UNIT- I

THE MAUKHARIS, VAKATAS,

CHAULUKYAS AND LATER GUPTAS
MAUKHARIS
 The Maukhari dynasty was a post-Gupta royal India dynasty that
controlled vast areas of Northern India for over six generations.
 They earlier served as vassals of the Guptas and later of Harsha's
Vardhana dynasty.
 The Maukharis established their independence at Kannauj, 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.
 According to Hieun-Tsang, the territory may have been lost to
King Shashanka of the Gauda Kingdom, who declared independence circa
600 AD.
 Capital : Kannauj
 Common languages : Sanskrit
 Religion : Hinduism & Buddhism
 Government : Monarchy 
 Historical era : Classical India
 Established : c. 510 CE
 Disestablished : c. 606 CE
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.
Administration

 Kannauj, the Maukhari capital, grew in prosperity and

importance and as a great cosmopolitan town. After the
demise of the Maukharis, it even became the capital
of Harsha. Hence, the city of Kanyakubja was largely
contested by imperial powers.
 The first three Maukhari kings are mentioned in the
inscriptions as Maharaja, but their successors assumed more
pompous titles showing the increase in power. Ishanavarman
was the first Maukhari ruler to adopt the title
Maharajadhiraja.
Rulers
 The known Maukhari rulers of madhya-
desha include
 Hari-varman
 Aditya-varman
 Ishvara-varman (Iśvaravarman)
 Ishana-varman (Iśanavarman), r.c. 550-574 CE
 Sharva-varman (Śarvavarman), r. c. 574-586 CE
 Avanti-varman,
 Graha-varman, r. c. 600-605 CE
Barabar branch of Maukhari ruler

 The Barabar Caves 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:

 Nrpa Shri Yajna-varman
 NrpaSamantachudamani Shri Shardula-varman
 Ananta-varman
VAKATAKA

 The Vakataka dynasty was an ancient Indian dynasty that

originated from the Deccan in the mid-3rd century CE.
 Their state is believed to have extended from the
southern edges of Malwa and Gujarat in the north to
the Tungabhadra River in the south as well as from
the Arabian Sea in the west to the edges
of Chhattisgarh in the east.
 They were the most important successors of
the Satavahanas in the Deccan and contemporaneous
with the Guptas in northern India.
 The Vakataka dynasty was a Brahmin dynasty.
 Capital : Vatsagulma (Now Washim)
 Common languages : Sanskrit Prakrit
 Religion : Hinduism Buddhism Jainism
 Government : Monarchy
  Historical era : Classical India
  Established : c. 250 CE 
 Disestablished    : c. 500 CE
Branches of Vakataka dynasty

 It is generally believed that the Vakataka ruling

family was divided into four branches after
Pravarasena I.
 Two branches are known and two are unknown.
 The known branches are the Pravarpura-
Nandivardhana branch and the Vatsagulma
branch.
ORIGIN OF VAKATAKA DYNASTY

 The Scholars have different views regarding the

origin of the Vakatakas Dynasty.
 They were believed to be the Brahmins belonging
to Vishnu VriddhaGotra.
 The dynasty was found by the ruler Vindhyashakti
around 250 CE.
 The Vakataka Dynasty was establish on the ruins
to the Satavahana dynasty in the Deccan region.
ORIGIN: SOUTH INDIA
 Also the titles such as Haritipura and Dharmamaharaja used by
Pravarasena I and Sarvasena I respectively, werw also used in the
inscriptions of Southern dynasties such as Chalukyas and Pallavas.
 Some scholars believe that the Vakatakas dynasty originated in
South India. This is evident from some of the fragmentary
inscriptions found in Andhra Pradesh in which the name Vakataka is
mentioned.

ORIGIN: VINDHYAN REGION

 As the Puranas state, some scholars state that the Vakatakas dynasty
was the Northern dynasty that originated in the Vindhyan region
 The dynasty is reffered to as Vindhyakas in the Puranas.
 The town Kanchanaka which is mentioned in the Puranas in relation
to the Vakataka ruler Pravarasena I, is identified as a place in the
Panna district of Madhya Pradesh.
ADMINISTRATION

 The Vakataka empire was divided into the

provinces called rashtras which were
administered by Rajyadhikritas.
 The rashtras were divided into vishayas which
were furtherdivided into aharas and bhogas.
 CHALUKYA

 The Chalukya dynasty refers to an Indian royal dynasty that

ruled large parts of southern and central India between the 6
and 12th centuries.
 During this period, they ruled as three closely related,
but individual dynasties.
 The earliest dynasty, known as the Badami Chalukyas,
ruled from their capital Badami from the middle of the
sixth century.
 The BadamiChalukyas began to assert their
independence at the decline of the Kadamba kingdom of
Banavasi and rapidly rose to prominence during the
reign of Pulakesi II.
 After the death of Pulakesi II, the Eastern
Chalukyas became an independent kingdom in the eastern
Deccan.
 They ruled from the capital Vengi until about the
eleventh century.

 In the western Deccan, the rise of the Rashtrakutas in the

middle of eighth century eclipsed the Chalukyas of
Badami before being revived by their descendants, the
Western Chalukyas in late tenth century.
 Those Western Chalukyas ruled from Basavakalyan till
the end of the twelfth century.
 Capital : Anahilavada (modern Patan)
 Religion : Hinduism, Jainism
 Government : Monarchy
 Established : c. 940 CE
 Disestablish : c. 1244 CE
Army
 The army consisted of infantry, cavalry, elephant corps and a
powerful navy.
 Rashtrakuta inscriptions use the term Karnatabala referring to their
powerful armies.
 The government levied taxes called Herjunka, Kirukula, Bilkode, and
Pannaya.

Coinage
 The BadamiChalukyas minted coins of a different standard
compared to the northern kingdoms.
 The coins had Nagari and Kannada
 They minted coins with symbols of temples, lion or boar facing
right, and the lotus. The coins weighed four grams, called honnu in
old Kannada and had fractions such as fana and the quarter fana,
whose modern day equivalent being hana (literally means, money)
Religion
 The rule of the BadamiChalukya proved a period of religious harmony.
 They initially followed Vedic Hinduism, as seen in the various temples
dedicated to many popular Hindu deities with Aihole
 Later, from the time of Vikramaditya I, the people took an inclination
towards Shaivism and sects like Pashupata, Kapalikas and Kalamukhas
existed.
 They actively encouraged Jainism, attested to by one of the Badami
cave temples and other Jain temples in the Aihole complex.
Society
 The Hindu caste system appeared .
 Sati may have been absent as widows like Vinayavathi and Vijayanka are
mentioned in records.
 Devadasis’ appeared in temples.
 Sage Bharata’sNatyashastra the precursor to Bharatanatyam, the dance of
South India had been popular as seen in many sculptures and mentioned
in inscriptions.V
 Women enjoyed political power in administration.
LATER GUPTA

 The Later Gupta dynasty ruled the Magadha region in

eastern India between the 6th and 8th centuries CE.
 The Later Guptas succeeded the imperial Guptas as the
rulers of Magadha, but there is no evidence connecting
the two dynasties; these appear to be two distinct
families.
 The Later Guptas are so-called because the names of their
rulers ended with the suffix "-gupta", which they might
have adopted to portray themselves as the legitimate
successors of the imperial Guptas.
 Capital : Pataliputra
 Religion : Hinduism
 Government : Monarchy
 Established : c. 490 CE
 Disestablish : c. 750 CE
Rulers
 The known Later Gupta rulers include:
 Nrpa Shri Krishna-gupta Kṛṣṇagupta), r. c. 490-505 CE
 Deva Shri Harsha-gupta (Harṣagupta), r. c. 505-525 CE
 Shri Jivita-gupta I, r. c. 525-550 CE
 Shri Kumara-gupta, r. c. 550-560 CE
 Shri Damodara-gupta, r. c. 560-562 CE
 Shri Mahasena-gupta, r. c. 562-601 CE
 Shri Madhava-gupta, r. c. 601-655 CE (Queen: Shrimati)
 Maharajadhiraja Aditya-sena, r. c. 655-680 CE (Queen: Konadevi)
 Maharajadhiraja Deva-gupta, r. c. 680-700 CE (Queen: Kamaladevi)
 Maharajadhiraja Vishnu-gupta (Viṣnugupta) (Queen: Ijjadevi)
 Maharajadhiraja Jivita-gupta II
  
HISTORY
 After the decline of the Gupta Empire, the Later Guptas succeeded them as the rulers of
Magadha.
 The daughter of the dynasty's founder Krishnagupta is said to have married prince
Adityavarman of the Maukhari dynasty. According to the Aphsad inscription of
Ādityasena, Krishnagupta's grandson Jivitagupta carried out military expeditions in the
Himalayan region and southwestern Bengal.
 During the reign of Jivitagupta's son Kumaragupta, the dynasty developed a rivalry with
the Maukharis.
 Kumaragupta defeated the Maukhari king Ishanavarman in 554 CE, and died at Prayaga.
His son Damodaragupta suffered reverses against the Maukharis.
 Damodaragupta's son Mahasenagupta allied with the Pushyabhuti dynasty. His sister
married the ruler Adityavardhana.
 He invaded Kamarupa and defeated Susthita Varman
 After Harsha's death, the Later Gupta ruler Adityasena became the sovereign ruler of a
large kingdom extending from the Ganges in the north to the Chhota Nagpur in the south;
and from Gomati River in the east to the Bay of Bengal in the west.However, he was
defeated by the Chalukyas
 Jivitagupta II, the last known ruler of the dynasty, appears to have been defeated
by Yashovarman of the Varman dynasty of Kannauj circa 750 CE.