Copperplates.Though the Gurjjaras held a considerable territory in South Gujarát their plates seem to show they were not independent rulers. The general titles are either Samadhigata-panchamaháśabada ‘He who has attained the five great titles,’ or Sámanta Feudatory. In one instance Jayabhaṭa III. who was probably a powerful ruler is called Sámantádhipati[6] Lord of Feudatories. It is hard to say to what suzerain these Broach Gurjjaras acknowledged fealty. Latterly they seem to have accepted the Chálukyas on the south as their overlords. But during the greater part of their existence they may have been feudatories of the Valabhi dynasty, who, as
Chapter X.
The Gurjjaras, a.d. 580–808.
Copperplates. mentioned above were probably Gurjjaras who passed from Málwa to South Gujarát and thence by sea to Valabhi leaving a branch in South Gujarát.
The facts that in a.d. 649 (Valabhi 330) a Valabhi king had a ‘camp of victory’ at Broach where Raṇagraha’s plate[7] shows the Gurjjaras were then ruling and that the Gurjjara king Dadda II. gave shelter to a Valabhi king establish a close connection between Valabhi and the Nándod Gurjjaras.
Their copperplates and seals closely resemble the plates and seals of the Gujarát Chálukyas. The characters of all but the forged grants are like those of Gujarát Chálukya grants and belong to the Gujarát variety of the Southern India style. At the same time it is to be noted that the royal signature at the end of the plates is of the northern type, proving that the Gurjjaras were originally northerners. The language of most of the grants is Sanskrit prose as in Valabhi plates in a style curiously like the style of the contemporary author Báṇa in his great works the Kádambarí and Harshacharita. From this it may be inferred that Báṇa’s style was not peculiar to himself but was the style in general use in India at that time.
Gurjjara Tree.The following is the Gurjjara family tree:
| Dadda I. a.d. 580. | |
| Jayabhaṭa I. a.d. 605. | |
| Dadda II.a.d. 633. | |
| Jayabhaṭa II. a.d. 655. | |
| Dadda III.a.d. 680. | |
| Jayabhaṭa III.a.d. 706–734. | |
A recently published grant[8] made by Nirihullaka, the chieftain of a jungle tribe in the lower valley of the Narbadá, shows that towards the end of the sixth century a.d. that region was occupied by wild tribes who acknowledged the supremacy of the Chedi or Kalachuri kings: a fact which accounts for the use of the Chedi or Traikúṭaka era in South Gujarát. Nirihullaka names with respect a king Śaṅkaraṇa, whom Dr. Bühler would identify with Śaṅkaragaṇa the father of the Kalachuri Buddhavarmman who was defeated by Mangalíśa the Chálukya about a.d. 600.[9] Śaṅkaragaṇa himself must have flourished about a.d. 580, and the Gurjjara conquest must be subsequent to this date. Another new grant,[10] which is only a fragment and contains no king’s name, but which on the ground of date (Saṃ. 346 = a.d. 594–5) and style may be safely attributed to the Gurjjara dynasty, shows that the Gurjjaras were established in the country within a few years of Śaṅkaragaṇa’s probable date.
A still nearer approximation to the date of the Gurjjara conquest is suggested by the change in the titles of Dharasena I. of Valabhi, who
Chapter X.
The Gurjjaras, a.d. 580–808. in his grants of Saṃvat 252[11] (a.d. 571) calls himself Mahárája, while in his grants of 269 and 270[12] (a.d. 588 and 589), he adds the title of Mahásámanta, which points to subjection by some foreign power between a.d. 571 and a.d. 588. It seems highly probable that this power was that of the Gurjjaras of Bhínmál; and that their successes therefore took place between a.d. 580 and 588 or about a.d. 585.
Dadda I. C. 585–605 a.d.The above mentioned anonymous grant of the year 346 (a.d. 594–95) is ascribed with great probability to Dadda I. who is known from the two Kheḍá grants of his grandson Dadda II. (C. 620–650 a.d.)[13] to have “uprooted the Nága” who must be the same as the jungle tribes ruled by Nirihullaka and are now represented by the Náikdás of the Panch Maháls and the Talabdas or Locals of Broach. The northern limit of Dadda’s kingdom seems to have been the Vindhya, as the grant of 380 (a.d. 628–29) says that the lands lying around the feet of the Vindhya were for his pleasure. At the same time it appears that part at least of Northern Gujarát was ruled by the Mahásámanta Dharasena of Valabhi, who in Val. 270 (a.d. 589–90) granted a village in the áhára of Kheṭaka (Kheḍá).[14] Dadda is always spoken of as the Sámanta, which shows that while he lived his territory remained a part of the Gurjjara kingdom of Bhínmál. Subsequently North Gujarát fell into the hands of the Málava kings, to whom it belonged in Hiuen Tsiang’s time (C. 640 a.d.).[15] Dadda I. is mentioned in the two Kheḍá grants of his grandson as a worshipper of the sun: the fragmentary grant of 346 (a.d. 594–95) which is attributed to him gives no historical details.
Jayabhaṭa I. Vítarága, C. 605–620 a.d.Dadda I. was succeeded by his son Jayabhaṭa I. who is mentioned in the Kheḍá grants as a victorious and virtuous ruler, and appears from his title of Vítarága the Passionless to have been a religious prince.
Dadda II. Praśántarága, C. 620–650 a.d.Jayabhaṭa I. was succeeded by his son Dadda II. who bore the title of Praśántarága the Passion-calmed. Dadda was the donor of the two Kheḍá grants of 380 (a.d. 628–29) and 385 (a.d. 633–34), and a part of a grant made by his brother Raṇagraha in the year 391 (a.d. 639–40) has lately been published.[16] Three forged grants purporting to have been issued by him are dated respectively Śaka 400 (a.d. 478), Śaka 415 (a.d. 493), and Śaka 417 (a.d. 495).[17] Both of the Kheḍá grants relate to the gift of the village of Siríshapadraka (Sisodra) in the Akrúreśvara (Ankleśvar) vishaya to certain Bráhmans of Jambusar and Broach. In Raṇagraha’s grant the name of the village is lost.