c h a p t s r - i
POUTICAI. HISTORY, SOCIAL - K^iLIOIOUSi
C O N D m O H K a n d CULTURAL OBOGRAHtT 1
T H E K A L C U i ; X S ^ T H I P U H I
After the aeeth of Hflroh«, northern Indl^ becs"ie the polltiCHl chesn-bomrd «»nd peyeml chicfR played th«lr role. The "ore prOTjlnent s'nojni': the»e were the Cendellpis In Bunflellrhnnd, GurJaiHs-Prntlharas in
K M i B U j s m d the Kalncurlf in yQit^le.’nr.g d a l a is^>OPf> eapltnl wh? Tripurl*
For a period of nearly three Cf5nturl«8,i.e., between oirca 5th - 8th century A.U., the Kalacurl* of Trlpuri conld out-shlne their c o n t e ' ^ poreries end they hare left e rieh lejfecy in the history of early mediaeral Indie.
The Kalncuria were supposed to hnve migrated fron .5ahl«natl
(nodem M?»ndh«ta of Niiiar diotrict, But Snnknlia hmP Bugeeeted that >*andhpite cnnnot be identifiod with nncient l^is’nstT.® He hafi identified f^heshmr with '’ahiffnatl.
After they settled et Tripwri, the fiR?nily w-?p divided into three brnnchss.^ Out of those three branches of the Knlneuris, the Tripuri house wnp rore powerful end ruled over an extenPlTR e!T5)ir« froai circa
6th century A.D. to circa 13th century AJ3. This region suhse^iuently came to bo knowa as Oodirtn^Jala or Dnhnln-mandala.
1. Ray, H.C., The Dynsstic History of Horthem India. Vol.II, Calcutta. l?)T56,p.73fi. g. SaTknlia,H.U., Subbarao, B., and Deo, S.B., The axcavations nt Mnhoahwar and HgTTBdatoli. 195S-^; Poona, 19SB, baroda,
p . 1 5 .
3. Mira?»hl, V.V., Corpus InerlptionU!ii Indicwrun. IV, pt.l, pp.cxcil-xciii* To reeoriBtruet th« history of this houBe vie hav» wiple 'iiaterials,
1*0., the intcriptlons, copperplates, coins and the conte^qpomry litera ture.
Krsnaraja me probably, the first rulir of this house as found fro m the inserlptions of his son ^nkaraf^ena. We do not know about his polit ~ leal career but hi a son %okaracana mast have played sone important role as indicated by his IniHjrlptlonB and sovoral hi^ii soxmding titles like Parameb^ttemka, Mahara.lndhira.la and Para^esvara. During his time the Kalacurl porer extended upto Nasik.^
The son and probably saooeaf^or of %nkaragaM m s Buddhamja, was defeated by the CalUkya klnc ’'ianealewjfih circa 6th century A.D.^ and hence they miriit have aoknowledged the suzerainty of the Oalukyas.
!Hie period int erven in,* from Bud dhara.la to Kokalla I Is a dark 3 period In the history of the Kalacuris* Scholars like Mlrashl are of the opinion that vSnaraJa was the rulor under whose fast Sahkaragana meditated* Vwnaraja at>pears to have ruled in circa 8th csntuxy A*D*
O T c r a Tast kinf^dom comprinlng Gomati in the north to the Narmada In the south, the part of Bundelkhand, Ba^-helkand, Sagar, Jabalpur (the difltricts of IIJP.) and the central part of Uttar Pradesh.
Since the tl^e of Va’nax^ta the B’alacuris becar® popular by the name of Caidyaa. The cedi-country via a situated aloni; the south bank of Tamuna fron the Chanbal on the north-west to Karvi (^ich flows
1. E.I.. Vol.IX, ’Th e Abhona Plates of Sahkarofw^a* p.S96. The inscription records the grant of land in the Nasik dintrict. g. Ray, H^C., op.cit.t p.739. 3. Mlrashl, V.V., op.cit.. p.lsviii* north-oast to Chitrakuta)^ , Jred his capital from Mahi^'nati to Trlpurl# The modern vlllaee Tet»ar, £iltueted on the Jabftlpur-Bhemdiat t o r U I s identified vdth !Tripurl. Tripuri is a city of hifrJi antiquity. It I0 tiontloned In various later vedic teicts, Jaina and Buddhist texts as well as in Ifarlous 2 puranaa* It was one of the sixteen ’laha.lanapadas. In later Vedic literature it is mentioned as three important cities of Asuras, while in the imranlc literature >ie are told that the city 1919e destroyed by conve- ■ rtinf;; them to Buddhism and Jainian. The Mahabharata sientiona it aa Traipura and attrihutes its destruction by Viaiiu in the forni of a cow- bull. ® The situation of Tripuri is placed in south-eastern division in the Brhat-sanhita. whereas Ke'iaoendra calls it codi-na^mr as the capital 4 of cedi country. Ke do not kno«; the history of Tripurl prior to the advent of the Kalacuris but the discovery of a few coins and pottery have provided valuable ^;^idanee in this i*espect. Tripuri see'nB to have passod on to the rules of the Ksatrapa and the SatavaJianas Who riight have included the fnojor imrt of D '’can Maliamabtra, Gujarat, and Central India. Thus, probably, in the first century B.C. theiy extended their rule over ftentral India and added Tripuri and othor places of Importance like 1. Par^^siter, F.E., J.A.3 .B.Y0I. IXI7,p.849 ff. 2. Slkshlt, M.O., Tripurl. 1952 (Excavationa Report) pp.7“0. 3. Sankalia H.D., J.MJP.I>P.. Vol.V.1967,*In Search of Three Citioe*, p.59. 4. Dikshlt, M.G., Op.Pit, p.9. 4 1 Send eto. But Mlmshl thinke tiiat cedi cormtry might have been uader - 8 rule of the Pnrlvrajaka-rn.lao. Thus It is not k n o m ti«t frofs vjhora VRnaraja conciuered Trlpurl. P w m the time of Varnai€.1adieva to 3 3ankaraf*aBa I is oupposod to be the daxfe period* Snnkiaraimne I la the n m t I'lportant ruler of the Kalaouria whom we can place palaooi'raphlcally In oiroa 8th contury A*D« The names of the micoGSSors of Sankarafrai^B are not known until m oomB to Lak8ananara:Ja I of the Karltalni Insoriptloa dated K.CtS.593 (841-42 A.D.). LaktenanerRja w a s ronfie^-ed to a mibordinate p o sition by the Rashtrrskfiptes. Later on, the Raehtrf»ku^*',fl entered into matrl'^ionlal allionce fron tirie to tlrae vjlth the Kpilacurls o f Trlpurl. Yhle alllSance with the Kaluourio made a bulkwwic on the north of Kaxmtda against any poBsibla invasion from the atrJara-Pratiharaa to their territory. Kokalla I eucceeded hie father Laksananaraja in circa 875 A.D. T^e tuportaat evonta of hl9 reign are ao!io untrl'walal allinnces ■jrlth 4 th e Candellas and the Rashtrakfitae. Kokalla 1 was suoooeded by his non Sahk^ragai^a II v^ho was other- 5 vdee known as JligdhatunKa, PrasiddhadJiavnla. He conquered the lines of 1. Sankalia, op«ielt.. p.57. 2 . Mlraehi, op.cit.. pp.LXX-LXXI. 5. I b i d . Mlraehi sut^tiaata that Mny u r a r a j a the author of Sanskrit play the Udnttararhava was one of the rulers. 4. ?5irashl, op.cit». no. 45,48. 5. These two names seo^ to be Viruda rather than personal naies. eountriea alon^: tho sfsa-nhore anfl took away Pali (the country of P a li) 1 from the lord of Ko^ala. Balnhnrsat the son end micceesor of ^SankaPagana I» hftd probably a short r®if:nt l.e*, frm elroa 91C-15 A.D. No further records of his reltTB is found. Bnleharfa xras sucoeeded by his youn{,;or brother Yuvarajadeva I in clren 915 A.D. who was a groat patron of art and literature. He Is orodited with harlne built many tmples and Mathas Ilka the Golaki- natha, and toxtfj like the Yigdhn^alabhaa.1 ika were composed by his court poot Rajasyekhnm. He seena to have led his successful army againetthe countpias of Daneal, Kuntala, Gujarat, Kaohnir , Orlf^aa, Mai,'adh,P55oala, Avanti, JalKidliara, Kerala and married the ladies from these places, n as ?aeationed in the above mmtioned text.® He 9 i»as also victorious against the 5!alam. He ;narried the Galukya princess Nohaja . As he was the lord of Orissa is proved by his Viruda trikalinaadhipati. But his con^iuest ovor Kashmir is doubtful. He was a devout worshiper of Siva, and patronised "lany §aiva Scaryas to praach their doctrines. He donated throe lakhs of villages for the naintsnence of Oolaki-??intha. His wife NohaladevI was also a devotee of Siva and is said to have mad© donations to the matha and Salva JCcaryas of thf^ifiipntr^cult. She built nany ten?)les i.e., a teraple o f Nohala^ara end donated seven villaeea fbr its maintenance. Tho temple at Ourci (now ruined) was built by the ktn^ and probably, a monpfstery at Chandroh© was also built by kin^; for meditations and tralnlnii of Saiva Xoaryaa. 1. For details see, ?*lrashi, op.clt.. p.UCXVII. 2* Ibid. and Viddha.^labhan.11 ^ od. by Arte, p*ll3. V, 6 Yurara.lfldovo had two mlnistors, viz*, Bh^QRiiBhra and Gollaka* The later belont/n to the E^astha stock and waa a Vaif^ava who caused to o a w s the o o l o s m l l!«igs o f Uatsya, VaTaha, Balairaraa I n o a m a r tions of Vimrx alonj^th a aayana'TOrtl at B^dhogarh.^ Lak^ananare ja II Bucceedad his father YuvaraJadova. He was un doubtedly a gre«t warrior as proved his various rnilitary exploits at^ainst the distant countries like Bengal, Lata, Kaahmlrr^ and Gurjaira^. He also took part la the northern expedition of the Raehtralcuta king K|*sna III. Ills oouiaeats over Bengal and Kaahnir. soera to be taere 3 exnctseratlott but his <30(a^ueflts over Orissa and Kogala might be true* He olal"iod to havo advnneod up to the bank of the river Tartrapannl (Tlnnevolly dijrbrlct) which see^a to be nore boast. 4 Benerjl sur^sted that ho defeated the weak succesBor of "ifahlp^a, the Gurjara king* He entered Into matrinoniul relations with the cD.idcyas and gave his daughter Bonthadevi in marrloge to Vikramo- dilya IV whose son Tnllapa II over threw the last Hashtr.ilotta kin^; K a r k p II in 97T5 A.D. Llko his father Iflksamaijaraja viae e fcToot devotee of S^lvn and built rtany tef^^les rwagateries at places llko Crurgi, Chandr|he, Vara^nasi etc. He appointed Saiva iCeaiyas to those monaster- -ies and tenplss* His reign lasted from circa 945»973 A*D* 1* Author could not vioit tho orii;iael place of iniafies due to certain technical difficulties* 2. The Kcritalnl Ineription ml^t bo containing some of his more conviuests but the portion 1s niutH a t e d * 8* TJte Bilb'iri i n d inncription mentions his conquests over the Lata ond Gujarat* 4. Baner^l, R*D*, M*A*>9»I. S??, p*l<^* LHk^na^arajfi had had the services of a learned brahraa^ minister na-ned Somosvara vriio was the son of aiaknnlshra. Like hla father, ^nasvara buHt a rf Vis^u temple at Earitalal, donated a village for its '(lalntenanoe and sfttabllshed eight brah'ianas to take'*of It.^ His queen Rohada and son Sankaracana are also tientioned as the v;orahipper of Yifnu* Lakgama^araja II traa succeeded by his son Sankaragana III in elrea 970 A.C. This klne Is known from t ^ records of Kar^* s The Banaras plate omits him, ^lle Baragaon lnscrlptl C a n d e l l a prlme^'nlnistor Yacaspati defeated and killed hla« Safakaragana III ymn succeeded by his younger brother YuvarSJadeva II in the last quarter of 10th century A»D. about whom we do not have •Tuch infcoTOstlon. The Karanabel Inflcriptions state that he ccai^uered all the kings of all the quarters on the earth* It is no doubt a taera boast which Is uncorroborated by fact but duely mentlraed In tho later records* The Para^ara king Vaknpatl-munja defeated him.® The reign of Tuvarajedeva II and his fatlier was dark period* Can£5uly* sui:;ge8ts that the cedi country was raided by tho Calukya king Tallapa II 1* The rlllafi:e na-aed Dlehasarlka la identified with modem Dlghl situated at a distance of about 10 ki 3* E * I 7ol« I, p«S35* 4. C^neuly,D*0,, op of eplgraphie and literary aourcea Mirn^i^ h«s Interpreted it tteit it was ’nor® exploits of kinp Tltpeln vAiam ho subjugated and threw him into fi the prisl^on. However, Mirashi adnitted that there in no chronological difficulty in identifying MUnja who trluti^phantly entered Tripuri and caused the death of ninny Ealacuri generals* After the wlthdrawl his son Kokalla II was placed on the throne by his ohief-minifster. Kokalla II aiceeede^ his father in circa 990 A«D. He was a great 3 warrior as he raided Ourjnra country and rhwi the klnt;s of Kuntala and Oauda heard his ’Military advance they deserted their country* 'ttie absence of nane of the Kalacuri king among the list of chiefs in the T5Kikhri«-»Firista. who offered resistance against Subuktauln, has rMide Mirashi^ to believe that Kalacuris lost their pokier during the reign of Kokalla II and his father. His rule ended by 99O~1015 A.D. Koknlla II was succeeded by his lllustrions son Ga&^^^adeva In circa 1015 A.D. Unlike his predecessors he was a greot general, Tictor&s of ?aany battles and raised the prestige of his home to the high ebb* He entered into confederacy with the Para?nSra Bhoja, Rajendra Cola and defeated the Calukya ruler JayaslSha*® 1. Mirashi, op.cit*. p.LJOQCVIII. 2. Ibid. 3. The Ourjara king raight have been Rajyapala and the king must be Tlkm^dltya V of the later Oaiukya dynasty. 4. I b i d . 5. Mlrashl, op.cit., p*XC, 9 oSnfxeyndeTa aefoatod ffahaslvaivMptn Yfliygtl. After defeating the Utkala king he rsached the eastom se«-8hore end asau!*ied the title Trlkallnffladhlpat 1^ OSaceyadeva extended hla paternal en^jire eonslder- ably whleh Included Bannras, m the east and defeated the kings of Gatt^a, Yanga countries but could not annex any part of Maeadha. In 105S A«D* Nlyaltgln raided the olty of Banaraa but he forc ed to leave on the news of the approach of Gangeyadeva. It was probably a surprise raid of the '\tsllms* Oanceyadevn launched a successful expedition against the Kira (Kanera ralle^r) country. He conquered the Doab ^ and defeated the Candellaa also* The relcn of 05B/:eyndera doea not merely the stories of military exploits* During: hie reign the oconoralc condition of his country was far from being weak as proved by his gold, silver and copper coins* The Oaja-lAkpiI type coins stand to this point* He was not only popular In own country but Tsas cotmted a*9ong the Important contemporary rulers • Oa^eyadeva was ‘)n ail^dent Salva as Kieraghat Insorlptlons of Naraslfflhadeva Inforrw us that he erected a lofty to??^le an^ .’na d ® dona tions to it* (^Eageyadera died at Prayaiga tinder a banyan tree with his htmdred vlves in 1041 A*D. 1, On the other Imnd Miraehl thinks that Gengeyadova wrtB defeated by Yayati in south KoSale* See Ibid* fi, T!ie gold silver and copper no Ins o f {Jant?;eyadava are found In Uttar Pradesh. 3. Alberuni mentions In the Kltabulhlnd, and his capital at Tlurl. See Mlrashl, op.clt.* p*XCI* 4. 51ie Plewan rock inscriptions indicate k K t l » t he erected a Slve- linga. Mlrashl, op*cjt.» no*60^ 10 Lak?nll:arYa fsiiocoefled his fntherIn circa 1041 A.D. With the beglnnlnr of his ralim, m a r e no longer grouping Into dark ness as oplc»phlc nn<^ literary aourcee hnYe enabled ua to get the K«ner«5l recorfln of his rolgi. Karna wrs one of the greatest gonerals of his tl"ie. He wrb Tletorlous in the snst, south mad west!’ He ma successful In hlo vmr against the P^oe of Boncfll and at the sane tlrae he defeated the kin*- of Vanga (aastem Ben4^!al) naned Jatavarraan. He made matrlrwnlal relations with the Pala king Vlcrahapele. He gave his dau#?hter VTrasrT to Jatavnraan In niarrlage* • He also oror-rnn the southern dl.-itrlot KaScl (Oonjcevnram)? He clalftis to have defeated the Pallavas, the Kun^es (Col-nb&tore district), the Hxrole (the Tfelabar coast), th« PfTndyaB of ?fedura. Ho defeated the klnf Sonasvnra I. All those expeditions laxst have been over hefbre circa 1048~49 AnD* He defeated the Cpndellas and captured 3undelkhp.nd for some tt-w In 1051 A.D. but he was drove out of Bundelkhend by a ftoudatory of the Candella klntj KfrtMvni^nan na-sod Oopoli^ In the later part of hla life, Karna had to face reverses. He forced an alliance vlth Calukya king Bht-na of Gujarat for simultenous attack on Malawa tron tho east and vest. But In the rwantlme Rhoja died in 1055 A.D. end his son ijrByaal^hn sou^cht help fiwn i^onesvara I who sent his son Vikrmdltya VI for help. It that first i nstance, the enemy could capture Dhara btt they v/ere driven out by Oome^ara and 1. Mlrashl, ou.cit.. no.48. R. Mlrashl, op.clt.. p*XCIV, 11 JayaaiffUm* Thus the combined efforts of the Pnra’itaras and Calxikyae 1 could arert the dlaaster. Soon aftor that, (iuairrel bri-k© out between Karae and his ally Bh^ma p over the spoil of the v?ar. Bhlran invfided the oedi country, defeated Kaxna and forced hln to ourrander the golden :ian4ai)Tka which they wrest “ted fron Bhoja* Thus, it some that thouf^i k Enr^ fou^iht a nunber of battlos with many powers, for and near, throu(^hout the ^;roitor port of hlo life but he did not get mich naterlel advantage from then* Accord- Int’ to the llasatnata one hundred and thlrty-elx klnc^a were attending up % X, on him.' Ho assumed Imperial titles llko- Pararasbhat^araka. Mahara.lSdhlra.1a. Trlkallnmdhlpntl and Mljabhuj-oparajIt-egvapatl Ka.1apatl-»narapatl eto» But at the Inst part of his life he created *EKRt*Ex*»e enemies for his successor «nd he could only Include Banaras and Allahabad to his paternal territory* Malawa' was refrained by Jayast’iha, the Canadella kingdon was also slipped out of hia honds^ and the C^ukyss became foes for several generations. Prom the Jabalpur and Klialrha plates of Yasa^arna we learn that Karna hlmnelf crowned hisSoM Yase^arna, it may be presamed that he abdicated the throne In favour his son due to the fallture of his sche*nes to bring the wJiole of India under one banner. 1. ixx>m the text Vlkra:-.xankadeva Carlta we l e a m that Scraesvara destroyed the nop«r of Karna pftcr which glory never eihrnced the country of l^hala. S. Gftoguly has sufrfiontod that ftrlction broke for distribution of spoils in the w^r but the tort Prabandhecinta’nanl 'aenti-'ns th^t Kai-na did not saaterialise the pronis© to give the share of the f S *Galns. soa, Gnnguly, D.O*, 3«V.B.3erie8«V».p.G!^. P. Mirashi, op.cit.. p.Cl. 4. S . I ., I. ,p .SSS . 12 Ke rna vms great in war and peace alike. He patx^nlsed non of letters* The leaitiod sciiolra* Billiana was palfl nuch regards by the king. H e c(r?i)Osea the text 'Vikranaakadova C t o i ’it a . The other scholars of his court were Vallaaa, Kachl2*aja, Kaipura, and Tldyapatl. Karna was «lso a fjroat builder. He built a high and lojFty ^iva te"5)lo at Banaras. It was of twelve storeycr, and knovm as Karana- Meru. H® built a fjia^at Praya#^ #iioh is knovn as the Kartia-tlrtha.^ A lofty tUto^atann temple at Amatkontalr ia still Qxistint*: and k n o m as Karana*^fatha or Kara 7a ~ I ^ h q r 1.^ka-'r>tho. He established a ▼illat?® of Brahmanns which is known as Karnavati (situated nsar Tewar villaf;o, Jabalpur district). The aarnath inscription dated K ,816 (1038-58 A.D.) states that a Buddhist monastery was also flourishing duriafe his reign. H e was b o religious minded that he maae tl.e capital at holy city Banarae, \^ere he met learned scholar Bili ana. «• g Kar^ ?narri0d a Ittma princean na"ied jCvallidevI, the mother of k i n g YasaliR**^ift ^rho suooaede^ hlni* Hla two daU(^tov8 ^laned Vlraarl an d Jatnranaori wore narried to JTatavaman and Vigrahapala reepeetively. Yasahnkarna succeeded hl"i in circa 973 A.li. Tasahkamo• • fmcneoded his father Kama • shortly after 107? A.D. He led two aee'^osf’lv® ca'Tpaifms acainst Ohamp^anya (north Bihar) and Andhra. Th& ruler of Andhra was Vijayaditya VII of the eastern Calukya 1. The GoI»r»/a £n*ant irna na'?e at this plc.oe. 2. Mirashi, op.cit.. nos.56 and 57. 13 dynr'^sty. H e hai! to fight n rninber of battloe la defonoe of hie klngdwa and lost i^ny of th«n, pShnla wra raided by X Jayaslrtlha, tho youag®r brotlier of C^ukya Vikrannditys VI before IDRl A*D«, while he lost Banaiv and Allahabad to Candradevsi of the Gahadavala dynasty. The Parefuara kin^ Laksaitenadeyn plundered Tripuri and «noar«5)ed on the barik o f Eeva (Nnmada) for sovietIne. Tho final blow caine fr«Ma the Csndelin king aalRkjonavarwm xAio supposed to have defeatert the Cadi kine probably YaBa^arua.^ Ihua, all these wards m ' l e the Kalacuri power weakened coneiderebly. lie WRH suooeedeil by hie Bon GaynWarna in the first tiuarter of ISth oantupy A*D. So far, only two records of hie reign ai’6 arailable* Tftie earliest one co-tes freri Tefwar dnted F.0.E.908 (circe-1150-Sl k»D»), which records the ereetina of a 3atva tefnple by a ! ^ l v a ^OErya BhavaelTa* The other iriBcrlption Ip found at Bahuribaad (Jabalpur district), vjhlch reoordo tho erectinn of e teai>le of Jalaa tirbhanfeatp- Santlnatha. Most probably, Gaynkarna loot a portion of Baghelkhand to the north KnirauT' ranges to the Candellfin as oonfirr>wd by the discovery of a hoard of the Candells coins at JPanwar. From the 1 ‘rabRndtiHC intanarii of Merutun^« we learn that he died during;; one of hie p ext>edltlons nrainst Qu,1erat« 1. Qanguly, D«C*, op.cit.. p.64* 8. It is stated in the said text that ^ lle on march he slept oa the baoi: o f an elei>h«snt and a grolden t>mln o f his neck ca\i^t into a branch o f a Banyan tree and handed him t i l l his death. H He r»afl succeeflefl by his older son Mnrast^liadeva before 1155 A«D* w M le in turn he tms siicoeaaed by h is younger brother Jayasl.%ha, some- time between oireq 1159-1167 A . D . In the ea rly part o f his reifc® Jayasi^ha fo ’ifciit smccRB^fullv with the Calukya Kumarepela and the king ■ of tm tala, i.e., klnfc Vlj.tala (the Kalcurl of Decoan)* Ho could arrest the advance of tlw» Turugikafl by defeiting them In Central India* do not know whether JeyaelinhQ r»ade counon onuao with the CQiadav^aa arainst the Musliris. I!© m a aoknowledeed by the south Kos')la klni; Jajalladeva^# He bore the high sounding t i t le s lik e , Para"iabhat^ r tA , Paraniem^a, ?fehara;5adhita5a etc. He flouriahed upto circa 1176 A.D* He was Salva and hla aprltualA ^pbcxa guru was YlnalaElra. Jayusi'^ was succeeded by hia son Vijayasli^ha, last know^^king of this bra ch of tho Kalaourls. Ths inscrll)1>lQnnl Rvidencos go to prove that he could Taintaln his authority over Baghellrhftnd and Dahalamandala upto IPII A.D. But soon he had to svtrrender the northern part of Ba£heUrha3d in K.C,S.961-62 to the Candella kimr* Trallokyavarman Most probably, in circa ISOO A.D. he had to submit hlnei'lf to the Yodava kinj; Si^Thania.^ Nothiac 'aore ie knowi about hl^j nor do m have any idea about his son Mahakuraai^Vljayasl^. 1. The Bheraf^hat inacrlpticai nentions that ciueen Alha^a devl constructfid a tertpla un^ler the nano of Valdyanaiha attached with a nonastery and nade donation for its maintenance. Fi’Oia Alh«i:hnte. inscription we learn that he^erectod a tenple of Ainblka. Ke was Salva and his gunt was Klrttrlaiva. A, 8. Seo, She'>rlnBrpyanB inacriptlon^ 3. S Mimahl, op.cit.. pp.ovil4«vill. 15 0enPnlO'*lORl T«ble Krfnnre.ta (Son) SenknracoM i (Son) Bud'thaw ,1a t (Son) Nnnniwrnla I (Sons) Ve*iQrajR LakfiQ"’xuiai-aJa (Founder of the Crdl feraneh) (Foun'^er of the Iterayupare branch) Oftp, Lfikfa'-BnPirTja I I * (circa.841«42 A.D.) t Kokalla I (C.875 A..D.) 6f»nkamgano I Or '!UGdhGtuiie»,(0,890-910 A*D.) t ^ Balah-^rOT. (Circe .910-915 A.D.) ( YuvarajndeTa I (Circa-915-945 A.D.) t LaksaTannrnJa.(C.94J5-970 A.O.) t ^nkarncana III (Clron~97O-90O A.D.) I YuTBrn.ledQVr II (Clrca-9f^990 A.D.) I OflnKeyBflevfi (Clrca-090-1041 A.D.) ! Laksnlkarnp or K0rna.(ClrCfr*lC^l»lO7r5 A.D.) I Tfisahlcnr^[Cirea-107T'-llS>3 A.D.) t GayS^carna- ( C l r e n llS S -1 1 5 1 A.D.) t Naraelnha- (C.llf)?5-116r5 A.D.) iJayaal!?iha (Clrca-116W1BR A.D.) t Vljayaai-^ (Clrca-IIBO-Iaoo A.D.) : A Jayaal^a. 16 SOCIAL F K The Boolal structure, during the e«rly nedUvral India, was eonelder- > ably chanRCd. 'Hie cafrte systen n a s not rmieh rigid. A s w e observe Tarlous forel€n cultures that InTaded India wera. In course of tl5»e, absorbed by the Indiana* Specially, the Sakas, the Gurjaras and the Hw^s wore assLniileted by the Kasatrlyas through vwrlouB fTRtrlTonlal relatione. Gradually, these forelenere for^-ot their pedigree and legendary orl^'ln, and hence c l n l ’aa d to bolonfT to a particular Ksatrlya clan. Thus the K§atrlya clan multiplied In number and the Hunan were included ationg the thirty^aix Ksatrlya faTilHes of the best blood. Th e K a l a c u r l kinc K s r n a (1*0 belonged to the lunar r^ice> married with pride SralladeTf, a H % a princee and nade her the chief queen. She bo^ a son to hLm n a i w d Yf»ea]^rna vto sueceeded K s r n a . The available epl^.;raphlc and literary sources throw suffioient l i ^ t on the social and relit/ious life of the people durinf: the ^el^n of toe Kalacurls. The Brahraanafl were hltrhly reepectfd in Bociety. They were glTen special patronage by the kinf's. The epigrapho specifically nentianed of the Vedae, s ^ h a a and gotraa o f the BrJIhinane donees. Soae o f the later records of the Kalacurls nention Hgvedins who beloa«?cd to the BahTflcbas.^ They were fairly tvlde spread. They are mentioned In the grants discovered from Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Vindhya Pradesh and Chhattisaearti dlTision of Madhya Prariesh.^ 1. Miraahi, op.cit.. p*290, no.56» 2. Ibid« p.CLJCV. 17 The J^adhyBMdlna, Brnhmf\nsfi of the sukla- Yajurrida^flki^a are not mentioned in the records of ttic Kalaouri branch of Trlpuri l«it they are ’nentloaed in the t’Tpnts dlncorered fron Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra.^ Sl>nllBrly, the Brahmanee of K^na s ^ a of the Ya.inrveda are also rare. - . 2 /. Knlanca, the hoae of Saadilyej--gtra people la riwatloaed in the grant of Karja* Most of the"i belonged to the Saniaveda» The oriHinal horw of "^dhyandinn- sakha. i.e., Takari is i^entioned in the »outhera Kalaouri ^ 5 g r n n t a • It see'’® that the Rgvedins as well as the BiSfenaaas of Sandilyaaotra bolon^in^; to the Snmaveda. were raostl:.' patrtmised by the Kalacto’is of T r i p u r i . BraK’oanas were attracted fro”i far and wide by the southern KalfbouriB and they erdLgrated fro-n Uttar Pradesh and ?fodhya-Bharat. Those who migrated from outaido becme popular with tho nurname of their original place like - 4 ’'^athura, fia£ara etc. The pcrforaer of seer if ices was called as Diksit./ Only the 3ra^'nanes 'naintainod f^acred fire and performed the crha rites. But some of them were holding; high posts like Prime-Mtnister of a state, for instance, 1. I b i d . 2. Ibid..p.268. Tl» place is situated in the Bongara district of north Bangal. 3. Ibid. Most probably, this ▼illaee is identical with the hoiaonyraous ▼iliage in the Gaya district. 4. Sankalia, ’Studios in the HiRtorical and Cultural Geogmphy and E t h n o g r a p h y o f G u j a r a t * B . D . C Jt . I . "^sottoeraph, n o . 3 1 9 4 9 p . ^ 7 . T h e o r i g i n a l p l a c e o f t h e ,'lagarao is s t i l l not clearly known but Sankalia opines that their original place mi^t be Hngpur or Ahichhatra (modem Ramnogar in Utter Pradesh). 5 . M i r a s h i , o p . c l t .. p . U I X V I . 18 the Prl’no-^lnlfitcr of Lsksa'nnnnrR.la II was a Bratunnnft nft'ried SomeRmrB who wB^gulnrly perfomlng Daaapurna'inaa and other s icrlflces. BrohmannR verr known no l^irohlta. Mnhapurahlta etc. They wero otieoum^-'ed to obtain profloioncy In the darsanoa like ^'InanBa, Nyayn, Vedwita etc. They v were allored to bold philopophlcal dlsnurnionR in rciyal coortf?. Some of the Brohiaaa Prt’W-Minlrtcrn like SomewffarB, ^hakarai^ etc. are eulO;:lzed in the Kalc'arl record? for their proflcioticy In the diplomacy and victory in the battle-fields,^ whila in noTe roeorda BrSimanaa are stationed pierely 2 as the prp.eeBtlkams. The second corr'unity was the Kaatriyaa. Their atatus in aociety was high. The Knlncuria claimed thenselvos to be the doacendanta of Kortnrrya Arjuna of the Lunar Race. They had relatione with all the eontenpomry Kny!»5riya8* N Tiz., the Calukynn, Cendellaa, P~las, HaBhti-akutas and GujnrRS. Hi^-h and honourable ponta, isfsre loptly hsld by the Kfatriya but BOfW? of them wer« lesdin^; poecel’ul lil^. 3 third oaate v?nB of the Vaisyaj They w e r o ntrictly e n g a g e d in trade and co’merce** So^e of the villaee® nmed after tho na*ne of t ia con unity, vi?.., vptiin~mf:nra. (the town of the Val^aa)* A frrant froTi the southern Knl^curi region giver ur the rolit'louf5 »et« of a Visynj a marc' ant narnad Vallabhara.la (a feudatory of the Ratanpur 5 Kplaenri) who eonotructed a tof^plo, tank and reared •nfmi’:oe*-provc8. 1« Ibid« no«44. 2 . I b i d . 3. Thery gi-e mentioned afi an expert in calllf?w»p>Qr «nd pryjf^atikara in the records of thp "onthsm ralftcnirie of Ratanpur. See lSto8.9?j,96,97,120. 4. Ibid. Mo.75. 5 . He was faTOwred V the ^uenn lao’^halladeTl, wife of Ratnadeva, Ibid. so.100. 19 The K^aethes y m r f '- nlso nn Influentlel commmlty in society. 1 R 0T»n Stone Inscription of K a m n dated K.C*£.80o nentions n lejgendary orirln of the K^osthn CHSt e . Thin inscription states that a sage naned Kncharo nA:o practised pflnance at Kulnnea was t h e founda* o f this coiramity. In course of ti m e , the K e ^ a s t h a s t o < * active part in admin la tret ion and h e l d h l p h ponts like that of a Frlmo-MinlRter. Oollaka the descendant of K ? ^ p p t h a f a n l l y i*aB t h e Prlme-Minlatpr of Yuvarojadeva I* H© was o r t h o d o x and caunc to cpnre the Impgop of vnrloue IncarnetlonB of viz*, Ilatsya, Xuma, Var^a end BalarnTna ate* cmt of the hue’e rodcs at Bandhogarh. Sornesvare served hla king: as a dlploiat nnd r . p the conriander in the battle field. The ■^p.tavj'a fanlly is alao iRntlnned in the r»!CordB of the souths m Kalacurla. Oovlnda, a member of the VSTstavya fafnily mlGrRtod fr^^i the Cedl- jnandoJ^ to Chhattisn^arti whosf sons viz*, Ratnnsl^hn and ttevaf^ai^i wBX*e fmous pragastUrara^ The lo^r oastw like Butradhara are ©cc«sionnlly "nentioned* Honever, an untouchable like Devnpala of the MocT ciate is ^ncatloned In the later r'-eordr. He constructed a tenple of Sai^ynna at Khala'^tlka (Khalari) i^ the Kalpur distriet* It Indicates his soun^ financial position and inclinatins towards relltjifai. 1* ‘''iraphl, o p . c l t >. n o * 5 l * S. See, f.n.5. 20 The position of wonen was hl^. Polyga-ny was in as eridenced fro»n the epij^phlc nnd literary soureen. tor in^ance, YumrRjadeva I married aeyeml prinoo5?ge8 from dintant countries. O^geyadeva had hundr v! v^ives. AcoordlnK to the Khairaha and Jabalpur platoa, all the hundred wives imolated t^’s^selven on the funeml pyre of the kini;. Mention nay be ns.<*m of another Inntnnce whoro a p r i n c e nw jod Ulhnnadeva died in a firht wit^ kinf: JeyePl'^ of T r ip a r i and his thr^e wiTos p»rtorrne6 Sntl. The Sati miston was prevalwit ia society, though Sheorinarajn . inncriptitmB suggnst that it was not oblii:atory,^ Re find sorae oTidencf? of the downcer queens who helped in the artiinintration, e.g. the latpr Kalcuri reeorda BWitioff, the help of notable iueens Alha^aderl and Cosnladorl in the administraticai.® 1. W l r a P h i , o p . e i t .. p . C J J O X . 2. Ibid. Mos.60,69. 2 1 R£L1010» The tendency of pMrfomlag Vedic eacrif Ices neem to have ▼anished frwn nocl«ty aft r the sixth century AJ). But the Puiralc Hinduim wna naklng a groRtor headway since ^uite vnrlier tl’aen. SeTertsl gods of the Brahmanlc faiths, i.e., Brahma, Vienu, ''aheSa, Ganesa, and K^ttikeya «tt»*.infid importance and sectarian ctlts were eainlnf, popularity. The RTailnble epipraphic and nufnismatic data enable us to undemtend the 5?pr©pd of diffeiwt nectarian culta. The teniples and sereral donations to Vicju and Siva prore their ijsportanee durinf; mediaeval India. However, Sira frained pupport of the rulers and heco?ne prevalent in society. The earlier Kalaouri rulers were ardmt Sniva. It is anphasized by ti.eir titles like Para’na-n^eyvara etc. They -nifht have constructod tenplefl for their irta-devata but the arohiteeturel re-:nnins are not nvnilable now. The Jnajor pods of the Hindu trinity, viz., Brahne, Virau and Kudra were highly prAised in the Karitalai inscription of the Kalaouris of Tripuri. It indicates the eclectic apirit of the age. Thouefc, the teinples dediC'itrd to Brah'TW are not available nerertholess, we find nuneroua B u b s i d i p r y irriBges in v n r i o n e t e m p l e s o f t h e C e d i - c o u n t r y . H o w v e r , n o r t to Siva, Vij^u see-ns to be a popul»*r god, for instfinee, the ">afltya of 1. The sraittp saerlfic-^s ^rere rarelv pflrfnmed but the rites, such as tivR p^Cfij^h"ya jnns trere in vopue eraoofc' the flTOinsnBB as evident from the earlier K^lacvori g;imnts. 22 Yuvarajftdevn I nuned Ooll^kn epusefl the figuraa of th® vnrloua inenrjwtionii of Vlgnu like the ’!at8y«, Kurnw, V«raho, Bolaiwna, Para^i^a o«rv©d out nlonf;v;ith a hURe of iSeenSByin Vinju nt Bflnrthogarh.* ^ Th© Brpbnana •nlnlster Some^ora used to perform Yedie 80c r l f l c «8 qnd he erected a huge temple of Vnraha - Vls^u In the nwie of £>onia»va”iin nt Karltalai (Jabalpur district)* Not only th© oomon people but also the kinj s like Lakse’nanarajn made donations to the Brahnnnns. His ;^ueen P.ohajs and aon Snnkaragnnn III nade donatlnna to the temple of Vl.^u. Bulldla(; of a tenrple and nakiag donations by a ai^lTlto king augcepts his liberal attitude. The prince Sankaraxana is sqid to be a p^ra’na-VaiRiyava« He built a tenple of Sankaranar^ana at Barai^aon which spMvia to be ^uite contrary to the Kalacuri trac’itions* Mention !nay b e raa (Remi) which tms eonptructed by a CTes^in. Da-nodara* The figure of Gaja-Laka'nl on the Kalacuri coins indicfjte their deT<^tional outl;>ok towwrds Visju. Inspite of all this evidences mentioned ahoTo, the ^iTis*n boca^e para"»unt relifTlon in the country of l^nla. It was actiVBly patronized by almost all the kin{« of the Kalacuri dynasty till the down fall of their r e i g n . 1. The author could not visit the place because of certain conditions made by th© Maharaja of Rewa, but wpp able to obs«rve a photograph of It at the A!«ericen A e n d e w Banaras. See, A.A.B., Neg. No#59.E4. 23 IXirlng the perlcxj <>lrCB flth - 12th century A.D., sslviBm moelred trefnendous support ftwi tho Kalneurl kint:B nn Xcan»aB tpt Bpeelal patronage of the kings. Right frcwi Yuvarajadera I until the end of the rei^ of tho Kelacuri kine VlJej'nsli^R, we find e long llpt of the SftiYa Rajafrms.^ Theee Raja«urus played significait role in the field of art and architecture. They were also spiritual preceptors of the conti'^npoTP.ry klnpR. Yuwarajndera I icns an ar<1ent cnivn, he Invited the snlva XcBrj^wP of — <^8 the Mattft’iaj'ur^cn tTon f®r and wide plnces to hie country and oonktvucted negnlficent rbItb temples and monactRries at Gurgi« Mahsaun, Chandrehe, BlUiari, Rheraffiat etc. His spiritual tvavi yma PrabhnVRPIva who is mentioned in both the Chandrehe and tturel inscriptions. He belonged to the — dL — c ,v ^atta"wyura fan. Tlie ^falkapuran inscription of the K^atlya king Hudradera states that Yuvarajadeve riade nunlflcmt grant of thz^ lakhs of ylllagee of the Dahala~/Tandr 1. A list will be given at the end of the chapter. This llrt Is prepared on the basis of available Inscriptions discovered so far fron various parts of the eoitntry. The list is based on spiritual pedigree, i.e.. Guru and sisya traditions not as the fnther and the son. S. Purendara was the fifth Xcarya of the '1ntta?wyura^n. TTie I^^nod Inserip- tlon (former Owallor State) states that king Avantlvnman was Intlated by Purandara to the salva faith. Later on, Purondara built a ^thji at Mattamayurs town and et Ranod. On the basis of the re'saina of the Hindu Tionastery, Mlreshl has Identified tho town with Kfjdw»ha near Terahl and 'ahuft. But Pathak has opjiosed the view and he has located the city of ’»attaJ»yura,(the capital of Avantlvaman) In the Rofctak region. See, Pe thftke , V .S . .S . C . N . 1 . I960, pp .K > 3 4 . 3. Rfldheysharan. Itlh^a AnugilcnR.l.Pt.I,p«95. R# f>A«H« gy iv,pp.l57 ff.olro, RadheyshaTana, op9lt..p.95» 24 Jilxty-four Toglnl te^iple at Bharnghatji* ITora the Gurgi Inflcriptlon of KnkalledoTn, we l«nrn that YuvRrSsJadera built a lofty to’^l e like -nouat KallS^ *tt Gur^l* Tha height of the to'ipls can be deduced cm the basis of Its toranadverB^and a hxige "lloeaaaiurti of liara-Gaurl which neaflures 5.97 -tetres in height and 1.63 netree in brendth. CUnnln£;ha’n ^h«0 con.feetured that the t«nple i^ere this huge Inint'e was eashriaed, "light heT* 5 been 100, (30 nts.) In heiirht* Banfirjl says that the height of the te^nple ■met hpve beon 150 feet (about 4S •netres) fro?a the ground level. This lofty te"»ple waP nituated on the northern side of a te-iple ereotf)d by Aearya PraBnnta^lTp,• Hadheysharpna^ opinions that the circular ^arbhaf^rha type of Baira t«riplf>B is indicenous conception of Prabhavasiva and his dcsciples. The tenplos at 'faheaw and at Cbandrehe are u::ii.iue exa-nples of the Kalpcuri 5 style of the te*nple architecture• Banerji called it a Cedi - style. YuTaraJndeva’s queen NohalndevI was also a saiTa and she dOReted -nany* ▼illagen to the saiva •aonartory. The eon and successor of YUTaraJadeTa I narjed Laksa-nanareja paid "tuch r»ispeet to the ftklm /Tcaryne. His spiritual Bosiden hin, he patronised other KcaTyHtt, Ti7.», iijCdayasiva, who?a he called from 'tadhivneti and appointed hlu as an incharge of the Vaidyanatha and NftUhalePvera "tathas. Hrtdeyealra’s diaclple Aghorasiva was ap. olnted later on the Incharf^e of the Hauhalesvara- mntha. 1. The torana^^vara is nor ^o-innt®llod in front of Rewa- Palace. See, the descriptions M this w>ric. &vu p/^ . 8. Ounnlf^ha"?, A..A.S.I. X3tl,p.l52. 3, Baner.li, op.eit»,p«43. 4. ‘‘adheyaharana, p»cit>« p«97. 5* Baner.H, op.cit.. p*45. 25 Sunksragunn, the son and etuooen*or of LakfemaT^srKja, waR e Valajava; he ruled for o Tery Bbnrt But his non yuTar«i«deva II ims an ardent snlTR. Hie spiritual tauru was, probably, Vejteeambhu. KcAalladeTR II m s a l s o a s a i T a aad hla spiritual preceptor waa VimalnRlTa nAio was eucoeeded by Vaatu^ivi; the s p i r i t u a l f w d o f k i n g CangeyadeTa. The illustrlcmB king* Karn^’s spiritual preceptor nias itudraPiva.^ The s p i r i t u a l guru o f kin*?; YF.^hkfiT-na t o p JPuru|nfiiTa and h i s disciple Sakti^ira waa preceptor of Gayakarna. KirtisiTa, the disciple of Saktifliva W B the spiritual preceptor of kine Narast-nhadera. Accord lag to the Jabalpur inscription, ViwelRsiva^ ires the laPt preceptor of the Kalncuri kin^ Jayasimhn* It sco^s that for BO'ietL’ie he vtve the puru of •Jax^ei’nhadara also* The Kal.' curi inserfptiona proride ub a tm s fair glimpsee of thn life of ^ earyas * %o f i n d a b i g iimealogy of t h e jfeeryag ninnin<^ from YuTarnjadera I till to the fall of the Kalacuri dj'napty* These Acaryas are so indicate thiat they were attmctod and called by the rulern to tbe e-pital. S o m e o f t h e Ka.jpf:airus are n e n t i o n e d aricne t h e r o y a l offie rr w h o r o o e i v e d the jTsnts of the Tillaiiep, lands etc. T».fy are cofa unicsted by the copperplates and charters. For inntance, if the lalkapuraT innerUption contains the fectn, then one- third of the total revenue of iJ^ala- ■narn^alp wap golhg to the natha only. Mention may be made of the Gurgi and Bilhari inncriptlonR lohere the donations of the villages^ are recorded for 1. The Jabalpur inecrlption of Viraalasivp., h.I..yKV,pp*3C rf.,nad Jr*athak, V.ti.»o p . c l t *» p . 50* g. H e hailed from the Keral country. 3. Miraf?hi, op.eit*. P*6^» and p.CLVIl. 4. Pantul8l,I-.J. J.^iH£.IV. pp.l47-54. The Kalacuri inscripticns "lention Vyakhy^al^lns lleflfture halls), sattras (Charitable feeding houses) and gardens with which thn Tiathas were prorided. See*, ffiraahi, op.clt.« no.6C* 26 e the r5Blnt«nanee of th« nonn'terisR nnd teiflpleB only. Frcm the Chand:i^« inscription w« .1187, howwrsr, preauaa th«jt the life of the ^oaryaB was ^ulte poBCcful th»?y were glTna all ROrte of helps to perform their »i]^"terltios in the •ion>;pt«rlPS* ‘"tostly, t,he nonsBt^ries were buill oa a b^nk of e rlvfir or sonntlnos, were t>rovl ye do not hnve n detr.llpd infor^r tlon nbout tho rif.intenence of the ’^onnrtfiTifiP m The ffilk"T>urr'fi Inscription inforin us tJipt vine^araSi^-ib’u adopted prno nerruros for •^nintenQnce of thr conf:titutod the villi5£efl into p.n sCTah&ra and estsbliRh^td a natha. Satralaya (Charitable fRftdint: houpe), Irog”»gale {hospital), Prssntis^lg (natnmity hone), and p col^wgre for teaching aeverpl branchep of Snnrkrlt. Ko appointed, a ^•?yp!^tha (op an accountant), a phyelelan, and also a group of ten persone ae pT!^agyp.rpV~gikah bearing the appellation \^rabhadrag. They were pemitted to perform punlsh’?ent.«» for perious of fencer. The mthaB a n d 3atr?ilayap were providet^ v^ith six brah^annB for Reverel duties. Other fncllltioa like the staff of bhrttnh (penne) were known as VlraraMShtis were alRO given to the vlllaf:c nnd nathas. -ientlon siay be Tarie of artisan clanr h«aded by an sthasati and a group of dancers, singers and nuniciana for ppch afyah"ra. The rulera an^ ^ualificptiona for the nbore appoint"irnt of the v^riouF oortr were also fixed. The incofw of the at^ahara wap donated to the ’nonnst^rles and on account of the danotionr, the ;^lra Rcaryas were perfominfi penance for the welfnre of the people• The Bilhnri Inscription Ptetes thnt king Laksna^araja II marched from Tripurl to Sonwnjtha Pattan with M s whole amoury and vrorshlpped iJomanatha* H© offered a i^oldcn «erpent (Kallya-VaKal, to the god ifeich 27 waB obtnlaed by him frwti ths king o t O r i s s a * ^ During the reign of Vlnp, Kur^a •niiny rellKlous buildings, tentples and ’non««terl©fl -were built, for infitance, a lofty testpla at Banams knoim as Karonafieru and a ghata at Prayagu called Karnatirtha still sunrlre the n o n e s * -ioat of the farwaa ta^plef wore built durla<5 his period. Tha temples nt Soha^pur, trlnyntan temple of Karna at Anarkantakf etc., en^ignad to his period. Apart fron the Icin^^a, high officials like ninifsters and the cora-'xm people nlflo played slenlficnnt role in constructing the temples and othar 2 rallf-lowe r«mu"!fnts ebcminf' the aeoularism of the stats. Mention nwy be made of a Ke^astha A'latya of YuvaraJadeTa I who converted lilmself to the Salva faith without any propsure of hla lord and VapuUa, (cme of the generals of the king K a r y i ) built a panciyatana tenple of Lak^mr- Naraya^a.® The JalnlPn * and Buddhien''^flourished aimiltaneously wtlth the Hrah’iealcol faiths. A number of images of the Jaina tIrtUaikaraa and a few 3uddhiat iraaiien aro diaoovured fx*on the entire jpogltm #iich coafizia the view. At Seranath, ?amakc (the wifo «f ilharmesTara, a foUovser ofi-Ue- ’ -od on the order of the venerable nonks of the iahabodhi iahabihara. 1. MiraPhi, op.cit.. p.OiX. 2, The SheorlnRra.yan . inscription nentl<*aa ttiat a loci (anoe-naker) bull« a magnificent torgjle of Vif^u. a. HeTTQ Stono Inacrlption of Kar^. K.G.E.800. 4. The i-aagos of tTrthamkams, and other finale deities are presnrved in Dhubela and Allahabad hiseuris. A of tiH^^amkara is 8till preaerved in a small ahrlno at ich Tsas inntalled by a J:amnnta of Gay^nrna. 5. The accoijnt of iafor!aa us that t)^ere were ■noi e t h a n hmdrad *3UddhiBt -lonHetnrlns enO nbout 10,000 BretliTcn, all ‘fnhayanlets, near the capital of Sout.^am Koasla. See., \^attera,T., o.y.c, I l , p . 2 0 0 . 28 of the Knlneuri to the BrSti’nwi^aB sore rtad® on saez^d tithle. on the occnslon of Sradha^ oer«non>-* The tlthjg were follovdng lunnr eclipse, while s M ention n a y be rande o f a gmnt which W 9 S m a d e on Y u ^ d l ( H e w year dny) • No grant Is fnwnd on the oocanlon of a nolar eolipse. The el^to cult w n a n ln n flourishing In the country as evident by the dlsooT»ry of Tprlous eektj IfiRges which w ill, hore'srer, be dlscuosed in the chapter r»n Iconotrraphy. 1« ?'lrashl, op.eit«« no«4B, s • t »so • 29 c u l t u r a l G:b;OGRAPHY The difitrlbiJtion of the ^onu-^ribs, inRorlpttons nnd diffflrent places U R n t l o n e d t h e r e i n , p r o v e t h a t t h e Kelftcvirifl o f T r i p u r i niiPt h « v e r u l e d o v e r n larpp e-npi’ e. But this bl^ empire was n^^lther n&-uir»d bjr one kinijj^r it was the nchlevf'-ient of aln^'le oonpolgn. Mo doubt, the illuj=!trlou8 kioi^iS like GanfiPyadeva and Laknnikarna riDde extensive conquestB and thus th extended thn baindar;' of their onptr-e. However, eo"iotlmefs, v.'oaic •wmnrchs hnd pRcended the throne and loftt n few ports of the! r territory and even could lot protect thentselves fron the invndere. Some of the monnrnentr are only a part of the I'lorious religious and civic nonunents of the* Isrt'e king dom of the Kalacuris. These nonu'^nts Cive the approximate idiw of their firtld of cultural activities vhich enable us to detemin»’ their territnrial boundary. The northnm boundary of their territory night be the lo»/er course cf the river Gen^rp, i.e., fron Allahabad to BaaaraP as indie?t^’d in the inscriptions of Karna.^ The places mentioned in the inpcriptions are Prp.yaKa» Kusuraba pat tala (S.au4aiitbf) and Candapgha (Chanpaha) in the A l l a h a b a d district, Sn:sT (SursT) in Mirzapur district, Samath, Karna^^tianta in the Bi^naraf? district. i The aouthom bonndaiTr w i p probably tdie upper courr,o of tho river Nnrrada, I.e., fron Annrkantek in the S^Phdol district to the foot of ?haij)[rer hill (Jabalpur dif'trict).^ The >nonunentK and tho pl«, es mentioned in their records are at Anarkantak, Soha#?pur, Maribaph, Karaslnhapur and Dhp.yhar etc.,Baregaon in the ?!andala district, Bherat^lwt, Gopalpur and ToiTttr in t h e J a b a l t m r d i s t r i c t . 1. Sflrashl, op.clt.. nos.48,50. S. Radheyaharaa, J »p«^7. 30 The western as -Mell an north-wsetern boundair ^ 7 be approximately determined from the valleyp of the rlrors Sonnr and Bearam as eonflrmed by the •nona-ncnts diseoTerRd at Mohata, Abhena in the Datnoh district and further north »lonf?with the lower pert of the P a n m rsn Ywiima' valley n>^ar Kosa’a*^ Apart c from the nonunents found in the region, the inscriptions discovpred nt ieritonnt LnlpahaV'(Satna dlRtrict), Chhoti- Deorl (Jabalpur dlRtrlct) and the places ??»ntioned therein deter«fiine the bounrtnry on the went and the north-weat side. The boundpry in the east and the pouth-east lies at the north spur of Amarkantak frmi Gheghra to Deoga^h alonf;M.th the river Gopat ftT>n its orifrin to confluence viith the 2 river Son, in the north-east direction upto Baaaras* The rivers Son and Karvmace night be «ie Innt boundary towards the above amtioned m an^ direction.' The ’^numpiits and InBcriptlons-i^d- diacoverod at Chandrehe (Sidhl dlptrict) Surni (Mirzapur district) as well ae Sampth in Banaras d i s t r i c t . On the north-east, the river K a m m e e a seems to be the final bwindary ’Bhich was occupied dtirinc the reign of GMgeyadeva and Karna. The geoeraphlcnl li'nltn of the Kalacurl klnedorn thus ran^e approxinotely fron Rr®.30 North to fforth latitude and betv«en 4 79®,aO* East and a:^^00» East longitude. F t o b i the abnve aTjproxlmiste boun-^pry of the Kalaciirl onplre, we may presu:iably say that thsJr influence ranged from the capital Tripuri 1. Ibid. g. Itedheyshama, op.clt.. p.48. 3 . I b i d . 4. I b i d . 31 (in the POuth-t.-ent) to Banaran and Mirznptir (da the north-ep.st) and frcwi Amnrkantnk to the ran^jo In the eouth* The river Ganga was the boun. Thtis, the length of thetr territnry, from eact to the west ms teast about 360 krm. and the width i.e ., from north to the f?outh was about 5J^ The T*ole e^ire rnay be divided into three nata»ml divisions, i.e., (l)The Ganf»tic valley, (?’)Th© ?fBrmadn valley and (?5)The hilly arene. Gnnnetlo Valley T h e r i v e r Gnntm "ind ita tribntaries^ like the river? Ya’«inn, T^na, Kprranera dT¥>ln the northern psrt which war the lower platonu of the Kf'lacis’'i kint'!®OT. The land ir. Tiort fertile and thickly populf'ted. The inportnnt plncop of the nonn”«nta and inscriptions are Sornath, l^mathanta (Banaras district), Sursi (??iraapur dintrict), Goharavm Pabhosa, Prayat;® (Allahabad district), Alha^ifct, Lalpahar etc. (Setna district). (P) ?^ar^da Valley I M b valley ie a narrow strip -<"on0d by the ^lar^da aid its tributai'ie like Hiran etc., ir^.he aoath-woatem oart of the Kalncitri wnpire. It is co'nparatively leap fertile than the Oanf.;etic valley. But it >i«d alirays been the repion of c«ntr^l nnvrer or had the c??T>ital Tripuri. It has older alluvium depoaita ribieh Ir. blacViPh, ati.oVy end fine grainod. It is bounded by the escarps of Phantwr rpnr,e in the north-ennt and by Satpura hilla in the Tripurl, Bhera^hnt, Oci>alpar, 3ahui-lbanf3, Bilhari, S i h o r a e t c . a r e t h e i n p o r t ^ n t pl'icefl in t h i e v a l l e y . 1. Ibid. g. Fadheyaharan, op.clt., p«51. 32 ^3) Hilly Arens HRlor psrt of the Krlpeurl kinedom vap ccnrerefl by the hills. Thoy sprof’fl fro^ the enRt to the west. Tltree jjrominent pairts of the hills be ’nehtloned ap follows; (A) The wentsrfl rso^os of the Viad?c ?is, (B) The Kastorn Viadhyas and t!« upper Son Valley, (G) T h e aouth-enrtem ranges of the Satpiiro Rn a t h e Iffl^or S o n Vell«;’'Jl (A) T h e W e s t m Reni.:eg of t h e Vladhyas These rm£fep «ro sonth-epptfira esc«rp lente of the plote»ai. It starts t r f n n e a r the confluence of the river HtT«n with the rlr^r Nernndfi, runnln#: tovj>?rdP the north-epst nnd borders the courses of the rlvt>rs Hlran, Kntanni, Mahandl. Towards the north^went of the plateau low hills are oxlstlng. The POUth-VfeRtem feces are covered with the Ehnnrer ranse upto Chhotl-Deori, Kinrntaln-Deorl (Jabalpur district) and Mohata, Ibhana (Damoh district), are the I’nportent places In the western parts of the Vlndhyas. (3) The £estcm Yindhyae and the upper Son Valley. In the eF«atom i^arts, the VindJiyas escnrp'nentR hf>rd«r the Son valley in the north and run parallel to it. On the north It is under lain by the aandstone rocks. Deodaha (a h,illy tract near Gur^'i) eontnins fine sandstone t^lch w p s probably aeleeted by the Kalacuri artists for tbelr 1. Padheysharan, op.cit.. p.52. 33 S’ tJrtie skills. The important plncss, in the north of Son are Ourgl, Mfihsau-i, Khajuhn, Rarngnon, Rehuta, Mnrni, Bal.inntha and Deotalao etc. In south of Son Is Chanflrehe, o r the confluence of the river Son and its tributary Bnnss in the Siflhi rtis?trlct. (C) The Si^h-Eastem rnness of Sntpura and the lo^7er ______Son Valley______ It extends fron vrast to the e n r t nlonfc the Namada valley throuchout Its leneth upto Jabalpur. Several river valleys and bills are found b- t v ^ n Anorkantek and Jabalpur. Tv/o rivnrs Nar'iada and Johilla tr&verne their upper courses frivn the spurs of Amnrkantak. Subse^iuently, the rivPT takas a v'estem course, tJi lie the river Johilla tpkes a north-ear-trm course to join the river Son. The prospect of the settled life in t’lis area is neaero. The fore 't ahoun<^n In the Sel nnd Teak treas. The nonunents are noptly found slon(* the lorer course of the river Son in the east of the Arnnrkantak escarp. The dense ffyost ml^t have had BO'ne n a t u r a l r c « t e s o f cofrntmic'^^titin f r n m T r i p u r i t o ArK^rkantak. T h e important pl-'ces cf the Kalnoiri monunjents are Sohafi?)ur, Antara, Sighpur, Bandhogerh and Amarkantak etc. 34 l^lTa Xenryaa of the Matt«rnnyura elan. Kadanbaf-uhadhlTrasln t Sankbamthlkadhipatl t T e m n b i p ^ a ! ]&Ki rdakat Irthane tha (alias Rudraslva) ! P u r a n d a r a (alias Mattaisaym^'iatha) : : : : K a T a e n s i r a Cluirainei^iibtm t t S a d a s l T a dadaslTa : t HrJdaya^lTa P u r a n d a r a • (alias Madhonateya) V y o m a s l T B : Cudefliva Pata^'ai^bhu : HyylaynslTs PrabhasiTa ^ : A^'horaslra Prafl^taaiTa s Isanaeambhu Prabodhasixra 1. Vlrashi, op.eit.. p J 2 W f^