Prabhakaravardhana (also known as Prabhakara Vardhana) was a king of Thanesar in northern India around the time of the decline of the Gupta Empire. According to the historian R. C. Majumdar, he was the first notable king of the Vardhana dynasty but the fourth ruler from the family,[1] who are also referred to as the Pushpabhutis.[2] He had been preceded by his father, Adityavardhana, grandfather Rajyavardhana I and great-grandfather, Naravardhana, but inscriptions suggest that Banabhatta, the seventh-century bard and chronicler of the Vardhanas, may have been wrong to call these earlier rulers kings and that they may instead have been mere feudatory rulers of minor significance.[3]
Prabhakaravardhana's father, Adityavardhana, had formed an alliance with Mahasenagupta of Magadha against the Maukhari dynasty.[4][2] He was married to Mahasenagupta, who was probably the sister of this Gupta king who bore the same name. Through these arrangements he had much enlarged the family's estates. It is because of this territorial expansion that, while Adityavardhana bore the title of maharaja, his son was able to use the higher rank of maharajadhiraja.[3] In turn, Prabhakaravardhana further extended Vardhana control, using aggressive tactics that resulted in him probably ruling over the Punjab and part of Malwa.[1] Aside from defeating rulers in Gujarat, Gandhara and Sind, he also resisted the invasion of the Hunas,[5] as reported by the 7th century writer Bāṇabhaṭṭa.[6][7]
The date of death of Prabhakaravardhana is variously stated: according to Majumdar, it was in 604 CE but some sources, such as the military historian Kaushik Roy, say 606 CE, and others state 605.[1][3][5] He was married to Yasomati, who became sati.[8]
Prabhakaravardhana and Yasomati had three children. Their eldest son, Rajyavardhana, succeeded to the throne and was in turn succeeded by the younger son, Harsha; their daughter, Rajyashri, married Grahavarman of the Maukhari dynasty that ruled Kannauj.[5][a]
^The marriage of Rajyashri and Grahavarman appears to have been an alliance of the two dynasties against the king of the Malavas.[9] It was a reversal of the earlier enmity between the Vardhanas and Maukharis.
^Bāṇabhaṭṭa credits Prabhakaravardhana with a strong stance against the Hunas, describing him as:"A lion to the Huna deer, a burning fever to the king of the Indus land, a troubler of the sleep of Gujarat king, a billious plague to that scent-elephant, the lord of Gandhara, a destroyer of the skill of the Latas.", Ancient Indian History and Civilization by Sailendra Nath Sen p.253
Roy, Kaushik (2013a), "Kautilya", in Coetzee, Daniel; Eysturlid, Lee W. (eds.), Philosophers of War: The Evolution of History's Greatest Military Thinkers, ABC-CLIO, ISBN978-0-313-07033-4
Roy, Kaushik (2013b), "Bana", in Coetzee, Daniel; Eysturlid, Lee W. (eds.), Philosophers of War: The Evolution of History's Greatest Military Thinkers, ABC-CLIO, ISBN978-0-313-07033-4
Sen, Sailendra Nath (1999), Ancient Indian History and Civilization, New Age International, ISBN978-8-122-41198-0
Sengupta, Nitish K. (2011), Land of Two Rivers: A History of Bengal from the Mahabharata to Mujib, Penguin Books India, ISBN978-0-14341-678-4
Tripathi, Rama Shankar (1989) [1964], History of Kanauj: To the Moslem Conquest (Reprinted ed.), Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN978-8-120-80404-3
October 31, 2023
prabhakaravardhana, also, known, prabhakara, vardhana, king, thanesar, northern, india, around, time, decline, gupta, empire, according, historian, majumdar, first, notable, king, vardhana, dynasty, fourth, ruler, from, family, also, referred, pushpabhutis, be. Prabhakaravardhana also known as Prabhakara Vardhana was a king of Thanesar in northern India around the time of the decline of the Gupta Empire According to the historian R C Majumdar he was the first notable king of the Vardhana dynasty but the fourth ruler from the family 1 who are also referred to as the Pushpabhutis 2 He had been preceded by his father Adityavardhana grandfather Rajyavardhana I and great grandfather Naravardhana but inscriptions suggest that Banabhatta the seventh century bard and chronicler of the Vardhanas may have been wrong to call these earlier rulers kings and that they may instead have been mere feudatory rulers of minor significance 3 PrabhakaravardhanaMaharaja4th King of ThanesarReignc 580 c 605 CEPredecessorAdityavardhanaSuccessorRajyavardhanaSpouseYasomatiIssueRajyavardhana Harsha RajyashriDynastyPushyabhuti dynastyFatherAdityavardhanaMotherMahasenaguptaPrabhakaravardhana s father Adityavardhana had formed an alliance with Mahasenagupta of Magadha against the Maukhari dynasty 4 2 He was married to Mahasenagupta who was probably the sister of this Gupta king who bore the same name Through these arrangements he had much enlarged the family s estates It is because of this territorial expansion that while Adityavardhana bore the title of maharaja his son was able to use the higher rank of maharajadhiraja 3 In turn Prabhakaravardhana further extended Vardhana control using aggressive tactics that resulted in him probably ruling over the Punjab and part of Malwa 1 Aside from defeating rulers in Gujarat Gandhara and Sind he also resisted the invasion of the Hunas 5 as reported by the 7th century writer Baṇabhaṭṭa 6 7 The date of death of Prabhakaravardhana is variously stated according to Majumdar it was in 604 CE but some sources such as the military historian Kaushik Roy say 606 CE and others state 605 1 3 5 He was married to Yasomati who became sati 8 Prabhakaravardhana and Yasomati had three children Their eldest son Rajyavardhana succeeded to the throne and was in turn succeeded by the younger son Harsha their daughter Rajyashri married Grahavarman of the Maukhari dynasty that ruled Kannauj 5 a See also editAsigarh FortReferences editNotes The marriage of Rajyashri and Grahavarman appears to have been an alliance of the two dynasties against the king of the Malavas 9 It was a reversal of the earlier enmity between the Vardhanas and Maukharis Citations a b c Majumdar 1977 pp 249 250 a b Sen 1999 p 247 a b c Allan Haig amp Dodwell 1934 p 105 Roy 2013a p 82 a b c Roy 2013b pp 21 22 Baṇabhaṭṭa credits Prabhakaravardhana with a strong stance against the Hunas describing him as A lion to the Huna deer a burning fever to the king of the Indus land a troubler of the sleep of Gujarat king a billious plague to that scent elephant the lord of Gandhara a destroyer of the skill of the Latas Ancient Indian History and Civilization by Sailendra Nath Sen p 253 The Cambridge Shorter History of India p 105 Tripathi 1989 p 73 Sengupta 2011 pp 34 35 Bibliography Allan J Haig T Wolseley Dodwell H H eds 1934 The Cambridge Shorter History of India Cambridge University Press Majumdar Ramesh Chandra 1977 1952 Ancient India Reprinted ed Motilal Banarsidass ISBN 978 8 12080 436 4 Roy Kaushik 2013a Kautilya in Coetzee Daniel Eysturlid Lee W eds Philosophers of War The Evolution of History s Greatest Military Thinkers ABC CLIO ISBN 978 0 313 07033 4 Roy Kaushik 2013b Bana in Coetzee Daniel Eysturlid Lee W eds Philosophers of War The Evolution of History s Greatest Military Thinkers ABC CLIO ISBN 978 0 313 07033 4 Sen Sailendra Nath 1999 Ancient Indian History and Civilization New Age International ISBN 978 8 122 41198 0 Sengupta Nitish K 2011 Land of Two Rivers A History of Bengal from the Mahabharata to Mujib Penguin Books India ISBN 978 0 14341 678 4 Tripathi Rama Shankar 1989 1964 History of Kanauj To the Moslem Conquest Reprinted ed Motilal Banarsidass ISBN 978 8 120 80404 3 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Prabhakaravardhana amp oldid 1122669010, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
