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Chapter On«

THE PR^,SFNT AND ANCIF-NT BOUNUARIF.S OF KADHYAPRADKSH The word ^^.adhyapr&desh Itself connotes that the

region is in the midst of . It is bounded by iJihar

and Orissa on the east, Khandesh and a part of Central

India on the west. Central India, on the north and the

GodSvari and the PaingangS on the south.

Originally the region was not called Madhyapradesh.

It is a cluster of different states and was never ruled

by one king. Kodern Madhyapradesh was shaped after the

advent of the British regime. Today a considerable

portion of the country, lying between the laardhff, T5pi and the PaingaAgS is called .

”The Madhyapradesh excluding the districts of

Sagar and that is below the NarmadS was included

in * Dakshinfipatha^. * Dakshii^Spatha* covered the coun> tries between the NariRadS and the K^fnS. This term was thus applied in the centuries preceding and infflediately following the Christian era."

The Aitareya Brfifunaijia describes Bhima, the king of Vidarbha. The region is mentioned in the Jalminlya 3 4 Upanisad BrShmana. The Brhadlranvaka Upanlsad mentions.

^ Kane, P .V ., JASB XXIV, 621. 2 V II.34. 5 11.440. ^ Vedic Index. 11.297. a sage named Vldarbhl Kaundinya. This name is appa­ rently derived from the city of Kundina, the capital of

Vidarbha. The Praanopanli^d ^ refers to a sage of

Vidarbha named fihSrgava as a contemporary of A^valSyana.

The Nasik cave inscription of VSsi^^hiputra Pulumfivi mentions Vidarbha. This is perhaps the earliest epi- graphical reference to Vidarbha.

6 The KahlbhSrata describes it, as an ancient and renowned kingdom in the Deccan with Kun^ina on the banks of the Varadfi as its capital.

7 "Vidarbha was one of the most ancient renowned kingdoms. It comprised the valley of the Payo^nl, the modern PurnSi and the middle portion of the TSpI. It corresponded to the western part of the modern Berar and the valley country west of that.”

B h P J a

The Aitareva Drfihmana mentions . The Matsya

Purina^ tells us that they were the kindreds of the

5 1 .1 ., I I . 1. ^ III 57.17. 7 Ma^rkandeya. 57.47*. Pargiter, F.E., Bib. Ind.,

® V III.14. 9 Matsva. U .3 6 ; V8vu. 95.35.36. southern realm of Vidarbha. We have evidence of a closer connection between the Bhojas and the Vidarbha.

A place named Bhojakata is included within this country, by the Harivamea.^^ The Chammak grant of the VSkl^aka king Pravarasena II makes it clear that the Bhojakata Amravati territory included, the .fioxoBCXtxic district in Berar, a part of ancient Vidarbha.' The Bhojas are mentioned in 11 12 the Asokan inscriptions. The BhSrhut Stupa has an inscription commemorating a donation from a nun of

Bhojakata. KSlidfisa in his Raghuvamsa^^ calls the king of Vidarbha a .

Nimar and the adjoining part of the district were 14 included in the ancient . The PurSnas style the first dynasty of the country as Haihaya.^^ The Kaihayas are said to have overthrown the NIgas, the aboriginal 16 inhabitants of the NannadS region. In the fourth century B.C. Avanti formed an integral part of the

Magadhan Empire.

Vi^nup^rva, 60.32 Hultssch, CII I. 44. Cunnigham, BhSrhut Stupa. 123. 13 V .39-40.

The Ajge of Imperial Unity. 13* 15 Katsya 43.^.29 U , n i l , 8fi4.85; Bom. Gag.. 1.2.313, etc. The southern portion of the ancient Chedi com- Jabfelpur Segar prised the -TiiKKi.i ^nd Saufjor districts. The Chedis were one of the most ancient tribes of India* The country of the Chedis corresponded roughly to the modern

bundelkhand and some adjoining parts of Madhyapradesh.

17 The Chedi people are mentioned in the Rigveda. In the mediaeval period, the southern frontiers of Chedi extended to the banks of Namadfi.

The remaining portion of the province was occupied by the non-Aryan tribes such as the ^abaras, Pulindas,

Andhras, etc. The Sabaras inhabited in the south-east 19 portion of the district of Raipur. The Pulindas in- 20 habited the Man^lfi region. The Pfirindas mentioned in the Asokan edicts were identified by Biihler with the 21 Pulindas. They also occur in the Katsya and VSvu 22 Puranas. The kings 23 exercised suserainty over the Jungle tribes, inhabiting the Aiaarakantaka ranges.

5 . 3f 7 . 3 9 . ^^Ait.Br..' VII.Ifi.

^^JASB LIX, 1890.289.

^°Hultasch, CII I, 2 3 .

^Wtsya. 114.48. ^^VSvu. 55.126. ^^Kurrna, 11.39.9; VSvu. 77.4.13* In th« Vtk&taka period the region encircling

Kandla was called 'Mekala*. The Vindhya is also known

by this name. The river NarmadS is called ^Mekala-

kanyl», as it rises from this region. The word <>;ekala» first q e c w in the inscription of Prithviseija 11.^^

The Chhattisgadh area is called **. This

»Kosala» is to the south of ancient »Kosala». The

*Kosala* which is mentioned in Balaghat plates of

PrithTisena II comprised the Raipur, Bilaspur and Saabal- pur region.

The Asokan edicts refer to the Bhojas and Pulindas but they do not mention any king of this area.

The Rupanatha edict indicates that A ^k a 's empire embraced the northern part of the province vis. the ;^egar Jabalpur Migax and ibdiitstkinHt districts.

After the Kaurya rule the ^uhgas claimed the 25 suzerainty over **ldarbha. The MglavikSgnimitram refers to Tajnasena as a king of Vidarbha.

We have no evidence of the Indo-Greeks in Madhya- pradesh.

^ 9, 271.

MaiavikSgnimitram. V.13. In the early part of the second century A .D., the SStavShana sovereign ruler Gautamlputra Satakarni held sway over the country. Ke Is described as the lord of the Vindhya. The Junagarh inscription of

Rudradfiman dated A.D. 150 records the victory of Rudra- daman over S&takarni, the lord of DaksinSpatha, who was also a lord of Vidarbha.

Ive have no records of the SStavShanas from this area, but coins issued by the kings, SStakar^i, PulumSvi,

Tajna SStakarni and Krsna Sfitakarni have been discovered in the Chanda district* A hoard of £>Itavahana coins was discovered at Tarhala near Mangrula In the Akola 26 district. They bear the names of SStakarni, PulumSvi, l^ivasri Pulumavi, Skanda SStakarni, Yajna SStakarni,

Kumbha Sfitakarni, Krsna SStakarni, ^aka SStakarni. The successors of Tajna Sfitakarni nif^t have extended the

Sfitavfihana empire in the eastern Madhyapradesh. Accord­ ing to Nasik Prasasti, it seems that Gautamiputra held direct sway over Vidarbha and a nominal suzerainty over the remaining part of Madhyapradesh. A copper coin of the king ^ivasri Xpll&ka discovered in Chhattisgadh possibly indicates that ’ iiaksina Kosala* was once under the Sfitavfihana kings.

26 JNSI 11.63. Khgravela

27 Khfiravela was the contemporary of Sltakarnl 1.

He subdued the Bhojakas. The Gunji rock inscription refers to the reign of the illustrious KujD&raTaradatta •

The characters of the inscription are BrShmi, resembling in a general way to those of the Kasik inscription of

UshavadSta. This is the earliest inscription of the region mentioning a royal name, found in .

But it laentions neither the family nor any ancestors of the king Kum&ravaradatta.

The Guptas

Samudragupta conquered the *AtavlrSJyas* i.e . the hilly tracts of the Vindhyas. He also defeated king llahendra of Kosala. The Eran stone inscription men> Sagar tione ancient F.riki^a. The and Jabalpur region was under the rule of Samudragupta Frabhfivatiguptfi, the daughter of Chandragupta II was married to the VSkl^aka king Rudrasena II.

The VSka^akas

The VSkStakas were the most important power in

27 ' El IX, 71. 8

Kadhyapradesh. Their copper plates supply us with some details about the political and cultural history, administra­ tive units and officers, names of places and Brfihmanas with their gotras and Vedic sakhSs. There were sixteen rulers of the two branches of the VSkS^akas. From the adninistrative units and places mentioned in the epigraphs, it seems that Amravfiti the districts of ikD090!b6r, ^ardha, Nagpur, Chindwada, Balaghat Betul and oacktoxk were included in the dominion of the Vfikla^akas.

One of the records has been found at Nachna in Bundclakhand division, and the other at Ganja, in the same region. It is evident that the VSkfi^akas extended their eiapire ov«r this tract.

Pravarasena I is described as Samrat. Karendrasena*s command is said to have been honoured by the kinie cf Kosala

Kekala and KSlava.

The charter of Vindhya^akti XI issued from Vatsagulraa records the grant of a village in the region of Nftndikata, wf-ich has been identified with Nanded in KiarathawS^a region.

It seems that the dominion of Vindhya^akti cotr.prised the couthex*n frin.^e of Eerar and the northern districts of KarB^ha*

-wSdl, probably with some of the adjoining regions. Harife^^a

\fbo belonged to Bsslm branch of the VSkStakas w&c one of the most powerful rulers of the age. He defeated the kings of

^untala, Avanti, TTosala, Triknta and I.ata.

The VSka^akas were the lovers of learning and patrons of art and literature. The celebrated *Vaidarbhi riti* flourished at the coiirt

The VlkStakas ruled froa about the middle of the third to

about the middle of the sixth century, A.JD.

Deotek inscription 26 is the only lithic record of this

family. Some of the letters of this inscription resetuble

in many cases to those of the Girnar edicts of Asoka.

'itie tarabhapurlyas

The Sarabhapuriyas ruled in the.closinr decades of the fifth century to the third quarter of the sixth century. We have nine copper plates of these kings. There were seven rulers. South Kosala was under the snay of the Sarabhapur kings.

The Panduvaritiis

After the Sarabhapur kinrs, the PSnduvam^is became the lords of Daksina-Kosala. PSnduvamsi Tlvara was ccmtenporary of the Visnukun^in king Madhavavarraan (A.D. Tlvara was succeeded by his brother, Chandragupta. The son and suc­ cessor of Chandragupta was Hars igupta.

About eleven records of this dynasty have benri found so far. The inscription of I^Snadeva is the earliest Pg^^uvamsi

W O V I I I . 619. 10 record in South Kosala. It seems that the PBjgi^uvauisis ruled parts of Central India. Nanna and llvara con;^uered

;^outh Kosala.

Xlvara was called *Kosaladhipati^. The Ualas subdued the PSn^uvamsis of ^uth Kosala. Hothing definite is known about the end of the dynasty and its exact r«^Iation with the later Somavameis of Kosala who flourished in the tenth century.

The PS^duvamsia of Mekala governed hekala about the fifth century. These rulers were the subordinate allies of the

V&kStaka king Narendrasena.

The Parivr&.1akas

The Parivrajaka ^(ahSr&Jas ruled in i^delkliand. ihe Uchchakalpas

Contiguous to the ParivrSjaka kingdom was another prin­ cipality with Uchchakalpa as the capital. Jayanath’ s ^rant aoes not contain any reference to the Gupta soverai|>aty; perhaps by a .U. 493 he had ceased to owe any allegiance to it.

Kran inscription dated A.D. 5lO records the king t4i&nu-

-gupta and a feudatory chief named GOpar&ja.

About the close of the fifth or the beginning of the sixth century A.O. Eran was included in ToraraSna’ s dominion. 11

Th# copper gr&nt of MahSrSja BhLnaBena II gives ua thf genealogy of Bhiaa for six generations, but it is not clear to which particular dynasty they belonged. They are stated to hate been born of a family celebrated for its dig­ nity lilce that of royal ascetics. It is likely that the first king i^Qra founded a new line of kin^rs after the decline of the imperial Guptas.

The Kalaa

From the Rithpur copper plate inscription^^ it aeeras that the Kalas were in possession of territories fortsierly occupied by the V5kS^akas. A hoard of gold coins of Kiava- datta and VarSha was discovered in Bastar State. Prom epi- graphical and numismatic evidence, it is clear that the Nalas ruled in Bastar. In the first half of the sixth century they extended their power towards the north at the expense of the

VSkStakas. There are four epigraphs of the family. The Nalas conquered South Kosala after the rule of ^ivaj^upta RSlSrJuna in the seventh century A.D. The dynasty was subdued by the

^arly ChSlukyas.

Ihfi Chglukvas of Badaml

We have no epigraphical records of the ChElukyas of

?adSmi but the inscription speaks of the victory of

3 U . 30 T1 m , 100. 12

Pulakesln II ov«r tuft t&iniduvaibsia of South Kosala. The

Inacription again talla ua that the Vlndhyaa and the NarmadS

formed the northern boundary of the kingdom.

The Khamkhed plate^^ mentions the king Pratfipallia. Aa

there is no mention of the name of the dynasty, we can only

say that the dynasty seems to have flourished in Berar in the

beginning of the eighth century A.D.

The USf^r&kutas of Berar»

Four rulers are known from the records. was probably the capital of these rulers. DurggarUja was appointed as provincial governor by Fulak^sin I I . After the latter*8 death Durggar&ja began to rule independently. These

Rfistrakutas were subdued by Dantidurga in the 8th century.

32 A copper>-plate grant found at Ragholi in Balaghat dis­ trict gives a short account of a royal family called »i>aila-

-vafrsa*. These ^ailavaiisi kin^^^s need not be taken as iden> tical with the iailodbhavas as this identity is not defini- tely proved.

The Rggtraku^as

In the middle of the 8th century, the RSLftraku^as were the sovereign rulers of the most of Madhyapradesh.

El m i . 93. 32 M IX, 41. 13

The Fandarangapalli inscription describsa MSnSfika as th« conqueror of Vidarbha. We have five copper-plates of this dynasty.

The Kalachuris of Trlpuri,

The came to prominence in the middle of the 9th century.

Ve have forty-one records of thirteen kings. The records of this dynasty are of two types e.g. stone inscriptions and copper-plates. GShgeyadeva defeated the Somavam^is of the

South Kosala and assumed the title *TrikalingSdhipati*. He subdued the Turuska kings of the Punjab. Kar^a was one of the greatest sovereign of the age. i»ccording to inscriptional references to so nany places, it seems that he claiffied suae- rainty over the KSnchi Vifaya, West , Banaras, and Bundelkhand. He defeated the Pallavas, the Muralas, the

PS^dyas, the Kuhgas and the king of Kuntala. He raided the

Kuna-mandala and married AvallSdevI of the Uu^u family.

The Kalachuri kings were patrons of learning. R&ja-

-sekhara wrote the drama ViddhasSlabhanJikB to please luva-

-r&Jadeva.

The Kalachuris of Ratnapur.

Kalingarlja, who belonged to Kalachuri dynasty of Tripuri, conquered Daksi^-Kosala and established his capital at Tummfina in Bilaspur district. u

There are twenty-ssven records of ten ruling kings. KatnarSj& founded a city of Ratnapura. JSjalladeva I became Independent during the latter part of lasahkar^a's reign.

He defeated Soaesvara, the Kiga ruler of Chakrak5tya. He

invaded Orissa and conquered l^ujabala, the chief of Suvar^a-

pura. His inscriptions speak of his brilliant victories.

He claii&s to have received tributes from the chiefs o f the man^alas of Uaksiwa-Koaala, Indhra, Khimi^i, YairSgarh,

LanjikS, BhSnara-talaharis, i)andakSpura, MandSvali, Khiaii^l is Khiinldi in the Gan Jam district of Orissa* Vairagarh is

Vairagarh in Chanda district. Lanjika is ianji in the Baift-

-ghat district.

Ihfi ChSlukyas of Kalyana.

Vte have only one record of this dynasty.

Ihe Param&ras of kalwa

we have six records of four Paramira kings, iiccordlng to inscrlptional evidence, it seems that in A.D. 1060, Nifiiar district was under the sway of the FaramSras. Jagaddeva con­ quered Chakradurga In the old Bastar state. The southern part of the ParamSlra kingdom included the Yeotmal district. The

Chanda district was included in the dominion of Karavarroan.

The Nagpur region which was under the sway of ChSlukya Vikram-

-Sditya VI in 1087 A.D. passed into the hands of Naravarman. 15

The Somavafc^is

The founder of the later Sooavamsis was the king ^Iva- gupta. He was succeeded by his son Janamejaya MahSbh&vagupta.

We do not know the exact boundaries of his doninion. He called himself ♦Trikaliitiifatfhlpatl’ . This group of kinga - some of who® bore the names ^Ivafrupta and WahSsiva^upta - had names endinf, vdth the suffix - * Kesarin*. 'ihe relation of those kings with the early ruling fajnllies of South Kos^xa cannot be definitely determined. They never claim to have been descended from ihe PHnduvaiksis.

33 According to NavasahasBnkacharita the ParamSra kinf’;

TilndhurSja defeated the Somava&si king. The NSfava&si king Z&ve his daughter in warriape to SlndhurSja.

The KSgaa or Qhhlndakas.

The inscriptions of a dynasty of rulers belonging to the

Cfihindaka family of the Ni/'a race have been founa in the Baatar states. The family belonged to Kasyapa gotra. Tiie earliest l<3gavarasi inscription in Baatar bears a date in ;^kka % 5

(A.ii. 1 2 2 3 ). y.ahamandaiesvara ChandrSditya of Telugu-Oho^a faaily was the feudatory of Jafiadekabhusana. After A.D .1060 the Chhindaka Kasa throne was occupied by 24adhurantaka.

:>o»eavara I ousitod Kadhurantaka with the help of the Kalyl^i i/hSlukyas. The epigrai^s apeak of the brilliant victory of

33 XVIII.48 16

SomtfFVara I. Thry refsr to th« burnlnf: of Vengi and the*

sub;5uf:atlon of Bhadrapattana and Vajra. Some^vara I was the

lord of South Kosala. The later bomavmSis had to acknowledge

the supremacy of the NB^^aa.

Ihp Yadavas of Devttgiri

We have only three records of the three kings of this

dynasty. Singha^a extended his empire upto the Tapi. The

Chanda district was included in his dominion. His Jr3h'T»ana« funeral ICholesvara founded a city named Khol3pur after his name in Berar.

De\infiyaka was hia governor of Berar. His headquarters

were at AmarSpura in the Buldhana district.

fCrsna (1247 A.D.) defeated the king of South Koeale.

The Raintek and Lanji Inscriptions prove that the Nagpur and

i^alaphat regions were under the sway of Ramachandra. AlS-ud-din

Khllji invaded Devagiri in j».D. 1294 and i^rar passed into tiie hands of the Muslims.

From this period onwards the Kusllro rule in Eerar was undisturbed until the rise of the Maratha power. The remain­ ing part of the country was divided into petty principalitiea.

A sort of ovfrlordship of the Muslim rulers was acknowledged by these kings.

Ain-I-Akbarl^^ mentions B5bSji Baliai, the Gond king of

Frances Gladwin (Trans.), 17

Chanda as an independent ruler paying no tribute to D«lhi.

bourceg of our fctudy

Having sketched the outline of political history of

Kadhyapradesh we may pass on to the sources of our study. The

rapid survey shows that in the past, ^ladhyapradesh was never ruled by one dynasty. It was divided between tho simultaneous rule of two or more dynasties.

The period from the 300 iui). to 1300 A.D. comprisos the following dynasties.

The V§k3takas, Nalas RSstrakutae, , the Kalachuris of Ratn&pur, ChalukySs of Kaly5na, Paramaras of Kalwa and the Xitutvas of Devagiri. There are fpudatory fcmilins vis. the ^arabhapuriyas, Pan^uvaihsisi P&rlvrSjakas

Uchchakalpas, the Rastrak0tas of Berar, Somava&sia, ana the hUgas.

The records of these dynasties are of two types - stone^ inscriptions and copper-plates.

The VSk^takas, Malas, L3s^rakutas and somp other feuda- tox’y fazriilies gave preference to the copper plst^e. But the

Uaihayas had special favour for the stone inscriptions.

Ihe inscriptions, having the historical inforaation are the beet authenticated sources of our study. 4e may divide the inscriptions of Madhyapradesh into four broad classes:

_L 18

(1) Donative (2) Hulofeistic or Prasattl type. (3) Coinni«>morative (4) R<>script8.

^o8t of the records are donatlTe. Of the 24 VaXItaka

inscriptions, Ghatotkacha cave inscription is of a odxed

nature - eulogistic and donative.

The stone pillar inscription of GoparSja is coa-

nnmorative. The stone inscription of the ParaaSra

kings is purely a *Pra^esti». Tv/o Kalachuris of 'Iripuri in­

scriptions aro also of the 'Prasasti’ type. These records

mention the religious conceptions, social custoias una the

existence of certain cults.

They also give us a comprehenaive account of the ad- mini stratlve system, territorial divisions and extent of the

kingdom. The language of the inscriptions showsthe naiiure of the official language.