Pratiharas Of Mandavyapura
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Find spot Provenance (from the French ''provenir'', 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody or location of a historical object. The term was originally mostly used in relation to works of art but is now used in similar senses i ...
s of the Mandvayapura Pratihara inscriptions, with the dynasty's capitals" width="290" height="400" zoom="5" longitude="73" latitude="26"> The Pratiharas of Mandavyapura (
IAST The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows the lossless romanisation of Indic scripts as employed by Sanskrit and related Indic languages. It is based on a scheme that emerged during ...
: Pratīhāras of Māṇḍavyapura), also known as the Pratiharas of Mandore (or Mandor), were an Indian dynasty. They ruled parts of the present-day
Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...
between 6th and 9th centuries CE. They first established their capital at Mandavyapura (modern
Mandore Mandore is a suburb Historical town located 9 km north of Jodhpur city, in the Indian state of Rajasthan. History Mandore is an ancient town, and was the seat of the Pratiharas of Mandavyapura, who ruled the region in the 6th century CE ...
), and later ruled from Medantaka (modern Merta).


Origins

The origin of the dynasty is described in two inscriptions: the 837 CE
Jodhpur Jodhpur (; ) is the second-largest city in the Indian state of Rajasthan and officially the second metropolitan city of the state. It was formerly the seat of the princely state of Jodhpur State. Jodhpur was historically the capital of the Ki ...
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 hero
Lakshmana Lakshmana ( sa, लक्ष्मण, lit=the fortunate one, translit=Lakṣmaṇa), also spelled as Laxmana, is the younger brother of Rama and his loyalist in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He bears the epithets of Saumitra () and Ramanuja (). ...
, the brother of
Rama Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bein ...
. 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 Gurjara 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. The earliest known historical members of the family are Harichandra and his second wife Bhadra. In Pratihāra inscriptions, Harichandra is mentioned as
Brahmana The Brahmanas (; Sanskrit: , ''Brāhmaṇam'') are Vedic śruti works attached to the Samhitas (hymns and mantras) of the Rig, Sama, Yajur, and Atharva Vedas. They are a secondary layer or classification of Sanskrit texts embedded within ea ...
(''vipra''), while Bhadra came from a
Kshatriya Kshatriya ( hi, क्षत्रिय) (from Sanskrit ''kṣatra'', "rule, authority") is one of the four varna (social orders) of Hindu society, associated with warrior aristocracy. The Sanskrit term ''kṣatriyaḥ'' is used in the con ...
noble family. They had four sons: Bhogabhatta, Kakka, Rajjila and Dadda. These four men captured Mandavyapura and erected a rampart there. It is not known where the family lived before the conquest of Mandavyapura. 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 The Chavda (IAST:Chávaḍá), also spelled Chawda or Chavada was a dynasty which ruled the region of modern-day Gujarat in India, from c. 690 to 942. Variants of the name for the dynasty include Chapotkatas, Chahuda and Chávoṭakas. During ...
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). In later period the Pratiharas were categorized as the Agnivanshi Rajput or the fire born Rajput.


History

Little is known about the reigns of the dynasty's early rulers. Nagabhata, fourth in line from Harichandra, moved his capital from Mandavyapura to Medantaka (modern Merta). The original capital still retained its importance, as Nagabhata's successor Tata is said to have retired there. Nagabhata and his queen Jajjika-devi had two sons: Tata and Bhoja. The Chinese Buddhist traveler
Xuanzang Xuanzang (, ; 602–664), born Chen Hui / Chen Yi (), also known as Hiuen Tsang, was a 7th-century Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator. He is known for the epoch-making contributions to Chinese Buddhism, the travelogue of ...
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 Bhinmal (previously Shrimal Nagar) is an ancient town in the Jalore District of Rajasthan, India. It is south of Jalore. Bhinmal was the capital of the Bhil king, then the capital of Gurjaradesa, comprising modern-day southern Rajasthan and nor ...
). Historian R. C. Majumdar theorized that the king of ''Kiu-che-lo'' was the Mandavyapura Pratihara king Tata. But
Baij Nath Puri Prof. Baij Nath Puri (B. N. Puri) (born 26 January 1916, died 1996) was a historian from India. He completed M. Lit. and D.Phil. from Oxford University. He was vice-president and member of the International Board of Editors for the history of Ci ...
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. 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. 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 Jaisalmer is the largest district in the Indian state of Rajasthan, and the third largest district in India. Located in Marwar (Jodhpur Division), the city of Jaisalmer is the administrative headquarters of the district. It is around from the ...
, and has been mentioned as "Taban" by the Arab writers. R. C. Majumdar identified Bhattika Devaraja as the
Gurjara-Pratihara The Gurjara-Pratihara was a dynasty that ruled much of Hindustan, Northern India from the mid-8th to the 11th century. They ruled first at Ujjain and later at Kannauj. The Gurjara-Pratiharas were instrumental in containing Arab armies moving ...
king
Devaraja "Devarāja" was the religious order of the "god-king," or Divinity, deified monarch in medieval Southeast Asia. The devarāja order grew out of both Hinduism and separate local traditions depending on the area. It taught that the monarch, king ...
, but B. N. Puri disagrees with this theory. Shiluka also excavated a tank, established a new city and commissioned the Siddheshvara Mahadeva temple at a place called Treta. His son Jhota retired after appointing his son Bhiladitya as the king, and proceeded to
Bhagirathi River The Bhāgīrathī (Pron: /ˌbʌgɪˈɹɑːθɪ/) is a turbulent Himalayan river in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, and one of the two headstreams of the Ganges, the major river of Northern India and the holy river of Hinduism. In the Hindu fa ...
. Bhiladitya also retired after handing over the kingdom to his son Kakka. Kakka is said to have gained fame in the battle of Mudgagiri (modern
Munger Munger, formerly spelt as Monghyr, is a twin city and a Municipal Corporation situated in the Indian state of Bihar. It is the administrative headquarters of Munger district and Munger Division. Munger was one of the major cities in Eastern In ...
) against the ruler of Gauda. This probably refers to his participation in the campaign of his overlord
Nagabhata II Nagabhata II (reign 795–833) was an Indian Emperor from Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty. He ascended the throne of Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty after his father Vatsraja. His mother was queen Sundari-Devi. He was designated with imperial titles - ''Par ...
. According to the Jodhpur inscription, Kakka's son Bauka defeated and killed a king of the Mayura dynasty. 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 Gurjaradesa ("Gurjara country") or Gurjaratra is a historical region in India comprising the eastern Rajasthan and northern Gujarat during the period of 6th -12th century CE. The predominant power of the region, the Gurjara-Pratiharas eventual ...
,
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 (1929–20 ...
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
Abhira The Abhira tribe is mentioned in the ancient Indian epic Mahabharata. A historical people of the same name are mentioned in the ''Periplus of the Erythraean Sea''. They are thought to be people who moved in from eastern Iran in the aftermath of ...
s. Kakkuka is the last known ruler of the dynasty. The dynasty probably ended with him, and the kingdom became a part of the Imperial Pratihara's territories. The Imperial Pratihara dynasty later broke into several small states after the
Ghaznavid The Ghaznavid dynasty ( fa, غزنویان ''Ġaznaviyān'') was a culturally Persianate, Sunni Muslim dynasty of Turkic ''mamluk'' origin, ruling, at its greatest extent, large parts of Persia, Khorasan, much of Transoxiana and the northwest ...
invasions. These branches fought each other for territory and one of the branches ruled
Mandore Mandore is a suburb Historical town located 9 km north of Jodhpur city, in the Indian state of Rajasthan. History Mandore is an ancient town, and was the seat of the Pratiharas of Mandavyapura, who ruled the region in the 6th century CE ...
till the 14th century. This Pratihara branch had marital ties with Rao Chunda of the
Rathore The Rathore is a Rajput clan found in Northern India. Subclans Jodhana, Vadhel, Jaitawat, Kumpawat, Champawat, Meratiya, Udawat, Karamsot etc. are the branches or subclans of Rathore Rajputs. Coverage This article discusses the "Kanauji ...
clan and gave Mandore in dowry to Chunda, resulting in the Pratiharas getting absorbed into what later became
Jodhpur State Kingdom of Marwar, also known as the Jodhpur State under the British, was a kingdom in the Marwar region from 1226 to 1818 and a princely state under British rule from 1818 to 1947. It was established in Pali by Rao Siha, possibly a m ...
. This was specifically done to form an alliance against the Turks of the Tughlaq Empire.


Rulers

Rudolf Hoernlé Augustus Frederic Rudolf Hoernlé CIE (1841 – 1918), also referred to as Rudolf Hoernle or A. F. Rudolf Hoernle, was a German Indologist and philologist. He is famous for his studies on the Bower Manuscript (1891), Weber Manuscript (1893) and ...
assumed a period of 20 years for each generation, and placed the dynasty's founder Harichandra in c. 640 CE.
Baij Nath Puri Prof. Baij Nath Puri (B. N. Puri) (born 26 January 1916, died 1996) was a historian from India. He completed M. Lit. and D.Phil. from Oxford University. He was vice-president and member of the International Board of Editors for the history of Ci ...
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. The following is a list of the dynasty's rulers (
IAST The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows the lossless romanisation of Indic scripts as employed by Sanskrit and related Indic languages. It is based on a scheme that emerged during ...
names in brackets) and estimates of their reigns, assuming a period of 25 years: * Harichandra (Haricandra) alias Rohilladhi, r. c. 550 CE * Rajilla, r. c. 575 CE * Narabhatta (Narabhaṭa) alias Pellapelli, r. c. 600 CE * Nagabhata (Nāgabhaṭa) alias Nahada, r. c. 625 CE * Tata (Tāta) and Bhoja, r. c. 650 CE * Yashovardhana (Yaśovardhana), r. c. 675 CE * Chanduka (Canduka), r. c. 700 CE * Shiluka (Śīluka) alias Silluka, r. c. 725 CE * Jhota, r. c. 750 CE * Bhilladitya alias Bhilluka, r. c. 775 CE * Kakka, r. c. 800 CE * Bauka (Bāuka), r. c. 825 CE * Kakkuka, r. c. 861 CE 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).


References


Bibliography

* * * {{ref end Pratiharas