Sharvavarman (

Brahmi script Brahmi ( ; ; ISO 15919, ISO: ''Brāhmī'') is a writing system from ancient India. "Until the late nineteenth century, the script of the Aśokan (non-Kharosthi) inscriptions and its immediate derivatives was referred to by various names such as ...

: 𑀰𑀭𑁆𑀯𑁆𑀯𑀯𑀭𑁆𑀫𑁆𑀫𑀸 ,

Gupta script The Gupta script (sometimes referred to as Gupta Brahmi script or Late Brahmi script)Sharma, Ram. '' 'Brahmi Script' ''. Delhi: BR Publishing Corp, 2002 was used for writing Sanskrit and is associated with the Gupta Empire of the Indian subcon ...

''Śa-rvva-va-rmmā'', complete form: ''Śarvavarman Indra Bhattarika'') was the

Maukhari The Maukhari dynasty ( Gupta script: , ''Mau-kha-ri'') was a post- Gupta dynasty who controlled the vast plains of Ganga-Yamuna for over six generations from their capital at Kanyakubja. They earlier served as vassals of the Guptas and later ...

ruler of the Kingdom of Kannauj from 560 to 575 CE. Sharvavarman may have been the greatest of the Maukhari emperors, invading

Magadha Magadha was a region and kingdom in ancient India, based in the eastern Ganges Plain. It was one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas during the Second Urbanization period. The region was ruled by several dynasties, which overshadowed, conquered, and ...

circa 575 CE and defeating the Later Guptas kings Damodaragupta and Mahasenagupta, which made him ruler of the entire

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

Asirgarh and Nalanda seals

Shavavarman was the son of Ishanavarman. He and the chronology of his family are rather well known, because of a copper seal he created: the Asirgarh seal. The seal reads: Several other nearly identical seals of Sharvavarman were also discovered in

Nalanda Nalanda (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: , ) was a renowned Buddhism, Buddhist ''mahavihara'' (great monastery) in medieval Magadha (Mahajanapada), Magadha (modern-day Bihar), eastern India. Widely considered to be am ...

. The content of the seals is identical, but small variations indicate that they come from different molds.

Reign

Sharvarman was an important rival of the Late Guptas king Mahasenagupta (r. c. 562-601 CE) during the period 575-585 CE. With the end of Hunnic power in India, new contacts were established between India and the

Sasanian Empire The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranian peoples, Iranians"), was an List of monarchs of Iran, Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, th ...

. Intellectual games such as

chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

and

backgammon Backgammon is a two-player board game played with counters and dice on tables boards. It is the most widespread Western member of the large family of tables games, whose ancestors date back at least 1,600 years. The earliest record of backgammo ...

demonstrated and celebrated the diplomatic relationship between

Khosrow I Khosrow I (also spelled Khosrau, Khusro or Chosroes; ), traditionally known by his epithet of Anushirvan ("the Immortal Soul"), was the Sasanian King of Kings of Iran from 531 to 579. He was the son and successor of Kavad I (). Inheriting a rei ...

and a "great king of India." The

vizier A vizier (; ; ) is a high-ranking political advisor or Minister (government), minister in the Near East. The Abbasids, Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was at first merely a help ...

of the Indian king invented chess as a cheerful, playful challenge to King Khosrow. It seems that the Indian ruler who sent the game of chess to Khosrow may have been Śarvavarman, between the beginning of Śarvavarman's reign in 560/565 and the end of Khosrow's reign in 579, When the game was sent to Iran it came with a letter which read: "As your name is the King of Kings, all your emperorship over us connotes that your wise men should be wiser than ours. Either you send us an explanation of this game of chess or send revenue and tribute us."Canepa 2009, p. 181 Khosrow's grand vizier successfully solved the riddle and figured out how to play chess. In response the wise vizier created the game backgammon and sent it to the Indian court with the same message. The Indian king was not able to solve the riddle and was forced to pay tribute. Sharvavarman was succeeded by his son Avantivarman, as indicated by the "Sohanag seal of Avantivarman".

References

Works

Modern works

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ishanavarman 6th-century Indian monarchs Kings of Kannauj Maukhari dynasty