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Maukhari dynasty

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. Maukharis were Kshatriyas
who belonged to the Chandravamsha or the Lunar race.[3] They earlier served as vassals of the Guptas and later
of Harsha's Vardhana dynasty. The Maukharis established their independence during the mid 6th century. The
dynasty ruled over much of Uttar Pradesh and Magadha. Around 606 CE, a large area of their empire was
reconquered by the Later Guptas.[4] According to Hieun-Tsang, the territory may have been lost to King
Shashanka of the Gauda Kingdom, who declared independence circa 600CE.[5][6]

Religion

The Maukharis were staunch Hindus. They tried to enforce and maintain the traditional social order among the
people. Hinduism received state support, but Buddhism also managed to remain as a prominent religion.[7]

Army

The Maukhari army consisted of elephants, cavalry and infantry. Ishanavarman in all probability would have
taken much pains to reorganize the army and make it strong and worthy. The Maukhari strategy mainly
focused on deploying elephant corps to crush the enemy armies. They were used against the Alchon Huns and
the Later Gupta armies.[7] The Maukharis fought against the remnants of the Alchon Huns in the areas of the
Gangetic Doab and Magadha, as documented in the Aphsad inscription, while the Aulikaras repelled them in
the Malwa region.[8] The Aphsad inscription of Ādityasena mentions the military successes of kings of the Later
Gupta dynasty against the Maukharis, themselves past victors of the Alchon Huns:[8]

The Aphsad inscription of


Ādityasena

"The son of that king (Kumaragupta) was the illustrious Dâmôdaragupta, by whom (his) enemies
were slain, just like the demons by (the god) Dâmôdara. Breaking up the proudly stepping array of
mighty elephants, belonging to the Maukhari, which had thrown aloft in battle the troops of the
Hûnas (in order to trample them to death), he became unconscious (and expired in the fight)."

— Line 8 of the Aphsad inscription of Ādityasena.[9]

The Maukharis, rather than the Guptas, were therefore the key actors in repelling the Hunas.[10]
Administration Kingdom of Kanyakubja
c. 510 CE–c. 606 CE
Kanyakubja, the Maukhari capital, grew in prosperity and
importance as a great cosmopolitan city. After the demise of
the Maukharis, it even became the capital of Emperor
Harsha. Hence, Kanyakubja was largely contested by
imperial powers.[11]: 20 [7][12]
Coin of King Iśanavarman of the Maukhari of
The first three Maukhari kings are mentioned in the Kanyakubja, successors of the Guptas in the
inscriptions as Maharaja, but their successors assumed Gangetic region. Circa 535-553 CE. The ruler
faces to the left, whereas in Gupta coinage the
grander titles showing an increase in power and prestige. ruler faces to the right. This is possibly a symbol
Ishanavarman was the first Maukhari ruler to adopt the title of antagonism and rivalry, as also seen on some
similar coins of Toramana.[1]
Maharajadhiraja (lit., King of Great Kings).[7]
TOCHARIANS
South-Asia
HEPHTHALITES
550-600 CE
Cultural and international exchanges NEZAKS
GONANDAS
ALCHONS
SASANIAN TAANK
EMPIRE PUSHYA-
BHUTIS
PRATIHARAS
RAIS VARMANS
MORIS
GAUDAS
AULIKARAS
LATER
SAMATATAS
MAITRAKAS NALAS GUPTAS
KALACHURIS

KALINGAS
CHALUKYAS

PALLAVAS

CHOLAS
CHERAS

PANDYAS

◁▷

Map of Maukharis territory, with neighbouring


polities, circa 550-600 CE, after the retreat of the
Alchon Huns.[2]

Capital Kanyakubja
Asirgarh seal inscription of
Common languages Sanskrit
Sharvavarman, Maukhari dynasty, 6th
century .[13][14] Religion Hinduism
Buddhism
The Maukhari kings were patrons of poets and writers and
Government Monarchy
many literary works were composed during their reign.[7]
Maharajadhiraja
Various seals and inscriptions are known, such as the
Historical era Classical India
Asirgarh seal inscription of Sharvavarman,[15] or the Haraha
• Established c. 510 CE
inscription of Isanavarman, discovered near the village of
• Disestablished c. 606 CE
Harara in the Barabanki district, Uttar Pradesh and dated to
Vikrama Samvat 610 (ie 554 CE), which record the genealogy
of the Maukharis.[16]
Contacts with the Sasanian Empire Preceded by Succeeded by
Later Later Guptas
Guptas Pushyabhuti
Alchon dynasty
Huns Gauda Kingdom

Sasanian Empire King Khosrow I sits


before the chessboard, while his vizir
and the Indian envoy of Kannauj are
playing chess. Shahnama, 10th
century CE.[17]

The Harahara inscription of


Ishanavarman. The inscription, dated
to Vikrama Samvat 610 (ie 554 CE),
record the genealogy of the
Maukharis.[18]

With the end of Hunnic power, new contacts were established between India and the Sasanian Persia.
Intellectual games such as chess and backgammon demonstrated and celebrated the diplomatic relationship
between Khosrow I and a "great king of India." The vizier of the Indian king invented chess as a cheerful,
playful challenge to emperor Khosrow. It seems that the Indian ruler who sent the game of chess to Khosrow
was the Maukhari monarch Śarvavarman of Kannauj, between the beginning of Śarvavarman's reign in 560/565
and the end of Khosrow's reign in 579.[17][19] 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."[20]
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.[20]

Succession

The Vardhana dynasty (also called "Pushyabhuti dynasty") ultimately succeeded the Maukhari dynasty, but it
had originally only been a small polity around their capital Sthaneshvara (Thanesar). According to Hans T.
Bakker, their ruler Aditya-Vardhana (or Aditya-Sena) was probably a feudatory to the Maukhari ruler
Sharvavarman. His successor Prabhakaravardhana may have also been a feudatory to the Maukhari king
Avantivarman in his early days. Prabhakara's daughter Rajyashri married Avantivarman's son Grahavarman. As a
result of this marriage, Prabhakara's political status increased significantly, and he assumed the imperial title
Parama-bhattaraka Maharajadhiraja ("the one to whom the other kings bow because of his valour and
affection").[21]

Rulers

The known Maukhari rulers of madhya-desha include:[22]

Maukhari design on a Nalanda Clay


Seal of Sharvavarman.

Harivarman[23]

Adityavarman

Ishvaravarman (Iśvaravarman)

Ishanavarman (Iśanavarman), r.c. 550–574 CE

Sharvavarman (Śarvavarman), r. c. 574–586 CE

Avantivarman

Grahavarman, r. c. 600–605 CE

Karenti branch of Maukhari Rulers

After the fall of Maukhari dynasty his descendants moved to Kuntalpur and later one of his descendant Kripal
Dev moved to Kirtigadh in 661, where he defeated Baloch ruler of Kirtigadh and Makwanas ruled from (661 AD
to 1089 AD). Last king was Kesar Dev Makwana, who died in battle against Hamir Soomra, ruler of Amarkot.[24]

1. Kripaldevji or Karpaldevji, First Makwana Lord of Karenti (662-682).

2. Bharmal Second Makwana Lord of Karenti (682-706).

3. Bhojraj , Third Makwana Lord of Karenti (706-716).

4. Dhirsen , Fourth Makwana Lord of Karenti (716-734).

5. Popasen , Fifth Makwana Lord of Karenti (734-744).

6. Devraj , Sixth Makwana Lord of Karenti (744-762).

7. Parthisal , Seventh Makwana Lord of Karenti (762-792).


8. Salande , Eighth Makwana Lord of Karenti (792-810).

9. Surjanbhan , Ninth Makwana Lord of Karenti (810-824).

10. Somesar , Tenth Makwana Lord of Karenti (824-833).

11. Satal , Eleventh Makwana Lord of Karenti (833-862).

12. Sundarpal , Twelfth Makwana Lord of Karenti (862-891).

13. Ratanpal , Thirteenth Makwana Lord of Karenti (891-905).

14. Akhepal , Fourteenth Makwana Lord of Karenti (905-914).

15. Amratpal , Fifteenth Makwana Lord of Karenti (914-932).

16. Udebhan , Sixteenth Makwana Lord of Karenti (932-962).

17. Lakhdhir , Seventeenth Makwana Lord of Karenti (962-972).

18. Surtan , Eighteenth Makwana Lord of Karenti (972-992).

19. Hamir , Nineteenth Makwana Lord of Karenti (992-1022).

20. Narbhavandev or Narbhramdev, Twentieth Makwana Lord of Karenti (1022-1039).

21. Jayamalladev or Jaimalji, Twenty-First Makwana Lord of Karenti (1039-1042).


Karenti (1039-

22.Vyaghradev or Vaghji, Twenty-Second Makwana Lord of Karanti (1042-1045).

23. Vihayasdev or Vairisha, Twenty-Third Makwana Lord of Karenti Karenti(1045-104

24. Kesardev, Twenty-Fourth Makwana Lord of Karenti (1049-28 MAY 1082). Died: killed in battle 28 May
1082 by Hamir Sumro, Jam of Sindh

Barabar branch of Maukhari rulers

The Gopika Cave Inscription of


Anantavarman (left half).
The Barabar Cave inscriptions attest the existence of another Maukhari branch. This branch ruled as
feudatories, probably that of the Later Guptas. The known rulers of this branch include:[25]

Nrpa Shri Yajnavarman

Nrpa Samantachudamani Shri Shardulavarman

Anantavarman

Lomas Rishi cave Gopika Cave Vadathika Cave


inscription of Inscription of Inscription of
Anantavarman Anantavarman Anantavarman

See also

Megasthenes

List of Hindu Empires and Dynasties

Jhala dynasty

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=2Tnh2QjGhMQC&pg=PA45) . Motilal Banarsidass inscription: see SIDDHAM: the asia inscriptions
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Hans Bakker (2014). The World of the Skandapurāṇa (https://books.google.com/books?id=6p2XCgAAQBAJ) . BRILL.


ISBN 978-90-04-27714-4.

Ronald M. Davidson (2012). Indian Esoteric Buddhism: A Social History of the Tantric Movement (https://books.google.co
m/books?id=nwyeIyWTlEMC) . Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-50102-6.

External links

Joseph Schwartzberg. The Historical Atlas of South Asia (https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/schwartzber


g/) . Map of the "Age of Pusyabhutis & Calukyans, c. A.D. 550-700 (https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/sch
wartzberg/pager.html?object=063) ". (Pg 26).

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