Part 1 - Personal and Political History of Vastupala

In order to assess properly Vastupala's role as a great prime-minister of Gujarat and a patron of literature and art, it is necessary to narrate in brief his personal and political history. There is no dearth of material on the subject, though sometime we get conflicting and confusing statements. Two brothers Vastupala and Tejapala were born in an aristocratic Pragvata family of Anahilavad Patan. We get authentic information about their ancestry. The Chronicles begin the genealogy of Vastupala from a man named Candapa.1 According to Vastupala himself and his friend Somesvara, Candapa was a minister.² Most probably, he was a minister of a Caulukya king at Anahilavad. His son was Candaprasada, whose hand was never without the ministerial seal.³ He had two sons- Soma and Sura. Soma was a keeper of Jewels in the court of Jayasimha Siddharaja.4 His wife was Sita. She bote him a son named Asvaraja, who also held ministerial position. 6 Asvaraja had married Kumaradevi, daughter of a Pragvata Vanik named Abhu, who was a Dandapati.7 Asvaraja and Kumaradevi were parents of Vastupala.

30 A tradition has come down to this day, according to which, Kumaradevi was a widow, remarried to Asvaraja. Merutunga 8 has noted this tradition for the first time, and three old Gujarati poems called Vastupala-Rasa by Laksmisagara, Paravacandra 9 and Meruvijaya 10 have confirmed it. C.D.Dalal 11 and M.D.Desai 12 have, however, refused to accept the tradition as authentic on the ground that none of the contemporary works has mentioned it. Kumaradevi and Asvaraja had eleven issues in all - seven daughters named Jalhu, Mau, Dhanadevi, Sohaga, Vaiju and Padmaladevi, and four sons named Luniga, Malladeva, Vastupala and Tejapala. 13 Out of these four brothers, Luniga died at an early age, and Malladeva expired in youth, after becoming the father of a son Purnasimha. Even though we have plenty of information about Vastupala, we have no means of finding out the date of his birth. The earliest date that we find recorded is V.S.1249,14 given in an inscription without date but epigraphically not later than Vastupala's period, preserved in the Watson Museum at Rajkot. According to the inscription, Vastupala and his younger brother Tejapala had made the pilgrimage to Mt. Satrunjaya with their father in that year. It may be assumed that this was in their childhood. Vastupala had two wives Lalita and Vayajalladevi, and Tejapala was married to Anupama, who was famous as a wise counsellor of both the brothers, and to the less known Suhavadevi. 15

81 career. Very little is known about the early life of Vastupala and Tejapala. In early childhood they were living with their father in a town called Sumalakapura which was given to him as a reward for services to the Caulukya king. 16 He (Asvaraja) was deeply devoted to his mother. He carried her with pleasure to many pilgrim-places. He built many lakes, wells, tanks, ditches and temples. 17 After the death of Asvaraja, the two brothers with their mother went to Mandali, 18 when we have no means of ascertaining, lived there until the death of their mother, after which they seem to have began their political 19 While returning from a pilgrimage to Mt. Satrunjaya they came to Dhavalakka. The Kirtikaumudi, the Vasantavilasa, the Prabandhacintamani, and the Prabandhakosa mention that the two brothers had gone to Dhavalakka and King Viradhavala had made their appointment, after they were introduced to him by Somesvara. The Sukrtasankirtana, the Vastupala-Tejapala-Prasasti, and the Sukrnakirtikallolini of Udayaprabha on the other hand, inform us that they were already in the service of Bhima II of Anahilavad and that he had given them to Viradhavala at his request.20 Vastupala's own statement at the end of the Naranarayanananda, however removes all doubts and makes it quite clear that he was serving first under Bhimadeva, and his services were lent to the court of Dhavalakka only afterwards. 21 We do not know when Vastupala joined the service of Bhima, but it is certain that he and his brother were appointed at Dhavalakka in V.S.1276. 22 It was after this that there great career began, which made its mark in almost all the fields of life. 1

82 It appears from the Prabandhas that after his appointment Vastupala was placed as the governor of Simbhatirtha or Cambay, and Tejapala was in charge of the ministerial seal.23 Vastupala redressed many of the wrongs committed by previous governors. During his administration there was a marked improvement in the moral tone of the people, a check was placed on unscrupulous people making money by the base means, and all people carried on their business honestly in security. He put an end to piracy.24 He checked corruption with a strong hand and overhauled the whole administration. He took a fine of 2100 dramass from an old corrupt official. 25 There were great arrears in state-revenue; he employed the four means mentioned in the Nitisastra to reclaim the arrears and made the state-treasury full. 26 He checked accounts of several high officers in Stambhatirtha, who were reluctant to make a suitable report, and punished them.27 He also punished several unjust heads-men of the villages roundabout Stambhatirtha and erected temples with money recovered from them.28 Thus he put an end to the Matsya Nyaya 29 prevailing in the state, and curbed the laxity of officials, both high and low, with commendable sternness. It is quite possible that the war-like deeds of Vastupala and his brother were mostly undertaken with a view to end the law of jungle and to restore confidence among the people, as well as with the aim of filling the coffers of the state which had become quite empty during the weak rule of Bhimadeva. The Vastupalacarita states that in punishing Sadik, a wealthy Muslim merchant of Stambhatirtha, Vastupala's aim was to show that

! 83 now there was no place for the Matsya-Nyaya.29 In short, the first work of Vastupala after coming to power was to secure the economical as well as political consolidation of the Gujarat kingdom. When Vastupala had succeeded in restoring peace in the region pound about Dhavalakka and Stambhatirtha, Sankha, the ruler of Lata, made an attack on him, claiming that the port of Stambhatirtha was a possession of the king of Lata. After a fierce fight, at place called Vatakupa near Stambhatirtha, Sankha found Vastupala to be more than a match for him and made a hasty retreat. To commemorate this victory the citizens of Stambhatirtha celebrated a festival in the shrine of Goddess Ekallavira, which was outside the town and the minister went there to pay his homage to the deity. 30 This incident must have occurred before V.S. 1279, because in that year Vastupala entrusted the governorship of Stambhatirtha to his son Jaitrasimha or Jayantasimha,³1 after overhauling the administration of that city, which was the principal port of Northern India and hence a place of great importance from the economical and commercial point of view. The Prabandhas describe several other war-like deeds of Viradhavala associated with Vastupala. First of all they conquered the rulers of Vamanasthali, Samgana and Camunda, who were the brothers of Viradhavala's queen Jayataladevi, who declined to pay homage to Viradhavala inspite of repeated entreaties from their sister. They were slain in a combat and great ;

1 *84. riches of the palace of Vamanasthali came into the hands of Viradhavala. 32 Viradhavala led another attack against Bhimasimha of the Pratihara clan ruling at Bhadresvara in Cutch, but as Bhimasimha was served by several powerful warriors who had come from Marvad, Viradhavala could not conquer him, but had to return after making a peace-treaty.33 By this treaty a new friend was made and the Cutch border became free from danger. After this, Viradhavala thought of subduing Ghughula, a chief ruling at Godraha in the Mahitata region or the banks of the river Mahi. Ghughula made an alliance with the Marvad kings when the attacked Gujarat, and was plundering the merchants, pilgrims and caravans coming to and going from Gujarat. Tejapala was sent with a strong army. He captured Ghughula and put him in a wooden cage and appointed one of his lieutenants as a governor of Godraha. Ghughula, unable to bear this insult, committed suicide by biting his tongue. 34 As a result of this victory power of the Vaghelas extended upto the Eastern border of Gujarat and the trade-route to Malva was again made secure. There is ample historical evidence to show that during the rule of Viradhavala, there was a Muslim attack on Gujarat and that it was successfully repulsed by the strategy of Vastupala. Jayasimha Suri has dramatized this event in his Sanskrit play Hammiramadamardana. The Prabandhakosa describes how Sultan Mojdin of Delhi had invaded Gujarat, and how he was encircled by Dharavarsa of Candravati from the North and Vastupala from the South after his army had entered a Mountain pass near

85 36 Abu 35 Consequently the Sultan had to retreat. After some time the Sultan's mother was going on a pilgrimage to the holy Mecca, and had come to a port of Gujarat, most probably Stambhatirtha, to take a boat. Vastupala ordered his men to take possession of the old women's property. The captain of the ship came and complained before Vastupala that the pirates had rabbed the old woman. Vastupala caught the pirates who were really sent by him, and returned the old woman's property after receiving her with great respect, and also provided for her comfort and sefety journey. While returining from Mecca, she took Vastupala with her to Delhi, and introduced him to the Sultan to keep friendship with Viradhavala, and thus made his kingdom safe. Coming back from Delhi Vastupala was received by Viradhavala with great honor. 37