Part 7 - History of Sankha

Sankha, a chieftain of Lama, comes as a major character in the fifth canto of the Vasantavilasa Mahakavya which summerizes the battle between Vastupala and Sankha. So, here is given a historical account of Sankha briefly. Sankha a chieftain of Lata country a chieftain of Lata country was invariably referred to as Sangramasimha in Hammiramadamardana, whereas the Kirtikaumudi and the Vasantavilasa call him Sankha, and all three works agree that he was the son of Sindhuraja; the Sukrtakirtikallolini definitely identifies Sankha with Sangramasimha. 156 In the Vasantavilasa Sankha is called a Cabamana,157 and in the Kirtikaumudi it is stated that the town of Cambay belonged to him by right of descent, as his ancestors had formerly held it. 158 The Hansot grant of Bhartrivaddha issued from Broach in V.S. 813, reveals the existence of a line of six generations of Cahamana's who appear to have resided in the region of Broach and heold sway over Lata. 159 As Broach according to the Chronicles was the seat of Sankha's government, he might have belonged to the line of the Cahamana's mentioned above but no precise identification of his ancestry is possible. Besides Simha, the uncle of Sankha, the Hammiramadamardana(Hammiramadamardana-nataka of Jayasimha Suri) refers to another king of Lata named Sahajapala, who is spoken of in connection with a past event as well as with the events dealt with in the play. 160

122 Sankha's 's exact status is not mentioned in the Hammiramadamardana except in the forged letter where he is designated as the Mahamandalesvara of Devapala, the Paramara king of Malava. 161 Both the Kirtikaumudi (Kirtikaumudi of Someshvara) and the Vasantavilasa (Vasantavilasa of Balachandra ) mention another king of Lata who is not named. 162 Hence S.R.Bhandarkar suggested that Simha and Sahajapala were identical. As the Hammiramadamardana-nataka of Jayasimha Suri does not call Sankha the king of Lata, this is probably what is meant, but in view of the testimony of the W and the Kirtikaumudi of Someshvara it has to be admitted that in that case Lata was divided into two parts: one was being ruled by Sankha from Broach, and the other by Sahajapala, who might have been Sankha's uncle Simha, or his cousin, that is Simha's son. 163 164 In the Hammiramadamardana-nataka of Jayasimha Suri, Sankha is said to be the nephew of Simha, King of Lata; 165 but the Kirtikaumudi of Someshvara and the Vasantavilasa of Balachandra does not mention Simha. The W states that when Lavanaprasada and Subhatavarman were fighting with each other, and the Yadavas took advantage of it and invaded Lata, it was Sankha who repulsed the Yadavas. This indicates that Sankha was wielding power as early as the first decade of the 13 th century A.D., as the Subhatavarman was succeeded by his son Arjunavarman by A.D. 1210. In that case Sankha must have come to power earlier. The Hammiramadamardana-nataka of Jayasimha Suri states that Simha was deserted by his friend the Malava king when attacked by Yadavas as a result of which he came to terms with Viradhavala.166 About Samkha's father, Sindhuraja, none of the Chronicles give any information, except stating that he was an enemy of Viradhavala and lost his life at the hand of the Yadavas 167

: 123 In the Hammiramadamardana-nataka of Jayasimha Suri Vastupala praises Sankha very highly for his victory over the army of Simhana by which he put into shade the wonder which previously had been witnessed on the Reva when Ravana's pride was checked by Kartavirya.168 Probably during this time Sankha had been acting as a feudatory of the Parmaras. But later he was defeated and captured by the Yadavas and spent some time in a Yadava prision. The first invasion of Gujarat by Simhana apparently ending in a truce, Lavanaprasada and Viradhavala left for Marwad. Taking advantage of their absence, Sankha decided to attack Cambay where Vastupala had been left in charge. According to Merutunga, a Muslim merchant named Sayyad had invited Sankha, the Maha-Sadhanika of Broach to help him against Vastupala. 170 Both the Vasantavilasa of Balachandra and the Kirtikaumudi of Someshvara state that Sankha sent an emissary to Vastupala at Cambay demanding the surrender of the city. He threatened Vastupala with dire consequences in case of refusal and promised him high officers under Sankha if he complied with the demand. Vastupala disdainfully dismissed the emissary. Sankha attacked Cambay and in a well contested battle was decisively beaten and retired. The Muslim merchant Sayyad was killed by Vastupala. 171 It is probable that chagrined by this defeat, Sankha again joined the Yadavas, and it was due to his incitement that Simha led another attack on Gujarat. Sankha after deserting Simhana collected his troops and proceeded towards Cambay. This rendered Vastupala uneasy and he threatened to destroy Sankha. Probably Sankha was coming with hostile intention, but he

124 had maintained a representative at Cambay to allay suspicion. That dignitary, when accused by Vastupala of bad faith, assured the minister that Sankha was coming with his troops to help Viradhavala against the Turushkas. Vastupala appeared to be satisfied with his explanation, but made arrangements for the defence of Cambay. 172 was Nothing more is known about Sankha. As Broach is known to have been under Viradhavala's son Visaladeva 173 in V.S. 1298, presumably Sankha deprived of all power and position by that time. The last known date of Bhima II is V.S.1296; Broach might have once again come under the sway of the Caulukyas during the region of Bhima II; For, probably Sankha was finally removed from Broach by Visaladeva, who has been supposed to have defeated the Yadava-army under Rama A.D.1237 on the banks of the Narmada.