Part 4 - Conquest of Kanauj

The First Encounter 97 Having subjugated the petty states that existed around the kingdom of Kashmir, Lalitaditya directed his forces towards the borders of the Kingdom of Kanauj, somewhere in the Punjab. Kanauj was, at that time, ruled by the illustrious Yasovarman, who was aspiring to restore to Kanauj the glory it had That his achieved during the age of Harshavardhana. territories extended as far as the Southern Punjab and the sub-mountainous regions of the Himalayas by is attested to both literary and epigraphic as well 2 as foreign accounts. The advancing forces of 1. We have discussed this achievement of Lalitaditya fully elsewhere (Bulletin of Museums & Archeology in U.P. (Sangrahalaya Puratattva Patrika) No.5, 1970. 2. The author of Gaudavaho has expressly stated that Yasovarman, in the course of his extensive conquests, moved from Marwar to Thaneswar. From Thaneswar, he is said to have marched to the once famous city (aerial city?) of 'Harishchandra' and thence to the hilly regions at the foot of the Himalayas which, in the poet's words, were scented with exubations of the Devadara trees and which we known as Mandara Hills. Assuming that Vakpatiraja has tried to enumerate the countries in some geographical order, we arrive at the logical conclusion that from Thaneswar and Kurukshetra, Yasovarman marched towards the present Himachal Pradesh. These regions would comprise areas roughly corresponding to North-eastern Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and possibly a few passes giving access to Tibet as well. We must not lose sight of the fact that Yaso varman, directly or indirectly, held (Contd.)

98 Lalitaditya must have clashed with those of Yasovarman. The Chronicle makes it abundantly clear that the tide of events went in favour of Lalitaditya and this is also hinted at in the Gaudavaho? - Yasovarman was forced to try and conclude terms with Lalitaditya as " held sway over some of these areas, as, according to the Chinese sources, he is said to have sent an embassy to China. Since a passage through Kashmir was out of question for his embassy, his envoys must have travelled through the Tibetan highway, leading to Central China. As such, Yaso varman's conquests brought him dangerously close to the south-eastern extremities of the empire of Lalitaditya and the exchange of arms became inevitable between the two. (See Gaudavaho, Intro., pp. xx-xxxiii, Verse 484; 'Smith, V.A., Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain, 1908, p. 784). Our hypothetical reconstruction of the course of the events is corroborated to a great measure by the Nalanda Inscription of Yasovarmaadeva i.e., Yasovarman, which is generally taken to belong to that ruler (lines 3-4). We have already taken notice of the Chinese evidence above. Further, we may add that Jalandhara, because of its strategic situation, was coveted by Lalitaditya and Yasovarman, both of whom wanted to annex it to their kingdoms. The Korean traveller, Hui-Ch'ao informs us that Jalandhara was successively invaded by both the kings of Kashmir and Central India obviously Lalitaditya and Yasovarman (JanYun-Hua, Hui Ch'ao And his Works: A Reassessment'; The Indo-Asian Culture, XII, No. 3, pp. 177-90). 1. The panegyric explains away this discomfiture by the simile of an eclipse, Gaudavaho verses 827-31.

99 is apparent from the following passage in the Rajatarangini : "The thoughtful ruler of Kanyakubja showed himself as one of the wise, when he first showed his back to the fiercely shining Lalitaditya and then made his submission." But the terms of the treaty, or probably the wordings of the draft, were not very satisfactory. The Chronicle leads us to believe that the treaty was couched in words which did not pay due respect to the victorious King of Kashmir and put Yasovarman, at the vanquished king, on par with the victor. This was brought home to Lalitaditya by his minister, Mitrasarman, who felt his vanity piqued and was annoyed. After rewarding Mitrasarman for his faithful conduct by bestowing upon him the honour of h Pancamahasabda, Lalitaditya soon began preparations for a second attack on the king of Kanauj. There is, however, the possibility that Lalit aditya and his ministers wanted some pretext to attack and humble Yasovarman, who was, at the moment, aspiring for supreme overlordship in Northern India. Both kings, as is apparent, wanted to establish their 1. Rajatarangini by Kalhana, I, IV, 144.

100 paramountcy in the north for express purposes. The north-western regions of India were in turmoil and t open to constand inroads and depredations of the Muslim hordes. Also, both wanted to present themselves to advantage in the eyes of their Chinese contemporary and longed for friendly relations with him so as not to be open to any possible attack on the rear while dealing with the menace on the western front. We, therefore, cannot exclude altogether the possibility that Lalitaditya, goaded by his ministers, was looking for an excuse to assert himself and humble Yasovarman, the only thorn in his way to supreme overlordship in the North. Fortunately for him, the wordings of the treaty provided him a ready-made excuse. Second Attack Having thus armed himself with an excuse, Lalitaditya soon began preprations for a second and more determined attack on Kanauj. There was, as the Chronicle informs us, some reluctance on the part of his generals who did not relish the idea of a second attack so soon, but Lalitaditya was adamant. The 2 outcome of the ensuing protracted struggle for supremacy, which continued for some time, proved 1. Rajatarangini by Kalhana, I, IV, 139. 2. Ibid.

101 disastrous for Yasovarman, who was completely overwhelmed by the forces of Lalitaditya. According to Kalhana, Yasovarman was 'completely uprooted' and the extensive regions (between the Yamuna and Kalika rivers) around Kanyakubja, together with that famous city, were at the command of Lalitaditya like the courtyard of his own house or palace. Thus, after the rout of Yasovarman, the paramountcy of Lalitaditya was established in the North. Earlier, We are not sure what happened to Yasovarman after his defeat at the hands of the king of Kashmir. different views were held by eminent Sanskrit scholars and historians about the subsequent fate of Yasovarman. Wilson is of opinion that Yasovarman fled away after crossing the Jamuna and was heard of no more². According to Smith, he was done to death in that conflict. 4 Ray held the view that he was wholly uprooted. Dr. Sircar has added the possibility of Mitrasarman, the Kashmir minister, being appointed as Viceroy at Kanauj, because Yasovarman was not only 'uprooted entirely' but his territories were annexed to the victor's empire. On the other hand, Dr. Tripathi 5 1. "Semulam Upalatayat" Rajatarangini by Kalhana(I, IV, 140); "GrihaPrangana" Ibid., I, iv, 145. cf. also Ibid., I, iv, 187. 2. Wilson, H.H., Hindu History of Kashmir, p. 43. 3. Smith, V., Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain, 1908, p. 777. 4. Ray, S.C., E.H.C.K., p. 39. 5. Sircar, D.C., Geography of Ancient and Medieval India, p. 234.

102 is of the view that he was worsted in fight but was subsequently allowed to rule from Kanauj, no doubt 1 as a vassal. Dr. Majumdar, too, is of the view that the poetic expression 'uprooted entirely' need not be taken in its strict literary sense and doubts 2 whether Yasovarman was killed. Some of the above conclusions seem to be quite uncalled for. In the first place, the Chronicle also informs us that Yasovarman, along with his illustrious court poets, Vakpati and Bhavabhuti, became a panegyrist of Lalitaditya, obviously meaning thereby that he was alive and had not run away into oblivion, as believed by some scholars. Secondly, we do not have any epigraphic evidence of Kanauj being annexed to the empire of Lalitaditya. Thirdly, had Kanauj re been annexed to Kashmir, there would not have been any question of its conquest during the time of Jayapida, Lalitaditya's successor, as we shall notice later. Fourthly, Dr. Sircar has possibly missed the import of the verses following immediately the ones taken into consideration by that learned savant. The subsequent verses (Rajatarangini by Kalhana, I, IV, 144-46) clearly 1. Tripathi, R.S., H.K. p. and Letters, XXVII; 'No: 2033 Goetz, H., Art Art 2. Majumdar, R.C., Classical Age, p. 131.

103 indicate that Yasovarman, though vanquished, was spared his life and Lalitaditya, passing over his territories, continued on his conquering expedition 1 eastward. 2 We are, therefore, of the opinion that uprooting of Yasovarman, as suggested by the poet, has not to be taken too literally, for we have both internal and external evidences to the contrary. The fact that Yaso varman was allowed to rule over his territories by Lalitaditya is perhaps vouchsafed by Ou-Kong, who has noted in his accounts that Lalitaditya Muktapida and his "Central Indian ally", meaning very probably Yasoverman, had 'blocked' the five passes leading 3 from Tibet. It is very unfortunate that Rajatarangini, which has been our main source of information thus far, gives us no detailed information about his further conquests 1. The simile of the river Ganges breaking through the Himalayas is very significant. Taken inthe case of Yasovarman, it can also mean, that, just as the river breaks through the mountains so did Lalitaditya break through the armies of Yasovarman. As pointed out by Stein (Rajatarangini by Kalhana, IV, 146) the same expression (Vahini) has also been used in an earlier verse (Rajatarangini by Kalhana, I, iv, 134). The simile may also be interpreted in two other ways (Sanga rupaka): The Himalayas are broken through but not destroyed; similarly, Yasovarman was broken through i.e., completely defeated but not completely destroyed. The other import would connote that Lalitaditya in his eastward march followed the course of the river Ganges, as seen above. 2. Rajatarangini by Kalhana, I, IV, 144. 3. Chavannes, E., and Levi, S., Journal Asiatique, 1895, pp. 353, 382.

104 1 in Eastern India. After the defeat of Yasovarman, Kalhana mentions Lalitaditya's conquest of Kalinga. It is very natural to presume from this that the intervening regions surely fell before him and he marched victoriously up to the eastern coast. It will not be out of place to mention here that the coins of Lalitaditya have been discovered at Kanauj, Banda, Fyzabad, Varanasi (Rajghat and Sarnath), Nalanda and Monghyr. These clearly indicate the path Lalitaditya most probably followed on his victorious march towards the East. 2 It should also be borne in mind that his orstwhile adversary, Yasovarman, had already conquered the areas comprising Magadha and Vanga a little before; as such, the advance of Lalitaditya would naturally have been unhindered. The huge hoard of coins of Lalitaditya, which was found at Banda, tends to suggest that the locality, being centrally situated, probably served as a supply base for his eastern and south-eastern 1. Rajatarangini by Kalhana, I, iv, 146-47. 2. Pires, E., The Maukharis, p. 140%; Burn, R., Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain, 1906, p. 843; Dayal, P., Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, (N.S.), XLI, 1928, pp. 6-9; Agrawala, V.S,, Journal of the Numismatic Society of India, X, pt. 1, pp. 31-33; Archaeological Survey of India (Annual Report, Eastern Circle), 1919-20, p. 48.

105 campaigns + 2 This hoard also throws light on the onward march of Lalitaditya towards Eastern India. It appears that his armies did not strictly follow the course of the Ganges in the Antarvedi (doab), but, moving in a south-easterly direction, crossed the river Jamuna. In our present state of knowledge, it is not possible to guess whether this change in the direction was motivated by any challenge from some petty potentate ruling under Yasovarman or was a brilliantly thoughtout measure to protect the rear. The find of the aforesaid hoard lends support to the latter suggestion, as the regions around Banda were of strategic importance and that is probably one of the reasons why the Chandellas also made it their stronghold in these regions. Having thus consolidated his position and secured his rear, Lalitaditya seems to have conquered the extensive regions of modern Uttar Pradesh and then proceeded towards the East. 1. Tripathi, R.S., M.K., pp. 203-04; Dr. Tripathi, in our opinion, has taken a very plausible view in suggesting that the hoard in question was probably a "part of the treasures Lalitaditya carried for the maintenance for his forces..." Since then, his coins have been found at several places in Northern India, as stated above. 2. Rajatarangini by Kalhana, I, iv, 132.

106 We would not be far from truth to infer that he also undertook the same route that had been taken earlier by Yasovarman. Although we cannot build much on the chance-findings of stray coins which could have reached far in the course of normal trade, yet we can safely infer that Lalitaditya passed very near to or visited Varanasi in the course of his onward march for several reasons. He would naturally have satiated the religious fervour of his troops and also prepared himself for his onward march. Unfortunately, the Chronicle brushes aside such details and we ultimately hear of Lalitaditya reaching Kalinga first and thence making his north-eastward thrust into Vanga. ai The next stage in the capiegn of Lalitaditya, as stated above, was his onward march towards eastern India along the course of the Ganges. His progress towards these regions, according to Kalhana, was comparatively easy, due, naturally, to the fact that the regions extending up to Western Bengal were incorporated in the empire of his erstwhile adversary, 1 Yasovarman, of Kanauj, and had now fallen to him. Unfortunately, the Chronicler does not furnish us 1. Rajatarangini by Kalhana, I, IV, 147-48; Tripathi, R.S., H.K., pp. 198.

107 any clues about his possible adversaries in these regions and we have to look elsewhere for making any suggestions in this direction. st The history of Bengal prior to the rise of the Palas in those regions is a subject of great controversy. The country seems to have been laid into confusion after the earlier raid of Yasovarman, who had extinguished all political authority there. Petty chiefs were vying among themselves and Bengal, as later inscriptions of the Palas suggest, was governed by Matsya-Nyaya. The probable opponent of Lalitaditya in Gauda, as discussed by us elsewhere, was Rajabhadra of the Bhadra dynasty who, during the interval between the raid of Yasovarman and that of n 1 Lalitaditya, had gathered sufficient importance and influence in that region. This is attested to I indirectly both by indigenous and foreign literary notices. According to the Aryamanjusrimulakalpa, a king whose name began with 'bha' ruled over these regions. Some such corroboration can also be had 3 2 from the accounts of Lama Taranatha and Buston Since Rajabhadra does not figure any more in the 1. J.U.P.H.S., XIV (N.S.), Pt. I-II, pp. 63-70. 2. Aryamanjusrimulakalpa, verse 680; vide Jayaswal, K.P., Imperial History of India, p. 44 ff.; cf. also above. 3. J.U.P. H.S., XIV (N.S.), pt. I-II, pp. 63-70.

108 political history of Bengal, to us, it appears that he was the most likely adversary of Lalitaditya and shared a woeful fate in Kashmir. 1 2 Similar uncertainty exists about the ruler or rulers of Kalinga who had to bear the brunt of an attack from the Kashmir monarch. Taking advantage of the chaotic conditions in Northern India after the demise of Harshavardhana, the sailodbhavas had asserted their supremacy in Kalinga. Ayasobhita II (or III) who, like his father Sainyabhita II (or III), performed the Asvamedha and other sacrifices, extended his territories up to the river Mahanadi and Cuttack. The Tekkali grant refers to four kings of that dynasty who ruled over Orissa till the middle of the 8 th century when the sailodbhavas were supplanted by the Kara (or the Bhagadatta) dynasty which "ruled over Kongoda in the latter part of the eighth and the beginning of the ninth century A.D.. It is quite probable, therefore, that it was either in the time of Madhyamaraja III, the last known ruler of the Sailodbhava dynasty or his unknown successor, that the armies of Lalitaditya overran the regions of Kaling » 3 1. J.U.P.H.S., XIV (N.S.), Pt. I-II, p. 63-70. 2. Majumdar, R.C., Classical Age, pp. 145-47. 3. Sastri, H.P.,Journal of the Bihar and Orissa Research Society, IV, pp. 162-67; South Indian Epigraphy, 1935-36, pp. 64-65; cf., Majumdar, R.C., Classical Age, p. 146. ga.