Rashtrakuta king Mananka had ruled over Satara, Kolhapur and Sholapur from 375 A.D. to 400 A.D. The headquarters of his empire was in Manapur of Satara district. Mananka had defeated vakatakas, and occupied provinces of Ashmaka and Vidharbha. Rashtrakutas and vakatakas were rulers of adjoining territories, and had consistent scuffles. Rashtrakutas owed their allegiance to Chandra-gupta 2, who assumed the title of Vikramaditya. Consequent to marriage of vakataka king Narendrasena with a Kuntala princess, named Ajhtbhattarika, who belonged to the Rashtrakuta race, peace was established in the region, however with the rise of Vakataka king Harishena, the enmity between the two races were, once again, revived. Finally Rashtrakutas rose to power and the Vakataka race became extinct, and there was smooth transfer of power to his successors Devaraja and Vibhuraja from 400 to 440 A.D.
Inscription number 66 .
Hingni Berdi Plates of Vibhuraja – Regnal Year 3
Provenance: Hingni Berdi village, on the Bhima river, near Dhond in Pune district Maharashtra.
Hingani Berdi village is located in Daund tehsil of Pune district in Maharashtra, India. It is situated 22km away from sub-district headquarters of Daund tehsildar office and is 95 kms away from district headquarter Pune.
Footnote 1.
1. Apart from the present plates, only three other grants of the Rashtrakutas of Manapura are known, e.g. Undikavatika grant of Abhimanyu, (infra IV, 68 and J.B.B.R.A.S, XVI, pp.88 ff.) Pandurangapalli plates of Avidheya (Mysore Archaeolocal Report for 1929, pp.197) and Gokak plates of Dejja Maharaja (supra, IV, 66; Ep.Ind, XXI, pp. 289), From the identification of place names recorded in the undikavatika and Panduranga- Palli plates. It appears that this branch of the Rashtrakuta dynasty was ruling in the Manatalu of Satara district in Maharashtra. Combining the information supplied by these four plates the genealogy of this branch can be reconstructed as under. The approximate chronology is deduced, from the paleaography of their plates, which give only regnal year. No. 3, in the table below is known only from the present grant.
1. Manamka (375 to 400 A.D.)
2. Devaraja or Dejja Maharaja ( 400-425 A.D.) m. Syavalangi Mahadevi.
3. Maharaja Vibhuraja (425-440 A.D.)
4. Avidheya (440-455 A.D.)
5. Bhavishya (455-470 A.D.)
6. Abhimanyu (470-90 A.D.)
Script: Nail-headed variety of the southern brahmi of 4th-6th centuries A.D.
Language: Sanskrit, full of mistakes.
References: P.M. Chandorkar, the Shashtha Sammelana Vritta,
1. From the facsimile in Ep.Ind, XXIX, facing pp.176.
Mistakes are apparently due to the illiterate engraver.
2. Expressed by the spiral symbol.
3. First engraved स्थिति
Then a थ was incised over य .
4. The entire line is confusing.
The usual phrase is पुत्र पौत्रन्वय भोग्य:
what is intended after such
a phrase is not clear.
English Translation of the inscription.
Om ! Peace ! with the permission of the illustrious Maharaja Vibhuraja, the ornament of the glorious line of the
illustrious Rashtrakuta lords, who had crushed the obstacles in the shape of enemies by the venerable chief queen syavalangi, the beautifier of the surface of the sky that is her own family,
the mother of the illustrious king of Mana (pura) the wife of the illustrious Rashtrakuta king, Devaraja, the one who by her chastity had raised the splendour of both the families of her
parents and husband; has recorded with libation of water, from a jar held in her own hand, the gift (dakshina) of fifty gold bars accompanying the gift of Kamalibhuhaka agrahara for
as long as the duration of the moon, the sun, the ocean and the
earth and to be enjoyed by sons, grandsons (and further progeny)
with religious merit, to be enjoyed by the progeny of the king free from all dues and forced labour, not to be entered by the regular and irregular soldiers according to the maxim of Bhumichhidra, to the Brahmana Nannasvamin of Agastya gotra for the performance of the rites of bali, charu,
vaisvadeva and agnihotra, for the increase of religious merit
of my mother, father and myself. On the full moon day of the bright half of the month of vaisakha of the current third
(regnal) year of the Rashtrakuta Maharaja Vibhuraja. whosoever
terminates this grant, shall be joined by the five great sins.
Here follow two of the imprecatory and benedictory verses)
Footnote.
The name of the king is already given in the beginning as also, the end, as Vibhuraja. Hence Maharaja, must be
treated as an adjective, Manapura was the capital of this line of the Rashtrakutas.
