Ancient History
Part VI

About the middle of the eighth century A.D. the Early Chalukyas were overthrown by the Rastrakutas. No inscriptions of the Early Chalukyas have been found in Vidarbha, but their successors the Rastrakutas have left several records. The earliest of them is the copper-plate inscription of Krishna I discovered at Bhandak and dated in the Saka year 694 (A.D. 772). It records the grant of the village Nagana to a temple of the Sun in Udumbaramanti, modern Rani Amravati in the Yavatmal district. Thereafter several grants of his grandson Govinda III have been found in the Akola and Amravati districts of Vidarbha. The Rastrakutas of Manyakheta and the Kalacuris of Tripuri were matrimonially connected and their relations were generally friendly. But in the reign of Govinda IV, they became strained. The Kakacuri king Yuvarajadeva I espoused the cause of his son-in-low Baddiga-Amoghavarsa III, the uncle of Govinda IV and fought on the bank of the Payosni (Puna) 16.093 km. (10 miles) from Achalpura, between the Kalacuri and Rastrakuta forces, in which the former became victorious. This event is Rajasekhara, which was staged at Triputi in jabilation of this victory.

The next Rastrakuta record in Vidarbha is the aforementioned Devali copper-plate grant of the reign of Baddhiga's son Krishna III, which mentions the visaya of Nagapura-Nandi-vardhana.

The Rastrakuta were succeeded by the Later Chalukyas of Kalayani. Only one inscription of this family has been found in Vidarbha. It is the so-called Sitabuldi stone inscription of the time of Vikramaditya VI. From the account of Vinayakrav. Aurangabadkar this record seems to have originally belonged to the Vindhyasana hill at Bhandak. It is dated the Saka year 1008 (A.D. 1087) and registers the grant of some nivartanas of land, for the grazing of cattle, made by a dependant of a feudatory named Dhadibhandaka. Another inscription of Vikramaditya's reign was recently discovered at Dongarganv in the Yavatmal district. It sheds interesting light on the history of the Paramara dynasty. It shows that Jagaddeva, the youngest son of Udayaditya, the brother of Bhoja, left Malva and sought service with Vikramaditya VI, who welcomed him and placed him in charge of some portion of Western Vidarbha. This inscription is dated in the Saka year 1034(A.D.1112).

Though western Vidarbha was thus occupied by the Later Chalukyas, the Paramaras of Dhar raided and occupied some portion of eastern Vidarbha. A large stone inscription now deposited in the Nagpur Museum, which originally seems to have belonged to Bhandak in the Chanda district, traces the genealogy of the Paramara Prince Naravarman from Vairisimha. It is dated in the Vikrama year 1161 corresponding to A.D. 1104-05, and records the grant of two villages to a temple which was probably situated at Bhandak; for some of the places mentioned in it can be identified in its vicinity. Thus Mokhalipataka is probably Mokhar, 80.47 km. (50 miles) west of Bhandak. Vyapura, the name of the mandala in which it was situated, may be represented by Vurganv 48.280 km. (30 miles) from Mokhar. After the downfall of the Vakatakas, there was no imperial family ruling in Vidarbha. The centre of political power shifted successively to Mahismati, Badami, Manyakheta and Kalyani. Men of learning who could not get royal patronage in Vidarbha, had to seek it elsewhere. Bhavabhuti, who ranks next to Kalidasa in Sanskrit literature, was a native of Vidarbha. In the prologue of his play Mahaviracharita he tells us that his ancestors live in Padmapura in Vidarbha. As stated above, this place with the village Padampur in the Bhandara district. With the downfall of the eighth century when Bhavabhuti flourished there was no great king ruling in Vidarbha. Bhavabhuti had India, and had to get his plays staged at the fair of Kalapriyanatha ( the Sun-God at Kalpi). Later, he obtained royal patronage at the court of Yasovarman of Kanauj. Rajasekhara, another great son of Vidarbha, was probably born at Vatsagulma, (modern Vasim), which he has glorified in his Kavyamimamsa as the pleasure-resort of the god of the god of love. He had his ancestors Akalajalada, Tarala and Surananda has to leave their home country of Vidarbha and to seek patronage at the court of the Balaramayana, the Balabharata and the Karpuramanjiri, were put on the boards at Kanauj under the patronage of the Gurjara Pratiharas. Later, when the glory of the Pratiharas declined as sekhara seems to have returned to Tripuri in the train of the victorious conqueror. There his last play Viddhasalabhanjika was staged in jubilation at the victory of Yuvarajadeva over a confederacy of Southern kings led by Govinda IV in the battle of the Paysoni. Another great poet of Vidrbha who had to go abroad in search of royal patronage is Trivikramabhatt, the author of the Nalacampu, in which he has given us a graphic description of several towns, holy paces and rivers of Vidarbha. He flourished at the court of the Rastrakuta king Indra III and is known to have drafted the two sets of Bagumra plates of that king, dated Saka 816.