Iśanavarman ( Gupta script: Ishanavarman in the Asirgarh inscription

, ''Ī-śā-na-va-rmmā'') was the first independent Maukhari ruler of

Kannauj Kannauj ( Hindustani pronunciation: ənːɔːd͡ʒ is a 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 a corrupted form of the class ...

. He was a very powerful king, and adopted the title of ''Maharajadhiraja''.

Early life

Ishanavarman was the son of the powerful Maukhari ruler Ishvara-varman (Iśvaravarman) and his queen Devi Upagupta. He was well known for his skill as an archer, particularly against enemy cavalry and elephants. Ishanavarman ascended the throne in 550 CE or 554 CE, probably after his father's death.

Reign

The early Maukhari rulers had been on very friendly terms with the Later Guptas, and even conducted marriage alliances between themselves. An example is Ishanavarman's own mother Devi Upagupta, who was married to Ishvara-varman. However, things changed with time under him. Under Ishanavarman, the Maukharis began to assert their independence from the Later Guptas. Ishanavarman became hostile to the former overlords of the Maukharis, in order to conquer

Magadha Magadha was a region and one of the sixteen sa, script=Latn, Mahajanapadas, label=none, lit=Great Kingdoms of the Second Urbanization (600–200 BCE) in what is now south Bihar (before expansion) at the eastern Ganges Plain. Magadha was ruled ...

. Ishanavarman revived the Maukhari power, as some prestige was lost during the last years of his father's reign. Ishanavarman's inscriptions describe him as a valiant warrior whose hands were hardened and callused by the repeated use of the bow on the battlefield. His armies are stated to be vast and continuously on the march. The Haraha inscription of Śarva-varman mentions that Ishanavarman inflicted defeat upon the Andhras, Sulikas, and checked the Gaudas. The Andhra country was then ruled by the

Vishnukundinas The Vishnukundina dynasty (IAST: Viṣṇukundina) was an Indian dynasty based in Deccan, which ruled modern Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha and parts of South India during the 5th and 6th centuries, carving land out from the Vakataka Empir ...

. The Vishnukundina king defeated must have been Indravarman or Vikramendravarman I. Haraha inscription of Isanavarman

Ishanavarman in all probability would have taken much pains to reorganize the Maukhari army and make it strong and worthy. His successful campaigns against foes known for their powerful corps - the Andhras for their elephants and the Sulikas for their cavalry - attest to this fact. The Maukharis developed into a prominent and imperial power during his reign. He was also the first Maukhari ruler to adopt the title of ''Maharajadhiraja''. The Mahakuta Pillar inscription claims that

Chalukya The Chalukya dynasty () was a Classical Indian dynasty that ruled large parts of southern and central India between the 6th and the 12th centuries. During this period, they ruled as three related yet individual dynasties. The earliest dynasty ...

Kirtivarman I Kirttivarman I ( IAST: Kīrtti-varman; r. c. 566-592) was a ruler of the Chalukya dynasty of Vatapi (present-day Badami) in India. He ruled parts of present-day Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. Kirttivarman was the son of his pr ...

defeated the rulers of

Vanga The family Vangidae (from ''vanga'', Malagasy for the hook-billed vanga, ''Vanga curvirostris'') comprises a group of often shrike-like medium-sized birds distributed from Asia to Africa, including the vangas of Madagascar to which the family ...

Anga Anga (Sanskrit: ) was an ancient Indo-Aryan tribe of eastern South Asia whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. The members of the Aṅga tribe were called the Āṅgeyas. Counted among the "sixteen great nations" in Buddhist texts ...

Kalinga Kalinga may refer to: Geography, linguistics and/or ethnology * Kalinga (historical region), a historical region of India ** Kalinga (Mahabharata), an apocryphal kingdom mentioned in classical Indian literature ** Kalinga script, an ancient writ ...

, Vattura,

, Madraka, etc.Narayanan, M. G. S. ''Perumāḷs of Kerala: Brahmin Oligarchy and Ritual Monarchy: Political and Social Conditions of Kerala Under the Cēra Perumāḷs of Makōtai (c. AD 800 - AD 1124).'' Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 2013. 90. In their northwards expansion, the Chalukyas probably came into conflict with Ishanavarman and suffered a defeat at his hands. The victories of Ishanavarman increased the political power of the Maukharis and alarmed the Later Gupta king Kumaragupta III who defeated Ishanavarman but could not completely crush him.

Personal life

He was married to Mahadevi Lakshmivati, and had two children- Sarvavarman and Suryavarman.

Succession

Ishanavarman was succeeded by his eldest son Sharvavarman in 560.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ishanavarman 6th-century Indian monarchs