Coin of KingIśanavarman of the Maukhari ofKanyakubja, c. 535-553 CE. The ruler faces to the left, whereas in Gupta coinage the ruler faces to the right. This is possibly a symbol of antagonism and rivalry, as also seen onsome similar coins ofToramana.[1]
TheMaukhari dynasty (Gupta script:,Mau-kha-ri) was a post-Gupta dynasty who controlled the vast plains ofGanga-Yamuna for almost a century fromKannauj. They earlier served as vassals of the Guptas and later ofHarsha'sVardhana dynasty. The Maukharis established their independence during the mid-6th century. The dynasty ruled over much ofUttar Pradesh andMagadha. Around 606 CE, a large area of their empire was reconquered by theLater Guptas.[3] According toXuanzang, the territory may have been lost to KingShashanka of theGauda Kingdom, who declared independence circa 600CE.[4][5]
There is a difference of opinion on the origins of the Maukharis. The initial branch of the Maukharis ruled fromGaya in modern-dayBihar where they were probably subordinates of theLater Gupta dynasty.[6][7] The Maukharis have been associated with theMagadha region since theMauryan period. The earliest inscription of the Maukhari dynasty has been found inGaya dating back to the third-century BCE on a clay seal and the Maukharis continued to have a recorded presence in Gaya until the 6th century CE.[8]
Due to the events leading to the collapse of the Gupta Empire, Harivarman, the first Maukhari of Kannauj, likely migrated westwards to carve out his own kingdom.[9]
The main sources of history regarding the Maukharis of Kannauj include references in texts like theHarshacharita andMañjuśrī-mūla-kalpa, the travelogues of foreign visitors particularly fromChina and the inscriptions left both by themselves and by their rivals including theLater Gupta dynasty.[8]
After travelling fromGaya inBihar,Harivarman, the first Maukhari ruler of this branch left an inscription dated to 487 CE inSidhi district ofMadhya Pradesh and this indicates that he was originally a chief underBuddhagupta of theImperial Guptas. His son, Adityavarman, married the sister of Harshagupta of the Later Gupta dynasty. However the first ruler of this line to use the title ofmaharajadhiraja was his son, Ishanavarman. TheAphsad inscription of Ādityasena of the Later Guptas gives information that Ishanavarman defeated theAlchon Huns in battle while the Haraha inscription gives information on further military victories against theGaudas,Andhras and the Sulikas (theorised by some scholars to be theChaulukyas).[8] Despite marital alliances between them, the Maukharis had a rivalry with the Later Guptas of Magadha. Ishanavarman was succeeded by one of his sons, Sarvavarman in approximately 560 CE who in turn was succeeded by Avantivarman in the 580s. Avantivarman was known by various titles includingParamesvara and "pride of the race". Under his rule, the Maukhari kingdom spread fromThaneshwar in the West toNalanda district in the east.[8]
The last Maukhari ruler was Grahavarman who reigned from c. 600 to 605 CE. He was married to a princess of thePushyabhuti dynasty leading to an alliance between the two kingdoms however he was killed in battle byDevagupta ofMalwa and the Maukhari territories where eventually absorbed into the territory ofHarsha.[8]
TheVardhana dynasty (also called "Pushyabhuti dynasty") ultimately succeeded the Maukhari dynasty, but it had originally only been a small polity around their capital Sthaneshvara (Thanesar). According toHans T. Bakker, their ruler Aditya-Vardhana (or Aditya-Sena) was probably a feudatory to the Maukhari rulerSharvavarman. His successorPrabhakaravardhana may have also been a feudatory to the Maukhari king Avantivarman in his early days. Prabhakara's daughter Rajyashri married Avantivarman's son Grahavarman. As a result of this marriage, Prabhakara's political status increased significantly, and he assumed the imperial titleParama-bhattaraka Maharajadhiraja ("the one to whom the other kings bow because of his valour and affection").[10]
The Maukhari army consisted of elephants, cavalry and infantry. Ishanavarman in all probability would have taken much pains to reorganise the army and make it strong and worthy. The Maukhari strategy mainly focused on deploying elephant corps to crush the enemy armies. They were used against theAlchon Huns and theLater Gupta armies.[11] The Maukharis fought against the remnants of the Alchon Huns in the areas of theGangetic Doab andMagadha, as documented in the Aphsad inscription, while theAulikaras repelled them in theMalwa region.[12] The Aphsad inscription ofĀdityasena mentions the military successes of kings of theLater Gupta dynasty against the Maukharis, themselves past victors of the Alchon Huns:[12]
"The son of that king (Kumaragupta) was the illustriousDâmôdaragupta, by whom (his) enemies were slain, just like the demons by (the god)Dâmôdara. Breaking up the proudly stepping array of mighty elephants, belonging to the Maukhari, which had thrown aloft in battle the troops of theHûnas (in order to trample them to death), he became unconscious (and expired in the fight)."
Kanyakubja, the Maukhari capital, grew in prosperity and importance as a great cosmopolitan city. After the demise of the Maukharis, it even became the capital of EmperorHarsha. Hence, Kanyakubja was largely contested by imperial powers.[15]: 20 [11][16]
The first three Maukhari kings are mentioned in the inscriptions asMaharaja, but their successors assumed grander titles showing an increase in power and prestige. Ishanavarman was the first Maukhari ruler to adopt the title Maharajadhiraja (lit., King of Great Kings).[11]
Asirgarh seal inscription ofSharvavarman, Maukhari dynasty, 6th century .[17][18]
The Maukhari kings were patrons of poets and writers and many literary works were composed during their reign.[11] Various seals and inscriptions are known, such as the Asirgarh seal inscription ofSharvavarman,[19] or theHaraha inscription ofIsanavarman, discovered near the village of Harara in theBarabanki district,Uttar Pradesh and dated toVikrama Samvat 610 (ie 554 CE), which record the genealogy of the Maukharis.[20]
Sasanian Empire KingKhosrow I sits before the chessboard, while his vizir and the Indian envoy ofKannauj are playing chess.Shahnama, 10th century CE.[21]The Harahara inscription ofIshanavarman. The inscription, dated toVikrama Samvat 610 (ie 554 CE), records the genealogy of the Maukharis.[20]
With the end of Hunnic power, new contacts were established between India and theSasanian Persia. Intellectual games such aschess andbackgammon demonstrated and celebrated the diplomatic relationship betweenKhosrow I and a "great king of India." Thevizier of the Indian king invented chess as a cheerful, playful challenge to Emperor Khosrow. It seems that the Indian ruler who sent the game of chess to Khosrow was the Maukhari monarchŚarvavarman ofKannauj, between the beginning of Śarvavarman's reign in 560/565 and the end of Khosrow's reign in 579.[21][22] When the game was sent to Iran it came with a letter which read: "As your name is the King of Kings, all your emperorship over us connotes that your wise men should be wiser than ours. Either you send us an explanation of this game of chess or send revenue and tribute us."[23] Khosrow's grand vizier successfully solved the riddle and figured out how to play chess. In response the wise vizier created the game backgammon and sent it to the Indian court with the same message. The Indian king was not able to solve the riddle and was forced to pay tribute.[23]
TheBarabar Cave inscriptions attest the existence of another Maukhari branch. This branch ruled as feudatories, probably that of theLater Guptas. The known rulers of this branch include:[27]
In some of the Barabar Caves inscriptions, the words referring to the Ajivikas appear to have been defaced, although the rest of the text appears intact.E. Hultzsch theorised that the defacement took place when the Maukhari ruler Ananta-varman installed Hindu images at the Caves. However, Basham dismisses this theory, noting that there is little evidence to support this view and the only cave in which the wordAjivikehi remains intact is among the three caves where Ananta-varman installed a Hindu image. According to Basham, since the defacement is selective, it must have taken place when the Brahmi script had still not been forgotten, likely some time before the 5th century CE.[28]
^Reza, Mohammad Habib; Bandyopadhyay, S.; Mowla, Azizul (July–September 2015). "Traces of Buddhist architecture in Gupta and post-Gupta Bengal: evidence from inscriptions and literature".Journal of Eurasian Studies.VII (3):8–19.S2CID163998400.[unreliable source?]
^abGHOSE, MADHUVANTI (2003). "The Impact of the Hun Invasions: A Nomadic Interlude in Indian Art".Bulletin of the Asia Institute.17:145–146.ISSN0890-4464.JSTOR24049312.
^Willis, Michael (2005). "Later Gupta History: Inscriptions, Coins and Historical Ideology".Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society.15 (2): 140.ISSN1356-1863.JSTOR25188529.
^Sen, S.N., 2013, A Textbook of Medieval Indian History, Delhi: Primus Books,ISBN978-93-80607-34-4
![Coin of King Iśanavarman of the Maukhari of Kanyakubja, c. 535-553 CE. The ruler faces to the left, whereas in Gupta coinage the ruler faces to the right. This is possibly a symbol of antagonism and rivalry, as also seen on some similar coins of Toramana.[1] of](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aMaukharis_of_Kanauj._Isanavarman._Circa_AD_535-553.jpg)
_in_the_Asirgarh_seal.jpg)
,Mau-kha-ri) was a post-Gupta dynasty who controlled the vast plains ofGanga-Yamuna for almost a century fromKannauj. They earlier served as vassals of the Guptas and later ofHarsha'sVardhana dynasty. The Maukharis established their independence during the mid-6th century. The dynasty ruled over much ofUttar Pradesh andMagadha. Around 606 CE, a large area of their empire was reconquered by theLater Guptas.[3] According toXuanzang, the territory may have been lost to KingShashanka of theGauda Kingdom, who declared independence circa 600CE.[4][5]
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