Identification of Vamadeva of Kalacuri Inscriptions
Summary
The article addresses the identity of the figure Vamadeva in the inscriptions of the Kalacuri dynasty of Tripuri. The main argument is that Vamadeva was not a Saiva ascetic, but rather an early Kalacuri king who founded the northern Kalacuri empire. The author refutes the theory proposed by Dr. Sircar, who identified Vamadeva as a Saiva ascetic and guru of the Kalacuri king Gangeyadeva or Karna. The author rejects this view by examining the Malkapuram stone pillar inscription of Rudradeva, dated 5.1183 (A.D. 1261), and the Prthvirajavijaya, a historical kavyam by Jayanaka. The author argues that the Malkapuram inscription contains exaggerated claims, such as the gift of three lakhs of villages to a spiritual preceptor, and that Jayanaka's account of King Sahasika offering his kingdom to the ascetic Vamadeva is wholly imaginary and unreliable. The author also disputes Dr. Sircar's identification of Sahasika with Gangeyadeva or Karna based on the Prthvirajavijaya. Instead, the author supports Dr. Kielhorn's explanation that Vamadeva was an early king. The evidence for this is the Saugor stone inscription of Sankaragana I, which the author edited. This inscription mentions the reigning king Sankaragana I as meditating on the feet of the Paramabbattaraka Mabarajadhiraja Paramesvara Vamadeva. The author argues that Vamadeva was a very early king who originally ruled from Kalanjara and later gave his northern kingdom to his younger brother, Lakshmanaraja, the founder of the Sarayipara branch. The name Vamadeva appears in the Kahla plates as a prince who established himself at Kalanjara. The author concludes that the only plausible explanation for the expression Vamadeva-pad-anudbyata is that Vamadeva was the founder of the dynasty, and the later Kalacuri kings meditated on his feet out of veneration for the dynasty's founder. The author also defends the reading of the name as Vamadeva in the Saugor inscription against Dr. Sircar's objections.
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Conclusion
The article concludes that Vamadeva was an early Kalacuri king and the founder of the northern Kalacuri empire, rather than a Saiva ascetic. This identification resolves the chronological and terminological difficulties associated with the term "Vamadeva-pad-anudbyata" found in later Kalacuri inscriptions. The Saugor stone inscription of Sankaragana I provides crucial paleographic evidence for this early king. His descendants venerated him because he established the dynasty's power, originally ruling from Kalanjara before the capital shifted to Tripuri. Consequently, the expression "meditating on the feet of Vamadeva" signifies the reigning kings' reverence for their dynastic founder, effectively claiming legitimacy through their ancestral lineage. This interpretation refutes previous theories that Vamadeva was a spiritual guru or the deity Siva.