INSCRIPTIONS. 



267 



After the reign of these Kuruba princes the power of this 

 dynasty seems to have gradually decreased, the empire split 

 into parts, and rival kings established an independent rule. 

 All the information at our disposal points to such a state of 

 anarchy prevailing at the end of the Kuruba power up to the 

 time that the Tuluva prince Narasimha or Narasa obtained, 

 through his statesmanship and bravery, the kingdom of 

 Vij ayanagaram. 



In the first three lists, and especially in that of Buchanan, 19 

 some of those rival princes are given as successive rulers, 

 while they should have figured as contemporaries. 



On page 265 we see that to Saluva Narasimha are ascribed 

 49 years by Wilson and by the compiler of the Kyfeat. It is 

 very probable that he is identical with the Narasinga in 

 Campbell's list, where he is only credited with 5 years. 

 Considering that numerals which indicated months or days 

 have been occasionally counted as years, as, e.g., in the case 

 of Sriranga II, who ruled only 13 days instead of 13 years, 

 it is not unlikely that instead of 49 years, 49 months or 4 

 years ought to be read. This reduction of 45 years would 

 at once fix the year of Bukka's accession to about 1358 

 A.D. in concordance with the inscriptions. The accuracy or 

 inaccuracy of these lists with respect to the other kings, 

 their order of succession, and the time ascribed to their reigns 

 remains an open question. 



In tne lists the name Saluva is of frequent occurrence. 

 I regard it as a mere title equivalent to Vira or Simha. 

 Yirabhadra, the son of Siva, defeated in the Sarabha avatara 

 Yisnu, who had assumed the shape of Narasimha. The fight 

 took place near Srisaila in the Telugu country. 20 



19 See pp. 264, 265. 



20 A Sarabha or Saluva, a fabulous creature with a human trunk, six 

 feet, two lion faces each with two beaks, with arms and sidearms, and two 

 wings, is often found in the escutcheons of Native princes. 



Salva is moreover the name of an Asura slain by Visnu, it designates also 

 a country and its inhabitants. 



