Sanskrit Inscriptions (M): Dynasties from Other Region

[Study of Sanskrit Inscriptions Issued During Early and Early Medieval Period (M): Dynasties from Other Region]

The geographical limits of proper Northern India and Madhyadeśa never include Bengal or Odisha region. However, studying the inscriptions around northern India will help us in our main task for sure. That is often seen, however they were based in Odisha, and some of their inscriptions are available elsewhere or may be some times we find them in northern part of the country.

There are a number of charters from north India and Odisha region record grants of villages whose sites are uncertain or not identified yet. Thus those are not valuable regarding this chapter for lack of necessary information. However; we used them for a comparative study. Like as we discussed some of them without any specific information of original places of inhabitation and in a few cases without the exact location on the donated land.

Several dynasties have appeared in different parts of Odisha since the middle of the eighth century. However, their chronology, exact boundaries and their exact location or interrelationships cannot be said with certainty. History says, the Bhauma -K ara kingdom was known as Toṣali or Toṣala, which was divided into Uttara Toṣala and Dakṣiṇa Toṣala of which the river Mahānadī formed the boundary line. Its capital was Guheśvarapātaka or Guhadevapātaka on the bank of river Baitarani. In the south, the Bhaumas had to meet a powerful adversary the Gaṇgas of Kalinga. To the west of Toṣali, the Bhauma-karas had to face the challenge of a larger opponent than the Gaṇgas and they were the Somavamsis of South Kośala who conquered coastal Odisha and ultimately expelled the Bhauma-karas from Utkala area. The Bhauma-karas were less powerful than the Somavamsis. The Bhaṇjas ruled over this territory as feudatories and they had to check the frequent raids of the Somavaṃśīs. Second half of 9th century CE, good relation between the Bhaumas and the Bhaṇjas were over and the Bhaṇjas turned to be vehement enemies of the Bhaumas.

The Bhauma-Karas:

In 10^th century CE, Dandimahādevi, daughter of Subhakara-V of Bhauma family, issued the Santiragama charter that records a grant of a village Santira-grāma and another locality called Komyosanga, situated within Tamura-viṣaya in Dakṣiṇa Toṣala to Bhaṭṭa Mākyadeva, son of Jālladeva, an inhabitant of Dharmapāṭṭi, who had emigrated from Takāri.^[1] It was located by the editor of the charter D.C. Sircar, in the Set-Mahet region in Uttar Pradesh. But the donated villages have not been identified yet. However, Dakṣiṇa Toṣala, the southern part of Bhauma-Kara kingdom, in which they were situated comprised the Ganjam-Puri-Cuttack region, according to D.C. Sircar.^[2] So the donee Brāhmaṇa Mākyadeva went from Uttar Pradesh to Dakṣiṇa Toṣala in Odisha.

A few years later, Dandimahādevi was succeeded by Vakula-mahādevī. She was Dandimahādevi’s step-mother and Queen of Subhakara-V. A grant issued by her also dated in the tenth-century^[3] records that the Brāhmaṇa Mihadhichāya, son of Bhaṭṭaputra Nilakantha, who was a resident of a village Kanteda, and an immigrant from Śāvasthadeśa^[4] received the village Chodātavutsā which was attached to the Uregodda-Khanda, situated in the Aśravaṇakatika-viṣaya in Uttara Toṣala. The editor P.R. Srinivasan, could not identify Sāvastha-deśa. However, It probably was Śrāvasti in Uttar Pradesh, as discussed earlier. The new names of any of the donated villages and the viṣaya are not known. But they were situated in the Uttara Toṣala country which is according to D.C. Sircar the ancient Utkala country in the Balasore region, to which the ṛgvedīya (Āśvalayaṇa-śākhā) Brāhmaṇa Mihadhichāya came from Uttar Pradesh.^[5]

The Somavaṃśins:

10^th century onwards, the early members of the Somavaṃśī dynasty have been found in the Sambalpur tract, in the eastern part of the South Kośala country and Bhaṇjas of northern Ganjam district ruled for about three hundred years. During the 10th century CE, the Sulkis and almost their contemporary was the family of the Tungas in Odisha and ruled over Talcher-Dhenkanal and Talcher-Pallahara-Keonjhar states respectively. Both of them were feudatories of the Karas but later were independent rulers. Cases of migration of vedic brāhmaṇas can be experienced through many Somavaṃśī charters.

Cuttack grant issued by Mahāśivagupta records a donation^[6] of a village to Brāhmaṇa Sankhapani who was living in Silabhanjapati in odradesa (ancient name of Odisha), having formally emigrated from Srivalla-grāma in Madhyadeśa. Likewise, brāhmaṇas were migrating from various centers in Madhyadeśa and coming to Kośala in Odisha. The brāhmaṇas of the Contai subdivision of Odisha called themselves as residents of Madhyadeśa. The Baripada Museum plates of Devananda of the Nanda dynasty records a grant where the donee Bhaṭṭa Bhahmadhara has emigrated from Pundravardhana or North Bengal. There are many instances where the donees migrating from a predominantly brahmaṇa village in North Bengal, came to south India and were given communities as dharmadeya. Hindol plates,^[7] as discussed earlier, maybe an example here, where three brāhmaṇa brothers from Dinajpur, Bengal migrated to south India and given a village named Vadapati, in Karwar (Kannara) district of Karnataka. Some instances record migration from Uttar Pradesh and North Bengal region to the east and the Assam region. In this regard, Guakuci plates issued by Indrapala bear such an example of migration.^[8]

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

EI, vol. XXIX, p. 89.

[2]:

D.C. Sircar, op. cit., p. 174.

[3]:

USVAE, vol. VIII, pp. 78-84.

[4]:

EI, vol.XXXVI, p. 312.

[5]:

D.C. Sircar, op. cit., p. 174.

[6]:

EI, vol. III, p. 353.

[7]:

OHRJ, vol. XII, p. 7.

[8]:

In this regard Guakuci plates issued by Indrapala bear such an example of migration.