Second Aulikara dynasty

The Second Aulikara dynasty was a royal dynasty that ruled over the Malwa plateau, and at its height under Yashodharman Vishnuvardhana controlled a vast area, consisting of almost all of Northern India and parts of Deccan plateau.[1][2] It was the second royal house of the Aulikara clan.[3]

Second Aulikara dynasty
4th century–6th century
Capital	Mandsaur
Common languages	Sanskrit
Religion	Shaivism
Government	monarchy
History
• Established	4th century
• Disestablished	6th century
Preceded by Succeeded by Malavas Gupta Empire Kalachuri dynasty Maitraka dynasty
Today part of	India

Origins

The dynasty belonged to the ancient clan of the Aulikaras, and was the second royal house belonging to this clan.[3]

Territory

The second Aulikara dynasty initially controlled the Malwa plateau, but at its height under Yashodharman Vishnuvardhana controlled a vast area, consisting of almost all of Northern India and northern parts of the Deccan plateau.[3]

History

Unlike the first Aulikara royal house, this royal house was never a Gupta feudatory. The Risthal inscription mentions Drumavardhana as the founder of this house. He assumed the title, Senapati. He was succeeded by his son Jayavardhana, who commanded a formidable army. He was succeeded by his son Ajitavardhana. According to the Risthal inscription, he was constantly engaged in performing Soma sacrifices. Ajitavardhana was succeeded by his son Vibhishanavardhana. He was praised in the Risthal inscription for his noble qualities. Vibhishanavardhana's son and successor Rajyavardhana expanded his ancestral kingdom. Rajyavardhana was succeeded by his son Prakashadharma.[1]

Prakashadharma

Prakashadharma was a notable king of this dynasty, who assumed the title, Adhiraja. The Rīsthal inscription gives us information about his achievements. It records the construction of a tank and a Shiva temple at Risthal by Bhagavaddosha, a Rajasthaniya (viceroy) of Prakashadharma. This inscription mentions that Prakashadharma defeated the Huna ruler Toramana, sacked his camp and had taken away the ladies of his harem. The tank constructed at Risthal during his reign was named after his grandfather as Vibhishanasara. He also constructed a temple dedicated to Brahma at Dashapura.[1] During the excavation at Mandsaur in 1978 by a team of Vikram University, Ujjain, led by V.S. Wakankar, his two glass seals inscribed with the legend Shri Prakashadharma were found.[4] In all probabilities he was succeeded by his son Yashodharma Vishnuvarma.[1]

An undated fragmentary Mandsaur inscription provides a name of a suzerain ruler Adityavardhana and his feudatory Maharaja Gauri. Adityavardhana has been recently identified with Prakashadharma by a historian Ashvini Agarwal.[5] The Chhoti Sadri inscription dated Malava Samvat 547 (490 CE) and written by Bhramarasoma, son of Mitrasoma supplies a genealogy of Adityavardhana's feudatory ruler, Maharaja Gauri. The first ruler of this Manavayani kshatriya family was Punyasoma. He was succeeded by his son Rajyavardhana. Rashtravardhana was the son of Rajyavardhana. Rashtravardhana's son and successor was Yashogupta. The last ruler of this family, Gauri was son of Yashogupta. He excavated a tank at Dashapura for the merit of his deceased mother.[3] This inscription also mentions the name of a prince, Gobhata but his relationship with Gauri is not known.[5]

Yashodharman

The defeat of the Alchon Huns under Mihirakula by King Yashodharma at Sondani in 528 CE.

The most prominent and greatest king of this dynasty was Yashodharma Vishnuvardhana. Yashodharma's two identical undated Mandsaur victory pillar inscriptions (found at Sondani, near present-day Mandsaur town) and a stone inscription dated Malava Samvat 589 (532 CE) record the military achievements of him.[6] All of these inscriptions were first published by John Faithfull Fleet in 1886. The undated pillar inscriptions, which were also written by poet Vasula, son of Kakka say that his feet were worshipped by the Huna ruler Mihirakula. These also state that his feudatories from the vicinity of the river Lauhitya (Brahmaputra) in the east, from the Mahendra mountains (Eastern Ghats) in the south, up to the Himalayas in the north and the Paschima Payodhi (Western Ocean) in the west came to the seat of his empire to pay homage.[1][7] he assumed the titles, Rajadhiraja and Parameshvara.[1] Yashodharma's dated inscription informs us that in 532 CE, Nirdosha, his Rajasthaniya was governing the area between the Vindhyas and the Pariyatras (Aravalis) and his headquarters was Dashapura. Probably the rule of the Aulikaras ended with Yashodharma[3]

In Line 5 of the Mandsaur pillar inscription, Yashodharman is said to have vanquished his enemies and to now control the territory from the neighbourhood of the (river) Lauhitya (Brahmaputra River) to the "Western Ocean" (Western Indian Ocean), and from the Himalayas to mountain Mahendra.[8][9]

Yashodharman thus conquered vast territories from the Hunas and the Guptas,[10] although his short-lived empire would ultimately disintegrate between 530 and 540 CE.[9] He was succeeded by his son, Shiladitya, although this claim is not completely correct, as many historians write that he died without an heir, creating a power vacuum again, and his empire disentegrated.[6]

List of rulers

• Drumavardhana
• Jayavardhana
• Ajitavardhana
• Vibhishanavardhana
• Rajyavardhana
• Prakashadharma
• Yashodharman
• Shiladitya

References

1. Agarwal, Ashvini (1989). Rise and Fall of the Imperial Guptas, Delhi:Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 81-208-0592-5, pp.250-6
2. Salomon, Richard (1989). "New Inscriptional Evidence For The History Of The Aulikaras of Mandasor". Indo-Iranian Journal. 32 (1): 12. ISSN 0019-7246. JSTOR 24654606.
3. Jain, Kailash Chand (1972). Malwa Through the Ages. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 250–9. ISBN 978-81-208-0824-9.
4. Wakankar, V.S. (1981) Aulikara Vamsha ke Itihas par Naya Prakash (in Hindi) in M.D. Khare ed. Malwa through the Ages, Bhopal: Directorate of Archaeology & Museums, Government of Madhya Pradesh, pp,278-9
5. Ojha, N.K. (2001). The Aulikaras of Central India: History and Inscriptions, Chandigarh: Arun Publishing House, ISBN 81-85212-78-3, pp.37-41
6. Ojha, N.K. (2001). The Aulikaras of Central India: History and Inscriptions, Chandigarh: Arun Publishing House, ISBN 81-85212-78-3, pp.19-20
7. Salomon, Richard (1989). "New Inscriptional Evidence For The History Of The Aulikaras of Mandasor". Indo-Iranian Journal. 32 (1): 11. ISSN 0019-7246. JSTOR 24654606.
8. Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum Vol 3 p.145
9. Foreign Influence on Ancient India by Krishna Chandra Sagar p.216
10. Tribal Culture, Faith, History And Literature, Narayan Singh Rao, Mittal Publications, 2006 p.18