Abhira dynasty

Last updated

Abhiras of Nasik
203 [1] –315 or 370 [1]
Capital Anjaneri, Thalner, Prakashe, Bhamer, Asirgarh
Common languages Apabhraṃśa, Sanskrit, Prakrit
Religion
Government Monarchy
Historical eraEarly Classical
• Established
203 [1]
• Supplanted by the Traikutakas
315 or 370 [1]
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Blank.png Satavahanas
Blank.png Kshatrapas
Blank.png Ikshvakus of Vijayapuri
Traikutakas Blank.png
Vakatakas Blank.png
Kshatrapas Blank.png
Kadambas Blank.png
Today part ofIndia

The Abhira dynasty was a dynasty that ruled over the western Deccan, where it perhaps succeeded the Satavahana dynasty. From 203 to roughly 270 or 370, this dynasty formed a vast kingdom. The Abhiras had an extensive empire comprising modern-day Maharashtra, Konkan, Gujarat and parts of southern Madhya Pradesh. [2] Some scholars regard the Abhiras as a great almost an imperial power in the third century A.D. [3]

Contents

Origin

Though often referenced in ancient Indian literature, the origin of the Abhiras is obscure. According to the Mahabharata, the Abhiras lived near the seashore and on the bank of the Sarashvati, a river near Somnath in Gujarat. [4] The Mahābhashya of Patañjali simply mentions them as a tribe distinct from the Shudras. [5] The Puranic texts associate the Abhiras with Saurashtra and Avanti. According to Balkrishna Gokhale, the Abhiras have been well-known since epic times as a martial tribe. [6] The Bhagavata calls the Abhiras, "Saurashtra" and "Avantya" rulers (Saurashtra-Āvanty Ābhīrāḥ), and the Vishnu treats the Abhiras as occupying the Surashtra and Avanti provinces. [7]

The Puranas claim that the imperial Abhiras were the successors of the Satavahanas. They were called Andhra-Vratyas and mentioned as the successors of the line of Simuka. [8] Some of them entered the military service of the Western Satraps (Sakas), and helped them in conquest of new territories. [1] By 181 A.D, the Abhiras had gained considerable influence at the Kshatrapa court. Some of them were even serving as generals. [9]

The Gunda inscription dated Saka year 103 (181 CE) refers to Abhira Rudrabhuti as the senapati (commander-in-chief) of the Saka satrap (ruler) Rudrasimha. [1] [10] : 128  [11] The inscription also gives a detailed genealogy of the kings up to Rudrasimha: [12]

Gunda inscription of Rudrasimha, Saka year 103. Gunda inscription of Rudrasimha Saka year 103.jpg
Gunda inscription of Rudrasimha, Saka year 103.

"Hail ! On the [auspicious] fifth tithi of the bright fortnight of Vaisakha during the auspicious period of the constellation of Rohini, in the year one hundred and three — 100 3 — (during the reign) of the king, the Kshatrapa Lord Rudrasiha (Rudrasimha), the son of the king, the Maha-Kshatrapa Lord Rudradaman (and) son’s son of the king, the Kshatrapa Lord Jayadaman, (and) grandson's son of the king, the Maha-Kshatrapa Lord Chashtana, the well was caused to be dug and embanked by the general (senapati) Rudrabuthi, the son of the general (senapati) Bapaka, the Abhira, at the village (grama) of Rasopadra, for the welfare and comfort of all living beings."

— Epigraphia Indica XVI, p. 233

The inscription refers to Rudrasimha as simply a ksatrapa, ignoring the existence of any mahaksatrapa. According to Sudhakar Chattopadhyaya, this indicates that the Abhira general was the de facto ruler of the state, though not assuming any higher title. The inscription states Abhira Rudrabhuti as the son of the general Bapaka. [10] The Abhira dynasty was probably related Abhira Rudrabhuti. [1] [10]

According to Prof Bhagwan Singh Suryavanshi, the Abhiras settled in southwestern Rajasthan and northeastern Sindh in the first century B.C. This region was called Abiria. [13] Archaeologist and scholar Bhagwan Lal Indraji (1839–1888) believed that the Abhiras probably came by sea from Sindh, conquered the western coast, and made Trikuta in Aparanta their capital. Abhira Mahakshtrapa Isvaradatta was their leader. He probably attacked and gained a victory over the Kshatrapas. Indarji further states that the Abhira Mahakshtrapa Isvaradatta was the founder of the Traikutaka dynasty  –known later as the Kalachuri or the Chedi era{snd}}originating probably in the establishment of his power in the Konkan, with Traikuta as his capital. Under Rudrasena, son of Viradaman the Kṣhatrapas, the Western Satraps appear to have re-established their sovereignty by driving out the Traikutakas who, thus dispossessed, retired to Central India and assumed the name of Haihaya or Kalachuri. On the final destruction of the Kshatrapa rule, the Traikutakas apparently regained Traikutaka about which time Dharasena (A.D. 456) succeeded to the throne. [14] [15]

History

South Asia non political, with rivers.jpg
South Asia
350 CE
Long Rectangle (plain).png
class=notpageimage|
The Abhiras and main South Asian polities circa 350 CE. [16]
"Abhira" in later Brahmi script in the Allahabad Pillar inscription of Samudragupta. Abhira in the Allahabad Pillar inscription.jpg
"Ābhīra" in later Brahmi script in the Allahabad Pillar inscription of Samudragupta.

The history of the Abhiras is shrouded in much obscurity. [1] The Abhira dynasty was founded by Ishwarsena. The branch came to power after the demise of the Satavahanas in the Nasik region of Maharashtra, with the help and consent of the Western Satraps (Sakas). They were known as Gavali rajas indicating that they were cowherds by profession before becoming kings. [1] Ten Abhira kings ruled in the Maharashtra region of the Deccan, whose names have not been mentioned in the Puranas. [1] An Abhira king is known to have sent an embassy to the Sassanid Shahanshah of Persia, Narseh, to congratulate him on his victory against Bahram III. [18] [1]

During the time of the Gupta Empire, the Indian emperor Samudragupta recorded Abhira as a "frontier kingdom" which paid an annual tribute. This was recorded by Samudragupta's Allahabad Pillar inscription, which states the following in lines 22–23.

"Samudragupta, whose formidable rule was propitiated with the payment of all tributes, execution of orders and visits (to his court) for obeisance by such frontier rulers as those of Samataṭa, Ḍavāka, Kāmarūpa, Nēpāla, and Kartṛipura, and, by the Mālavas, Ārjunāyanas, Yaudhēyas, Mādrakas, Ābhīras, Prārjunas, Sanakānīkas, Kākas, Kharaparikas and other nations."

— Lines 22–23 of the Allahabad pillar inscription of Samudragupta (r. c. 350–375 CE– ). [17]

The duration of the Abhira rule is uncertain, with most of the Puranas giving it as sixty-seven years, while the Vayu Purana gives it as one hundred and sixty-seven years. [1] [19] According to V.V Mirashi, the following were the feudatories of the Abhiras: [10] : 128–130 

The Abhiras spoke Apabhraṃśa, and seem to have patronised Sanskrit. The Nasik cave inscription of Isvarsena is written mostly in Sanskrit. Several guilds flourished in their kingdom, in which people invested large amounts for making endowments. This indicates peace, order and security in the kingdom of the Abhiras. [19]

Patanjali in his Mahabhashya mentioned the Abhira kings. Abhira chieftains served as generals to the Saka rulers. In the second century A.D., an Ahir Chief Isvaradatta became the Mahakshatrapa (Supreme King). The Abhira played a key role in causing downfall of Satvahanas in third century A.D. [20]

Saka Satakarni

Another king claiming to be a son of Mathari besides Abhira Ishwarsena is Sakasena. He is identified with Saka Satakarni, whose coins have been found over Andhra Pradesh and is taken to be a Satavahana king and successor of Yajna Sri Satakarni. However, K.Gopalchari thinks that Sakasena was a Abhira king. Reasons:

So this concludes that Ishwarsena's predecessor was his elder brother Sakasena, and Ishwarsena ascended the throne after his death. [1]

Sakasena was probably the first great Abhira king. His inscriptions from the Konkan and coins from Andhra Pradesh suggest that he ruled over a large portion of the Satavahana Empire. [1]

Abhira Ishwarsena

Ishwarsena was the first independent Abhira king. He was the son of Abhira Sivadatta and his wife Mathari. [1] Ashvini Agrawal thinks he was a general in the service of Rudrasimha I who deposed his master in 188 A.D and ascended the throne. Ashvini Agrawal further says that Rudrasimha I soon deposed him and regained the throne in 190 A.D. [9] He (Ishwarsena) started an era which later became known as the Kalachuri-Chedi era. His descendants ruled for nine generations. [21] Ishwarsena's coins are dated only in the first and second years of his reign and are found in Saurashtra and Southern Rajputana. [22]

The Traikuta rule of Aparanta or Konkan begins in A.D. 248 (Traikuta era) exactly the time of Ishwarsena's rule, hence Traikutas are identified with the Abhira dynasty. [23]

The Abhiras began to rule in Southern and western Sourashtra from the second half of the 10th century A.D their capital was vamanshtali, modern vanthali nine miles west of Junagadh. They became very powerful during the reign of Graharipu who defeated the Saindhavas and the Chaulukyas. [24]

Territory

The Abhiras ruled western Maharashtra which included Nasik and its adjoining areas, [10] : 124  Aparanta, Lata, Ashmaka, [25] [26] and Khandesh [27] Their core territory included Nasik and the adjoining areas. [10] : 124  [28] The Abhira territory also may have consisted of Malwa, which they gradually seized from the Kshatrapas. [29]

Decline

After the death of Abhira Vashishthiputra Vasusena, the Abhiras probably lost their sovereign and paramount status. [1] The Abhiras lost most of their domains to the rising Vakatakas (north) and the Kadambas (south-west). [30] The Abhiras were finally supplanted by their feudatories, the Traikutakas. But still many petty Abhira chieftains and kings continued to rule until the fourth century, roughly till 370 AD, in the Vidarbha and Khandesh region. They continued to rule, but without sovereignty, until they came into conflict with the Kadamba king Mayurasarman and were defeated. [18] [1]

Descendants

According to Ganga Ram Garg, the modern-day Ahir caste are descendants of Abhira people and the term Ahir is the Prakrit form of the Sanskrit term Abhira. [31]

According to the historian Yaaminey Mubayi, several such dynasties, like the Kalachuris, Chalukyas, Rashtrakutas and later the Seuna Yadavas trace their origin to Abhira clan. [32]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Thosar, H.S. (1990). "The Abhiras in Indian History". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 51. Indian History Congress: 56–65. JSTOR   44148188 . Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  2. ↑ Numismatic Digest. Numismatic Society of Bombay. 1985. p. 74. The Ābhīras had an extensive empire comprising Maharashtra, Konkan, Gujarat and some part of South Madhya Pradesh.
  3. ↑ Majumdar, R. C. (1 January 2016). Ancient India. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 380. ISBN   978-81-208-0435-7.
  4. ↑ Garg, Gaṅgā Rām (1992). Encyclopaedia of the Hindu World. Concept Publishing Company. p. 113. ISBN   978-81-7022-374-0. According to the Mahabharata (Sabha. 31), the Abhiras lived near the seashore and on the bank of the Sarasvati, a river near Somanāth in Gujarāt.
  5. ↑ Congress, Indian History (1959). Proceedings - Indian History Congress. p. 103.
  6. ↑ Gokhale, Balkrishna Govind (1962). Samudra Gupta: Life and Times. Asia Publishing House. p. 18.
  7. ↑ Jayaswal, K. P. (1933). "The submission of the Frontier Rulers and the Hindu Republics, their Puranic descriptions and the submission of Further India". History of India 150 AD to 350 AD. Lahore: Motilal Barnasi Das Punjab Sanskrit Book Depot. pp. 144–149. p. 148: The Bhagavata calls the Abhiras, 'Saurashtra' and 'Avantya' rulers (Saurashtra-Āvanty Ābhīrāḥ), and the Vishnu treats the Abhiras as occupying the Surashtra and Avanti provinces.
  8. ↑ Pargiter, F. E. (2009). The Purana Text of the Dynasties of the Kali Age. BiblioBazaar. pp. IV, 24, 18. ISBN   9781115375603.
  9. 1 2 Ashvini Agrawal (1989). Rise and Fall of the Imperial Guptas. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 58. ISBN   9788120805927.
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  12. ↑ Banerji, Rakhaldas; Sukthankar, Vishnu S. (1921). "No. 17 — Three Kshatrapa Inscriptions". In F. W. Thomas; H. Krishna Sastri (eds.). Epigraphia Indica. Vol. 16. p. 233.}}
  13. ↑ Fox, Richard Gabriel (1977). Realm and Region in Traditional India. Duke University, Program in Comparative Studies on Southern Asia. p. 87. ISBN   978-0-916994-12-9.
  14. ↑ Mirashi, Vasudev Vishnu (1955). Inscriptions Of The Kalachuri-Chedi Era. Vol. iv, part I. Government Epigraphist For India.
  15. ↑ Mirashi Vasudev Vishnu. (1955). Inscriptions Of The Kalachuri-chedi Era Vol-iv Part-i (1955). Government Epigraphist For India.
  16. ↑ Schwartzberg, Joseph E. (1978). A Historical atlas of South Asia. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. pp. 25, 145. ISBN   0226742210.
  17. 1 2 Fleet, John Faithfull (1888). Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum Vol. 3. pp. 6–10.
  18. 1 2 Singh Nijjar, Bakhshish (2008). Origins and History of Jats and Other Allied Nomadic Tribes of India. Atlantic Publishers & Distributors. p. 434. ISBN   9788126909087.
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  28. ↑ "5 Post Maurya Dynasties (In South India)". History discussion. 7 August 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  29. ↑ Krishnan, V. S.; Shrivastav, P. N.; Verma, Rajendra (1996). Rajgarh By Madhya Pradesh (India). Government Central Press. p. 18.
  30. ↑ Mitchiner, Michael (1978). The Ancient & Classical World, 600 B.C.-A.D. 650. Hawkins Publications. p. 634. ISBN   9780904173161.
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