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Somavamshi dynasty

The Somavamshi (IAST: Somavaṃśī, "Lunar dynasty") or Keshari (IAST: Keśarī) dynasty ruled parts of present-day Odisha in eastern India between the 9th and the 12th centuries. Their capitals included Yayatinagara (modern Binka) and Abhinava-Yayatinagara (modern Jajpur).

Somavamshi dynasty
c. 9th century CE–c. 12th century CE
CapitalYayatinagara (modern Binka); Abhinava-Yayatinagara (modern Jajpur)
Official languagesSanskrit
Religion
Hinduism
Jainism
GovernmentMonarchy
Historical eraClassical India
• Established
c. 9th century CE
• Disestablished
c. 12th century CE

The Somavamshis may have been related to the Panduvamshis, who ruled the Dakshina Kosala region in central India. They were probably driven out from this region by the Kalachuris, following which they conquered the Kalinga and the Utkala regions in present-day Odisha, supplanting the Bhauma-Karas.

The Somavamshis introduced a new style of art and architecture in Odisha, and their rule saw a remarkable shift from Buddhism to Brahmanism in the region. The Somavamshi rule ended in the early 12th century, when the Eastern Ganga ruler Anantavarman Chodaganga captured their territories.

Origin

The Somavamshis may have been related to the Panduvamshis of Dakshina Kosala, whose rule in the Dakshina Kosala region seems to have declined in the 8th century. Both dynasties claimed lunar lineage; the early Panduvamshi kings also claimed descent from the legendary Pandavas, unlike the Somavamshi, but this was not the case with the later Panduvamshi kings. The later Panduvamshis, like the Somavamshis, adopted names ending in -gupta.[3] The Panduvamshi kings Tivaradeva and Balarjuna bore the regnal titles "Maha-shiva" and "Maha-shiva-gupta" respectively; multiple Somavamshi rulers bore the regnal name "Maha-shiva-gupta".[4] While the Panduvamshi copper-plate inscriptions are inscribed using "box-headed" characters, all the stone inscriptions starting from the reign of Balarjuna are inscribed in the Nagari script, which is also the script of the Somavamshi inscriptions.[5] The early Somavamshi kings ruled in western Odisha, which once formed the eastern part of Dakshina Kosala,[3] and the Chaudwar inscription of the earliest known Somavamshi king Mahashivagupta I (alias Janamejaya) describes him as Kosalendra ("lord of Kosala").[6] Several Somavamshi inscriptions record grants to people from Kosala, grants of villages located in Kosala, and appointment of Kosala-specific officers.[7]

All these similarities indicate that the Somavamshis were related to the Panduvamshis, but this cannot be said with certainty.[8] According to one theory, the Panduvamshis were driven out of Kosala by the Kalachuris, and migrated eastward. There, they established their capital at Vinitapura (modern Binka) on the banks of the Mahanadi River. The rulers whose territory was limited to the area around Vinitapura are termed as "early" Somavamshis, as opposed to the "later" Somavamshis who ruled a bigger part of Odisha.[9]

Political history

 
Lingaraj Temple

Janmejaya I

Janmejaya I (c. 882-922) probably controlled a part of the coastal Odisha, and appears to have made inroads into the neighbouring Bhauma-Kara kingdom, through his daughter, who married the Bhauma-Kara king Shubhakara IV. After Shubhakara IV, the kingdom was ruled by his brother Shivakara III. Subsequently, Janmejaya's daughter ascended the Bhauma-Kara throne as Tribhuvana-Devi II around 894 (with her father's support, according to most historians).[9]

A Brahmeswara Temple inscription states that the king of the Odra country was killed by Janmejaya's kunta (spear) in a battle. Historian Krishna Chandra Panigrahi identified this king of Odra as Shivakara III, and theorized that Janmejaya placed his daughter on the Bhauma-Kara throne after killing him. However, other historians disagree with this theory, stating that Odra in this context refers not the whole of present-day Odisha, but only a small vishaya (district) centered around the present-day Dhenkanal district. According to this theory, the king of Odra referred to in the inscription was probably a rebel Bhanja vassal.[10]

During his long reign of 34 years, Janmejaya issued a number of grants (recorded in form of copper-plate inscriptions) at various "victorious camps". This suggests that Janmejaya consolidated the Somavamshi rule in western Odisha moving from place to place. During his 31st regnal year, he issued three grants from Kataka, which has been identified as Chaudwar near modern Cuttack. This suggests that his influence extended to eastern Odisha by the end of his reign.[10]

Yayati I

 
Find spots of the inscriptions issued during the Somavamshi reign (Map of India)

Yayati I (c. 922-955), the son of Janmejaya I, made a large number of village grants in the Dakshina Kosala region, which was the traditional stronghold of his family. These grants are recorded on the inscriptions issued at Yayatinagara, which was probably same as the former Somavamshi capital Vinitapura, and which Yayati may have renamed after himself.[10] The capital was later moved to the Bhauma-Kara capital Guheshvarapataka (modern Jajpur), which was renamed to Abhinava-Yayatinagara ("the new city of Yayati").[11]

It is not clear when the Somavamshis gained control over most of Odisha, but this may have happened by the time of Yayati I. Yayati I seems to have continued the expansionist policies of his father, further consolidating the kingdom. This is apparent from his inscriptions, which record grants of villages that were formerly not part of the Somavamshi territory. For example, Chandagrama (modern Changan south-east of Cuttack) used to be a part of the Bhauma-Kara territory, while Gandatapati (modern Gandharadi) used to be located in the Bhanja territory.[10]

Before the Somavamshi conquest of Odisha, an image of Jagannatha had been removed from Puri, during the Rashtrakuta invasion of c. 800. Yayati I is credited with building a new temple at Puri, and re-installing the image of Purushottama (Jagannatha) there. His reign marks the beginning of the Somavamshi style of temple architecture, which features form, ornamentation and iconography not previously seen in Odisha. This new style can probably be attributed to the dynasty's central Indian origins.[12]

Foreign invasions

Little is known about Yayati I's successors Bhimaratha, Dharmaratha, and Nahusha. Dharmaratha seems to have died without an heir, and Nahusha was probably his brother. By the time of Dharmaratha, the Somavamshis had taken control of the former Bhauma-Kara territories, although it is not known how exactly this happened. The Somavamshi lost these territories soon after his death.[12]

During this period, the Somavamshi kingdom suffered several foreign invasions, the most notable of which was the 1021 Chola invasion of their capital Yayatinagara. There is some evidence that the Paramaras of Malwa and the Kalachuris of Tripuri also invaded the Somavamshi kingdom.[12]

Revival

Nahusha was succeeded by his younger cousin Yayati II a.k.a. Chandihara, who was a descendant of Janmejaya I through Vichitravirya (grandfather) and Abhimanyu (father). The Brahmeswara Temple inscription suggests that Yayati II restored order to the kingdom after being appointed as the king by the ministers. He re-established the Somavamshi control over Kosala and Utkala, which had been lost to rival chiefs. One of his inscriptions describes him as the lord of Kalinga, Kosala, and Utkala. The Somavamshi records also credit him with conquering distant regions like Gurjara and Lata, but these claims appear to be poetic hyperbole, and are not supported by historical evidence.[12]

Yayati II was succeeded by his son Uddyotakeshari, whose reign was relatively peaceful. Uddyotakeshari championed the cause of Brahmanism, and restored a number of temples and ponds. During the 18th year of his reign, his mother Kolavati Devi dedicated the Brahmeshvara (Brahmeswara) Temple at modern Bhubaneswar.[12] The construction of the Lingaraja Temple probably began during the later part of his reign, and completed during the reign of his successor Janmejaya II.[13] Uddyotakeshari also patronized the Jains of Udayagiri.[12]

Final decline

After Uddyotakeshari, the Somavamshi kingdom declined gradually. The Kalachuris of Ratnapura conquered some western parts of the Somavamshis and reached their height around that period. The dynasty lost its territories to the Nagas in the north-west, and the Gangas in the south. The kingdom of the last Somavamshi ruler Karnadeva was confined to the coastal tract between the present-day Balasore and Puri districts. By 1114, the Somavamshi king had fallen to the Ganga king Anantavarman Chodaganga.[13]

List of rulers

Historian Krishna Chandra Panigrahi provides the following chronology of the later Somavamshis:[14]

Name (IAST) Regnal name (IAST) Reign
Janmejaya I Mahābhavagupta I c. 882-922
Yayāti I Mahāśivagupta I (Mahashivagupta) c. 922-955
Bhīmaratha Mahābhavagupta II c. 955-980
Dharmaratha Mahāśivagupta II c. 980-1005
Nahuṣa (Nahusha) Mahābhavagupta III c. 1005-1021
Yayāti II Candihara (Chandihara) Mahāśivagupta III c. 1025-1040
Uddyotakeśarī (Uddyotakeshari) Mahābhavagupta IV c. 1040-1065
Janmejaya II Mahāśivagupta IV c. 1065-1085
Purañjaya Mahābhavagupta V c. 1085-1110
Karṇadeva Mahāśivagupta V c. 1100-1110

Religion

 
Mukteshwar Temple Side View

The Somavamshi kings were Shaivites, as evident from their inscriptions.[13] The Pashupata and the Mattamayura schools of Shaivism appear to have been popular during their time.[15]

A gradual move from Buddhism to Brahmanism (the precursor of modern Hinduism) had started during the preceding Bhauma-Kara period, and this development accelerated during the Somavamshi reign.[16] The traditional accounts of Odisha credit the Somavamshis with making great contributions towards the propagation of Hinduism.[13]

The Somavamshi kings were great temple builders according to the traditional accounts, but there is little inscriptional evidence to confirm this belief. The legendary chronicle Madala Panji credits Yayati Keshari with building most of the temples in Bhubaneswar.[13] The text seems to have combined the Somavanshi rulers Yayati I and Yayati II into "Yayati Keshari".[17] Multiple temples, including the Mukteshvara Temple and the Rajarani Temple, are dated to the Somavamshi period.[18] However, Brahmeswara Temple is the only shrine that bears an inscription explicitly attributing its construction to the Somavamshis.[13]

According to one legend, Yayati Keshari brought 10,000 Brahmins from Kanyakubja to his kingdom for an ashvamedha (horse sacrifice) ceremony.[15]

Inscriptions

A number of copper-plate inscriptions, and a smaller number of stone inscriptions, issued during the Somavamshi reign have been discovered, all of them in present-day Odisha.[19] The copper-plate inscriptions are similar to those of the Śarabhapuriyas and the Panduvaṃśīs: each inscription is a set of three copper-plates.[20]

The following inscriptions of the Somavamshis, all in Sanskrit language have been discovered:[21]

Find spot Issuer Issued at Regnal Year Source
Gopalpur (near Loisingha) Janmejaya I Suvarnapura 1 [22]
Sonepur State (grant of village Vakratentali) Janmejaya I Suvarnapura 3 [23]
Patna (Patnagarh) Janmejaya I Murasima 6 [24]
Patna (Patnagarh) Janmejaya I 6 [25]
Kalibhana Janmejaya I Murasima 6 [26]
Satalma Janmejaya I Murasima 8 [27]
Gopalpur (near Loisingha) Janmejaya I Suvarnapura 10 [22]
Gopalpur (near Loisingha) Janmejaya I Murasima-kataka 12 [22]
Sonepur Janmejaya I Arama 17 [28]
Gaintala Janmejaya I Arama 17 [29]
Unknown (now at Sambalpur University Museum) Janmejaya I's feudatory 24 [30]
Chaudwar Janmejaya I Arama 31 [31]
Kalibhana Janmejaya I Suvarnapura 34 [32]
Deogaon Janmejaya I's feudatory Mugdhagondaladeva [33]
Unknown (now at Orissa Museum) Yayati I Vinitapura 4 [34]
Patna (Patnagarh) Yayati I Vinitapura 8 [35]
Cuttack Yayati I Vinitapura 9 [36]
Nibinna Yayati I Vinitapura 15 [37]
Patna (Patnagarh) Yayati I Yayatinagara 24 [38]
Patna (Patnagarh) Yayati I Yayatinagara 28 [39]
Cuttack Bhimaratha Yayatinagara 3 [40]
Kudopali Bhimaratha's feudatory Yayatinagara 13 [41]
Mahulapada or Mahulpara (near Khandapada) Dharmaratha Yayatinagara 11 [42]
Banapur (Banpur) Indraratha (usurper) Yayatinagara 6 [43]
Jetsinga-Dungri village boundary in former Bolangir district. Yayati II Suvarnapura 3 [44]
Balijhari (near Narasinghpur) Uddyotakeshari Yayatinagara 4 [45]
Lalatendu-Keshari cave, Khandagiri Uddyotakeshari 5 [46]
Unknown (later at Mahakosala Historical Society) Uddyotakeshari Kisarakella 11 [47]
Navamuni cave, Khandagiri Uddyotakeshari 18 [48]
Brahmeshvara Temple Uddyotakeshari 18 [49]
Sankhameri Uddyotakeshari 4 [50]
Mahada Uddyotakeshari [51]
Nuapatna Janmejaya II 5 [52]
Nuapatna Yuvaraja Dharmaratha (prince) 5 (of Janamejaya II) [53]
Ratnagiri Karnadeva Yayatinagara 6 [54]
Gandibeda or Gandhibedha (Surya image, now at Orissa Museum) Karnadeva [55]
Kamalpur Karnadeva 4 [56]
Kelga Kumara Somesvaradeva (Somavamshi or Telugu Choda prince) Suvarnapura 1 [57]

Ranakesarin, who issued the Govindapur inscription, may have belonged to the Kesari (Somavamshi), but this cannot be confirmed in absence of any corroborating evidence.[58]

The Lingaraja temple inscription of Viranarakesari has been wrongly ascribed to the Somavamshi reign. The name of the issuer was misread as "Viravarakesari", and it was suggested that he belonged to Kesari (Somavamshi) dynasty. However, Viranarakesari is actually the Ganga king Narasimha.[58]

Gallery

See also

References

  1. ^ Chandra, Satish (2004). Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals-Delhi Sultanat (1206-1526) - Part One. Har-Anand Publications. pp. 19–20. ISBN 978-81-241-1064-5.
  2. ^ Schwartzberg, Joseph E. (1978). A Historical atlas of South Asia. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 32, 146. ISBN 0226742210.
  3. ^ a b A. M. Shastri I 1995, p. 172.
  4. ^ A. M. Shastri I 1995, p. 173.
  5. ^ A. M. Shastri I 1995, p. 175.
  6. ^ A. M. Shastri I 1995, p. 174.
  7. ^ A. M. Shastri I 1995, pp. 174–175.
  8. ^ A. M. Shastri I 1995, pp. 172–175.
  9. ^ a b Walter Smith 1994, p. 23.
  10. ^ a b c d Walter Smith 1994, p. 24.
  11. ^ Thomas E. Donaldson 2001, p. 51.
  12. ^ a b c d e f Walter Smith 1994, p. 25.
  13. ^ a b c d e f Walter Smith 1994, p. 26.
  14. ^ Walter Smith 1994, pp. 23–24.
  15. ^ a b Walter Smith 1994, p. 27.
  16. ^ Kailash Chandra Dash 2010, p. 168.
  17. ^ Kailash Chandra Dash 2010, p. 165.
  18. ^ Walter Smith 1994, p. 28.
  19. ^ A. M. Shastri I 1995, pp. 47–48.
  20. ^ A. M. Shastri I 1995, p. 49.
  21. ^ A. M. Shastri II 1995, p. xiv-xv.
  22. ^ a b c A. M. Shastri II 1995, p. 384.
  23. ^ A. M. Shastri II 1995, p. 167.
  24. ^ A. M. Shastri II 1995, p. 172.
  25. ^ A. M. Shastri II 1995, p. 179.
  26. ^ A. M. Shastri II 1995, p. 184.
  27. ^ A. M. Shastri II 1995, p. 189.
  28. ^ A. M. Shastri II 1995, p. 194.
  29. ^ A. M. Shastri II 1995, p. 200.
  30. ^ A. M. Shastri II 1995, p. 343.
  31. ^ A. M. Shastri II 1995, p. 206.
  32. ^ A. M. Shastri II 1995, p. 213.
  33. ^ A. M. Shastri II 1995, p. 348.
  34. ^ A. M. Shastri II 1995, p. 219.
  35. ^ A. M. Shastri II 1995, p. 226.
  36. ^ A. M. Shastri II 1995, p. 233.
  37. ^ A. M. Shastri II 1995, p. 240.
  38. ^ A. M. Shastri II 1995, p. 246.
  39. ^ A. M. Shastri II 1995, p. 251.
  40. ^ A. M. Shastri II 1995, p. 257.
  41. ^ A. M. Shastri II 1995, p. 263.
  42. ^ A. M. Shastri II 1995, p. 268.
  43. ^ A. M. Shastri II 1995, p. 325.
  44. ^ A. M. Shastri II 1995, p. 276.
  45. ^ A. M. Shastri II 1995, p. 285.
  46. ^ A. M. Shastri II 1995, p. 294.
  47. ^ A. M. Shastri II 1995, p. 296.
  48. ^ A. M. Shastri II 1995, p. 301.
  49. ^ A. M. Shastri II 1995, p. 303.
  50. ^ A. M. Shastri II 1995, p. 354.
  51. ^ A. M. Shastri II 1995, p. 332.
  52. ^ A. M. Shastri II 1995, p. 358.
  53. ^ Bijaya Kumar Rath 1983, p. 86.
  54. ^ A. M. Shastri II 1995, p. 309.
  55. ^ A. M. Shastri II 1995, p. 335.
  56. ^ A. M. Shastri II 1995, p. 362.
  57. ^ A. M. Shastri II 1995, p. 337.
  58. ^ a b A. M. Shastri II 1995, p. 191.

Bibliography

  • Ajay Mitra Shastri (1995). Inscriptions of the Śarabhapurīyas, Pāṇḍuvaṁśins, and Somavaṁśins: Part I. Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 978-81-208-0635-1.
  • Ajay Mitra Shastri (1995). Inscriptions of the Śarabhapurīyas, Pāṇḍuvaṁśins and Somavaṁśins: Part II. Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 978-81-208-0637-5.
  • Bijaya Kumar Rath (1983). Cultural History of Orissa, A.D. 855-1110. Sundeep Prakashan. OCLC 241579309.
  • Kailash Chandra Dash (2010). "A traditional account on Yayati Keshari: Its formation and historical authenticity". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 71 (2010–2011): 165–178. JSTOR 44147485.
  • Krishna Chandra Panigrahi (1961). Chronology of the Bhauma-Karas and the Somavaṁs̀īs of Orissa. Modern. OCLC 17780838.
  • Thomas E. Donaldson (2001). Iconography of the Buddhist Sculpture of Orissa. Abhinav. ISBN 978-81-7017-406-6.
  • Walter Smith (1994). The Mukteśvara Temple in Bhubaneswar. Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 978-81-208-0793-8.

External links

  • Religion under the Somavamsis of Orissa by Dusmanta Kumar Nayak
  • Early temples of Orissa from the sixth century A D to the end of Somavamsi rule

somavamshi, dynasty, legendary, dynasty, mentioned, ancient, indian, texts, lunar, dynasty, somavamshi, iast, somavaṃśī, lunar, dynasty, keshari, iast, keśarī, dynasty, ruled, parts, present, odisha, eastern, india, between, 12th, centuries, their, capitals, i. For the legendary dynasty mentioned in ancient Indian texts see Lunar dynasty The Somavamshi IAST Somavaṃsi Lunar dynasty or Keshari IAST Kesari dynasty ruled parts of present day Odisha in eastern India between the 9th and the 12th centuries Their capitals included Yayatinagara modern Binka and Abhinava Yayatinagara modern Jajpur Somavamshi dynastyc 9th century CE c 12th century CESouth Asiain 1000KARAKHANIDKHANATEGHAZNAVIDEMPIREMULTANEMIRATEGURJARA PRATIHARASSHILA HARASPALA EMPIREKAMARUPAGhazniSomnathHINDUSHAHISGUGEMARYULLOHARASCHAULUKYASCHUDASAMASHABBARIDEMIRATECHAHAMANASTOMARASPARAMARASWESTERNCHALUKYASEASTERNCHALUKYASCHOLASKADAMBASCHANDELASKALACHURISSOMAVAMSHISKALINGASBostMervLahoreMAPS 500 15012035050060080010001175125014001500class notpageimage Location of the Somavamshis and neighbouring South Asian polities in 1000 on the eve of the Ghaznavid invasions of the subcontinent 1 2 CapitalYayatinagara modern Binka Abhinava Yayatinagara modern Jajpur Official languagesSanskritReligionHinduism JainismGovernmentMonarchyHistorical eraClassical India Establishedc 9th century CE Disestablishedc 12th century CEPreceded by Succeeded byBhauma Kara dynastyPanduvamshis of Dakshina Kosala Eastern Ganga dynastyChakrakota kingdomKalachuris of RatnapuraThe Somavamshis may have been related to the Panduvamshis who ruled the Dakshina Kosala region in central India They were probably driven out from this region by the Kalachuris following which they conquered the Kalinga and the Utkala regions in present day Odisha supplanting the Bhauma Karas The Somavamshis introduced a new style of art and architecture in Odisha and their rule saw a remarkable shift from Buddhism to Brahmanism in the region The Somavamshi rule ended in the early 12th century when the Eastern Ganga ruler Anantavarman Chodaganga captured their territories Contents 1 Origin 2 Political history 2 1 Janmejaya I 2 2 Yayati I 2 3 Foreign invasions 2 4 Revival 2 5 Final decline 3 List of rulers 4 Religion 5 Inscriptions 6 Gallery 7 See also 8 References 8 1 Bibliography 9 External linksOrigin EditThe Somavamshis may have been related to the Panduvamshis of Dakshina Kosala whose rule in the Dakshina Kosala region seems to have declined in the 8th century Both dynasties claimed lunar lineage the early Panduvamshi kings also claimed descent from the legendary Pandavas unlike the Somavamshi but this was not the case with the later Panduvamshi kings The later Panduvamshis like the Somavamshis adopted names ending in gupta 3 The Panduvamshi kings Tivaradeva and Balarjuna bore the regnal titles Maha shiva and Maha shiva gupta respectively multiple Somavamshi rulers bore the regnal name Maha shiva gupta 4 While the Panduvamshi copper plate inscriptions are inscribed using box headed characters all the stone inscriptions starting from the reign of Balarjuna are inscribed in the Nagari script which is also the script of the Somavamshi inscriptions 5 The early Somavamshi kings ruled in western Odisha which once formed the eastern part of Dakshina Kosala 3 and the Chaudwar inscription of the earliest known Somavamshi king Mahashivagupta I alias Janamejaya describes him as Kosalendra lord of Kosala 6 Several Somavamshi inscriptions record grants to people from Kosala grants of villages located in Kosala and appointment of Kosala specific officers 7 All these similarities indicate that the Somavamshis were related to the Panduvamshis but this cannot be said with certainty 8 According to one theory the Panduvamshis were driven out of Kosala by the Kalachuris and migrated eastward There they established their capital at Vinitapura modern Binka on the banks of the Mahanadi River The rulers whose territory was limited to the area around Vinitapura are termed as early Somavamshis as opposed to the later Somavamshis who ruled a bigger part of Odisha 9 Political history Edit Lingaraj Temple Janmejaya I Edit Janmejaya I c 882 922 probably controlled a part of the coastal Odisha and appears to have made inroads into the neighbouring Bhauma Kara kingdom through his daughter who married the Bhauma Kara king Shubhakara IV After Shubhakara IV the kingdom was ruled by his brother Shivakara III Subsequently Janmejaya s daughter ascended the Bhauma Kara throne as Tribhuvana Devi II around 894 with her father s support according to most historians 9 A Brahmeswara Temple inscription states that the king of the Odra country was killed by Janmejaya s kunta spear in a battle Historian Krishna Chandra Panigrahi identified this king of Odra as Shivakara III and theorized that Janmejaya placed his daughter on the Bhauma Kara throne after killing him However other historians disagree with this theory stating that Odra in this context refers not the whole of present day Odisha but only a small vishaya district centered around the present day Dhenkanal district According to this theory the king of Odra referred to in the inscription was probably a rebel Bhanja vassal 10 During his long reign of 34 years Janmejaya issued a number of grants recorded in form of copper plate inscriptions at various victorious camps This suggests that Janmejaya consolidated the Somavamshi rule in western Odisha moving from place to place During his 31st regnal year he issued three grants from Kataka which has been identified as Chaudwar near modern Cuttack This suggests that his influence extended to eastern Odisha by the end of his reign 10 Yayati I Edit Find spots of the inscriptions issued during the Somavamshi reign Map of India Yayati I c 922 955 the son of Janmejaya I made a large number of village grants in the Dakshina Kosala region which was the traditional stronghold of his family These grants are recorded on the inscriptions issued at Yayatinagara which was probably same as the former Somavamshi capital Vinitapura and which Yayati may have renamed after himself 10 The capital was later moved to the Bhauma Kara capital Guheshvarapataka modern Jajpur which was renamed to Abhinava Yayatinagara the new city of Yayati 11 It is not clear when the Somavamshis gained control over most of Odisha but this may have happened by the time of Yayati I Yayati I seems to have continued the expansionist policies of his father further consolidating the kingdom This is apparent from his inscriptions which record grants of villages that were formerly not part of the Somavamshi territory For example Chandagrama modern Changan south east of Cuttack used to be a part of the Bhauma Kara territory while Gandatapati modern Gandharadi used to be located in the Bhanja territory 10 Before the Somavamshi conquest of Odisha an image of Jagannatha had been removed from Puri during the Rashtrakuta invasion of c 800 Yayati I is credited with building a new temple at Puri and re installing the image of Purushottama Jagannatha there His reign marks the beginning of the Somavamshi style of temple architecture which features form ornamentation and iconography not previously seen in Odisha This new style can probably be attributed to the dynasty s central Indian origins 12 Foreign invasions Edit Little is known about Yayati I s successors Bhimaratha Dharmaratha and Nahusha Dharmaratha seems to have died without an heir and Nahusha was probably his brother By the time of Dharmaratha the Somavamshis had taken control of the former Bhauma Kara territories although it is not known how exactly this happened The Somavamshi lost these territories soon after his death 12 During this period the Somavamshi kingdom suffered several foreign invasions the most notable of which was the 1021 Chola invasion of their capital Yayatinagara There is some evidence that the Paramaras of Malwa and the Kalachuris of Tripuri also invaded the Somavamshi kingdom 12 Revival Edit Nahusha was succeeded by his younger cousin Yayati II a k a Chandihara who was a descendant of Janmejaya I through Vichitravirya grandfather and Abhimanyu father The Brahmeswara Temple inscription suggests that Yayati II restored order to the kingdom after being appointed as the king by the ministers He re established the Somavamshi control over Kosala and Utkala which had been lost to rival chiefs One of his inscriptions describes him as the lord of Kalinga Kosala and Utkala The Somavamshi records also credit him with conquering distant regions like Gurjara and Lata but these claims appear to be poetic hyperbole and are not supported by historical evidence 12 Yayati II was succeeded by his son Uddyotakeshari whose reign was relatively peaceful Uddyotakeshari championed the cause of Brahmanism and restored a number of temples and ponds During the 18th year of his reign his mother Kolavati Devi dedicated the Brahmeshvara Brahmeswara Temple at modern Bhubaneswar 12 The construction of the Lingaraja Temple probably began during the later part of his reign and completed during the reign of his successor Janmejaya II 13 Uddyotakeshari also patronized the Jains of Udayagiri 12 Final decline Edit After Uddyotakeshari the Somavamshi kingdom declined gradually The Kalachuris of Ratnapura conquered some western parts of the Somavamshis and reached their height around that period The dynasty lost its territories to the Nagas in the north west and the Gangas in the south The kingdom of the last Somavamshi ruler Karnadeva was confined to the coastal tract between the present day Balasore and Puri districts By 1114 the Somavamshi king had fallen to the Ganga king Anantavarman Chodaganga 13 List of rulers EditHistorian Krishna Chandra Panigrahi provides the following chronology of the later Somavamshis 14 Name IAST Regnal name IAST ReignJanmejaya I Mahabhavagupta I c 882 922Yayati I Mahasivagupta I Mahashivagupta c 922 955Bhimaratha Mahabhavagupta II c 955 980Dharmaratha Mahasivagupta II c 980 1005Nahuṣa Nahusha Mahabhavagupta III c 1005 1021Yayati II Candihara Chandihara Mahasivagupta III c 1025 1040Uddyotakesari Uddyotakeshari Mahabhavagupta IV c 1040 1065Janmejaya II Mahasivagupta IV c 1065 1085Puranjaya Mahabhavagupta V c 1085 1110Karṇadeva Mahasivagupta V c 1100 1110Religion Edit Brahmeswara Temple Mukteshwar Temple Side View The Somavamshi kings were Shaivites as evident from their inscriptions 13 The Pashupata and the Mattamayura schools of Shaivism appear to have been popular during their time 15 A gradual move from Buddhism to Brahmanism the precursor of modern Hinduism had started during the preceding Bhauma Kara period and this development accelerated during the Somavamshi reign 16 The traditional accounts of Odisha credit the Somavamshis with making great contributions towards the propagation of Hinduism 13 The Somavamshi kings were great temple builders according to the traditional accounts but there is little inscriptional evidence to confirm this belief The legendary chronicle Madala Panji credits Yayati Keshari with building most of the temples in Bhubaneswar 13 The text seems to have combined the Somavanshi rulers Yayati I and Yayati II into Yayati Keshari 17 Multiple temples including the Mukteshvara Temple and the Rajarani Temple are dated to the Somavamshi period 18 However Brahmeswara Temple is the only shrine that bears an inscription explicitly attributing its construction to the Somavamshis 13 According to one legend Yayati Keshari brought 10 000 Brahmins from Kanyakubja to his kingdom for an ashvamedha horse sacrifice ceremony 15 Inscriptions EditA number of copper plate inscriptions and a smaller number of stone inscriptions issued during the Somavamshi reign have been discovered all of them in present day Odisha 19 The copper plate inscriptions are similar to those of the Sarabhapuriyas and the Panduvaṃsis each inscription is a set of three copper plates 20 The following inscriptions of the Somavamshis all in Sanskrit language have been discovered 21 Find spot Issuer Issued at Regnal Year SourceGopalpur near Loisingha Janmejaya I Suvarnapura 1 22 Sonepur State grant of village Vakratentali Janmejaya I Suvarnapura 3 23 Patna Patnagarh Janmejaya I Murasima 6 24 Patna Patnagarh Janmejaya I 6 25 Kalibhana Janmejaya I Murasima 6 26 Satalma Janmejaya I Murasima 8 27 Gopalpur near Loisingha Janmejaya I Suvarnapura 10 22 Gopalpur near Loisingha Janmejaya I Murasima kataka 12 22 Sonepur Janmejaya I Arama 17 28 Gaintala Janmejaya I Arama 17 29 Unknown now at Sambalpur University Museum Janmejaya I s feudatory 24 30 Chaudwar Janmejaya I Arama 31 31 Kalibhana Janmejaya I Suvarnapura 34 32 Deogaon Janmejaya I s feudatory Mugdhagondaladeva 33 Unknown now at Orissa Museum Yayati I Vinitapura 4 34 Patna Patnagarh Yayati I Vinitapura 8 35 Cuttack Yayati I Vinitapura 9 36 Nibinna Yayati I Vinitapura 15 37 Patna Patnagarh Yayati I Yayatinagara 24 38 Patna Patnagarh Yayati I Yayatinagara 28 39 Cuttack Bhimaratha Yayatinagara 3 40 Kudopali Bhimaratha s feudatory Yayatinagara 13 41 Mahulapada or Mahulpara near Khandapada Dharmaratha Yayatinagara 11 42 Banapur Banpur Indraratha usurper Yayatinagara 6 43 Jetsinga Dungri village boundary in former Bolangir district Yayati II Suvarnapura 3 44 Balijhari near Narasinghpur Uddyotakeshari Yayatinagara 4 45 Lalatendu Keshari cave Khandagiri Uddyotakeshari 5 46 Unknown later at Mahakosala Historical Society Uddyotakeshari Kisarakella 11 47 Navamuni cave Khandagiri Uddyotakeshari 18 48 Brahmeshvara Temple Uddyotakeshari 18 49 Sankhameri Uddyotakeshari 4 50 Mahada Uddyotakeshari 51 Nuapatna Janmejaya II 5 52 Nuapatna Yuvaraja Dharmaratha prince 5 of Janamejaya II 53 Ratnagiri Karnadeva Yayatinagara 6 54 Gandibeda or Gandhibedha Surya image now at Orissa Museum Karnadeva 55 Kamalpur Karnadeva 4 56 Kelga Kumara Somesvaradeva Somavamshi or Telugu Choda prince Suvarnapura 1 57 Ranakesarin who issued the Govindapur inscription may have belonged to the Kesari Somavamshi but this cannot be confirmed in absence of any corroborating evidence 58 The Lingaraja temple inscription of Viranarakesari has been wrongly ascribed to the Somavamshi reign The name of the issuer was misread as Viravarakesari and it was suggested that he belonged to Kesari Somavamshi dynasty However Viranarakesari is actually the Ganga king Narasimha 58 Gallery Edit Mukteswar Temple Mukteshwar temple arched gateway view The Arched Gateway to the Mukteswara Temple Mukteswar temple Sikhara Rajarani Temple Lingaraj Temple ComplexSee also EditList of rulers of OdishaReferences Edit Chandra Satish 2004 Medieval India From Sultanat to the Mughals Delhi Sultanat 1206 1526 Part One Har Anand Publications pp 19 20 ISBN 978 81 241 1064 5 Schwartzberg Joseph E 1978 A Historical atlas of South Asia Chicago University of Chicago Press p 32 146 ISBN 0226742210 a b A M Shastri I 1995 p 172 A M Shastri I 1995 p 173 A M Shastri I 1995 p 175 A M Shastri I 1995 p 174 A M Shastri I 1995 pp 174 175 A M Shastri I 1995 pp 172 175 a b Walter Smith 1994 p 23 a b c d Walter Smith 1994 p 24 Thomas E Donaldson 2001 p 51 a b c d e f Walter Smith 1994 p 25 a b c d e f Walter Smith 1994 p 26 Walter Smith 1994 pp 23 24 a b Walter Smith 1994 p 27 Kailash Chandra Dash 2010 p 168 Kailash Chandra Dash 2010 p 165 Walter Smith 1994 p 28 A M Shastri I 1995 pp 47 48 A M Shastri I 1995 p 49 A M Shastri II 1995 p xiv xv a b c A M Shastri II 1995 p 384 A M Shastri II 1995 p 167 A M Shastri II 1995 p 172 A M Shastri II 1995 p 179 A M Shastri II 1995 p 184 A M Shastri II 1995 p 189 A M Shastri II 1995 p 194 A M Shastri II 1995 p 200 A M Shastri II 1995 p 343 A M Shastri II 1995 p 206 A M Shastri II 1995 p 213 A M Shastri II 1995 p 348 A M Shastri II 1995 p 219 A M Shastri II 1995 p 226 A M Shastri II 1995 p 233 A M Shastri II 1995 p 240 A M Shastri II 1995 p 246 A M Shastri II 1995 p 251 A M Shastri II 1995 p 257 A M Shastri II 1995 p 263 A M Shastri II 1995 p 268 A M Shastri II 1995 p 325 A M Shastri II 1995 p 276 A M Shastri II 1995 p 285 A M Shastri II 1995 p 294 A M Shastri II 1995 p 296 A M Shastri II 1995 p 301 A M Shastri II 1995 p 303 A M Shastri II 1995 p 354 A M Shastri II 1995 p 332 A M Shastri II 1995 p 358 Bijaya Kumar Rath 1983 p 86 A M Shastri II 1995 p 309 A M Shastri II 1995 p 335 A M Shastri II 1995 p 362 A M Shastri II 1995 p 337 a b A M Shastri II 1995 p 191 Bibliography Edit Ajay Mitra Shastri 1995 Inscriptions of the Sarabhapuriyas Paṇḍuvaṁsins and Somavaṁsins Part I Motilal Banarsidass ISBN 978 81 208 0635 1 Ajay Mitra Shastri 1995 Inscriptions of the Sarabhapuriyas Paṇḍuvaṁsins and Somavaṁsins Part II Motilal Banarsidass ISBN 978 81 208 0637 5 Bijaya Kumar Rath 1983 Cultural History of Orissa A D 855 1110 Sundeep Prakashan OCLC 241579309 Kailash Chandra Dash 2010 A traditional account on Yayati Keshari Its formation and historical authenticity Proceedings of the Indian History Congress 71 2010 2011 165 178 JSTOR 44147485 Krishna Chandra Panigrahi 1961 Chronology of the Bhauma Karas and the Somavaṁs is of Orissa Modern OCLC 17780838 Thomas E Donaldson 2001 Iconography of the Buddhist Sculpture of Orissa Abhinav ISBN 978 81 7017 406 6 Walter Smith 1994 The Muktesvara Temple in Bhubaneswar Motilal Banarsidass ISBN 978 81 208 0793 8 External links EditReligion under the Somavamsis of Orissa by Dusmanta Kumar Nayak Early temples of Orissa from the sixth century A D to the end of Somavamsi rule Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Somavamshi dynasty amp oldid 1124806325, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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