Prithivishena II (
IAST: ''Pṛthivīṣeṇa''; ) was a ruler of the Nandivardhana-Pravarapura branch of the
Vakataka dynasty
The Vakataka dynasty () was an ancient Indian dynasty that originated from the Deccan in the mid-3rd century CE. Their state is believed to have extended from the southern edges of Malwa and Gujarat in the north to the Tungabhadra River in the ...
. He succeeded his father
Narendrasena
Narendrasena () was a ruler of the Nandivardhana-Pravarapura branch of the Vakataka dynasty. He succeeded his father Pravarasena II as Maharaja.
Early life
Narendrasena was possibly born to Ajnakabhattarika, who may have been the chief queen ...
as Maharaja. Prithivishena II is the last known king of the main Vakataka line, which is no longer attested after his reign.
Early life
Prithivishena was born to Narendrasena and his wife Ajjhitabhattarika, a princess of
Kuntala.
He was probably born while his father was still a Crown Prince during the reign of
Pravarasena II, Prithivishena's grandfather.
A.S. Altekar
Anant Sadashiv Altekar (24 September 1898 – 25 November 1960; ) was a historian, archaeologist, and numismatist from Maharashtra, India. He was the Manindra Chandra Nandy's Professor and Head of the Department of Ancient Indian History and Cu ...
suggests that when Prithivishena was a youth of about 20 years, he aided his father in repulsing the
Nalas of the
Bastar region who had invaded the Vakataka kingdom.
Reign
Prithivishena's inscriptions refer to him twice rescuing the "sunken fortunes of his family". It is unclear what these two instances were. Altekar suggests that the first instance was the aforementioned repulsion of the Nalas during the reign of Prithivishena's father, and the second instance relates to a war with the aggressive
Traikutaka king Dahrasena, who is known to have performed an ''
ashwamedha
The Ashvamedha ( sa, अश्वमेध, aśvamedha, translit-std=IAST) was a horse sacrifice ritual followed by the Śrauta tradition of Vedic religion. It was used by ancient Indian kings to prove their imperial sovereignty: a horse accompa ...
'' horse sacrifice and whose growing kingdom bordered the Vakataka realm on the west.
D.C. Sircar agrees with Altekar that an invasion by the Nalas constituted the first instance when Prithivishena had to retrieve the family's fortunes, and suggests that the second instance relates to a conflict with
Harishena
Harishena () was the last known ruler of the Vatsagulma branch of the Vakataka dynasty
The Vakataka dynasty () was an ancient Indian dynasty that originated from the Deccan in the mid-3rd century CE. Their state is believed to have extende ...
of the Vatsagulma branch of the Vakataka dynasty.
However, we have no details of any of the wars which might have involved Prithivishena.
Prithivishena was a
Vaishnavite
Vaishnavism ( sa, वैष्णवसम्प्रदायः, Vaiṣṇavasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as the ...
who was described as a ''Parama-bhagavata'' or devout worshipper of Bhagavat (i.e.
Vishnu
Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism.
Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" withi ...
).
This represented a reversion from the avowed
Shaivism
Shaivism (; sa, शैवसम्प्रदायः, Śaivasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Supreme Being. One of the largest Hindu denominations, it incorporates many sub-traditions rangi ...
of his illustrious grandfather Pravarasena II. Prithivishena might have been inspired by the Vaishnavite faith of his great-grandmother
Prabhavatigupta, because just like his great-grandmother Prithivishena issued his first public charter from the Vaishnavite religious sanctuary of Ramagiri.
Successors
Prithivishena had no known successors from his own line, which seems to come to an end following his death. It is possible that Harishena of the Vatsagulma branch took over the leadership of the Vakataka family after Prithivishena's death. An inscription at
Ajanta describes Harishena as the conqueror of many countries including
Kuntala,
Avanti,
Lata
Lata (Hindi: लता) is a Hindu/Sanskrit Indian female given name, which means "creeper" and "vine". Lata may refer to:
Notable people named Lata
*Lata Bhatt (born 1954), Indian singer.
* Lata (born 1975), Musician.
*Lata Mangeshkar (1929–2 ...
,
Koshala,
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 ...
, and
Andhra
Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
, and it is unlikely that Harishena could have extended his influence so widely without first securing the possession of some territories of the main Vakataka branch.
There also exists abundant evidence that the
Vishnukundins had a significant presence in parts of
Vidarbha
Vidarbha (Pronunciation: id̪əɾbʱə is a geographical region in the east of the Indian state of Maharashtra and a proposed state of central India, comprising the state's Amravati and Nagpur divisions. Amravati Division's former name is Ber ...
following the reign of Prithivishena. A hoard of loose coins found at Paunar in the
Wardha district
Wardha district (Marathi pronunciation: əɾd̪ʰaː is in the state of Maharashtra in western India. This district is a part of Nagpur Division. The city of Wardha is the administrative headquarters of the district. Hinganghat, Pulgaon, Ar ...
contain some coins which can be assigned to the reign of Prithivishena II, but a majority of them seem to be struck by the Vishnukundins.
[Bakker (1997), p. 56] Vishnukundin coins have also been found at Vakataka sites in the
Gondia district. On the basis of this evidence,
Ajay Mitra Shastri believes that the Vishnukundin king
Madhavavarman II Janashraya, who is known to have married a Vakataka princess, took control of a large portion of the former Vakataka kingdom and extended his conquests as far as the
Narmada river immediately after the death of Prithivishena.
Hans Bakker
Hans T. Bakker (born 1948) is a cultural historian and Indologist, who has served as the Professor of the History of Hinduism and Jan Gonda Chair at the University of Groningen. He currently works in the British Museum as a researcher in project ...
has a similar view and holds that Prithivishena had to accept a significant Vishnukundin presence in his realm to resist the Nalas, and those Vishnukundins became politically dominant over parts of the erstwhile Vakataka kingdom following Prithivishena's death.
References
Vakataka dynasty
5th-century Indian monarchs
6th-century Indian monarchs
Date of birth unknown
Year of birth uncertain
Date of death unknown
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vakataka, Prithivishena II