A NEW LITHIC RECORD OF KRIYASHAKTI YATISHVARA
By H.R. RAGHUNATH BHAT
Much has been written, argued and counterargued about the
identification or rather equation of Kriyashakti with Vidyaranya.
It may not be necessary to open this floodgate once again here.
But a careful study of all the available inscriptions including the
recently discovered one indicates that Kriyashakti belongs to
Kalamukha Shaiva tradition and he is not identical with
Vidyaranya. In fact S. Srikantaya refuted A. Venkatasubbaiah's
view that Kriyashakti was Vidyaranya .
Kashi vilasa Kriyashakti, Vanivilasa Kriyashakti, Vidyashankara
Kriyashakti, Triyambaka Kriyashakti and Chandrabhushana
Kriyashakti are five Kriyashaktis who can be traced from inscrip-
tions ranging from 1347 to 1431.^ Whether there were really five
Kriyashaktis or whether these prefixes represent one and the
same Kriyashakti, it is not easy to state anything conclusively at
this stage of our study.
Kriyashakti has been referred to variously as Kriyashaktideva
Kriyashakti panditadeva, Kriyashakti yatishvara, Rajaguru Kriya-
shakti and in the recently discovered epigraph as Nammaguru
Kriyashakti Yatishvara. He has been eulogised as Sakshat Shiva,
man of austerities, a great scholar and Vedopaziishanmarga-
pravartaJca. Mentioning him along with Vidifaranya, Hosalli
copper - plate praises him as a Mahanubhava. As a Rajaguru of
the Sangama family he has been glorified as Satirajnanananda
Advaitajyoti.^
Kriyashakti yatishvara made an impact on the royal family of
early Vijayanagaia and particularly of local chieftains, dandUmaya-
kas like Madhavamantxi, Kamayadandanayaka of Hosalli and
Basavayya dandanayaka. He was probably equally responsible
for the establishment of the Vijayanagara empire. Jlngirasa Madhavamantri was in fact a staunch follower of Kriyashakti.
According to Shikaripur inscription of 1368 he practised Pashu-
patavrata under Kriyashakti for one year and made a datti of
Vidyeshvarapura/
The importance of the socio -religious role of the Kalamukhas
like Kriyashakti yatishvara lies in the fact that they added much to
the synthesis of different religious sects within the f oldof Hinduism,
as evidenced by Balligave inscriptions and monuments.^ The
worship of Shiva, Vishnu, Brahma, Durga, Ganapati and Surya in
the Trikutachala temple is common (m most of their temples}.
This tradition further strengthened the composite culture of the
Vijayanagara period, a fact which should not be ignored in the
study of the socio-religious history of early medieval Karnataka.
How did these Kalamukhayatis like Kriyashakti look like ? Of
course^ we have not traced any sculptural representation or
painted portrait Hke the one we find in the Virupaksha temple at
Hampi. But the headpieces of the inscribed slabs at BaUigave,
Banavasi and other regions give us a clue in this regard. Vama-
shaktL's relief figure at Balligave is characterised by long fata,
kopina, trimmed moustache and beard Similarly a separately
carved figure sculpture of a Kalamukha guru has been noticed at
Degulalli during my recent exploration work, in Belgaum district.
Bhavikeri inscribed slab does contain a line sketch of a Kalamukha
shaiva priest who is performing dhupS.rati. An analysis of these
sculptural representations may help us to some extent to sketch
or outline the picture of a Kalamukhayati of the early medieval
period, along with the inscriptional and literary descriptions of
them. It is against this background that the recently discovered lithic
record of Kriyashakti yahshvara from Bhavikeri in Ankola taluk
of Uttara Kannada district has been reviewed here. The inscrip-
tion in twenty-five lines is found engraved on a chloritic schistose
slab (115 X 53.5 X 1 1 Cm). It is dated in Saka era which corres-
ponds to 18th November 1362.®
The object of the epigraph is to record the grant of the village
Bhavikeri in Ankole nSdu made after purchase from the overlord Vira Bukkaraya to the royal g^uru Kriyashakti yatishvara by
Mahapradhana Basavayya dandanayaka. Kriyashakti yatishvara
perpetuating it, granted the same not only for the daily worship of
Mahabaleshvara of Gokarnakshetra but also for the boarding of
the Brahmanas in the chatra. At the beginning and end of this
particular portion of the donation is noticed the mention of the
term "'Tnyambaka". The donative record separately documents
at the appropriate context the official approval or signature of
both Basavayya dandanayaka and Kriyashakti yahshvara. Not
only that the boundaries of the donated village Bhaviken have
also been specified; Viz., Selehalla to the east, (Arabian)sea to the
west, erected boundary stones to both north and south of
Bhavikeri.
The lithic record mentions the royal priest with reverence as
Nammaguru (our teacher) and Yatishvara. This Kriyashakti must
be the same as Kashi vilasa Kriyashakti mentioned in the Soraba
and Shikaripura inscriptions. Needless to say that the Balligave
region had a long tradition of Kalamukha Shaivacharyas. BhSvikeri
record corroborates the fact that the priesthood of Kriyashakti
played an equally important part in the socio-religious life of the
early Vijayanagara empire . That this Kriyashakti yahshvara was a
worshipper of Svayambu Tnyambaka, one of the eleven forms of
Rudra, is evident by the reference to Triyambaka in two contexts
of the record. This was probably the main tutelary divinity of the
priesthood of Kriyashakti. This may also be taken as the sign-
manual of Vira Bukkaraya I .
The historical importance of the inscription lies in the fact that it
is one of the early records of the Vijayanagara dynasty so far
found in Uttara Kannada district which has so far yielded about
one hundred inscriptions of the Vijayanagara period. This
record also confirms the fact that the southern part of Uttara
Kannada District was brought imder the early Vijayanagara rule in
the time of Bukka I and corroborates the popularity of Krii^hakti
in this region, with special reference to G5kar^ kshetra. Gokanu
in Kumta taluk has been one of the holy places of pilgrimage
visited by Kriyashakti as evidenced by a number of inscriptions
including the present epigraph.
Thus the new lithic record of Kriyashakti yatishvara from
Bhavikeri is yet another record of socio -religious importance and
throws light on the personahty and role of Knyashakti dunng the
time of Bukka I and mahapradhana Basavayya dandanayaka in
1362.
