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Mahendragiri inscriptions of Rajendra I

A Sanskrit inscription at the entrance of the Yudhishthira temple on the Mahendragiri hill, in the old Ganjam district, with a Tamil version on stones near the Kunti shrine, recording that a general of the Chola Rajendra I defeated Vimaladitya and set up a pillar of victory on the mountain. The Chola tiger and the two fish of the Pandya are carved below the Sanskrit record. Most writers take Vimaladitya to be the Eastern Chalukya king of Vengi; H. Krishna Sastri called him a chief of Kuluta.

Two inscriptions on the Mahendragiri hill, in the old Ganjam district, record a Chola victory.1 They say that a general of the Chola king Rajendra I defeated Vimaladitya and set up a pillar of victory on the mountain.2 Most writers take Vimaladitya to be the Eastern Chalukya king of Vengi, Rajendra’s sister’s husband.13

The records

The first, No. 396 of 1896, is a short Sanskrit verse inscription at the entrance of the Yudhishthira temple.2 Below it, the 1925 edition notes, “are engraved two fish and a tiger”.2 The second, No. 397 of 1896, is in Tamil, on three stones near the Kunti shrine, and survives only in fragments.4

The Sanskrit verses call the defeated king Vimaladitya, “lord of Kuluta”.2 They name as victor a dandapati (general) of Rajendra-Chola.2 The Tamil fragments also speak of a pillar of victory on Mahendra and name Vimaladitya.4 See Mahendragiri.

V. Rangacharya summed up the Sanskrit record in 1919.1 In his words, after defeating his brother-in-law Vimaladitya, Rajendra “set up a pillar of victory on the Mahendra mountain”.1 He added that the tiger and two fishes are the emblems of the Chola and his Pandya vassal.1

What it meant

V. Venkayya (1901) thought the event happened early in Rajendra’s career, “when his father Rajaraja I. was still living”.3 He thought Vimaladitya was taken prisoner to Thanjavur (then Tanjore).3 The Godavari District Gazetteer (1907) saw the campaign as an answer to Vimaladitya’s attempt to break free.5 It added that “Vimaladitya was not deposed”.5

The Imperial Gazetteer (1908) wrote that the Cholas overran Kalinga at the start of the 11th century and set up a pillar of victory on Mahendragiri.6 H. Krishna Sastri (1920) linked the inscription instead with Rajendra’s northern campaign to the Ganges.7 He called the defeated prince “the Kuluta chief Vimaladitya”.7 Robert Sewell found no clue to the date.8

Where the sources disagree

  • Who won. A general of Rajendra (the inscription), or Rajendra himself (Rangacharya, Venkayya, the Godavari gazetteer).2135 The Vizagapatam District Gazetteer gave the victory to Rajaraja I, in 999–1000.9
  • Which Vimaladitya. The Eastern Chalukya king of Vengi (Rangacharya, Venkayya), or a chief of Kuluta (Krishna Sastri).137

Footnotes

  1. V. Rangacharya, A Topographical List of the Inscriptions of the Madras Presidency, Vol. I (1919), p. 710, Ganjam Nos. 425–426 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7

  2. H. Krishna Sastri (ed.), South-Indian Inscriptions (Texts), Vol. V (1925), p. 490, No. 1351, and note (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  3. V. Venkayya, “Ranastipundi Grant of Vimaladitya”, Epigraphia Indica VI (1900–01), p. 350 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  4. South-Indian Inscriptions (Texts) V (1925), p. 491, No. 1352 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2

  5. F. R. Hemingway, Madras District Gazetteers: Godavari, Vol. I (1907), p. 20 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  6. Imperial Gazetteer of India, Provincial Series: Madras, Vol. I (1908), p. 191 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩

  7. H. Krishna Sastri, “The Tiruvalangadu Copper-plates of the Sixth Year of Rajendra-Chola I”, South-Indian Inscriptions, Vol. III, pt. III (1920), p. 388, note 6 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  8. Robert Sewell and S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, The Historical Inscriptions of Southern India (1932), p. 61 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩

  9. W. Francis, Madras District Gazetteers: Vizagapatam, Vol. I (1907), p. 26 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩

References

Sources (8)
  1. H. Krishna Sastri (ed.), South-Indian Inscriptions (Texts), Vol. V (opens in a new tab), Archaeological Survey of India, 1925, pp. 490–491. South-Indian Inscriptions (Texts) V (1925), Nos. 1351–1352. [Public domain]
  2. V. Rangacharya, A Topographical List of the Inscriptions of the Madras Presidency (collected till 1915), with Notes and References, Vol. I (opens in a new tab), Government Press, Madras, 1919, pp. 710. [Public domain]
  3. E. Hultzsch (ed.), Epigraphia Indica, Vol. VI (1900–01) (opens in a new tab), Government of India, Calcutta, 1901, pp. 350. V. Venkayya, Ranastipundi grant of Vimaladitya. [Public domain]
  4. H. Krishna Sastri (ed. and tr.), South-Indian Inscriptions, Vol. III, Part III: Inscriptions of Aditya I, Parantaka I ... and the Tiruvalangadu Plates of Rajendra-Chola I (opens in a new tab), Government Press, Madras (Archaeological Survey of India, New Imperial Series, Vol. XXIX), 1920, pp. 388. H. Krishna Sastri (1920). [Public domain]
  5. F. R. Hemingway, Madras District Gazetteers: Godavari, Vol. I (opens in a new tab), Government Press, Madras, 1907, pp. 20. [Public domain]
  6. Government of India, Imperial Gazetteer of India, Provincial Series: Madras, Vol. I (opens in a new tab), Superintendent of Government Printing, Calcutta, 1908, pp. 191. [Public domain]
  7. W. Francis, Madras District Gazetteers: Vizagapatam, Vol. I (opens in a new tab), Government Press, Madras, 1907, pp. 26. [Public domain]
  8. Robert Sewell (ed. S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar), The Historical Inscriptions of Southern India (Collected till 1923) and Outlines of Political History (opens in a new tab), University of Madras, 1932, pp. 61. Paraphrased. [Public domain in India]

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