Inscription number 56.
Surat Plates of Vyaghrasena (Kalachuri) year 241 (490 or491 AD.)
(Traikutaka era, is also called as Kalachuri or Chedi era)
Provenance: Surat, Saurashtra.
Script: Brahmi, early Southern type
Language: Sanskrit
References: E. Hulzsch, Ep.Ind. XI, pp-219-22.
Traikuta rule of Aparanta or Konkan began in A.D. 248. Traikuta era, also concided with Abhira Ishwarasena rule. Traikutas dynasity therefore concides with dynasty of Abhiras.
We know from some coins that Vyaghrasena was the son of Dahra-sena (see Ep.Ind,X. pp-52, n.6), Whose Pardi plates are dated in (Kalachuri) Samvat-207, the date of the
present inscription, must also be referred to the kalachuri era of 249 A.D. The following pedigree comprises all that we know from coins and inscriptions, regarding the Traikutaka kings of Aparanta, residing at Anirudahapur:
1. Maharaja Indradatta
2. Maharaja Dahrasena (A.D. 456 or 57)
3. Maharaja vyaghrasena (AD. 490 or 91)
-From the facsimile in Ep.Ind, XI.
– कर-गत literally means having in his own hands- having under his direct control.
English Translation of the inscription
Hail ! From the victorious Aniruddhapura, the
glorious Maharaja Vyaghrasena, who belongs to the Family
of the Traikutakas who meditates on the feet of (his mother and father) who is a servant of the feet of Bhagavat
(vishnu), who is the lord of Aparanta and other opulent countries, inherited by him, and under his direct control
to whose lotus-feet innumerable kings are bowing, who has obtained bright fame, pervading all directions, by distributing the vast treasures acquired with his own arm through nourishing
(his kingdom) and through valour whose body is as radiant
as the autumnal moon, whose conduct is as noble as that of excellent man of former times, who has been created, as it were, as an example of good conduct who has repelled hostile feudatories, who is distinguished than other kings, who has become an ornament to his family, whose forts, cities, and oceans
are garrisoned by multitude of heroes and are all of military equipment, whose nature is as deep as the ocean and as
as the chief of mountains (the Himalayaa) who is popular by
nature among hia subjects, whose wealth is shared by the learned, the dependents, the elders, the relatives and the virtuous, who has acquired enviable glory by practising
self-restraint in a manner worthy of his descent, who commands all residents of Purohitapallika included in the Iksharaki district.
“Be it known to you, that, in order to increase the merit of (our) mother and father and myself, we have
granted to the Brahman Nagasarman of the Bhardwaj gotra,
this hamlet (pallika), not to be entered by district bigar officers and soldiers (chatas and bhatas). unless (in order to
arrest) thieves and persons guilty of high treason against the king, exempt from all taxes (ditya = dues) and from forced labour, to be enjoyed under the traditional law pertaining
to an agrahara by the (donee’s) descendants for as long as
the moon, the sun, the ocean, and the earth shall exist.
Therefore, kings of our lineage and others, considering that prosperity (royal power) is liable to cessation
that life is followed by separation, and that virtues last a long time admitting the principle that gifts to virtuous are noble achievements, and desirous of
accumulating long lasting brilliant fame, as bright as the rays of the moon, must approve and protect his grant of a
hamlet or the holy Vyasa, the arranger of the Vedas, has spoken:-
(Here follow two of the customary verses)
Having enquired (regarding the necessary details of the grant, (this edict was written by me, the great minister for peace and war, Karkka, with Halahala (acting) as the Dutaka,
in the year 241, on the 15th (tithi) of the bright fortnight of Karttika.
Footnote
In Kalidasa’s Raghvamsa (iv,58 f,) the mountain Trikuta, from which the Traikutaka family seems to have derived their surname, is located in the kingdom of Aparanta, According to the VaijayantiKosha, the chief city of Aparanta vas surparaka, the modern sopara, with which Hultzsch is inclined to identify Aniruddhapura, the capital of the Traikutakas.
On the authority of Yadava Mallinatha (On Raghu, iv. 53) locates Aparanta in
the west.
The Kalachuris were an Indian dynasty that ruled in west-central India between 6th and 7th centuries. They are also called haihayas or as the Kalachuris.
Gujrat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra were parts of Kalachuri territory. Understand that Ellora and Elephanta caves were built during the Kalachuri rule.
Kalachuris had gained control of these territories formerly ruled by Guptas, Vakatakas and Vishnu kundinas.
Following were the important Kalachuri kings:-
1. Shankaragana
2. Krishnaraja,
3. Buddharaja.
The Kalachuris lost their power to the Chalukyas in the 7th century.
According to the Kalachuri inscriptions, the dynasty controlled Ujjayini, Vidisha and Anandapura. Literary references suggest that their capital was located at Mahishmati in the Malwa region.
The dynasty also controlled Vidarbha, where they succeeded the Vakataka and the Vishnukundina dynasties.
In addition, the Kalachuris conquered northern Konkan (around Elephanta) by the mid-6th century. Here, they succeeded the Traikutaka dynasty.
Krishnaraja is the earliest known ruler of the dynasty. He issued coins featuring Brahmi script legends, imitating the design of earlier coins issued by the Traikutaka and the Gupta kings.