Prabhakaravardhana | |
---|---|
Parama-bhattaraka Maharajadhiraja | |
4th King of Thanesar | |
Reign | c. 580 – c. 605 CE |
Predecessor | Adityavardhana |
Successor | Rajyavardhana |
Spouse | Yasomati |
Issue | Rajyavardhana Harsha Rajyashri |
Dynasty | Pushyabhuti dynasty |
Father | Adityavardhana |
Mother | Mahasenagupta |
Prabhakaravardhana (also known as Prabhakara Vardhana) was a king of Thanesar in northern India around the time of the decline of the Gupta Empire. According to the historian R. C. Majumdar, he was the first notable king of the Vardhana dynasty but the fourth ruler from the family, [1] who are also referred to as the Pushpabhutis. [2] He had been preceded by his father, Adityavardhana, grandfather Rajyavardhana I and great-grandfather, Naravardhana, but inscriptions suggest that Banabhatta, the seventh-century bard and chronicler of the Vardhanas, may have been wrong to call these earlier rulers kings and that they may instead have been mere feudatory rulers of minor significance. [3]
Prabhakaravardhana's father, Adityavardhana, had formed an alliance with Mahasenagupta of Magadha against the Maukhari dynasty. [4] [2] He was married to Mahasenagupta, who was probably the sister of this Gupta king who bore the same name. Through these arrangements he had much enlarged the family's estates. It is because of this territorial expansion that, while Adityavardhana bore the title of maharaja , his son was able to use the higher rank of maharajadhiraja. [3] In turn, Prabhakaravardhana further extended Vardhana control, using aggressive tactics that resulted in him probably ruling over the Punjab and part of Malwa. [1] Aside from defeating rulers in Gujarat, Gandhara and Sind, he also resisted the invasion of the Hunas, [5] as reported by the 7th century writer Bāṇabhaṭṭa. [6] [7]
The date of death of Prabhakaravardhana is variously stated: according to Majumdar, it was in 604 CE but some sources, such as the military historian Kaushik Roy, say 606 CE, and others state 605. [1] [3] [5] He was married to Yasomati, who became sati . [8]
Prabhakaravardhana and Yasomati had three children. Their eldest son, Rajyavardhana, succeeded to the throne and was in turn succeeded by the younger son, Harsha; their daughter, Rajyashri, married Grahavarman of the Maukhari dynasty that ruled Kannauj. [5] [a]
Harshavardhana was emperor of Kannauj from April 606 until his death in 647. He was the son of Prabhakaravardhana, the king of Thanesar who had defeated the Alchon Huns, and the younger brother of Rajyavardhana, son of Prabhakaravardhana and last king of Thanesar. He was one of the greatest kings of the Kingdom of Kannauj, which under him expanded into a vast realm in northern India.
Shashanka was the first independent king of a unified polity in the Bengal region, called the Gauda Kingdom. He reigned in the 7th century, some historians place his rule between c. 600 and 636/7 CE, whereas other sources place his reign between 590 and 625 CE.
The Maukhari dynasty was the ruling house of the Kingdom of Kannauj and controlled the vast plains of Ganga-Yamuna for over six generations from their capital at Kannauj. They earlier served as vassals of the Guptas. The Maukharis established their independence during the mid 6th century. The dynasty ruled over much of Uttar Pradesh and Magadha. Around 606 CE, a large area of their empire was reconquered by the Later Guptas of Magadha. According to Xuanzang, the territory may have been lost to King Shashanka of the Gauda Kingdom, who declared independence circa 600CE.
Devapala was the emperor of the Pala Empire of Bengal. He was the third king in the line, and had succeeded his father Dharamapala. Devapala expanded the frontiers of the empire by conquering the present-day Assam and Orissa. The Pala inscriptions also credit him with several other victories.
The Harshacharita is the biography of Indian emperor Harsha by Banabhatta, also known as Bana, who was a Sanskrit writer of seventh-century CE India. He was the Asthana Kavi, meaning Court Poet, of Harsha. The Harshacharita was the first composition of Bana and is considered to be the beginning of writing of historical poetic works in the Sanskrit language.
Jaya Pala (1075-1100) was a ruler during the Pala Dynasty (900–1100) of Kamarupa Kingdom.
Harsha Pala was son of Go Pala, the ruler of Pala Dynasty of Kamarupa Kingdom and Queen Nayana. He ruled for the period 1015-1035 A.D.
The Gauḍa kingdom was a kingdom during the Classical era in the Indian subcontinent, which originated in the Gauda region of Bengal in 4th century CE or possibly earlier.
Rajyavardhana, also known as Rajya Vardhan, was the king of Thanesar from 605 to 606, and the eldest son of Prabhakarvardhana and member of the Pushyabhuti dynasty. He ascended the throne after his father's death and was succeeded by his younger brother, Harsha.
Grahavarman was the king of Kannauj around the early seventh-century CE. He came from the Maukhari dynasty and succeeded his father, Avantivarman. Grahavarman married Rajyashri, the daughter of the ruler of Thanesar, Prabhakar Vardhana. The marriage appears to have been an alliance of the two dynasties against the king of the Malavas.
The origin of the Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty of India is a topic of debate among historians. The rulers of this dynasty used the self-designation "Pratihara" for their clan, but have been described as "Gurjara" by their neighbouring kingdoms. Only one particular inscription of a feudatory ruler named Mathanadeva mentions him as a "Gurjara-Pratihara".
The Pushyabhuti dynasty, also known as the Vardhana dynasty, was the ruling dynasty of the Kingdom of Thanesar and later the Kingdom of Kannauj in northern India during the 6th and 7th centuries. The dynasty reached its zenith under its last ruler Harsha Vardhana, whose empire covered much of north and north-western India, extending till Kamarupa in the east and Narmada River in the south. The dynasty initially ruled from Sthanveshvara, but Harsha eventually made Kanyakubja his capital, from where he ruled until 647 CE.
The Later Gupta dynasty, also known as the Later Guptas of Magadha, were the rulers of Magadha and Malwa from the 6th to 8th centuries CE. The Later Guptas emerged after the disintegration of the Imperial Guptas as the rulers of Magadha and Malwa however, there is no evidence to connect the two dynasties and the Later Guptas may have adopted the -gupta suffix to link themselves the Imperial Guptas.
The Alchon Huns, also known as the Alkhan, Alchono, Alxon, Alkhon, Alakhana, and Walxon, were a nomadic people who established states in Central Asia and South Asia during the 4th and 6th centuries CE. They were first mentioned as being located in Paropamisus, and later expanded south-east, into the Punjab and Central India, as far as Eran and Kausambi. The Alchon invasion of the Indian subcontinent eradicated the Kidarite Huns who had preceded them by about a century, and contributed to the fall of the Gupta Empire, in a sense bringing an end to Classical India.
Adityavardhana was a king of Thanesar in northern India around the time of the decline of the Gupta Empire. He was the third ruler of the Pushyabhuti dynasty, and father of Prabhakaravardhana. Adityavardhana's father was Rajyavardhana I and his grandfather, Naravardhana, the founder of the Srikantha dynasty of Tanesar.
The Second Aulikara dynasty was a royal dynasty that ruled over the Kingdom of Daśapura, and at its peak under Yashodharman Vishnuvardhana controlled a vast area, consisting of almost all of Northern India and parts of Deccan plateau. It was the second royal house of the Aulikara clan.
The Gauda–Gupta War was a conflict between Gopachandra on one side with Ishanavarman and Jivitagupta I on the other side. The war resulted in the defeat of the Gauda Kingdom.
The Kingdom of Kannauj was a medieval kingdom in northern India from 510, when it was established as a vassal state of the Magadhan Empire, until 1036, when it collapsed after Ghaznavid invasions. During the reign of Harsha, and later under the Pratiharas, the Kingdom of Kannauj stood among the most powerful states in India, flourishing in the seventh century, and again in the ninth and tenth centuries.
Devagupta was the king of Malwa from 601 to 606 AD. He ruled the territories which had initially been the western part of the erstwhile Kingdom of Magadha prior to the conquest of its eastern part by the Kingdom of Kannauj. He was the eldest son of Mahasenagupta and a member of the Later Gupta dynasty. Devagupta is known for having engineered a Malwa–Gauda alliance with Shashanka of Gauda to counter the Thanesar–Kannauj alliance. The alliance was initially successful, and Devagupta's forces reached Kannauj and killed the king of Kannauj. However, the king of Thanesar defeated Malwa and killed Devagupta, but was himself killed in the war with Gauda. Harsha succeeded him and repelled the Gauda invasion.
Mahasenagupta was King of Magadha from 562 until his defeat in 575 and thereafter the King of Malwa until his death in 601. He belonged to the Later Gupta dynasty of Magadha.
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