Mingling of Cultures (T): The Paramāras

Most of the Paramāra kings were Śaivite s and built several Śiva temples in different places. However, Vedic brāhmaṇas held a high position in contemporary society, the King Vākpatirāja of Paramāra dynasty issued three Copper Plate Inscriptions from Gaonri in c. 981 CE.^[1] It records the donation of seventy-eight parts of a village to twenty-six brāhmaṇas. The brāhmaṇas belonging to the gveda seemed to have received particular preference. The most important information contained in this charter is the migration of brāhmaṇas from various parts of the country to Mālwā, where they were recipients of donations. Several donees seem to have migrated from Bengal, which appears as the land of brāhmaṇas studying various Vedas. Most of the brāhmaṇas from Bengal is stated to have belonged to the Chāndogya śākhā of Sāmaveda. This information is significant because of the preponderance of the adherents of this Veda among the brāhmaṇas of Bengal. Madhyadeśa, which is roughly equivalent to the United Provinces, is the original home of at least three of the donees. Uttarakuladeśa in which the village Pauṇḍarika was the home of a brāhmaṇa must be some tract to the north of the Ganges. Kheṭaka and Nāndipura in Gujarat figure here as first places of two of the donees. Besides, villages of Khajūrika, Sopura, etc., found within the province of Mālwā also figure here in the same context. There is thus a vast amount of information regarding the original places of brāhmaṇas in the present plates, which is of great importance for the social history of the period. Again, in Copper Plate from Gaonri-C (c. 986 CE),^[2] he donated the village of Kaḍahichchhaka to the Brāhmaṇa Sarvānanda, of the Saṃkṛtigo tra and Āsvalāyana-śākhā. This donee is also one of the brāhmaṇas mentioned in the previous Gaonri plates.

Most of the Paramāra kings were Śaivites and built several Śiva temples in different places, although they also patronized Jain scholars. Bhojeśvar temple established by King Bhojarāja is one of the Śiva temples of this dynasty. Three Copper Plate Inscriptions from Gaonri-A records the title Parama-bhattāraka Mahārajādhirājā Parameśvara associated with Vākpatirāja. Nevertheless, as we see in the inscriptions above, vedic culture was there, and Vedas were studied with attention at that time.