Vakataka

The Vakataka (IAST|Vākāţaka) was an Indian dynasty which ruled parts of today's Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh from the third century to fifth century. They are the most important follow-up dynasty of the Satavahanas, contemporaneous with the Guptas. The dyansty was founded by Vindhyasakti. whose name occurs in the Puranas.

Vindhysakti

The founder of the dynasty was Vindhyasakti (250-270), whose name is derived from the name of the goddess Vindhya after whom the mountains were named. The dynasty may be originated there. Almost nothing is known about Vindhyasakti, the founder of the Vakatakas. In the Cave XVI inscription of Ajanta he was described as the "banner of the Vakataka family" and a "Dvija" (Brahmin). It is stated in this inscription that he added to his power by fighting great battles and he had a large cavalry. But no regal title is prefixed to his name in this inscription. The Puranas say that he ruled for 96 years. He was placed variously at south Deccan, Madhya Pradesh and Malwa. K.P. Jayaswal attributes Bagat, a village in the Jhansi district as the home of Vakatakas. But after refuting the theory regarding the northern home of the Vakatakas, V.V. Mirashi points out that the earliest mention of the name Vakataka occurs in an inscription found on a fragment of a pillar at Amaravati which records the gift of a "Grihapati" (householder) Vakataka and his two wives. This Grihapati in all probability was the progenitor of Vidhyashakti. It appears from the Puranas that Vindhyasakti was a ruler of Vidisha (in the present day Madhya Pradesh state) but that is not considered to be correct [Mahajan V.D. (1960, reprint 2007) "Ancient India", New Delhi: S. Chand, ISBN 81 219 0887 6, pp.587-8] .

As per Dr Mirashi, who has rejected the identification of Rudra deva in the Allahabad pillar inscription of Samudra Gupta with Rudra sena I. He has also pointed out there are no coins of Vakataka and there are no inscriptions of them in the north of Vindhyas. Hence, a south home of Vakatakas is correct. However, it is true that they have ruled on some of these places, since the epigraphs were available in MP etc.

Pravarasena I

The next ruler was Pravarasena I. (270-330), who maintained the realm as a great power, called himself an "all ruler" and conducted wars with the Naga kings. He has become an emperor in his own right, perhaps the only emperor in the dynasty, with his kingdom embracing a good portion of North India and whole of Deccan. He carried his arms to the Narmada in the north and annexed the kingdom of Purika which was being ruled by a king named Sisuka. In any case, he certainly ruled from Bundelkhand in the north (though Dr Mirashi does not accept that he has crossed the Narmada) to the present Andhra Pradesh in the south. The puranas assign him a reign of 60 years.

As per V.V. Mirashi, it is unlikely that he made any conquest in Northern Maharashtra, Gujarat or Konkan. But, he may have conquered parts of North Kuntala comprising of Kolhapur, Satara and Sholapur districts of Maharashtra. In the east, he may have carried his arms to Dakshina Kosala, Kalinga and Andhra. He was a follower of Vedic religion and performed several "Yajnas" (sacrifices) which include Agnishtoma, Aptoryama, Ukthya, Shodasin, Atiratra, Vajapeya, Brihaspatisava, Sadyaskra and four Asvamedhas. He heavily donated to the Brahmins during the Vajapeya sacrifice as per the Puranas. He took up the titles of "Samrat" and "Dharmamaharaja". He called himself as "Haritiputra". His prime minister Deva was a very pious and learned Brahmin. The Puranas say that Pravarasena I has four sons. He married his son Gautamiputra to a daughter of King Bhavanaga of the powerful Bharsiva family, which might have proved to be helpful. However, Gautamiputra predeceased him and he was succeeded by his grandson Rudrasena I, the son of Gautamiputra. His second son, Sarvasena set up his capital at Vatsagulma (the present day Washim). Nothing is known about the dyansties set up by the other two sons [Mahajan V.D. (1960, reprint 2007) "Ancient India", New Delhi: S. Chand, ISBN 81 219 0887 6, p.588] .

Branches of Vakataka Dynasty

It is generally believed that the Vakataka ruling family was divided into four branches after Pravarsena I. Two branches are known and two are unknown. The known branches are the Pravarpura-Nandivardhana branch and the Vatsagulma branch.

Pravarapura-Nandivardhana branch

The Pravarapura-Nandivardhana branch ruled from various sites like Pravarapura (Paunar)in Wardha district and Mansar and Nandivardhan (Nagardhan) in Nagpur district. This branch maintained matrimonial relations with the Imperial Guptas.

Rudrasena I

Not much is known about Rudrasena I, the son of Gautamiputra , who ruled from Nandivardhana, near Ramtek hill, about 30 km from Nagpur .

There is a mention of Rudra deva in the Allahabad pillar inscription, bundled along with the other rulers of Aryavarta. The scholars do not agree that Rudra Deva is Rudra sena I, since conquering Vakatakas,. who are much more powerful than guptas, must be an important event and it would have been mentioned more prominently and in any case, they do not really belong to the Aryavarta.

Prithvisena I

Rudrasena I was succeeded by his named Prithvisena I (355-380), and Prithvisena I was succeeded by his son named Rudrasena II.

Rudrasena II, Divakarasena and Pravarasena II

Rudrasena II (380-385) is said to have married Prabhavatigupta, the daughter of the Gupta King Chandragupta II (375-413/15). Rudrasena II died fortuitously after a very short reign in 385 C.E., following which Prabhavatigupta (385 - 405) ruled as a regent on behalf of her two sons, Divakarasena and Damodarasena (Pravarsena II) for 20 years. During this period the Vakataka realm was practically a part of the Gupta Empire. Many historians refer to this period as the Vakataka-Gupta age. While this has been widely accepted more than 30 years ago, this line of argument has no proper evidence. Prabhavati gupta's inscription mentions about one "Deva gupta" who is her father and the historians equated him with Chandra gupta II. However, there is no other source to prove that Deva gupta is really Chandra gupta II. This is questionable more since the dating of Vakatakas is more or less established while that of Guptas is sometimes predated to that of Greek invasion of Alexander by the Indeginists.

Pravarasena II composed the "Setubandha" in Prakrit. A few verses of the "Gaha Sattasai" are also attributed to him. He shifted the capital from Nandivardhana to Pravarapura, a new city of founded by him. He built a temple dedicated to Rama in his new capital [Mahajan V.D. (1960, reprint 2007) "Ancient India", New Delhi: S. Chand, ISBN 81 219 0887 6, p.589] .

Narendrasena and Prithvisena II

Pravarsena II was succeeded by Narendrasena (440-460), under whom the Vakataka influence spread to some central Indian states. Prithvisena II , the last known king of the line, succeeded his father Narendrasena in c.460. After his death in 480, his kingdom was probably annexed by Harishena of the Vatsagulma branch.

Vatsagulma branch

The Vatsagulma branch was founded by Sarvasena, the second son of Pravarasena I after his death. King Sarvasena made Vatsagulma, the present day Washim in Washim district of Maharashtra his capitalMahajan V.D. (1960, reprint 2007) "Ancient India", New Delhi: S. Chand, ISBN 81 219 0887 6, pp.590-91] . The territory ruled by this branch was between the Sahydri Range and the Godavari River. They patronized some of the Buddhist caves at Ajanta.

arvasena

Sarvasena (c.330 - 355) took the title of "Dharmamaharaja". He is also known as the author of "Harivijaya" in Prakrit which is based on the story of bringing the "parijat" tree from heaven by Krishna. He is also known as the author of many Prakrit "Gatha"s. One of his minister's name was Ravi. He was succeeded by his son VindhyasenaMahajan V.D. (1960, reprint 2007) "Ancient India", New Delhi: S. Chand, ISBN 81 219 0887 6, pp.590-91] .

Vindhyasena

Vindhysena (c.355 - 400) was also known as Vindhyashakti II. He is known from the well-known Washim plates which recorded the grant of a village situated in the northern marga (sub-division) of Nandikata (presently Nanded) in his 37th regnal year. The genealogical portion of the grant is written in Sanskrit and the formal portion in Prakrit. This is the first known land grant by any Vakataka ruler. he also took the title of "Dharmamaharaja" [http://www.maharashtra.gov.in/english/gazetteer/nasik/005%20History/001%20AncientPeriod.htm Nashik district e-gazetteer - History, ancient period] ] . Vindhyasena defeated the ruler of Kuntala, his southern neighbur. One of his minister's name was Pravara. He was succeeded by his son Pravarasena IIMahajan V.D. (1960, reprint 2007) "Ancient India", New Delhi: S. Chand, ISBN 81 219 0887 6, pp.590-91] .

Pravarsena II

Pravarasena II (c.400 - 415) was the next ruler of whom very little is known except from the Cave XVI inscription of Ajanta, which says that he became exalted by his excellent, powerful and liberal rule. He died after a very short rule and succeeded by his minor son, who was only 8 years old when his father died. Name of this ruler is lost from the Cave XVI inscription [http://www.maharashtra.gov.in/english/gazetteer/nasik/005%20History/001%20AncientPeriod.htm Nashik district e-gazetteer - History, ancient period] ] .

Devasena

This unknown ruler was succeeded by his son Devasena (c.450 - 475). His administration was actually run by his minister HastibhojaMahajan V.D. (1960, reprint 2007) "Ancient India", New Delhi: S. Chand, ISBN 81 219 0887 6, pp.590-91] . During his reign, one of his servant Svaminadeva excavated a tank named "Sudarshana" near Washim in c.458-59 [http://www.maharashtra.gov.in/english/gazetteer/nasik/005%20History/001%20AncientPeriod.htm Nashik district e-gazetteer - History, ancient period] ] .

Harishena

Harishena (c.475 - 500) succeeded his father Devasena. The Cave XVI inscription of Ajanta states that he conquered Avanti (Malwa) in the north, Kosala (Chhattisgarh), Kalinga and Andhra in the east, Lata (Central and Southern Gujarat) and Trikuta (Nasik district) in the west and Kuntala (Southern Maharashtra) in the south [http://www.maharashtra.gov.in/english/gazetteer/nasik/005%20History/001%20AncientPeriod.htm Nashik district e-gazetteer - History, ancient period] ] . Varahadeva, a minister of Harishena excavated the rock-cut vihara of Cave XVI of AjantaMahajan V.D. (1960, reprint 2007) "Ancient India", New Delhi: S. Chand, ISBN 81 219 0887 6, pp.590-91] . Three of the Buddhist caves at Ajanta, two viharas - caves XVI and XVII and a chaitya - cave XIX were excavated and decorated with painting and sculptures during the reign of Harishena [http://www.maharashtra.gov.in/english/gazetteer/nasik/005%20History/001%20AncientPeriod.htm Nashik district e-gazetteer - History, ancient period] ] .

Harishena was succeeded by two rulers whose names are not known. The end of the dynasty is unknown. They were probably defeated by the Kalachuri of MahismatiMahajan V.D. (1960, reprint 2007) "Ancient India", New Delhi: S. Chand, ISBN 81 219 0887 6, pp.590-91] .

The "Dashakumaracharita" version of the end

According to the last chapter of the "Dashakumaracharita" of Dandin, which was written probably around 125 years after the fall of the Vakataka dynasty, Harishena's son, though intelligent and accomplished in all arts, neglected the study of the "Dandaniti" (Political Science)and gave himself up to the enjoyment of pleasures and indulged in all sorts of vices. His subjects also followed him and led a vicious and dissolute life. Finding this a suitable opportunity, the ruler of the neighbouring "Ashmaka" sent his minister's son to the court of the Vakatakas. The latter ingratiated himself with the king and egged him on in his dissolute life. He also decimated his forces by various means. Ultimately, when the country was thoroughly disorganised, the ruler of Ashmaka instigated the ruler of Vanavasi (in the North Kanara district) to invade the Vakataka territory. The king called all his feudatories and decided to fight his enemy on the bank of the Varada (Wardha). While fighting with the forces of the enemy, he was treacherously attacked in the rear by some of his own feudatories and killed. The Vakataka dynasty ended with his death [http://www.maharashtra.gov.in/english/gazetteer/nasik/005%20History/001%20AncientPeriod.htm Nashik district e-gazetteer - History, ancient period] ] .

Rulers of the Vakataka dynasty

* Vindhyasakti (250-270)
* Pravarasena I (270- 330)

The Pravarapura-Nandivardhana branch

* Rudrasena I (330 - 355)
* Prithvisena I (355 - 380)
* Rudrasena II (380- 385)
* Divakarasena (385- 400)
* Prabhavatigupta (fem.), Regent (385- 405)
* Damodarasena (Pravarasena II) (400- 440)
* Narendrasena (440- 460)
* Prithvishena II (460- 480)

The Vatsagulma branch

* Sarvasena (330 - 355)
* Vindhyasena (Vindhyashakti II) (355 - 400)
* Pravarasena II (400 - 415)
* Unknown (415 - 450)
* Devasena (450 - 475)
* Harishena (475- 500)

Notes

External links

* [http://www.hostkingdom.net/india.html#Maharashtra Rulers of Maharashtra]
* [http://www.maharashtra.gov.in/english/gazetteer/FINAL_GAZETTEE/his1.html History of Maharashtra]