The Gazetteers Department

The Poona plate of the Vakataka queen, daughter of Chandra- gupta II proves that the Vakatakas were not merely a dynasty of Berar but ruled over a considerable part of Maharashtra. Vakataka king Prithvisena further conquered the country of Kuntala. Prithvisena (365-90) was the son of Rudrasena (240-65) and Pravarasena II had come after Rudrasena II, successor of Prithvisena I to the throne. Prabhavatigupta mentioned in the Poona plate was the queen of Rudrasena II and was riding over this territory as regent for her son Divakarasena [Bakhle, 92, 93; Chitgupi, 28.]. " Of all the dynasties of the Deccan that have reigned from the 3rd to the 6th century the most glorious, the most important, the one that must be given the place of honour, the one that has had the greatest influence on the civilisation of the whole of the Deccan, is unquestionably the Vakatakas [Prof. Dubruieil; Chitgupi, 29.]. The Vakatakas reigned over an empire that occupied a very central position and it is through this dynasty that the high civilisation of the Gupta empire and the Sanskrit culture in particular spread throughout the Deccan [Prof. Dubrueil; Chitgupi, 29.]. Jayasimha, the founder of the early Chalukya House and his son, Ranaraga were possibly feudatories under the Vakatakas [Chitgupi, 33.].

The Vakatakas had notable diplomatic and matrimonial relationships with all the great contemporary royal families like the Imperial Guptas, the Vishnukundins and the Kadambas. It was during the regency of Prabhavatigupta that Gujarat and Kathiavar were conquered by Chandragupta II, Prabhavatigupta offering considerable help to her father. After she had been regent for 13 years, her elder son, Divakarasena died and she held the regency on behalf of the younger son Damodarasena (later Pravarasena II) till 410 A. D. Pravarasena II (410-45) was a man of peace. The crown prince Narendrasena married a Kadamba princess-the daughter of Kakushthavarman. Narendrasena (445-65 A. D.) had to stop the inroads of the Nala king Bhavadattavaman on his territory; though his grand uncle Kumaragupta was in no position to help him on account of the danger to his own empire from the Hunas. Narendra-sena's son, Prithivisena II was the last known king of the main line and he had to retrieve the fortunes of his family twice. His opponents were very probably the Nalas and possibly, the Traikutas of southern Gujarat [Nilkanta Sastri, 104.].

LATER MAURYAS AND NALAS. 550 A.D.

About the middle of the sixth century, kings of the Maurya and Nala dynasties appear to have been ruling in the Konkan. Kirtivarma (A. D. 550-567), the first Chalukya king who turned his arms against this tract, is described as the night of death to the Nalas and the Mauryas. And an inscription of Kirtivarma's grandson, Pulakeshi (A. D. 610-640) under whom this part was conquered, describes the general Chandadanda, as a great wave which drove before it the watery stores of the pools that is the Mauryas. A stone inscription from Vada, in the north of Thana district shows that a Mauryan king by the name Suketuvarma, was then ruling in the Konkan [Nairne, 13-14; Chitgupi, Western Chalukyas of Vatapi, May 1, 25, 44.].

JAINS.

The Jains make frequent mention of this part of the Konkan. Their mythical king Shripala is said to have married Tilakasundari, a daughter of king Maheshana, whose seat of Government was Soparaba. This part was a great seat of their activities, right from Rishabhadev, the first Tirthankar [Bhagavatpuran speaks of Rishabha's wanderings in this part and connects him with the establishment of that religion, here.]. There are traces of a time when Jain was the ruling form of faith [ Chitgupi, Western Chalukyas of Vatapi, 23.], though the village temples are now dedicated to Brahman gods and there are many of them the broken remains of Jain images. Most of the temple grants seem to date from a time when Jainism was the State religion in the Ratnagiri district. Jains are believed to have come from Karnatak and a king of Savantvadi is mentioned in an old Belgaum legend. A local chronicle or bakhar states that in the 11th century, Dabhol was the seat of a powerful Jain ruler and a stone inscription has been found bearing the date 1156 A. D. [Crawford's MS. Bom. Gaz. X, 327.].

KALACHURI KINGS. 550-1163-1184 A. D.

The Kalachuri kings originally ruled over Jabulpore area. One branch of the Kalachuris had firmly established itself in the north Konkan, at Kalyan as centre. After the fall of Vakatakas, southern Maharashtra was lost to the Kadambas and North Maharashtra was lost to Kalachuris. The new religion of Basav had set a great religious revolution there. Having ordered a disciple of his to kill the king, Vijval, who was Jain himself because he had insulted two pious lingayats, Hallyeyag and Madhuvevya, Basav had left that part. The king was subsequently killed and Basav settled down at Sangameshvar in the Ratnagiri district, propounding Shaivism, called the Virashaivas. Taking the advantage of the weakness of his master Tailapa, this Kalachuri Mahamandaleshvar, Vijval had usurped the Imperial throne of the western Chalukyas and had completed his work of usurpation in A. D. 1162. He had forced the chieftains like Ramchandra II, to accept his sovereignty [Bhandarkar, 201 (the Jain account differs slightly), Moraes, 254.

Dinkar Desai, Mahamandaleshvaras under the Chalukyas (Bom. uni.) (149-150) differs from the view that the Sindas were Marathas though they ruled over a Kanarese speaking territory as held by C. V. Vaidya.

Altekar, 423.

Pai, 358-359.

Nilkanta Sastri, 105.].

EARLY KADAMBAS.(347-655) A. D.

Mayurasharma also called Mayuravarma availed himself of the confusion prevailing in the country after the southern expedition of Samudragupta who had defeated Vishnugopa of Kanchi, and established himself as an independent ruler. Later he pleased the Pallavas, his masters who finally installed him as the king over a territory extending from the Amara Ocean (western ocean) to the Premara country (Malva), specifying that the other chiefs "should not enter it". He performed Ashvamedha sacrifices. Chandragupta, II (Vikramaditya) sent embassy to Bhagiratha, the Kadamba king a fact which shows that the Kadamba power was at this time in its ascendency and was equal, if not superior, to the Imperial Guptas [Moraes, 16, 21.].

We are told in some of the Chalukya inscriptions that Kirtivarma, father of Pulakeshi II, subjugated the Kadambas. If this defeat took place at the beginning of the reign of Ajavarma (565-606), the Kadamba king, it is most likely that throughout his life, he remained a simple Mahamandaleshvar under the Chalukyas. The kingdom of the early Kadambas was annexed by Pulakeshi to his empire [Moraes, 21, 60; Chitgupi, 30.].

VALLABHI 650 A. D

Sometimes in the early years of the 6th century A. D. Bhattaraka, a general of the Gupta emperors, who styled himself as Senapati,. overthrew Pamadatta, the Imperial viceroy at Girinagara and established an independent principality round about Vallabhi [Dikshit, 60.]. During the period of the Chalukya decline, this part leading towards Karnatak would seem to have been invaded and partly annexed by the Vallabhi dynasty of Gujarat, after 642 A. D. on the death of the great king Narasinha (which occurred after A. D. 650), the Vallabhi king, taking advantage of the change of rulers, invaded the Pallava territory. He inflicted a crushing defeat on Mahendravarma II and made himself master of the northern part of the Pallava dominions, which had lately been annexed by Narasimha after defeating and killing Pulakeshi. This Vallabhi king is described in the records as "lord of the earth, whose (i.e. Earth's) two breasts are the Sahya and the Vindhya mountains whose tops clothed in black clouds appear like (her) nipples." This passage may be taken to indicate his territories which stretched far beyond Karnatak. This king was Shri Derabhatta, also called Shiladitya [Moraes, 65, 66.].

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