A note on the Maser Inscription of a Sulki Chief
Summary
This brief note discusses an important stone inscription discovered at Māser, about twenty‑five miles north of Bhilsā in central India. The record was first noticed by Mr M. B. Garde in his Annual Report of the Department of Archaeology, Gwalior State, for 1930–31, and the author here publishes a careful reading based on an excellent estampage supplied by Garde. The inscription belongs to a Sulki chief named Narasiṃha who initiated the wives of a Kalacuri king into widowhood at the command of a person called Kṛṣṇarāja. The record also mentions a victory of Vācaspati, chief minister of king Kṛṣṇa, over a king of Cedi and is therefore of considerable value for the history of central India. The author summarises Garde’s preliminary observations and his own earlier discussion in the context of the Bargaon Temple Inscription of Sabara. He notes that the inscription is fragmentary but contains much valuable information about the line of Sulki rulers and their interactions with the Kalacuris and the Rāṣṭrakūṭas. The article critically examines an alternate interpretation by Mr Venkataramayya of Ootacamund, who recently edited the inscription for Epigraphia Indica and identified the king Kṛṣṇa mentioned here with the famous Rāṣṭrakūṭa king Kṛṣṇa III. The author disputes this identification and argues, based on chronological considerations, that the Kṛṣṇa referred to in the Māser and Bhilsā inscriptions is a Candella or Kalacuri prince, Kṛṣṇapa or Kṛṣṇarāja, son of Yaśovarman and younger brother of Dhaṅga. He points out that the Candella king Dhaṅga ruled around A.D. 954–1002, and his younger brother Kṛṣṇa could therefore have flourished about 960–985. The article further cites evidence from other inscriptions mentioning a Sulki chief and from the annual report of the Archaeological Department to support this view. In conclusion, the author stresses the importance of precise epigraphic analysis and cross‑comparison with other records for identifying historical figures. The note clarifies the identity of the Sulki chief and rejects the suggestion that the inscription refers to the Rāṣṭrakūṭa king Kṛṣṇa III. It thus contributes to a more accurate reconstruction of the political history of central India in the late tenth century.
AI-assisted summary, not yet checked. Consult the original PDF before citing.
Conclusion
By reassessing the Māser inscription and carefully comparing it to related records, the article shows that the Sulki chief Narasiṃha served a Candella or Kalacuri ruler rather than a Western Rāṣṭrakūṭa king. It emphasises that the Kṛṣṇa mentioned in the Māser and Bhilsā inscriptions is likely Kṛṣṇarāja, son of Yaśovarman, who lived in the late tenth century. This conclusion corrects earlier suggestions linking the record to Kṛṣṇa III and underlines the value of detailed epigraphic work for elucidating the chronology of minor dynasties and their relations with neighbouring powers.