Kuvara Lakshma

Who he is

Name

Kuvara Lakshma

Title

Minister and bodyguard of the king

Since

not pinned

Born

not known

Family

not known

Confidence

low

Wikipedia (Hoysala Empire) calls him a minister and bodyguard of Ballala II and says a Garuda pillar at the Hoysaleshwara temple was erected in his honour. Wikipedia's page for the temple reads the pillar's inscription (it breaks off mid-sentence) as the self-sacrifice of a general Lakshmana, with his wife and followers, after the death of Ballala II, which is a later event. That the Lakshmana of the inscription is Kuvara Lakshma is our reading; the page does not name him.

No office, province or campaign of his is dated in a source we read.

Overlord

Veera Ballala II

What it holds

• a seat at court; no province or command is named in a source we read

How it was acquired

Service to the king.

Allies and rivals

The other dandanayakas (Amriteshvara) and the poet-minister circle of Chandramouli, patron of Rudrabhatta.

How things stand that morning

At court or with the king; not pinned.

Wealth

Grants and fiefs not known.

Military

Bodyguard of the king; no command is named in a source we read.

What the year holds

What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.

1. after 1220 (later)A general Lakshmana, with his wife and followers, gives up his life after the death of Ballala II and a Garuda pillar is set up before the Hoysaleshwara temple (Wikipedia, Hoysaleswara Temple).Depends on: Ballala II's death (1220 on Wikipedia) and the general being Kuvara Lakshma, which is our reading. Stopped by: An earlier death of the man, a death of the king without the rite, or a different identification.

Where the sources disagree

• None of his offices or dates is pinned for 1 January 1200.
• The Garuda pillar that Wikipedia (Hoysala Empire) ties to him is read on the page for the Hoysaleswara Temple as recording the self-sacrifice of a general Lakshmana, with wife and followers, after the death of Ballala II. It is therefore a later feature and is not drawn for 1 January 1200. Whether that Lakshmana is Kuvara Lakshma is our reading.

Evidence: One Wikipedia sentence; the pillar's inscription is of a later event; the careers of officers are in epigraphy we could not read.

Primary sources for Hoysala kingdom

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

• Epigraphia Carnatica: inscriptions of the Mysore country, Various (Hoysala chancery and temple scribes), edited by B. Lewis Rice and R. Narasimhachar (inscriptions of the 4th to 19th centuries; the series ran from 1886 to 1905, revised from 1972). The Hoysala kingdom of Veera Ballala II (reigning 1173 to 1220) is documented almost wholly by the inscriptions in this series, arranged by district and taluk with full English translations. Read online
• Inscriptions of the Silaharas, Various (Silahara chanceries), edited by V. V. Mirashi (inscriptions of the 9th to 13th centuries; edited 1977). Collects the records of the three Silahara houses: North Konkan (Thana), South Konkan, and Kolhapur.
• Sanskrit and Old Canarese Inscriptions relating to the Yadava Kings of Devagiri, Various (Yadava chancery), edited by J. F. Fleet (inscriptions of the 12th and 13th centuries; edited 1876). The first collected edition of the Yadava (Seuna) records, with texts and translations, from the Indian Antiquary. Read online
• South Indian Inscriptions (Archaeological Survey of India), Various (Chola, Pandya and other chanceries and temple scribes), edited by E. Hultzsch, V. Venkayya, H. Krishna Sastri and successors (inscriptions of the 7th to 17th centuries; the series ran from 1890). The temple inscriptions printed here are the primary record of the Tamil country in 1200. Read online