Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute

GLEANINGS FROM THE UDAYASUNDARĪ-KATHĀ

Author(s): Jogendra Chandra Ghosh and Jogesh Chandra Ghosh
Source: Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Vol. 13, No. 3/4 (1931-32), pp. 197
-205
Published by: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute
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 Annals of the

Bhandarkar Oriental

Research Institute, Poona

Vol. XIII ] April- July 1932 [Parts III-IV

GLEANINGS FROM THE UDAYASUNDARÏ-KATHA

BY

Jogendra Chandra Ghosh, Purãtaítva-vicaksana; Calcutta

Udayasundarï-kathais a Campïi-kâvya, i. e. a work composed

in prose interspersedwith verses. It was writtenby a poet named
Soddhala in the 11th centuryA. D. He was born in Lãta-deéa
( South Gujarat ) and was the court-poet of the three successive
royal brothersof Konkana, named Cchittarâja, Nãgãrjuna and
Mummuniräja, whose capital was at Sthänaka, the modern
Thänä. The ascertained date of Cchittarâja is 1026 A. D., and
that of Mummuniräja is 1060 A. D.1 For sometime he graced the
court of Vatsaräja of Lata also. He has given an account of his
family in the firstUcohvãsaka or chapter of his book, which con-
tains some very interestinghistorical information. As far as we
know, this information has not hitherto been utilized by any
scholar.
Soddhala writes that in the past there was a king named
Silãditya, whose capital was at ValabhI. His only younger
brotherwas named Kaläditya.2 In the family of this Kalä-
ditya was born Candapati, whose son was Sollapeya. Sollapeya's

1 Bom. Q-azetr
, Vol.I, Pt. II, p. 542ff.
% Pp. 3-4.

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198 Annoia OftheBhandarkar OrientalResearch Institui«

son was Sura, from whom, by his wife PampävatI was born
our poet Soddhala.1 Silãditya had a long struggle with Dharma-
pãla of the Mändhätr-vamsa, king of .NorthernIndia ( Uttarã-
patha ). Through the taot and prowess of Kaläditya, Dharma-
päla was besieged in a fortand had to submit to the authority
of Silãditya but was restored to his kingdom.2 Silãditya,
now well established in his vast kingdom,thought of appointing
an able administrator for his extensive territory. One night
beforegoing to .sleep he was thinking as to whom to appoint
to this responsiblepost. But as he oould not come to a decision,
he resigned himself to the providence of that deity through
whose grace he acquired his dominion, and fell asleep. In the
third part of the night his Käja*laksml (royal prosperity)appeared
beforehim and he was roused fromhis sleep. She told him that
she had come to advise him about the question of the appointment
of his chief minister,over which he was troubling himself. She
gave him a seal of gold and directed him to entrust Kaläditya
with this seal and also with thegeneralsuperintendence( aarmdhi-
kãrasvãmin) of his kingdom. She also told him that this Kaläditya
was an attendant (gaya) of Siva who went by the name of
Kãyastha. He was so named beoause he was in such close proxi-
mitythathe was considered to be in the body of the god. ( sa ch=
= bhagavatojalamayîm mûrtim = ãmnna-sa-
- adhisthitasy
ãçtãmurtera
hicaratvenakãye sthitatvãtkãyastha iti ). This attendant of Siva
named Kãyastha, under the ordersof this god incarnated himself
as Kaläditya, his brother, to protect his Rãja-laksml This
Käyastha-Kaläditya, the ornament of the Ksctriyas ( ksatriya-
vibhusaw) was then entrusted with the protection of the
kingdom.5*
Kaläditya's descendants then multiplied and were divided into
many branches. They spread themselves to metropolitan towns
forthe triumphof the Ksatriyas and as supportersof the creeper
of royal prosperity. They oame to be known as Vãlabha
Kãyasthas as they hailed fromValabhI.4
1 Pp. 11-18.
Î Pp. 4-7.
3 Pp. 9-11.
4 P- 11.

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 Gleaningsfrom the Udayasundarî-Katha 199

Soddhala's fatherdied while he was a child. He was brought

up by his maternaluncle Gangãdhara, who was a friendof Yogi-
rãja, the king of Lata. Soddhala himself was a class-mate of
prince Simharäja, son of king Kïrtirâja, king of Lata. Their
preceptor was one Candra. Kïrtirâja was the father of king
Vatsaräja who was the patronof Soddhala. Soddhala's forefathers
for generations held the post of Dhruva Prabhus ( dhruva-
vrttehprabhuh) of the districts of Sikkarahärlya seventy-two,
Vahirihära seven hundred, Annãpalllya seven hundred and
of other districts, of the Lata country.1 Dhruva denotes
"a
fixed or permanent hereditary officerin charge of records
" the Täläti and Kulkarni of
and accounts of a village,
modern times. One of the chief duties of the Dhruvas was
to see that revenue farmers did not take morethan the royal
share. The name is still in vogue in Cutch where the village
accountants are called Dhru and Dhruva. Dhru is also a common
surname among the Nagar Brähmanas and Modh and other
Vaniasin Cutch, Gujarat and Kathiãvãra.8

Now, who could these Dharmapäla and Silãditya be ? Both

are historical names and there is no difficultyin identifyingthem.
There are more than one Dharmapäla, but this Dharmapäla king
of Uttarãpatha,could be no otherthan the king of the same name
of the Pala dynasty of Bengal. That Dharmapäla was the emperor
of the Uttarãpathafinds support from his own charter i.e. the
Khälimpur copper-plategrant.3 From lines 27 and 28 of this
plate we find that many kings of the Jambu-dvlpa (India)
assembled at Pãtaliputra to do homage to him. These expressions
are also found in the charters of his successors.
4 9
Soddhala described Dharmapäla to be ofthe Mãndhãtrvamsa.
There has been much speculation about the caste of the Pala
dynastyof Bengal. But here is a positive and disinterestedpiece
of evidence, which sets all doubts at rest. Besides, this evidence
is contemporary,forin Soddhala's time, in the eleventh century,

X Pp. 151-2.
2 Bom. Qazetr. Vol. I, Pt,I, pp.81-82.
3 Ep. Ind,Vol. IV, p. 243.

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200 Annals of the Bhandarkar OrientalResearchInstitute

the Pala dynastywas still reigning. All other accounts except

that of Haribhadra about the caste of the Palas are later than
Soddhala's. This is not all. The fact findscorroborationfromthe
same Khalimpur charter. In verse 11 it has been described that
Mahendra having suddenly found the advancing army of
Mãndhãtã in close quarters and being unable to form an opinion
of their number,owing to the volume of duet raised by them,
which whitened the ten quarters, became alarmed and dis-
tracted. Mr. A. K. Maitra in the Gaudalekhamãlã has right-
ly held that here Mahendra refers to Indräyudha, king of
Kanauj and has an allusion to his defeat at the hands
of Dharmapäla. He did not, however, explain why Dharma-
päla 's army had been compared to the army of Mãndhãtã.
Mãndhãtã is said to be a friendof Indra, but no explanation has
been given by anybody why he has been introducedin this verse
as an adversary. There must be some justification for the poet
for going against the mythological tradition. The reason for
this extraordinaryaction on the part of the poet, seems to us to be
to indicate that Dharmapäla was a descendant of Mãndhãtã.
This allusion to Mãndhãtã was quite intelligible in Dharmapäla's
time though it now requires elucidation. From this we are not,
however,to conclude that the Pãlas were really the descendants
of Mãndhãtã. But this much we can say with certainty that
they passed foras such, otherwiseSoddhala, a poet of a distant
province like Gujarãt of the eleventh century,had no reason or
interestto describe Dharmapäla as ofthe Mãndhãtr-vamêa.

Now Siläditya mentionedby Soddhala can be no otherthan a

Siläditya of the Yalabhï dynasty,forhis capital was at YalabhI.
This Silâditj a was a contemporaryof Dharmapäla, who flourished
in the eighthcentury. Now of the seven Silädityas of the Valabhl
dynasty,thelast threereigned in the eighth century.Of these Silä-
ditya YII mightbe the personwho came intoconflictwithDharma-
päla. The ascertained dates of the last three Silädityas are Si-
- -
läditya V. 722 A. D. ; Siläditya VI. 760 A. D. and Siläditya VII,
- 766 A. D.1 We have no informationof Dharmapäla's having
met with any reverse at the hands of any king of the Valabhl

1 Ep.In&V ol.V,Pp; 69-70,

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 Gleaningsfromthe Udayasundari-Kathã 201

dynasty. But we have evidence to show from the Khälimpur

charter that he granted villages for the maintenance of the
Brãhmanas of the Läta country. Besides from verse 5 of the
Monghyrgrant of his son Devapãla,1 it appears thathe ( Dharma-
pãla ) carried his conquering expedition as far as Kedära-tlrtha
in the north,Gaúgã-sãgara in the south and to Gokarna-tlrtha,
probably in the west. There is a celebrated place of pilgrimage
named Gokarna even now, resorted to by large number of
pilgrims,in Koñkana in the Bombay Presidency.
Soddhala calls himself a Käyastha and at the same time claims
to be a Ksatriya. There can be no doubt as to his claim to the
Ksatriyahood, as his book containing the assertion was read
beforetwo well-knownRajput princes, viz. the Cälukya Yatsa*
räja of Lata and the Silära Mum muniraja of Koňkana. If his
mythical story of the origin of the word Käyastha and of
the Käyastha caste, is given credence to, we should admit that
the Käyastha caste originated in the eighth century with
Kaläditya. And this Kaläditya was a scion of the Valabhl
dynasty which was admittedlyof the Ksatriya ca«te. But this is
morethan what we are prepared to believe. As far as we have
been able to trace, the word Käyastha as the name of a post can
be found in epigraphy in the fifthcentury, in the Damodarpur
copper-plate grants.2 It is distinctly stated in the Brahma-
'
puräna that Käyastha was an officer,as in Media dulas =ca
'
käyastha ye c~ãnye karmakãriiiah ( Chap. XLIV. V. 37 ). The
word also occurs in Mrcchakatikam,Yãjnavalkya-samhitã, Visnu-
samhitä &c., in the same sense. That in the Mrcchakatikam
Käyastha Dhanadatta was a Brähmana is apparent from the
followingaddress of Cärudatta to Sresth! and Käyastha •* -
' '
Bhóh,adhikftebhyah svastihaňiho niyuktah,
api kuéalambhavatäm
( Act IX ).
' '
Here by the word niyuktah ( appointed) the SresthI and the
Käyastha were meant. Now according to Manu, chap. II, verse
'
127 kuéalam' ( happiness ) should be asked of Brãhmanas only.

1 Ind. Ant.Vol.XXI, Pp. 254-257.

? Ep. Ind.Vol.XV, P. 130.

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202 Annals of theBhandarkar OrientalResearchInstitute

It may be argued, how can a SresthI ( merchant) be a Brähmana ?

There appears to be no bar. Cärudatta, although a Brähmana,
was a Sãrthavãha ( merchant) for threegenerationsand lived in
sresthi-catvara.
The earliest mention of Kãyastha as a caste-name that we
have hithertobeen able to find, is in the Saòjân copper-plate
grant of the Rãstrakuta king Amoghavarsa I, dated 871 A. D.1
It was written by Dharmädhikarana-senabhogika Gunadhavala
of the Vãlabha-Kãyastha-vamsa, i. e. the very Kãyastha family
to which our poet belonged. It does not appear from the state-
ment of Soddhala that there were any othersections ofKãyasthas
than his own in existence in his time in his part of the country.
But the distinctive adjective Vãlabha, signifying the locality of
its origin,clearly shows that there were Kãyasthas other than
the Vãlabha, even in the ninth century. Although the word
Kãyastha originally meant the name of a post, people following
the occupation forgenerationscame to be known as a distinct
caste. This will be clear, if we look to the caste-names of India,
which are mostly occupational names. It is not unlikely that
Kãyastha as a caste commenced formation from the 8th
century. It is difficultto say when the mythical stories about
the origin of the differentsections of the Kãyasthas came into
existence. The storyof the origin of the Välabha-Käyasthas is
not of later date than the eleventh century. The Citragupta-
origin of the Kãyasthas is, perhaps,still later. The earliest men-
tion of Citragupta as one of the ten names of Yama is found in
the Baudhãyana Dliarma-sütra. He has not become a writer of
Yama even then. The earliest epigraphic mention of Citragupta
having any connection with the Kãyasthas is found in a charter
of Govindacandradeva ofKanauj, dated 1115 A. D.2 This plate was
writtenby a Vãstavya-Kãyastha Thakkura named Jalhana, who
4
has heen described as Karanik-odgato vidijãms= Citragupt-opamo
}
guyaih i. e. born of a Karanika family, resemblingCitragupta in
qualities ( as a writer). This was only a prelude. From this
resemblance in occupation, the idea of descent from him was

Ind. Vol.XVIII, Pp 235ff.

1 JSTp.
Ind.Vol.VIII, Pp. 152n& 153.
2 JE7p-

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 Gleaningsfromthe Udayasundari-Katha 20o

conceived. Poet Sriharsa of Nai&adhiya-cariiawas a contempo-

rary of king Jayaoandra, grandson of king Govindacandradeva,
king of Kanauj, mentioned above. He described Citragupta as
' *
Käyastha and makes him present at the Svayaůivara-sabhaof
DamayantI, along with Agni, Indra, Yama &c. Jayacandra
flourishedtowards the latter part of the 12th century. It may,
therefore,be surmised that the legend of the Citragupta descent
of some sections of the Kãyasthas dates from the 12th century.
It is very curious that although there are ample references to
Käyasthas in epigraphy,there is no mention of their Citragupta-
descent,not even in their own family prasastis.
We have seen that the Yàlabha Käyasthas are mentioned in
epigraphy and in Sanskrit literature,but they are not heard of
now-a-days. Where are they gone ? Are they all extinct? It is
hard to believe that such an influentialsection of the Käyasthas
died out altogether. Let us see if any clue can be found of their
presentwhereabouts. There is a sect of Brãhmanas called Balam
Brãhmanas, who resided in Vaia or Valabhî. They were the
family priests of the Kãyasthas residing there. These Brãhmanas
quarrelled with the Kãyasthas, their Yajamânas and left the
place forDhundhuka.1 Now this sect name of the Brãhmanas
no doubt, was derived from Vaia or Vala-gräma. We may»
therefore,expect that the Kãyasthas of Valã came similarly to be
called Balam. In fact we findmention of a Välamya Käyastha
donor in a pillar inscription of Bhinmal, dated 1206 A. D.8 We
have seen that the forefathersof Soddhala held for generations
the post of Dhruva-Prabhu ( dhruva-vrtteh prabhuh). We have
already shown that the Dhruvas were village accountants
and their posts were hereditary. The Dhruva-Prabhus were
district accountants, having under ihem village accountants.
By holding the post for generations, they perhaps came to be
known as Dhruva-Prabhus. We End in the Bhinmal inscriptions
that in some cases the writersof them were Dhruvas, which is
the legitimate duty of the Käyasthas. So these Dhruvas were
most probably of the Käyastha caste. There is a section of

1 Bom.Gazetr.Kafchiawar p. 673.
Population,
% Bom. Gazetr.Vol.I, Pt. I, p. 474,

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Î04 Annala of the Èhandarkar OrientalResearchInstitute

writers in the Bombay Presidency, who are called Dhruva-

Prabhus. They Bay that they are descended from Dhruva, the
son of king Uttãnapãda. We believe they are the Vãlabha
Kãyasthas, and have completely forgotten their old tradition.
As ťhey are called Dhruva-Prabhu, they are connecting them-
selves with Dhruva, the epic hero.

These Dhruva-Prabhus claim to be of the same stock as the

Pattana-Prabhus, anotherwritercaste of the Bombay Presidency.
This is admittedby the Pattana-Prabhus also. Their epithet of
Pattana is derived from their residence in Pattana or Pãtan.
They are also called Pãtãre or Pathãrlya. In the Sahyãdri-khanda
of the Skanda-Purãya their descent has been traced from a king
named Asvapati of the solar race of Ksatriyas. Under a curse
fromBhrgu R?i his descendants have been degraded from the
kingly officeto that of a writer. ( Ch. 27 and 28 ). Details of
these Prabhus will be found in the Bom. Gaztr.Vol. XVIII, Pt. I,
pp. 185-255.
A stone inscription of the time of king Ham mir of Ranthäm-
bhar, ( 1288 A. Ď. ), found in the Kotãh State in Rãjputãnã, con-
tains an eulogistic descriptionof the minister of Fammira. The
familybelonged to the Katãriya Kãyastha vamáa, who went there
from Mathuräpura. This Katar iya, apparently, is a scriptic
mistake forPathãrlya. We have not heard of any section of
Kãyasthas going by the name of Katäriya.
Svãml Vidyãnanda in his ComprehensiveHistory of tie
Kãyasthas has identifiedthe Vãlabha Kãyasthas with theVãlmlka
Kãyasthas, but he has not given his reasons forthinking so. The
Vãlmlka Kãyasthas trace their descent fromCitragupta, whereas
the Vãlabha Kãyasthas, we have seen, are descended from Kalã-
ditya. Besides it is doubtful whether Vãlmlka can be derived
fromVãlabha. Not only this, he has in his concluding sentence
'
asserted that the kings of Välabhi were Kãyasthas of a Sree
Citragupta descent,' Because a scion of the family and his des-
cendants by pursuing the Kãyastha professionbecame Kãyasthas,
therefore,the whole dynasty was Kãyastha. A fine argument
indeed I

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 Gleaningsfrom thè Udayasundarï-Katha 2G5

Pandit Gangãáamkara Pañcolí, a Nägar Brähmana, on the

otherhand thinks that the Valãbhi kings were Sipãhí Nãgars1,
. e. the Kagar Brãhmanas, who took to fightingto defend their
country.2 He also says that a section of the Nägar Brãhmanas
was oalled Citragupta. Anothersection again was called Bhatta?
It is very strangethat Bkatta Nãgar is a well-known division of
the Kãyasthas.

1 Nagarotpatti
, p. 62n.
2 Ibid,pp.61-62.
3 Ibid.p. 59.
2 [ Annals,B. O. & I ].

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