Page:The Pālas of Bengal.djvu/19

Rh on near the city of Gwalior, and a pencil rubbing of which with a photograph was handed over to the late Dr. Kielhorn by Dr. A. F. R. Hœrnle. A summary of this inscription was published by Dr. Kielhorn and it became known that Nāgabhaṭa II, son of Vatsarāja of the Gurjara-Pratīhāra family, conquered a king named Cakrāyudha, "whose low state was manifested by his dependence on another (or others)," and defeated the Lord of Vaṅga. The Cakrāyudha mentioned in this inscription is evidently the same Cakrāyudha who received the sovereignty of Mahodaya from Dharmmapāla of Bengal, and this identity is made doubly certain by the phrase "parāśrayakṛta-sphuṭa-nīca-bhāvaṁ." The inscription has since been edited by Pandit Hirānanda Sāstrī of the Archæological Survey, Northern Circle, and the verses about the conquests of Nagabhaṭa II run thus:—

Trayy = āspadasya sukṛtasya samṛddhim = icchur = yaḥ kṣatradhārā-vidhi-vaddha vali-prahandhaḥ, Jitvā parāśraya-kṛta-sphuṭa-nīca-bhāvaṁ Cakrāyudhaṁ vinayanamra-pūrvvarājat.— verse 9.

As a confirmation of the above statement came the verses of an unpublished grant of Amoghavarṣa I, now in the possession of Prof. Śrīdhara R. Bhandarkar, according to which during the victorious march of Govinda III, Dharmma and Cakrāyudha submitted of their own accord to that king:—

Himavat = parvvata-nirjjhar = āmbu turagaiḥ pītañ = ca gāḍhaṅ-gajair-ddhanitaṁ majjan-turyakair = dviguṇitaṁ bhuyopi tat-kandare, svayam = ev = opanatau ca yasya mahatas = tau Dharmma-Cakrāyudhau Himavān-kīrttisarūpatām-upagatas-tat = kīrttinārāyaṇaḥ.—verse 23.

As Nāgabhaṭa is mentioned in the preceding verse there remains no doubt about the identity of Dharmma and Cakrāyudha and the Cakrāyudha and the King of Bengal of the Gwalior inscription. He is the very same person who was seated on the throne of Mahodaya or Kanauj by Dharmmapāla of Bengal and who was defeated by the Gurjara king Nāgabhaṭa at the same time as the Pāla king. The mention of Nāgabhaṭa in the preceding verse makes this identification doubly certain:—

Sa Nāgabhaṭa-Candragupta-nṛpayor-yaśo{?)r-yaṁ raṇe svahāryam = apahārya dhairya-vikalān-ath-onmulayan. Yasor-jjanaparo nṛpān-svabhuvi śāli sasyān-iva puṇaḥ punaratiṣthipat-svapada eva c - ānyān = api.—verse 22.

So it is evident that the Kings Nāgabhaṭa II and Govinda III were the contemporaries of Dharmmapāla and Cakrāyudha. We possess a certain date for Nāgabhaṭa II, in the Buchkala inscription; the Vikrama year 872 = 815 A.D.