incarnations of Vi~Qu who is the vallablla of both .~ri and P(f/tiv';'. There seems to be an analogybetween these kings' upholding Dharma from the KaUY!l!Ja-dQ,~a and Vi'Qu's upholding PrtltiV1.from thePralaya in his Varaha incamatlon. The figures of two queen; with each 'of the: twa P..ltava kings engraved onthe portals of the V..rah.. cave (i~entifii!d by Krishnasastri with Mahendrav30rman 1 and his son NarasimhavarmanSil!lhavi~1)u) appear to represent s~mbolica\ly Sri and Prthivi (see my note in Ind. atilt.,ii, pp. 131-132),

I. "Vallabhari1ja should. by the rules of Prakrit Or vernacular pronunciation, become Valtal:iha-ray orBallaha-ril.Y. The last is the same as the B"lhara of the Arabic" (loc. cit. ; also pp. 387f.).

2. Cf. vaflat'a in the Pikira and Hirahadag"lti grants, and vallablla in the Chendalur and Mansalursi'ants.

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EARLY PALLAVAS 49

The word dev"bllOg(& is the same as deouirti, cievctsilt, dertuleuu and devndii!l(/.and signifies "religious donation to a god". In numerous South Indian grants referenceis made to the fact that the land is granted with the exception of lands previously givenaway as devobhoga-hala, The word dcoahala has been used in the same sense inthe Peddavegi grant of Nandivarman II SahIikayana (Suc. sat . ElII~t. Dec. p. 80).

The village of UrLlvupalli in the MUQc;lara~~rahas not ye t been identified. Theboundary of the field granted is however clearly stated in the charter. The southernand eastern sides of the field were bounded by the river Suprayoga (or Suprayoga),At the northern extremity was a large tamarind tree covered with hills; and the westernside was bounded by the villages of Kondamuruvudu, Kendukura and Kararupora.

According to Fleet. (Ind. A1Ii., V. p. 5), "The seal connecting the plates bears therepresentation of what seems to be a dog, but in native opinion, a lion". The figure ispossibly that of a bull.

II. The Omgodu grant (no. 2) was issued from an un-named .~/wl/(lhi1'Vtir{/ onthe fifth tit hi of the bright half of Vaisakha in the fourth regnal year of Sirphaverrnan,son of Visnugopa. By this record, the king granted the village of Orpgodu (previouslygranted by his grandfather to a Brahrnana named Golasarrnan of the Kasyapa gotra)to a Brahrnana named Devasarman who was an inhabitant of KOI)Quraand belongedto the Kasyapa gotra. Devasarman was possibly a relative and heir of Golasarman.The village of KOI)Quraseems to be the same as the native village of Sivasarrnan,recipient of the Polamuru grant of Visnukundin Madhavavarman I, and of Casarni-sarrnan, recipient of the Narasaopet grant of Pallava Visnugopavarrnan II. The identifi-

cation of Orngodu in the Karrnarastra has already been discussed.The grant is here referred to as purv(&-bllO{ja-vivwjitfl, which seems to be the

same as deuabhoqa-hala-varj« of other grants. It was endowed with all the parihiirus,and is said to have been copied from the oral order of the Bhanaraka, i.e. the kinghimself. According to Krishnasastri (Ep. ltul., XV, p. 252), the characters of this grantare of a later period than that used in Simhavarman's other grants. He is thereforeinclined to think that the grant was copied from an original record about the beginningof the 7th century A. D.

In line 22 of the grant, reference is made to an eclipse being the occasion of the

grant. It is however contradicted by the details of the date, viz. 5th lunar day of thebright half of Vaisakha ([ I. 3 [-32). Krishnasastri however tried to reconcile the twoparticulars by supposing "that the grant which was actually made on the new moon dayof Chaitra, a possible day for the nearest solar eclipse, was engraved on the copper-platesfive days after. i.e. on the 5th day of the bright half of Vai;akha" Ubi"., p. 253)1,

l , According 10 Fleet (J. R. A. S., 1915, p. 473), Sirp,avarmsn, son of Vi~r:'ugopa , is to be identiliedwith the king of the same name who ii known from the LokavibJr.; 'yu.to have ascended the throne in A. D.

136. In A. D. (436+3=) 439 (or 440) however there was no solar eclipse on the newrnoon day of Caitr~.

• 7 ,......

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50 EARLY PALLAVAS

!II. The Pikira grant of Sirnhavarrnan was issued from the glorious and victorious-camp at the king's residence at Menmatura in his 5th regnal year on the third tiihi ofthe bright half of Asvayuja with a hope for the increase of his longevity, strength and-victory. The copper-plates were discovered at Nelalur in the Ongole taluka of theGuntur district.

By this record, the villagers of Pikira in the MUI)Qara~tra, as well as the(tdh!J(//c.~fts, rallnoa» and r;.,I.~(t/l(t-l:lltllciirill::; stationed in the rastra, were informedof the king's gift of the above village, endowed with all the immunities, but withthe exception of lands previously granted for the enjoyment of gods, to a TaittiriyaBrahmana named Vilssasarrnan who belonged to the Kasyapa gotra. The king sayshere that, as the village of Pikira has been made a Brahmadeya, it should be madeimmune with all puriltiirn« by the king's officials who would also see that they be

observed by other s.A 1/ one transgressing this order is warned to be liable to physicalpunishment. The word arllt!lllkirt means a "superintendent" or a "ruler" (Apte, S.- E.Dictionary, s. v.; GUI"i. IX, 10; Kunuirosrunbhnoa, VI, 17).1 Valiaoa meansgOp[J according to Amara; other Pallava inscriptions (e. g. the Chendalur and Mangalurgrants) have roliobh« which means gh(Jt(lk(t·mk~(Jkll according to Jatadhara (seeS(tiJda/clllp(l(lrzllllrt, s. v. pala/at.) According to Amara however uallcbha meansad hynk~f/ which has been explained by a commentator as aou-ad hyak,rt (ibid.,s. v.), Vallabha is generally taken to signify favourites of the king. Sasana-saficarinmay be the same as SaMtllrt.ham. i.e, messenger: it may also be identical with.' 1 Olc(tl'rtltln/m of other inscriptions.

The seal of Sirnhavarrnan attached to the Pikira grant is very much worn,but bears in relief, on a counter-sunk surface, an animal with mouth open andface to the proper left. It is represented as seated on a horizontal line that is' inrelief. It closely resembles the animal represented on the seal attached to theUruvupalli grant. The tail and fore-legs of the animal are not seen (E]J. Iud., VIII,p. 160).

IV. The Mangalur grant was issued from Dasanapura (identified with Darsiin the Nellore district), on the fifth tithi of the bright half of Caitra in the 8th-

year of Sirnhaverrnan's reign with the hope of increasing his longevity, strength andvictory.

By this record, the king granted the village of MangaQur in the Vengora;;\raas a Brahmadeya to the following Brahrnanas : (1) Apastambiya Rudrasarrnan ofthe Atreya gotra, (2) Apastambiya Turkkasarrnan of the Vatsayana gotra, (3) Apas-tarnbiya Darnasarman of the Kausika gotra, (4) Apastarnbiya Yaifiasarrnan of theBhsradvaja gotra, (5) Apastambiya Bhavakotigupta of the Parasara gotra and (6)

I. Being connected with sallara (cow-herdi, may adhlJflkia signify fJf1t·-iirlhynl.·'i"'?

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EARLY PALLAVAS 51

Vaiasaneyi Bhartrsarman, (2) Audamedha. (8) Chandoga, (9) Sivadatta and (I 0)Hairanyakesa $a~thlkull1ara of the Gautama gotra.

The villagers of MangaQur as well as the ((.(lh!fak~ntl. val/ltu/ws and Sasana-

saficarins wzre informed of the donation which was endowed with all the immuni-ties. but was with the exception of the devabhoga-hala, The villagers and officialswere ordered to observe the immunities themselves and to see also that othersobserved them. Transgressers of the order were liable to physical punishment.

Vengorastra seems to be the district of Vengi which lies between the riversKrishna and Godavari. This district was in the possession of the Salankayanas asearly as the time of Ptolemy (140 A.D.). At the time of Sirnhavarrnan, the southern.fringe of the district was possibly occupied by the Pallavas.

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INDEX

Page I PageAQeyarara~tra 44I Baithana 7. 15.A dhyak.~(6 50. 51 I Balaghat 20Adhvaryu 21IBelasri-Gautemi 2Adityasena 22i Balhara 48Agisamaja 38II' Bal!aha'~ay 48Agnistorna 38. 47 Banavasi ... 3. 9. 19. 35A lina 37 " Bappa,Guhilot 35Allahabad 8. 13. 15.29 Basaro-nsga 5.6.7

Arnaccu 3 8 1Batoi 5Arnarevati 3. 16. 36 Bay of Bengal 6AmfU1Ju 39 IBellary Dist. 4. 9, 16. 35. 38Anaii 31 Bengal 6. II. 13Anantapur Dist. 3 I Bezwsda ~6Anarta 9 , Bhsrasive 13Anartap 'uri 9IBharat~ 'Dau~yanti 22Andau . . . 15 Bhartrsarrnan 5 IAndhra, 6ataVU/WIICl ... 4 IBhattiraka 49Andhra, country 2. 3. 7. 16. 17, 3 5.3 6 1Bha~abhOti 22~n?~apatha 18, 36I' Bhavakotigupta 50APlttl 38. 40 Bhevaskandatrata 42Arabian Sea 35 Bhoqa 43Arakha.dhilcata (Al"ali,~;:/..(lhikrt!l) 29 Bhoiaka 39 40Argaru 5. 6 Bhukti 43

Arouarnoi 5. 6. 7 Bhiksuhala 42Aruvanac;\u 6 Bhilsa IIAsoka, Asokavarrnan I. 12. 33 Birur 20,31Asvamedha 10. 17. 18.20.21, 22 Bombay Presidency 3

23. 32. 35. 38. 45. 47 Brah niadeua 36. 42. 44. 46. 509. 12, 33 Bralnnu-ksairina II

41 Brhatphalayana 1951 Brit ish Museum 8. 19.28. 32. 41

7. 15 Buddhavarrnan,Pallao« [(ilia 14. 3 0. 42.39.48 45

29 Buddhavarman.P(6U(Wa prille,! 28.412. 47 Buddhyenkura 28. 41

AsvattharnanAtukaAudarnedhaAurangabadDist,Aynkta (l!Y~'ktaka)AyyavarmanBadami

8

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5 4

BudhaguptaCaeJa-Sati . CaeJa-Sata

CakoraCalukyaCamramala ICam tarnula IICandadandaCanda -Satakar l) iCandasriCandragupta ICandragupta IICandragupta, Mauri/a

Candra-Sati .CandrasriCarudevi

EARLY PALLAVAS

Page3 9

1 6

2

2. 11. 12. 30.4 7 . 4 8

17. 1818

3 1 , 3 2

171 6

2

31 6

4 1

2 6 . 4 9

3. 1 5 . 1 7

4 2

72 0

5 1

4 2

19.363 0 , 3 1 . 3 2 . 3 4 . 3 9 . 4 2 . 4 5 . 4 8

16

CasamisarrnanCastanaCendaluraCeylonChammakChandoga

ChandogyaChandravalliChendalurChinnaChirkoCh ita ld i ug Dis t.ChuraCillarekakodurnkaColaCola-maudal«

CoromandelCuddaloreC udd apah D ist.CuraCutapallavaCu!u-Satakarl)iDaksinapathaDaturaDamasarrnan

132. 12 6

3 8 . 39. 4 04. 5. 6. 1 1 . 1 4

5.6.74 . 5 . 6 . 7

43

2 6

12. 13.353.11.13

7 . 2 0

4 1

5 0

DamirikaDantapura

Dan tid urga I IDarsiDasanapura

DeccanDeo- BaranarkDesudliilwt(eDesadhikrta

Page57

4 7

2 5 . 2 6 . 3 4 . 4 5 . 5 0

2 5 . 4 5 . 5 0

. . .2 . 1 1 . 2 0 . 4 8

3 7

3 8 . 3 9

3 9

4 8 . 4 9

4 2 . 4 4 . 4 6 . 4 9 . 5 1

204 2 . 4 9

4 9

1 8 . 3 8

18. 3 618.36

3 6

4 6

1 1 . 1 2 . 3 3

209, 22

2

29 Deuobhoqa29 Deuabhoqahala

Devagiri

DeuahalaDevasarrnanDevavarmanDhamnakadaDhanyakatakaDharanikotaDigambaraDronaDudiaDvarakaEaste rn Gha tEastern Sea 2Ehuvula-Carntamula 1 8

Ellore 3 8

Ganga 11Ganga. dynusty 1 1 . 2 5 . 2 8 . 2 9 . 3 5

Ganges 5.7Gsutarnl-Balasri 2Gau tarn lp utra -S ata ka rrn i 2 .7 . 9 . 10. 1 5 . 16

Gautami putra- Y aina-Satakrl) i 3. 7Goal! 13Godavari. riner 7. 5 1Godavari D ist. 3. 16Gokula 22Golasarman 49Gonamdija 3 6

Gotra-Agnivesya 36- A .treya 5 0

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INDEX 55

Go tra BharadvajaBrhatpha ls yana

PageI10, 11, 12, 38, 48, 50 Kaduvetti

12 Kalabharta

Page1333

GautarnaKaQvayaQaKasyapaKaundinyaKausika

51 Kalalaya-M ahara~hi 4• II Kalidasa 6, 21

26, 46,49, 50 Kalinganagara II42 Kalingartu-Purani 11

44, 50 Kalyani 2II Kamakaratha 42

50 IKamara 550 Karnrnanadu 461° IKamsa . 2222 Kanakagiri 2

23 Kanci,city L 6, 7, 8 , 10 ,1 3, 1 4, 1 5,2 8,2 937 30, 31, 32, 36. 45351 K ane!,district 4,5, 8, 1L 12, 24, 28, 35,4~39 KiiJict-lIla~/(tl.lla .•. 6

38, 39 I Kaiiclpura 1. 36, 42, 4417, 21. 24, 26, 34, 4L 46, 50 Kaiiclvayil-grama 44

ManavyaParasaraVatsayanaVisnuvrddha

Govardhana

GovindaguptaGrnmikaGuhilotGllll1W

Gtunika

Gun tur D ist.GuptaGupta, dynastyGuriara

Haidar A liH alrt-nyi.'il/a

HariHastivarmanHebbataHimalayaHirahadagalli

Horse-sacrificeHOQalksvaku

9 Kandavarman9, 29 I K a n du kn ra

10 Kararupura

2 Karle42 K arrnakarasrra22 K arrnarasta18 f( ar III a-sacioa

31 I Kasakudi2, 21 Kashmir

8 , 1 0, 15, 18, 19 .3 2.35.36. I Kasyapa38,39,40.41,43,46,47 Kataka10, 20, 22, 23, 35. 45. 47 Kautilya

10 I Kavacakara17, 1 8.4 2 IKenduknra17. 18 I Kharia

1 I Khryse11 IKistna Dist.

3,9. 17 1Kodavali2 I Kodikim

41 I [(o(umlia12, 13 19, 20, 25, 31I Koli

32, 35, 36, 37, 46j Kolivala

064849

9,1942.43.4626, 42, 49

39, 4812. 30,33

I23413 643

48 , 4913

53 . 16 , 17

3. 16465384 0

.Jaggayyapetta

JainJubbalpo re D ist.JunagadhKacclopeduKac;lakaKadamba 3,9,

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56 EARLY PALLA VAS

Page Page

Kolkhi 4,5 Magadha 11

Komari 4 Mahabharata 3

Kondakur 41Mahabha~ya 1

Kondamudi 12, 1 9,3 9 M~har(et"i 4, 8Kondarnuruvudu 49 Mahiisen(J/pati 8KOQQura 49 MahasramaQa,sarpgha 4,6

Koniki 46 Mahendra, mountain 2Konkanivarrnan 29 Mahendravarman I 30, 34, 48

Korkai 4 Mahidhara 10

Kottampalugu 18 Maiselia 5Krishna, river 51 Moisoloi 5Krsna 22, 23 Majerika 7

Krsnagiri 2 Malanga 5, 13Krsnavarrnan i 20,31 Malavalli 19Krsnavarman II 19 Malavikagnimitra 11Kudgere 37 Malaya 2Kntft 37 Malkhed 2Ku\acaraman 44 MaJ;lqavika 39Kulaipa 9 Mandhatrvarman 19,37Kulasarrnan 44 Mangac;!or 50,51Ku\i 41 Mangalur 24,25,26,27,30,47,48,50

Kulottunga-Cola 11 M anjhira 7Kumaravisnu,ot tlie Neilorc-Ountur Mankir 48qrout« 13, 14, 24, 26. 27, 32, 35, 45Manyakheta 48

KurnaravisnuI. Ilf the Ktuict qrents Masalia 514, 30. 32, 34, 42, 45Maski 3

Kurnaravisnu Ii 30, 32. 34, 39, 42, 44Masulipatam 5, 6, 7Kumarika 4,21 Mathura 22Kumbakonam 46 Matsya 9Kundur 26 Matsya Purana 15,16Kuntala II. 13,20 Maurya I. 11

Kuram 30, 33 Mayidavolu 8, 15, 18, 19,32,35, 36, 38Kurnool D ist. 2,35 40,41,46,47Kusana 10 Mayorasarman 19, 35, 36Mat!rwiku 38 Menrnarura 25, 50Madhava I 29 Mewar 35M adhava II 28, 29, 35 Mira; 47Madhavavarman 20,49 Modoura 5Madras, city 4 Mrgesavarman 19,46Madras Presidency 2.41. 3R Mukkanti 13

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INDEX 57

Page I PI 3IPaithan age7, 15

48.49,53 IPalakkada 13,24,47,48

... 4. 16.381 Palhava 9, 10... 2 9 35 Pallab 13r I

6,7,8, 12, 13.14 I Pallava, ('pOIllUIIl 12,3317, 18.36,42 : Pallava,cl!JlIustu L 4, 7, 8, 9. 10: 11. i2.

17 I 13, 15, 18, 19,20 ,22.24.25.28.39, 42. 48 I 2 9, 30, 31, 33, 84 35. 36, 38. 39,

39,48 ' 41,42,44,45.46.47,48.5131 I Pallava-bhoga 4317 !Pallavamalla-Nandrvarrnan 12. 22

29,30.31, I Palnad 17

32. 42, 44 ' Palotkara 26Nandivarman 1 1 ,SiJ.lailkfi!l(II/(/ ;Paiicala J I

KillY 29,49 ! Pandion 5.6Nandivarm an III,Later Pallaua 12 Pandiones 5Nandivarma-Pallavamalla 12.22 IPaf)QY:l 5Narasaopet 26, 27, 49 : Paf)mi IINarasirnhavarman 47, 48 I P(triflfint 40. 42. 44, 48, 49,50NarayaQa 41 I Pariyatra 2Nasik 2. 3 , 7 19 :Parthian 9 , 10Nelalur 50I Pa\aliputra 1, 33

Nellore, city 2 I PataiiJali 1Nello re D isr, 5,2 4,2 6,3 4,4 2,4 5,4 6,50 f Peddavegi 29.49Neyika ... 39 I Pennar ... 2, 6Nilgiri 2 I Penukonda 28,29. 34, 35-Nirgrantha 46 . Penukaparru 46

I -

Nisada 22 J Periplus 4, 5. 6, 9Nisamma 5 I Pikira 24,25 26.27,30.47.50Nitimarga-KcnguQivarma- I Pinukkiparu 46

f -

Perrnanadi 25 / Pitundra 5 -Niuartana • 43, 48 I Podih 45-Niyogin 39. 42. 48 . Podivil 2Nolamba 9 Paduka 5-N orth A reotDist, 44 Polamuru 20, 26, 49Oc;lc;ladi 9 PraClt/III(( 2Omgodu 24. 35, 26, 27,32, 45. 46. 47,49 Pravacanasatra 44Ongole 42, 46. 50 Pravarasena [ 20,Orthoura 5 \ Prehara 35Ozene 15 Prthit"it'allabha 4T

MUQQa.I ribeMundarastra

MyakadoniMysoreNagaNagariunikondaNahapanaNaiyogikrtNaiyyok(tNanakkasaNandigrarnNandvarman, Pallao« Kill!!

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'58

PrthivivyaghraPtolemy

PudukottahPulakesin IPulakesin IIPulornaPulumaviPulurnavi- VasisthlputraPusyarnitraPuvaketuja

R((.lW8!I(zdhikrtaRi1jakumura

RD.j(myaRajasimha

RajataranginiRa.~trakotaR;j~trika

Roithika 'RautiaRavivarmanRayakota

RohaniguttaRohiniguptaRksavatRudradarnanRudrasarmanRudra-SatakarniSadakana-KalalayaSakaSakya

EARL Y PALLA VAS

412 Sirnhavarman,of the Nellore-Gtmiur

3.7,9, 10 , 15. 17 gra1lts 26,27.30,42.44,46,4750 48. 49, 50, 513 Sirnhavarrnan,o j Kuiicz 24. 25.4 28.29, 30, 32, 34, 44

Simhaverrnan,oj the Vctyalur record(No, 45) 30,34

Sirphavarman,nJ the Vayalur record(No, 46) 30.34

Simbavarrnan,Later Pal[(tv(J 26. 30, 34Simhevarrnan-M adhava 29Simhavisnu,Later Pallaua.«. 12, 26, 32SiITIhavisnu-Narasi ITIha varrnan 48Sindhu 21Siriptolemaios 7. 15Siva 13Sivadatta 51

Page22

3,5,6,7,8,15, 17,515,612

12,3016

3,4, 7, 9, 16,383,7, 15, 16, 17, 19

I, 213640

38,39

2112.30.33

I.. 2 ,11 . 47. 48

3938, 39

1325, 31. 32, 46

9

9.1023

Salankayana

SamangadhSarnudraguptaS(tll{)al'lt

SantivaravarmanSantivarman. Kadamb« [(inaSantivarman. Pallaoa KinaSa.rpn-!Juj iia

Sa?thikumaraSatahani-ratrha

1 8, 19,28, 38.49. 5147

8, 18. 2 9 32, 345

313531235138

SatakarQiSatakarlJi~CaQQa+-Gautarniputra-Rudra-Sivaskanda-Siva~r; '+Vinhukada-YajriaSatapetha-BrahmaneSata~SivamakaSatavahana

Page7

16,172, 7, 9, 10, 15, 16, 17

316, 19),16

193,7. 16

173

41

SatyasenaScytho-KusanaSena 'Senii.nlSenupatiSetagiri

Sewar

2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10. I I.15, 16, 17, 19, 38,42

4 . 3838313201123

38. 392

137

SatavahaniharaSatavahantya~ra~traSata~Candra

Siam

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INDEX

Page I2 ?,oryanaga9 Suskaletra

3. 16 Suvarnagiri26 Suvisakha9. 19 Svetambara

SvetapataTaittiriyaTalgundaTarnbrapaTarnraparn I

T andantot tam

SivajiSivaguptaSivamaka,SataSivagarmanSivaskandagupta.Sivaskandanagasri,wrongly printed

(t. 7) Siv(tskand(£var man 19$ivaskanda-SatakarQi 16. 19Sivaskandavarman.King of Bananas; 19Sivaskandavarman.Early Pallaua

8.1 0. 12 . 15. 18 . 1 9.2 0.2 5".28 .31 .35.36.38.41.43.47

19Sivasri-SatakarQi 3. 16Skandanaga 3.4Skandasisya 9.13Skandavarrnan,oj the British Museum

qran: 8. 15. 18. 19.28.32.35.41Skanclavarman.of the Ohendalur grant

30. 32. 34. 42S kandavarm an Loj the Udauandtram

!Jmnt 29. 30. 32. 34. 44Skandavarman II 29. 30. 32. 34. 44. 45SkandavarmanE .of tile Nellore-Guntw'

arunts 24. 27. 32, 45Skandavarman II 24. 25. 26. 27.

32.45.46.4755

Sivaskandila

SopatmaSoringoiS~rnagosSouthern Sea

~r;parvata~rlsaila

Taniore

TiasrenesTinneve lly D ist.TrilocanaTrinayanaTrinetraTurkasarrnan1'uthil,xeUdayacandraUdayendiram

UgrasenaUjjain SyrnolUijayin]UragapuraUraiyurUruvupalli

Page15 ·J29

4 6

4644. 50

3524.46

4465

152 . 4

12. i313

12. 1350

38.3922

22. 30. 3I. 3 2. 3 3.34.42.44.45.47

134

3. 155.65 . 6

24. 25. 26. 27.30.39.42. 45. 46.48. 49. 50·

10.20'22

47-47.48

342. 4 4 . 46. 4 717. 18.38.47

648617

5. 6. 7 I Vakataka2. IVaidyana th temp le

35 Faltabllll2 Vullabharli.j((.

48 Vaijayanti47 Vaisnava23 Vajapeya

11. 2 1 Vajranaga49 Varaha6 Var~anaga9 Vasi$th iputra-C arntam ola [

Sl'l-Pl't h iv i,vrel lab I taSrivf6l[abha

SuddhodanaSungaSupraygaSuranagaSurastra

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60 EARLY PALLA VAS

Page Page- Candra -S ati 3 Vl~QU 48

+Pulurnavi 3,7,15,16,17 Visnugopa, Pallaia p r ince " 24,25,-$ va;ri-"Satakami 3 42, 44, 4-(,49Vasumitra 21 Visnugopa, KillY oj Kili icr . .. 8, 15,Vayalur 12, 30, 31. 32, 33, 44 18, 29, 30, 31, 32, 34Vellaru 5.6 Visnugopavarrnan I,P rince ... 24,26,Velurpalaiyam 12,33,34 27, 42, 47, 48Vengi 37 Visnugopavarrnan II, Pallll/'a kill{j 26, 49Vengorastra 50,51 Visnuhara 48Vtdlsa 1~ Visnukundin 20, 26, 46Vijaya 16 Visnuvarrnan, Kadamba ki n!1 31V ilasasarman 50 Vrsnuvarrnan, General 48

Vmdhya 2 V1SV8.VaSu 23Vinhukada 11, 19 Vitastara IVirakorcavarman 25, 26, 27, 34, 45 Vl/iipr{(& 39Virakorca I 12, 15,33,34 Vyasa 23Virakurca II 34, 45 Western Ghat 2V I apurisadata 17,18 Western Sea 2Viravarman 24, 25, 32, 45 Yajiia~arman 50Vmpara 36.37 Yajiia-SatakarQi 3 7, 16Vasava 23 Yairiasr 16Vasudeva 22 Yavana 9,21-Vilj(t!Ju 40 Yevur 47Vi~a!lapati 39 Yuanchwang

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