The Rīsthal inscription is a stone-slab inscription which was discovered in 1983 in the area of Rīsthal near

Mandsaur Mandsaur is a city and a municipality in Mandsaur district located on Border of Mewar and Malwa Malwa is a historical region of west-central India occupying a plateau of volcanic origin. Geologically, the Malwa Plateau generally refers ...

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. The inscription describes the event in the year 515 CE, when the

Aulikara The Aulikaras (Late Brahmi script: ''Au-li-ka-rā''), also referred to as Aulikara dynasty or Olikara dynasty, were an ancient Indian clan from the Maurya era, that emerged into a kingdom between the 4th-century CE and 6th-century CE. They w ...

king Prakashadharma of

Malwa Malwa is a historical region of west-central India occupying a plateau of volcanic origin. Geologically, the Malwa Plateau generally refers to the volcanic upland north of the Vindhya Range. Politically and administratively, it is also syno ...

finally defeated the

Alchon Huns The Alchon Huns, ( Bactrian: αλχον(ν)ο ''Alchon(n)o'') also known as the Alchono, Alxon, Alkhon, Alkhan, Alakhana and Walxon, were a nomadic people who established states in Central Asia and South Asia during the 4th and 6th centuries CE. ...

ruler

Toramana Toramana also called Toramana Shahi Jauvla ( Gupta script: ''Toramāṇa'', ruled circa 493-515 CE) was a king of the Alchon Huns who ruled in northern India in the late 5th and the early 6th century CE. Toramana consolidated the Hephthalite p ...

in his campaigns into

Central India Central India is a loosely defined geographical region of India. There is no clear official definition and various ones may be used. One common definition consists of the states of Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, which are included in alm ...

, and how he took away the tusks of his elephants and his

harem Harem (Persian: حرمسرا ''haramsarā'', ar, حَرِيمٌ ''ḥarīm'', "a sacred inviolable place; harem; female members of the family") refers to domestic spaces that are reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A hare ...

.Ojha, N.K. (2001). ''The Aulikaras of Central India: History and Inscriptions'', Chandigarh: Arun Publishing House, , pp.48-50

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 ...

br>24th Gonda lecture
/ref> The portion of the inscription related to Toramana reads: This ended the First Hunnic War in Indian territory, until Toramana's son

Mihirakula Mihirakula (Gupta script: , ''Mi-hi-ra-ku-la'', Chinese: 摩酰逻矩罗 ''Mo-hi-lo-kiu-lo''), sometimes referred to as Mihiragula or Mahiragula, was the second and last Alchon Hun king of northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent between ...

would again attack

a few years later.

Full inscription

The purpose of the inscription is to record the construction of a tank, as well as the dedication of a Temple to

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

by the Rajasthaniya Bagavaddosha in the reign of king Prakasadharma. The inscription documents one of the

Aulikaras The Aulikaras (Late Brahmi script: ''Au-li-ka-rā''), also referred to as Aulikara dynasty or Olikara dynasty, were an ancient Indian clan from the Maurya era, that emerged into a kingdom between the 4th-century CE and 6th-century CE. They w ...

royal houses, which comprised the following kings in the order of succession: Drumavardhana, Jayavardhana, Ajitavardhana, Vibhishanavardhana, Rajyavardhana and Prakashadharma (who defeated

). In all probability,

Yashodharman Yashodharman ( Gupta script: ''Ya-śo-dha-rmma'', ) (r. 515 – 545) was a ruler of Malwa, in central India, during the early part of the 6th century. He probably belonged to the Second Aulikara dynasty. He conquered much of the Indian subco ...

also belonged to this house and he was the son and successor of Prakashadharma.Agarwal, Ashvini (1989). ''Rise and Fall of the Imperial Guptas'', Delhi:Motilal Banarsidass, , pp.250-6

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Risthal inscription Gupta and post-Gupta inscriptions