be trusted, then there was a truce after both sides having won a war, Harsha ruled peacefully for next 30 years to the north of the Narmada river, while Pulakeshin II stayed in the Deccan region. Some scholars have questioned whether the war occurred in 612 CE, or 620 CE, or in early 630s CE because inscriptions found elsewhere are not consistent with the claims of Ravikirti. The Aihole Prashasti is, at its best, a panegyric record that records some battles. This Chalukyan era Meguti temple inscription is inconsistent with many later Chalukyan inscriptions, states Altekar. For example, later Chalukyan inscriptions allege that its early rulers from Jayasimha and Pulakesin II defeated early Rashtrakuta kings, yet the Aihole inscription makes no mention of these early Rashtrakuta kings. This suggests that stories were being fabricated and inscribed on stone or copper plates. Similarly, Chalukyan copper plates state that Mangalesha handed over the kingdom to Pulakesin II when he came of age, with the added flourish that "can a scion of the Chalukya family ever swerve from the path of duty?". The later records thus assert that there was no war of succession between Mangalesha and Pulakesin II, something the Aihole inscription clearly mentions. Both cannot be true. Either Aihole inscription or the copper plates of Chalukyan dynasty are telling a "pious lie". According to Altekar, this is a gross contradiction, and then sides with Meguti inscription's version. Further, Altekar disagrees with Fleet, and interprets Indra as the name of a real king, rather than deity Indra (Sakra). According to Raychaudhuri, Ravikirti's claims in verse 22 of the Aihole inscription are unreal and likely an exaggeration in light of inscriptions found in Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, along with the records of the Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang. Malwa remained independent, as did the Gurjaras. The evidence outside of the Aihole inscription suggests that they were not Pulakesin II's feudatories. See also Indian inscriptions Notes References Bibliography Abraham Eraly (2011), The first spring: The golden age of India, Penguin Books, J. F. Fleet (1876), Editor: Jas Burgess, Indian Antiquary, Volume V, A Journal of Oriental Research, J. F. Fleet (1879), Editor: Jas Burgess, Indian Antiquary, Volume VIII,A Journal of Oriental Research, F. Kielhorn (1901), Editor: E. Hultzsch, Epigraphia Indica, Volume VI, Archaeological Survey of India, Adam Hardy (1995), Indian Temple Architecture: Form and Transformation: the Karṇāṭa Drāviḍa Tradition, 7th to 13th Centuries, Abhinav Publications, George