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The Pratiharas of Mandavyapura, [a] also known as the Pratiharas of Mandore (or Mandor), were an Indian dynasty that ruled parts of the present-day Rajasthan between 6th and 9th centuries. They first established their capital at Mandavyapura (modern Mandore), and later ruled from Medantaka (modern Merta).
The origin of the dynasty is described in two inscriptions: the 837 CE Jodhpur inscription of Bauka and the 861 CE Ghantiyala (or Ghatiyala) inscription of Kakkuka. According to the two inscriptions, the family descended from the brother of Ramabhadra. This brother is identified as the legendary Kshatriya hero Lakshmana, the brother of Lord Rama. He is said to have as a door-keeper ("pratihara") for his elder brother Rama, because of which the family came to be known as Pratihara. The imperial Pratiharas also claimed descent from the legendary hero Lakshmana. The members of the two families also share identical names such as Bhoja, Kakkuka and Nagabhata. Based on these evidences, it appears that the two families were related, although the exact relationship between them is not known. It appears that the Pratiharas of Mandavyapura ultimately became feudatory of the imperial Pratiharas. [1]
The earliest known historical members of the family are Harichandra and his second wife Bhadra. In Pratihāra inscriptions, Harichandra is mentioned as Vipra while Bhadra came from a Kshatriya noble family. They had four sons: Bhogabhatta, Kakka, Rajjila and Dadda. These four men captured Mandavyapura and erected a rampart there. [2] [3] It is not known where the family lived before the conquest of Mandavyapura. [4]
A 625 CE inscription of a feudatory ruler named Rajilla has been found at Vasantgarh. This Rajilla and his father Vajrabhata Satyashraya were vassals of the Chapotkata ruler Varmalata. B. N. Puri identified this Rajilla as Harichandra's son Rajilla, although the names of their fathers are different according to epigraphic evidence. Puri argued that the members of the two families shared similar names such as Tata, Bapaka and Bauka, and names ending in -bhata (Vajrabhata and Nagabhata). [4]
Nagabhata, fourth in line from Harichandra, moved his capital from Mandavyapura to Medantaka (modern Merta). [4] The original capital still retained its importance, as Nagabhata's successor Tata is said to have retired there. [4]
Nagabhata and his queen Jajjika-devi had two sons: Tata and Bhoja. The Chinese Buddhist traveler Xuanzang described a kingdom named Kiu-che-lo and its capital Pi-lo-mi-lo. These two words have been identified as Chinese transcriptions of "Gurjara" and "Bhillamala" (Bhinmal). Historian R. C. Majumdar theorized that the king of Kiu-che-lo was the Mandavyapura Pratihara king Tata. But Baij Nath Puri was critical of this theory, because Xuanzang describes the king as Buddhist and his kingdom as the second largest in western India. The Mandavyapura Pratihara kingdom was a small one. Moreover, Xuanzang does not mention Mandavyapura or Medantaka. According to Puri, the ruler mentioned by Xuanzang was another king named Varmalata. [5]
Tata retired to a hermitage in Mandavyapura after handing over the kingdom to his younger brother Bhoja. Next, Tata's son Yashovardhana ascended the throne, possibly after a disputed succession. [6]
His descendant Shiluka is said to have "fixed a perpetual boundary" between the Stravani and Valla countries. He is also said to have "knocked down" the Bhattika Devaraja of Valla. This appears to be a reference to his victory over the neighbouring rulers. Stravani can be identified with a place in the modern Jaisalmer district, and has been mentioned as "Taban" by the Arab writers. R. C. Majumdar identified Bhattika Devaraja as the Pratihara king Devaraja, but B. N. Puri disagrees with this theory. [7]
Shiluka also excavated a tank, established a new city and commissioned the Siddheshvara Mahadeva temple at a place called Treta. [6] His son Jhota retired after appointing his son Bhiladitya as king, and proceeded to the Bhagirathi river.
Bhiladitya retired after handing over the kingdom to his son Kakka. [8] Kakka is said to have gained fame in the battle of Mudgagiri (modern Munger) against the ruler of Gauda. [9] This probably refers to his participation in the campaign of his overlord Nagabhata II. [10]
According to the Jodhpur inscription, Kakka's son Bauka defeated and killed a king of the Mayura dynasty. [6]
Kakkuka, a step-brother of Bauka, was the son of Kakka and Durlabhadevi. According to a Ghantiyala inscription, he gained fame in the countries of Travani (Stravani), Valla, Mada, Arya, Gurjaratra, Lata and Parvata. This Another Ghantiyala inscription mentions that he established a market at a place called Rohiṃsakūpa, which had been deserted for the fear of the Abhiras. [7]
Kakkuka is the last known ruler of the dynasty. The dynasty probably ended with him, and the kingdom became a part of the territories of the imperial Pratiharas of Kannauj. [10] The Imperial Pratihara dynasty later broke into several small states after the Ghaznavid invasions. These branches fought each other for territory and one of the branches ruled Mandore till the 14th century.
This Pratihara branch had marital ties with Rao Chunda of the Rathore clan and gave Mandore in dowry to Chunda, resulting in the Pratiharas getting absorbed into what later became Jodhpur State. This was specifically done to form an alliance against the Turks of the Tughlaq dynasty. [11]
Rudolf Hoernlé assumed a period of 20 years for each generation, and placed the dynasty's founder Harichandra in c. 640 CE. Baij Nath Puri placed Harichandra in c. 600 CE. R. C. Majumdar, on the other hand, assumed a period of 25 years for each generation, and placed him in c. 550 CE. [8] The following is a list of the dynasty's rulers (IAST names in brackets) and estimates of their reigns, assuming a period of 25 years: [2]
Bauka and Kakkuka were sons of Kakka from different mothers. The Jodhpur and Ghantiyala inscriptions of the two step-brothers give same genealogy of the family, except the last two names. Since these two inscriptions were found not far from each other, it appears that Bauka succeeded Kakka (rather than the two dividing Kakka's kingdom). [1]
Kannauj is an ancient city, administrative headquarters and a municipal board or Nagar Palika Parishad in Kannauj district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The city's name is an evolved form of the classical name Kanyakubja. During the ancient Vedic period, it was the capital city of the Panchala Kingdom during the reign of king Vajrayudha. In the medieval era, it formed the core of the Kingdom of Kannauj and was ruled by multiple successive royal families.
The Pratihara dynasty, also called the Gurjara-Pratiharas, the Pratiharas of Kannauj or the Imperial Pratiharas, was a prominent medieval Indian dynasty which ruled over the Kingdom of Kannauj. It initially ruled the Gurjaradesa until its victory in the Tripartite Struggle in 816 which secured its right to the throne of Kannauj. Cadet branches of the dynasty ruled other minor states in the subcontinent.
Mihira Bhoja or Bhoja I was the Pratiharan Emperor from 836 to 885 CE. He inherited a weakened realm in an adverse situation from his father, Ramabhadra. However, his capable reign transformed it into a large and prosperous empire. Bhoja was a devotee of Vishnu and adopted the title of Ādivarāha, which is inscribed on some of his coins.. One of the outstanding political figures of India in the ninth century, he ranks with Dhruva Dharavarsha and Dharmapala as a great general and empire builder.
Nagabhata II was an Indian Emperor from Pratihara dynasty. He ascended the throne of Pratihara dynasty after his father Vatsraja. His mother was queen Sundari-Devi. He was designated with imperial titles - Paramabhattaraka, Maharajadhiraja, and Paramesvara after conquest of Kannauj.
Nagabhata I was the founder of the imperial Pratihara dynasty in northern India. He ruled the Avanti region in present-day Madhya Pradesh, from his capital at Ujjain. He may have extended his control over Gurjaradesa, which includes parts of present-day Gujarat and Rajasthan. He repulsed an Arab invasion from Sindh, probably led by Junayd ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Murri or Al Hakam ibn Awana.
Mandore is a suburb and historical town located 9 km north of Jodhpur city in the Jodhpur district of the north-western Indian state of Rajasthan.
Bhinmal is an ancient town in the Jalore District of Rajasthan, India. It is 72 kilometres (45 mi) south of Jalore. Bhinmal was the early capital of Gurjaradesa, comprising modern-day southern Rajasthan and northern Gujarat. The town was the birthplace of the Sanskrit poet Magha and mathematician-astronomer Brahmagupta.
The Umayyad Dynasty came to rule the Caliphate in 661 CE, and during the first half of the 8th century CE, a series of battles took place in the Indian subcontinent between armies of the Umayyad Caliphate and Indian kingdoms situated to the east of the Indus river, subsequent to the Arab conquest of Sindh during 711 – 713 CE.
The history of human settlement in the western Indian state of Rajasthan dates back to about 100,000 years ago. Around 5000 to 2000 BCE many regions of Rajasthan belonged as the site of the Indus Valley Civilization. Kalibangan is the main Indus site of Rajasthan, here fire altars have been discovered, similar to those found at Lothal.
The Tripartite Struggle (785–816) were a series of wars in northern India fought over the control of the throne of Kannauj, which during that time was equivalent to having imperial status over all of Aryavarta. It involved the three powerful rulers of the era – the King of the Gurjaras, the King of Gauda (Bengal) and the King of the South. The war ultimately resulted in Nagabhata II, King of the Gurjaras, winning the crown of Kannauj in 816, and proclaiming himself King of Kannauj.
Vatsaraja (780–800) or Vatsraja was an Emperor of the Pratihara dynasty in Northern India. He was grand-nephew of Nagabhata I and his mother was queen Bhuyikadevi. He was the first ruler of Rajasthan to win victories over the distant regions of Kanauj and Bengal. His extensive conquests mark the rise of the Imperial Pratiharas.
Gurjaradesa, is a historical region in India comprising the southern Rajasthan and northern Gujarat during the period of 6th–12th century CE. The predominant power of the region, the Gurjara-Pratiharas eventually controlled a major part of North India centered at Kannauj. The modern state of "Gujarat" derives its name from the ancient Gurjaratra.
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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 Guhilas of Medapata colloquially known as Guhilas of Mewar were a Rajput dynasty that ruled the Kingdom of Mewar region in present-day Rajasthan state of India. The Guhila kings initially ruled as Gurjara-Pratihara feudatories between the end of 8th and 9th centuries and later were independent in period of the early 10th century and allied themselves with the Rashtrakutas. Their capitals included Nagahrada (Nagda) and Aghata (Ahar). For this reason, they are also known as the Nagda-Ahar branch of the Guhilas.
Kakustha was a king from the Pratihara dynasty of northern India.
Devarāja was a king from the Pratihara dynasty of northern India. In the Barah inscription of his descendant Mihira Bhoja, Devaraja's name appears as Devashakti.
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