THE RÁSHTRAKÚTAS
(A.D. 743-974.)
The Ráshtrakúta connection with Gujarát lasted from Saka 665 to
894 (A.D. 743-974) that is for 231 years. The connection includes
three periods: A first of sixty-five years from Saka 665 to 730
(A.D. 743-808) when the Gujarát ruler was dependent on the main
Dakhan Ráshtrakúta: a second of eighty years between Saka 730 and 810
(A.D. 808-888) when the Gujarát family was on the whole independent:
and a third of eighty-six years Saka 810 to 896 (A.D. 888-974) when
the Dakhan Ráshtrakútas again exercised direct sway over Gujarát.
[Their Origin.] Information regarding the origin of the Ráshtrakútas is
imperfect. That the Gujarát Ráshtrakútas came from the Dakhan in Saka
665 (A.D. 743) is known. It is not known who the Dakhan Ráshtrakútas
originally were or where or when they rose to prominence. Ráthod
the dynastic name of certain Kanauj and Márwár Rájputs represents
a later form of the word Ráshtrakúta. Again certain of the later
inscriptions call the Ráshtrakútas Rattas a word which, so far as form
goes, is hardly a correct Prakrit contraction of Ráshtrakúta. The
Sanskritisation of tribal names is not exact. If the name Ratta was
strange it might be pronounced Ratta, Ratha, or Raddi. This last form
almost coincides with the modern Kánarese caste name Reddi, which,
so far as information goes, would place the Ráshtrakútas among the
tribes of pre-Sanskrit southern origin.
[Their Name.] If Ratta is the name of the dynasty kúta or kúda may
be an attribute meaning prominent. The combination Ráshtrakúta would
then mean the chiefs or leaders as opposed to the rank and file of the
Rattas. The bardic accounts of the origin of the Ráthods of Kanauj
and Márwár vary greatly. According to a Jain account the Ráthods,
whose name is fancifully derived from the raht or spine of Indra,
are connected with the Yavans through an ancestor Yavanasva prince
of Párlipur. The Ráthod genealogies trace their origin to Kusa son
of Ráma of the Solar Race. The bards of the Solar Race hold them to
be descendants of Hiranya Kasipu by a demon or daitya mother. Like
the other great Rájput families the Ráthods' accounts contain no date
earlier than the fifth century A.D. when (A.D. 470, S. 526) Náin Pál
is said to have conquered Kanauj slaying its monarch Ajipál. [418] The
Dakhan Ráshtrakútas (whose earliest known date is also about A.D. 450)
call themselves of the Lunar Race and of the Yadu dynasty. Such
contradictions leave only one of two origins to the tribe. They were
either foreigners or southerners Bráhmanised and included under the
all-embracing term Rájput.
[Early Dynasty, A.D. 450-500.] Of the rise of the Ráshtrakútas no
trace remains. The earliest known Ráshtrakúta copperplate is of a
king Abhimanyu. This plate is not dated. Still its letters, its style
of writing, and its lion seal, older than the Garuda mark which the
Ráshtrakútas assumed along with the claim of Yádava descent, leave
no doubt that this is the earliest of known Ráshtrakúta plates. Its
probable date is about A.D. 450. The plate traces the descent of
Abhimanyu through two generations from Mánánka. The details are:
Mánánka.
|
Devarája.
|
Bhavishya.
|
Abhimanyu.
The grant is dated from Mánapura, perhaps Mánánka's city, probably
an older form of Mányakheta the modern Málkhed the capital of the
later Ráshtrakútas about sixty miles south-east of Sholápur. These
details give fair ground for holding the Mánánkas to be a family
of Ráshtrakúta rulers earlier than that which appears in the usual
genealogy of the later Ráshtrakúta dynasty (A.D. 500-972).
[The Main Dynasty, A.D. 630-972.] The earliest information regarding
the later Ráshtrakútas is from a comparatively modern, and therefore
not quite trustworthy, Chálukya copperplate of the eleventh century
found by Mr. Wathen. This plate states that Jayasimha I. the earliest
Chálukya defeated the Ráshtrakúta Indra son of Krishna the lord of
800 elephants. The date of this battle would be about A.D. 500. If
historic the reference implies that the Ráshtrakútas were then a well
established dynasty. In most of their own plates the genealogy of the
Ráshtrakútas begins with Govinda about A.D. 680. But that Govinda
was not the founder of the family is shown by Dantidurga's Elura
Dasávatára inscription (about A.D. 750) which gives two earlier
names Dantivarmman and Indra. The founding of Ráshtrakúta power
is therefore of doubtful date. Of the date of its overthrow there
is no question. The overthrow came from the hand of the Western
Chálukya Tailappa in Saka 894 (A.D. 972) during the reign of the last
Ráshtrakúta Kakka III. or Kakkala.
[Ráshtrakúta Family Tree, A.D. 630-972.] The following is the
Ráshtrakúta family tree:
1 Dantivarmman
| (about A.D. 630).
|
2 Indra I.
| (about A.D. 655).
|
3 Govinda I.
| (about A.D. 680).
|
4 Kakka I.
or Karka I.
| (about A.D. 705).
|
----------------------------------
| | |
5 Indra II. Dhruva. 7 Krishna
(about A.D. 730). | (about A.D. 765).
| Govinda. |
6 Dantidurga, | |
Dantivarmman Kakka II. |
(Saka 675, A.D. 753). Saka 669 |
(A.D. 747). |
|
-------------------------
| |
8 Govinda II. 9 Dhruva, Dhárávarsha,
(about A.D. 780). Nirupama, Dhora,
(about A.D. 795).
|
--------------------------------------
| |
10 Govinda III. Prabhútavarsha I. Indra (founder of
Vallabhanarendra, Jagattunga Gujarát Branch).
Prithivívallabha, |
(Saka 725, 728, 729, ---------------------
A.D. 803, 806, 807). | |
| II. Karka III. Govinda
11 Amoghavarsha (Saka 734, 738, 743, Prabhútavarsha,
Sarvva, Durlabha Srívallabha; A.D. 812, 816, 821). (Saka 749,
Lakshmívallabha, | A.D. 827).
Vallabha Skanda, --------------------
(Saka 773, 799, A.D. 851, 877). | |
| Dantivarmman IV. Dhruva I.
12 Akálavarsha (?) Dhárávarsha,
Krishna II. Kannara | Nirupama,
(about A.D. 880-911). VII. Akálavarsha-Krishna (Saka 757,
| (Saka 810, A.D. 835).
Jagattunga A.D. 888). |
(did not reign.) V. Akálavarsha
| Subhatunga,
| (A.D. 867).
| |
| VI. Dhruva II.
| (Saka 789, 793,
---------------------------------- A.D. 867, 871).
| |
13 Indra III. Prithivívallabha 16 Baddiga
Rattakandarpa, Kirttináráyana |
Nityamvarsha (Saka 836, A.D. 914). ------------------------
| | | |
----------------- 17 Krishna 19 Kottiga. Nirupama.
| | (S. 867, 878 |
14 Amoghavarsha 15 Govindarája A.D. 945, 956). Kakkala
Sáhasánka or Karkarája
Suvarnavarsha. (Saka 894,
A.D. 972).
[Copperplates.] The earliest Gujarát Ráshtrakúta grant, Kakka's of Saka
669 (A.D. 747), comes from Ántroli-Chároli in Surat. It is written on
two plates in the Valabhi style of composition and form of letters,
and, as in Valabhi grants, the date is at the end. Unlike Valabhi
grants the era is the Saka era. The grant gives the following genealogy
somewhat different from that of other known Ráshtrakúta grants:
Kakka.
|
Dhruva.
|
Govinda.
|
Kakka II. (Saka 669, A.D. 747).
[Kakka II. A.D. 747.] The plate notices that Kakka the grantor was
the son of Govinda by his wife the daughter of the illustrious
Nágavarmman. Kakka is further described by the feudatory title
'Samadhigatapanchmahásabdah' Holder of the five great names. At the
same time he is also called Paramabhattáraka-Mahárája Great Lord Great
King, attributes which seem to imply a claim to independent power. The
grant is dated the bright seventh of Ásvayuja, Saka 669 (A.D. 747). The
date is almost contemporary with the year of Dantidurga in the Sámangad
plate (A.D. 753). As Dantidurga was a very powerful monarch we may
identify the first Kakka of this plate with Kakka I. the grandfather
of Dantidurga and thus trace from Dhruva Kakka's son a branch of
feudatory Ráshtrakútas ruling in Málwa or Gujarát, whose leaders
were Dhruva, his son Govinda, and Govinda's son Kakka II. Further
Dantidurga's grant shows that he conquered Central Gujarát between
the Mahí and the Narbadá [419] while his Elura Dasávatára inscription
(A.D. 750) shows that he held Láta and Málava. [420] Dantidurga's
conquest of Central Gujarát seems to have been signalised by grants
of land made by his mother in every village of the Mátri division
which is apparently the Mátar táluka of the Kaira district. [421]
It is possible that Dantidurga gave conquered Gujarát to his paternal
cousin's son and contemporary Kakka, the grantor of the Ántroli plate
(A.D. 747), as the representative of a family ruling somewhere
under the overlordship of the main Dakhan Ráshtrakútas. Karka's
Baroda grant [422] (A.D. 812) supports this theory. Dantidurga died
childless and was succeeded by his uncle Krishna. Of this Krishna the
Baroda grant says that he assumed the government for the good of the
family after having rooted out a member of the family who had taken
to mischief-making. It seems probable that Kakka II. the grantor of
the Ántroli plate is the mischief-maker and that his mischief was,
on the death of Dantidurga, the attempt to secure the succession to
himself. Krishna frustrated Kakka's attempt and rooted him out so
effectively that no trace of Kakka's family again appears.
[Krishna and Govinda II. A.D. 765-795.] From this it follows that,
so far as is known, the Ráshtrakúta conquest of Gujarát begins with
Dantidurga's conquest of Láta, that is South Gujarát between the
Mahí and the Narbadá, from the Gurjjara king Jayabhata whose latest
known date is A.D. 736 or seventeen years before the known date of
Dantidurga. The Gurjjaras probably retired to the Rájpipla hills
and further east on the confines of Málwa where they may have held a
lingering sway. [423] No Gujarát event of importance is recorded during
the reign of Krishna (A.D. 765) or of his son Govinda II. (A.D. 780)
who about A.D. 795 was superseded by his powerful younger brother
Dhruva. [424]
[Dhruva I. A.D. 795.] Dhruva was a mighty monarch whose conquests
spread from South India as far north as Allahábád. During Dhruva's
lifetime his son Govinda probably ruled at Mayúrakhandi or Morkhanda in
the Násik district and held the Ghát country and the Gujarát coast from
Balsár northwards. Though according to a Kapadvanj grant Govinda had
several brothers the Rádhanpur (A.D. 808) and Van-Dindori (A.D. 808)
grants of his son Govinda III. state that his father, seeing Govinda's
supernatural Krishna-like powers, offered him the sovereignty of the
whole world. Govinda declined, saying, The Kanthiká or coast tract
already given to me is enough. Seeing that Mayúrakhandi or Morkhanda
in Násik was Govinda's capital, this Kanthiká appears to be the coast
from Balsár northwards.
[Govinda III. A.D. 800-808.] According to Gujarát Govinda's
(A.D. 827-833) Káví grant (A.D. 827), finding his power threatened by
Stambha and other kings, Dhruva made the great Govinda independent
during his own lifetime. This suggests that while Dhruva continued
to hold the main Ráshtrakúta sovereignty in the Dakhan, he probably
invested Govinda with the sovereignty of Gujarát. This fact the Káví
grant (A.D. 827) being a Gujarát grant would rightly mention while
it would not find a place in the Rádhanpur (A.D. 808) and Van-Dindori
(A.D. 808) grants of the main Ráshtrakútas. Of the kings who opposed
Govinda the chief was Stambha who may have some connection with Cambay,
as, during the time of the Anahilaváda kings, Cambay came to be called
Stambha-tírtha instead of by its old name of Gambhútá. According
to the grants the allied chiefs were no match for Govinda. The
Gurjjara fled through fear, not returning even in dreams, and the
Málava king submitted. Who the Gurjjara was it is hard to say. He
may have belonged to some Gurjjara dynasty that rose to importance
after Dantidurga's conquest or the name may mean a ruler of the
Gurjjara country. In either case some North Gujarát ruler is meant
whose conquest opened the route from Broach to Málwa. From Málwa
Govinda marched to the Vindhyas where the king apparently of East
Málwa named Márá Sarva submitted to Govinda paying tribute. From the
Vindhyas Govinda returned to Gujarát passing the rains at Sríbhavana,
[425] apparently Sarbhon in the Ámod táluka of Broach, a favourite
locality which he had ruled during his father's lifetime. After the
rains Govinda went south as far as the Tungabhadra. On starting for
the south Govinda handed Gujarát to his brother Indra with whom begins
the Gujarát branch of the Ráshtrakútas. Several plates distinctly
mention that Indra was given the kingdom of the lord of Láta by
(his brother) Govinda. Other Gujarát grants, apparently with intent
to show that Indra won Gujarát and did not receive it in gift, after
mentioning Sarvva Amoghavarsha as the successor of Govinda (A.D. 818),
state that the king (apparently of Gujarát) was Sarvva's uncle Indra.
[Indra, A.D. 808-812.] As Govinda III. handed Gujarát to his brother
Indra about Saka 730 (A.D. 808) and as the grant of Indra's son
Karka is dated Saka 734 (A.D. 812) Indra's reign must have been
short. Indra is styled the ruler of the entire kingdom of Látesvara,
[426] the protector of the mandala of Láta given to him by his lord. An
important verse in an unpublished Baroda grant states that Indra chased
the lord of Gurjjara who had prepared to fight, and that he honourably
protected the multitude of Dakhan (Dakshinápatha) feudatories
(mahásámantas) whose glory was shattered by Srívallabha (that is
Sarvva or Amoghavarsha) [427] then heir-apparent of Govinda. That is,
in attempting to establish himself in independent power, Indra aided
certain of the Ráshtrakúta feudatories in an effort to shake off the
overlordship of Amoghavarsha.
[Karka I. A.D. 812-821.] Indra was succeeded by his son Karka I. who
is also called Suvarnavarsha and Pátálamalla. Karka reversed his
father's policy and loyally accepted the overlordship of the main
Ráshtrakútas. Three grants of Karka's remain, the Baroda grant dated
Saka 734 (A.D. 812), and two unpublished grants from Navsárí and Surat
dated respectively Saka 738 (A.D. 816) and Saka 743 (A.D. 821). Among
Doctor Bhagvánlál's collection of inscriptions bequeathed to the
British Museum the Baroda grant says that Karka's svámi or lord,
apparently Govinda III., made use of Karka's arm to protect the king
of Málava against invasion by the king of Gurjjara who had become
puffed up by conquering the lords of Gauda and Vanga that is modern
Bengal. This powerful Gurjjara king who conquered countries so distant
as Bengal has not been identified. He must have been ruling north
of the Mahí and threatened an invasion of Málwa by way of Dohad. He
may have been either a Valabhi king or one of the Bhinmál Gurjjaras,
who, during the decline of the Valabhis, and with the help of their
allies the Chávadás of Anahilaváda whose leader at this time was
Yog Rája (A.D. 806-841), may have extended their dominion as far
south as the Mahí. As the Baroda plate (A.D. 812) makes no mention
of Amoghavarsha-Sarvva while the Navsárí plate (A.D. 816) mentions
him as the next king after Govinda III. it follows that Govinda
III. died and Amoghavarsha succeeded between A.D. 812 and 816 (S. 734
and 738). This supports Mr. Fleet's conclusion, on the authority of
Amoghavarsha's Sirur inscription, that he came to the throne in Saka
736 (A.D. 814). At first Amoghavarsha was unable to make head against
the opposition of some of his relations and feudatories, supported,
as noted above, by Karka's father Indra. He seems to have owed his
subsequent success to his cousin Karka whom an unpublished Surat grant
and two later grants (S. 757 and S. 789, A.D. 835 and 867) describe
as establishing Amoghavarsha in his own place after conquering by
the strength of his arm arrogant tributary Ráshtrakútas who becoming
firmly allied to each other had occupied provinces according to their
own will.
Karka's Baroda plates (S. 734, A.D. 812) record the grant of Baroda
itself called Vadapadraka in the text. Baroda is easily identified
by the mention of the surrounding villages of Jambuváviká the modern
Jámbuváda on the east, of Ankottaka the modern Ákotá on the west,
and of Vaggháchchha perhaps the modern Vághodia on the north. The
writer of the grant is mentioned as the great minister of peace and war
Nemáditya son of Durgabhatta, and the Dútaka or grantor is said to be
Rájaputra that is prince Dantivarmman apparently a son of Karka. The
grantee is a Bráhman originally of Valabhi.
Karka's Navsárí grant (S. 738, A.D. 816) is made from Khedá and
records the gift of the village of Samípadraka in the country lying
between the Mahí and the Narbadá. The grantee is a South Indian
Bráhman from Bádámi in Bijápur, a man of learning popularly known
as Pandita Vallabharája because he was proficient in the fourteen
Vidyás. The Dútaka of this grant is a South Indian bhata or military
officer named the illustrious Dronamma.
Karka's Surat grant (S. 743, A.D. 821) is made from the royal camp on
the bank of the Vankiká apparently the Vánki creek near Balsár. It
records the grant of a field in Ambápátaka village near Nágasárika
(Navsárí) to a Jain temple at Nágariká, (Navsárí). The writer of the
grant is the minister of war and peace Náráyana son of Durgabhatta. As
this is the first grant by a Gujarát Ráshtrakúta of lands south of the
Tápti it may be inferred that in return for his support Amoghavarsha
added to Karka's territory the portion of the North Konkan which now
forms Gujarát south of the Tápti.
[Dantivarmman, Heir Apparent.] According to Karka's Baroda plate
(S. 734, A.D. 812) Karka had a son named Dantivarmman who is mentioned
as the princely Dútaka of the plate. The fact of being a Dútaka implies
that Dantivarmman was then of age. That Dantivarmman was a son of
Karka is supported by Akálavarsha's Bagumrá plate (S. 810, A.D. 888),
where, though the plate is badly composed and the grammar is faulty,
certain useful details are given regarding Dantivarmman who is clearly
mentioned as the son of Karka. Karka had another son named Dhruva,
who, according to three copperplates, succeeded to the throne. But as
Dantivarmman's son's grant is dated Saka 810 or seventy-six years later
than the Baroda plate some error seems to have crept into the genealogy
of the plate. Neither Dantivarmman nor Dhruva seems to have succeeded
their father as according to Govinda's Káví grant (A.D. 827) their
uncle Govinda succeeded his brother Karka. The explanation may be that
Dantivarmman died during his father's lifetime, and that some years
later, after a great yearning for a son, [428] probably in Karka's
old age, a second son Dhruva was born, during whose minority, after
Karka's death, Govinda appears to have temporarily occupied the throne.
[Govinda, A.D. 827-833.] This Govinda, the brother and successor of
Karka, was also called Prabhútavarsha. One plate of Govinda's Káví
grant is dated Saka 749 (A.D. 827). It gives no details regarding
Govinda. The grant is made from Broach and records the gift of a
village [429] to a temple of the Sun called Jayáditya in Kotipur near
Kápiká that is Káví thirty miles north of Broach. The writer of the
grant is Yogesvara son of Avalokita and the Dútaka or grantor was one
Bhatta Kumuda. As it contains no reference to Govinda's succession
the plate favours the view that Govinda remained in power only during
the minority of his nephew Dhruva.
[Dhruva I. A.D. 835-867.] This Dhruva, who is also called Nirupama and
Dhárávarsha, is mentioned as ruler in a Baroda grant dated Saka 757
(A.D. 835). [430] He therefore probably came to the throne either on
attaining his majority in the lifetime of his uncle and predecessor
Govinda or after Govinda's death. Dhruva's Baroda grant (S. 757,
A.D. 835) is made from a place called Sarvvamangalá near Khedá
and records the gift of a village to a Bráhman named Yoga [431] of
Badarasidhi apparently Borsad. The writer of the grant is mentioned
as the minister of peace and war, Náráyana son of Durgabhatta, and
the Dútaka or grantor is the illustrious Devarája. Dhruva seems to
have abandoned his father's position of loyal feudatory to the main
Ráshtrakútas. According to a copperplate dated Saka 832 (A.D. 910)
Vallabha that is Amoghavarsha, also called the illustrious great
Skanda, sent an army and besieged and burned the Kanthiká that is the
coast tract between Bombay and Cambay. In the course of this campaign,
according to Dhruva II.'s Bagumrá grant (S. 789, A.D. 867), [432]
Dhruva died on the field of battle covered with wounds while routing
the army of Vallabha or Amoghavarsha. This statement is supported by
a Kanheri cave inscription which shows that Amoghavarsha was still
alive in Saka 799 (A.D. 877).
[Akálavarsha, A.D. 867.] Dhruva was succeeded by his son Akálavarsha
also called Subhatunga. A verse in Dhruva II.'s Bagumrá grant (S 789,
A.D. 867) says that Akálavarsha established himself in the territory of
his father, which, after Dhruva's death in battle, had been overrun by
the army of Vallabha and had been distracted by evil-minded followers
and dependants. [433]
[Dhruva II. A.D. 867.] Akálavarsha was succeeded by his son Dhruva
II. also called Dhárávarsha and Nirupama. Of Dhruva II. two
copperplates remain the published Bagumrá grant dated Saka 789
[434] (A.D. 867) and an unpublished Baroda grant dated Saka 793
(A.D. 871). [435] Both plates record that Dhruva crushed certain
intrigues among his relatives or bandhuvarga, and established himself
firmly on the throne. Regarding the troubles at the beginning of his
reign the Bagumrá plate states that on one side Vallabha the head of
the Dakhan Ráshtrakútas was still against him; on another side Dhruva
had to face an army of Gurjjaras instigated by a member of his own
family [436]; thirdly he was opposed by certain of his relatives or
bándhaváh; and lastly he had to contend against the intrigues of
a younger brother or anuja. It further appears from Dhruva II.'s
Bagumrá plate that he checked an inroad by a Mihira king with a
powerful army. This Mihira king was probably a chief of the Káthiáváda
Mehrs who on the downfall of the Valabhis spread their power across
Gujarát. In all these troubles the Bagumrá grant notes that Dhruva
was aided by a younger brother named Govindarája. This Govindarája
is mentioned as appointed by Dhruva the Dútaka of the grant.
Dhruva II.'s Bagumrá (A.D. 867) grant was made at Bhrigu-Kachchha
or Broach after bathing in the Narbadá. It records the gift to a
Bráhman of the village of Páráhanaka, probably the village of Palsána
[437] twelve miles south-east of Bagumrá in the Balesar subdivision
of the Gáikwár's territory of Surat and Navsárí. Dhruva's Baroda
grant (A.D. 871) was also made at Broach. It is a grant to the god
Kapálesvara Mahádeva of the villages Konvalli and Nakkabhajja both
mentioned as close to the south bank of the Mahí. The facts that the
Bagumrá grant (A.D. 867) transfers a village so far south as Balesar
near Navsárí and that four years later the Baroda grant (A.D. 871)
mentions that Dhruva's territory lay between Broach and the Mahí seem
to prove that between A.D. 867 and 871 the portion of Dhruva's kingdom
south of Broach passed back into the hands of the main Ráshtrakútas.
[Akálavarsha-Krishna, A.D. 888.] The next and last known Gujarát
Ráshtrakúta king is Akálavarsha-Krishna son of Dantivarmman. A grant of
this king has been found in Bagumrá dated Saka 810 (A.D. 888). [438]
The composition of the grant is so bad and the genealogical verses
after Karka are so confused that it seems unsafe to accept any of its
details except its date which is clearly Saka 810 (A.D. 888). It seems
also improbable that the son of Dantivarmman who flourished in Saka
734 (A.D. 812) could be reigning in Saka 810 (A.D. 888) seventy-six
years later. Still the sixty-three years' reign of the contemporary
Mányakheta Ráshtrakúta Amoghavarsha (S. 736-799, A.D. 814-877) shows
that this is not impossible.
The grant which is made from Anklesvar near Broach records the gift
to two Bráhmans of the village of Kavithasádhi the modern Kosád four
miles north-east of Surat, described as situated in the Variávi (the
modern Variáv two miles north of Surat) sub-division of 116 villages
in the province of Konkan. The grant is said to have been written
by the peace and war minister the illustrious Jajjaka son of Kaluka,
the Dútaka being the head officer (mahattamasarvádhikári) the Bráhman
Ollaiyaka. [439] This grant seems to imply the recovery by the local
dynasty of some portion of the disputed area to the south of the
Tápti. This recovery must have been a passing success. After Saka 810
(A.D. 888) nothing is known of the Gujarát Ráshtrakútas. [Main Line
Restored, A.D. 888-974.] And the re-establishment of the power of the
Ráshtrakútas of Mányakheta of the main line in south Gujarát in Saka
836 (A.D. 914) is proved by two copperplates found in Navsárí which
record the grant of villages near Navsárí, in what the text calls
the Láta country, by king Indra Nityamvarsha son of Jagattunga and
grandson of Krishna Akálavarsha. [440]
That Amoghavarsha's long reign lasted till Saka 799 (A.D. 877) is
clear from the Kanheri cave inscription already referred to. His
reign can hardly have lasted much longer; about Saka 800 (A.D. 878)
may be taken to be its end.
[Krishna Akálavarsha, A.D. 888-914.] Amoghavarsha was succeeded
by his son Krishna also called Akálavarsha, both his names being
the same as those of the Gujarát Ráshtrakúta king of the same time
(A.D. 888). [441] It has been noted above that, in consequence of
the attempt of Karka's son Dhruva I. (A.D. 835-867) to establish his
independence, Amoghavarsha's relations with the Gujarát Ráshtrakútas
became extremely hostile and probably continued hostile till his death
(A.D. 877). That Amoghavarsha's son Krishna kept up the hostilities
is shown by Indra's two Navsárí plates of Saka 836 (A.D. 914)
which mention his grandfather Krishna fighting with the roaring
Gurjjara. [442] Regarding this fight the late Ráshtrakúta Kardá plate
(S. 891, A.D. 973) further says that Krishna's enemies frightened by
his exploits abandoned Khetaka, that is Khedá, with its Mandala and
its forepart that is the surrounding country. Probably this roaring
Gurjjara or king of Gujarát, was a northern ally called in by some
Ráshtrakúta of the Gujarát branch, perhaps by Krishna's namesake
the donor of the A.D. 888 Bagumrá grant. The Dakhan Krishna seems
to have triumphed over his Gujarát namesake as henceforward South
Gujarát or Láta was permanently included in the territory of the
Dakhan Ráshtrakútas. [443]
At this time (A.D. 910) a grant from Kapadvanj dated S. 832 (A.D. 910)
and published in Ep. Ind. I. 52ff. states that a mahásámanta or
noble of Krishna Akálavarsha's named Prachanda, with his dandanáyaka
Chandragupta, was in charge of a sub-division of 750 villages in the
Khedá district at Harshapura apparently Harsol near Parántij. The
grant gives the name of Prachanda's family as Bráhma-vaka (?) and
states that the family gained its fortune or Lakshmí by the prowess
of the feet of Akálavarsha, showing that the members of the family
drew their authority from Akálavarsha. The grant mentions four of
Prachanda's ancestors, all of whom have non-Gujarát Kánarese-looking
names. Though not independent rulers Prachanda's ancestors seem to have
been high Ráshtrakúta officers. The first is called Suddha-kkumbadi,
the second his son Degadi, the third Degadi's son Rájahamsa,
the fourth Rájahamsa's son Dhavalappa the father of Prachanda
and Akkuka. The plate describes Rájahamsa as bringing back to his
house its flying fortune as if he had regained lost authority. The
plate describes Dhavalappa as killing the enemy in a moment and then
giving to his lord the Mandala or kingdom which the combined enemy,
desirous of glory, had taken. This apparently refers to Akálavarsha's
enemies abandoning Khetaka with its Mandala as mentioned in the
late Ráshtrakúta Kardá plate (A.D. 973). Dhavalappa is probably
Akálavarsha's general who fought and defeated the roaring Gurjjara,
a success which may have led to Dhavalappa being placed in military
charge of Gujarát. [444] The Kapadvanj (A.D. 910) grant describes
Dhavalappa's son Prachanda with the feudatory title 'Who has obtained
the five great words.' Dr. Bhagvánlál believed Prachanda to be a
mere epithet of Akkuka, and took Chandragupta to be another name
of the same person, but the published text gives the facts as above
stated. The grantee is a Bráhman and the grant is of the village of
Vyághrása, perhaps Vágrá in Broach. [445] The plate describes Akkuka as
gaining glory fighting in the battle field. A rather unintelligible
verse follows implying that at this time the Sella-Vidyádharas,
apparently the North Konkan Siláháras (who traced their lineage from
the Vidyádharas) also helped Akálavarsha against his enemies, [446]
probably by driving them from South Gujarát. The Siláhára king at
this time would be Jhanjha (A.D. 916).
[Indra Nityamvarsha, A.D. 914.] Krishna or Akálavarsha had a son named
Jagattunga who does not appear to have come to the throne. Other plates
show that he went to Chedi the modern Bundelkhand and remained there
during his father's lifetime. By Lakshmí the daughter of the king
of Chedi, Jagattunga had a son named Indra also called Nityamvarsha
Rattakandarpa. In both of Indra's Navsárí copperplates (A.D. 914)
Indra is mentioned as Pádánudhyáta, Falling at the feet of, that is
successor of, not his father but his grandfather Akálavarsha. [447]
One historical attribute of Indra in both the plates is that "he
uprooted in a moment the Mehr," [448] apparently referring to some
contemporary Mehr king of North Káthiáváda. Both the Navsárí plates
of Saka 836 (A.D. 914) note that the grants were made under peculiar
conditions. The plates say that the donor Indra Nityamvarsha, with
his capital at Mányakheta, had come to a place named Kurundaka for
the pattabandha or investiture festival. It is curious that though
Mányakheta is mentioned as the capital the king is described as having
come to Kurundaka for the investiture. Kurundaka was apparently not
a large town as the plates mention that it was given in grant. [449]
At his investiture Indra made great gifts. He weighed himself against
gold or silver, and before leaving the scales he gave away Kurundaka
and other places, twenty and a half lákhs of dramma coins, and 400
villages previously granted but taken back by intervening kings. These
details have an air of exaggeration. At the same time gifts of coins
by lákhs are not improbable by so mighty a king as Indra and as to
the villages the bulk of them had already been alienated. The fact of
lavish grants is supported by the finding of these two plates of the
same date recording grants of two different villages made on the same
occasion, the language being the same, and also by a verse in the late
Ráshtrakúta Kardá plate (S. 894, A.D. 972) where Indra is described
as making numerous grants on copperplates and building many temples
of Siva. [450] The date of Indra's grants (S. 836, A.D. 914) is the
date of his investiture and accession. This is probable as the latest
known date of his grandfather Krishna is Saka 833 [451] (A.D. 911)
and we know that Indra's father Jagattunga did not reign. [452]
Umvará and Tenna, the villages granted in the two investiture plates,
are described as situated near Kammanijja the modern Kámlej in the
Láta province. They are probably the modern villages of Umra near
Sáyan four miles west of Kámlej, and of Tenna immediately to the west
of Bárdoli, which last is mentioned under the form Váradapallikâ as
the eastern boundary village. Dhruva II.'s Bagumrá plate (S. 789,
A.D. 867) mentions Tenna as granted by Dhruva I. to a Bráhman named
Dhoddi the father of the Nennapa who is the grantee of Dhruva II.'s
A.D. 867 Bagumrá grant, whose son Siddhabhatta is the grantee of
Indra's A.D. 914 grant. [453] The re-granting of so many villages
points to the re-establishment of the main Ráshtrakúta power and the
disappearance of the Gujarát branch of the Ráshtrakútas. [454]
Though no materials remain for fixing how long after A.D. 914 Gujarát
belonged to the Mányakheta Ráshtrakútas, they probably continued to
hold it till their destruction in Saka 894 (A.D. 972) by the Western
Chálukya king Tailappa. This is the more likely as inscriptions show
that till then the neighbours of Gujarát, the North Konkan Siláháras,
acknowledged Ráshtrakúta supremacy.
It is therefore probable that Gujarát passed to the conquering Tailappa
as part of the Ráshtrakúta kingdom. Further, as noted below in Part
II. Chapter II., it seems reasonable to suppose that about Saka
900 (A.D. 978) Tailappa entrusted Gujarát to his general Bárappa
or Dvárappa, who fought with the Solanki Múlarája of Anahilaváda
(A.D. 961-997).
[The text does not carry the question of the origin of the Ráshtrakútas
beyond the point that, about the middle of the fifth century A.D.,
two tribes bearing the closely associated names Ráthod and Ratta,
the leaders of both of which are known in Sanskrit as Ráshtrakútas,
appeared the first in Upper India the second in the Bombay Karnátak,
and that the traditions of both tribes seem to show they were
either southerners or foreigners Bráhmanised and included under the
all-embracing term Rájput. The Sanskrit form Ráshtrakúta may mean
either leaders of the Ráshtra tribe or heads of the territorial
division named ráshtra. The closely related forms Ráshtrapati
and Grámakúta occur (above page 82) in Valabhi inscriptions. And
Mr. Fleet (Kánarese Dynasties, 32) notices that Ráshtrakúta is
used in the inscriptions of many dynasties as a title equivalent to
Ráshtrapati. Such a title might readily become a family name like that
of the Sáhi Játs of the Panjáb or the Maráthi surnames Patel, Nadkarni,
and Desái. It may be noted that one of the Márwár traditions (Rájputána
Gazetteer, III. 246) connects the word Ráthod with Ráshtra country
making the original form Ráshtravara or World-blessing and referring
to an early tribal guardian Ráshtrasyena or the World-Falcon. It
is therefore possible that the origin of both forms of the name, of
Ráthod as well as of Ráshtrakúta, is the title ruler of a district. At
the same time in the case of the southern Ráshtrakútas the balance of
evidence is in support of a tribal origin of the name. The Rattas of
Saundatti in Belgaum, apparently with justice, claim descent from the
former Ráshtrakúta rulers (Belgaum Gazetteer, 355). Further that the
Ráshtrakútas considered themselves to belong to the Ratta tribe is
shown by Indra Nityamvarsha (A.D. 914) calling himself Rattakandarpa
the Love of the Rattas. The result is thus in agreement with the view
accepted in the text that Ráshtrakúta means leaders of the Ratta
tribe, the form Ráshtra being perhaps chosen because the leaders
held the position of Ráshtrakútas or District Headmen. According to
Dr. Bhandárkar (Deccan History, 9) the tribal name Ratta or Ráshtra
enters into the still more famous Dakhan tribal name Maharátha or
Mahrátta. So far as present information goes both the Rattas and the
Great Rattas are to be traced to the Rástikas mentioned in number
five of Asoka's (B.C. 245) Girnár edicts among the Aparántas or
westerners along with the Petenikas or people of Paithan about forty
miles north-east of Ahmadnagar (Kolhápur Gazetteer, 82). Whether the
Rástika of the edicts is like Petenika a purely local name and if so
why a portion of the north Dakhan should be specially known as the
country or Ráshtra are points that must remain open. [455]
The explanation that Kúta the second half of Ráshtrakúta, means
chief, has been accepted in the text. This is probably correct. At
the same time the rival theory deserves notice that the name
Ráshtrakúta is formed from two tribal names Kúta representing
the early widespread tribe allied to the Gonds known as Kottas
and Kods in the Central Provinces North Konkan and Delhi (Thána
Gazetteer, XII. Part II. 414). In support of this view it may be
noticed that Abhimanyu's fifth century Ráshtrakúta inscription
(J. Bo. Br. R. As. XVI. 92) refers to the Kottas though as enemies
not allies of the Ráshtrakútas. At the same time certain details in
Abhimanyu's grant favour an early Ráshtrakúta settlement in the Central
Provinces, the probable head-quarters of the Kottas. The grant is dated
from Mánapura and is made to Dakshina Siva of Pethapangaraka which
may be the Great Siva shrine in the Mahádev hills in Hoshangábád, as
this shrine is under the management of a petty chief of a place called
Pagára, and as Mánpur in the Vindhya hills is not far off. Against
the tribal origin of the word Kúta is to be set the fact that the
northern Rattas are also called Ráshtrakútas though any connection
between them and the Kotta tribe seems unlikely.
The question remains were the southern Rattas or Ráshtrakútas connected
with the northern Ráthods or Ráshtrakútas. If so what was the nature
of the connection and to what date does it belong. The fact that,
while the later southern Ráshtrakútas call themselves Yádavas of the
Lunar race, the northerners claim descent either from Kusa the son of
Ráma or from Hiranyakasipu would seem to prove no connection did not
Abhimanyu's fifth century grant show that in his time the southern
Ráshtrakútas had not begun to claim Yádava descent. That the Márwár
Ráthods trace their name to the ráht or spine of Indra (Tod's Annals,
II. 2), and in a closely similar fashion the Ráth or Rattu Játs of
the Sutlej (Ibbetson's 1881 Census, page 236) explain their name
as stronghanded, and the Rattas of Bijápur (Bijápur Stat. Account,
145) trace their name to the Kánarese ratta right arm, may imply no
closer connection than the common attempt to find a meaning for the
name Ratta in a suitable word of similar sound. A legend preserved
in the Rájputána Gazetteer (III. 246), but not noted by Tod, tells
how Sevji, after (A.D. 1139) the Musalmáns drove his father Jaichand
out of Kanauj (Tod's Annals, I. 88) took Khergad from the Gehlots and
went to the Karnátak. where the Ráthods had ruled before they came
to Kanauj. From the Karnátak Sevji brought the image of the Ráhtod
Ráshtrasyena which is now in the temple of Nágána in Mevád. The
account quoted in the text from Tod (Annals, I. 88) that the Ráthods
who rose to power in Márwár in the thirteenth century belonged to
a royal family who had held Kanauj since the fifth century has not
stood the test of recent inquiry. It is now known that about A.D. 470
Kanauj was in the hands of the Guptás. That about A.D. 600, according
to the contemporary Sríharshacharita it was ruled by the Maukhari
Grahavarmán who was put to death by a Málwa chief and was succeeded
by Harsha. About A.D. 750, according to the Rájátaranginí, Kanauj was
held by Yasovarmán, and, in the next century, as inscriptions prove by
the family of Bhoja. It was not till about A.D. 1050 that Kanauj was
occupied by the Gáhadavála or Gáharwála family from whom the Ráthods
of Márwár claim descent. [456] If the legendary connection of the
Márwár Ráthods with Kanauj must be dismissed can the Márwár Ráthods be
a branch of the southern Ráshtrakútas who like the Maráthás some 800
years later spread conquering northwards? Such a northern settlement of
the southern Ráshtrakútas might be a consequence of the victories of
the great Ráshtrakúta Dhruva who according to received opinions about
A.D. 790 conquered as far north as Allahábád. It is beyond question
that southerners or Karnátas were settled in North India between
the seventh and the eleventh centuries. Still the latest information
makes it improbable that Dhruva's conquests extended further north
than Gujarát. Nor has any special connection been traced between the
southern Ráshtrakútas and the middle-age settlements of southerners or
Karnátas in North India. [457] Must therefore the North Indian tribe of
Ráthods be admitted to have its origin as late as the twelfth century,
and further is the North Indian name Ráthod not tribal but derived
from the title head of a district. Several considerations make both
of these solutions unlikely if not impossible. First there is the
remarkably widespread existence of the name Ráhtor, Ratha, or Ratti,
and endless variations of these names, in almost all parts of the
Panjáb, among all castes from the Bráhman to the Baluch, among all
religions Musalmán, Sikh, Jain, and Bráhmanic. [458] No doubt the
practice of a waning tribe adopting the name of a waxing tribe has
always been common. No doubt also the fame of the name during the
last 600 years must have tempted other classes to style themselves
Ráthod. Still it is to be noted: first that (Ibbetson, page 240)
the Ráthods of the Panjáb though widespread are not numerous: and
second that the list of sub-caste-names has this merit that with
a few exceptions the holders of the sub-name are not known by it
but by some general or craft name. The evidence of these sub-caste
or tribal names seems therefore to support the view that some very
large section of the Panjáb population represent an important tribe
or nation of whom the least mixed remnant are perhaps the Ráthis or
lower class Rájputs of Kángra and Chamba (Ibbetson, pages 219 and
251) and from some connection with whom the Márwár Ráthods of the
thirteenth century may have taken their name. Among other traces of
northern Ráshtras in the middle ages may be mentioned the twelfth and
thirteenth century Ráshtrakútas of Badaun in the North-West Provinces
(Kielhorn in Epigraphia Indica, I. 61 and 63) and (A.D. 1150) in
the Kumárapála-Charitra (Tod's Western India, 182) the mention of
Ráshtra-desa near the Sawálak hills. Among earlier and more doubtful
references are the Aratrioi whom probably correctly (since at that
time A.D. 247 one main Roman trade route to Central Asia passed up
the Indus) the author of the Periplus (McCrindle, 120) places between
Abhiria or lower Sindh and Arachosia or south-east Afghanistán that
is in north Sindh or south Panjáb. Another earlier and still more
doubtful reference is Pliny's (A.D. 77) Oraturæ (Hist. Nat. VI. 23)
whom Vivien de St. Martin (Geog. Greque et Latine de l'Inde, 203)
identifies with the Ráthods. The fact that while claiming descent
from Ráma the Márwár Ráthods (Tod's Annals, II. 2 and 5) preserved
the legend that their founder was Yavanaswa from the northern city of
Paralipur supports the view that the tribe to which they belonged was
of non-Indian or Central Asian origin, and that this is the tribe of
whom traces remain in the Ráthi Rájputs of the Kángra hill country
and less purely in the widely spread Ráts, Rattas, and Rátis of the
Panjáb plains. The examples among Panjáb caste names Rora for Arora
(Ibbetson's 1881 Census, page 297), Her for Ahir (Ditto, 230-275), and
Heri for Aheri (Ditto, 310) suggest that the Panjáb Ráthors or Rattas
may be the ancient Arattas whom the Mahábhárata (Chap. VII. Verse
44. J. Bl. Soc. VI. Pt. I. 387 and Vivien de St. Martin Geog. Greque et
Latine de l'Inde, 149) ranks with Prasthalas, Madras, and Gandháras,
Panjáb and frontier tribes, whose identification with the Báhikas
(Karnaparvan, 2063ff.) raises the probability of a common Central Asian
origin. Remembering that the evidence (Kshatrapa Chapter, pages 22 and
33) favours the view that the Kshatrapa family who ruled the Panjáb
between B.C. 70 and A.D. 78 were of the same tribe as Nahápana, and
also that Sháhi is so favourite a prefix in Samudra Gupta's (A.D. 380)
list of Kushán tribes, the suggestion may be offered that Kshaharáta
is the earlier form of Sháharatta and is the tribe of foreigners
afterwards known in the Panjáb as Arattas and of which traces survive
in the present widespread tribal names Ráta, Ratta, Ratha, and Ráthor.]