Aulikaras
Encyclopedia
The Aulikaras were an ancient India
n clan. Two royal houses belonging to this clan ruled over the present-day western Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh
state from c. 350 CE to 550 CE.
Epigraphical discoveries have brought to light two distinct royal houses, who call themselves as the Aulikaras and ruled from Dashapura (present-day Mandsaur
). The first royal house, which ruled from Dashapura comprised the following kings in the order of succession: Jayavarma, Simhavarma, Naravarma, Vishvavarma and Bandhuvarma. The Risthal stone slab inscription discovered in 1983 has brought to light another royal house, which comprised the following kings in the order of succession: Drumavardhana, Jayavardhana, Ajitavardhana, Vibhishanavardhana, Rajyavardhana and Prakashadharma, who defeated Toramana
. In all probability, Yashodharma Vishnuvardhana also belonged to this house and he was the son and successor of Prakashadharma. Yashodharma defeated Mihirakula
and freed the Malwa region from the Hunas
. The rule of the Aulikaras over Malwa ended with him.
. This clan settled in the Dasheraka region (present-day western Malwa) in the course of their migration from the North-West. His view was supported by K.K. Dasgupta and K.C. Jain.
461 (404 CE) and the Bihar Kotra inscription dated Malava Samvat 474 (417 CE). The founder of this house is Jayavarma. He was succeeded by his son, Simhavarma, who is mentioned as a Kshitisha (king). His son and successor Naravarma is mentioned as a Parthiva (king) and Maharaja. His epithet was Simhavikrantagami (one who moves with the stride of a lion). Naravarma was succeeded by his son Vishvavarma, who is mentioned in the Gangdhar stone inscription dated Malava Samvat 480 (423 CE). The Gangadhara stone inscription records construction of a Matrika temple by his minister Mayurakshaka. Mayurakshaka also constructed a temple dedicated to Vishnu. Vishvavarma was succeeded by his son Bandhuvarma, who is eulogised by poet Vatsabhatti in the Mandsaur stone inscription of the guild of silk-weavers dated Malava Samvat 529 (473 CE). This inscription informs us that he was a feudatory of the Gupta emperor
Kumaragupta I. It was during his reign, a temple dedicated to Surya
was constructed by the guild of silk-weavers at Dashapura in the Malava Samvat 493 (436 CE). This temple was renovated in 473 CE by the same guild.
, has brought to light another royal house belonging to the Aulikara family. This inscription dated Malava Samvat 572 (515 CE) is written by poet Vasula, son of Kakka in chaste Sanskrit. The script used is the late Gupta Brahmi paleographically assignable to the 5th-6th centuries. Unlike the earlier royal house, this royal house was never a Gupta feudatory. The Risthal inscription mentions Drumavardhana as the founder of this house. He assumed the title, Senapati. He was succeeded by his son Jayavardhana, who commanded a formidable army. He was succeeded by his son Ajitavardhana. According to the Risthal inscription, he was constantly engaged in performing Soma
sacrifices. Ajitavardhana was succeeded by his son Vibhishanavardhana. He was praised in the Risthal inscription for his noble qualities. Vibhishanavardhana's son and successor Rajyavardhana expanded his ancestral kingdom. Rajyavardhana was succeeded by his son Prakashadharma.
temple at Risthal by Bhagavaddosha, a Rajasthaniya (viceroy) of Prakashadharma. This inscription mentions that Prakashadharma defeated the Huna
ruler Toramana
, sacked his camp and had taken away the ladies of his harem. The tank constructed at Risthal during his reign was named after his grandfather as Vibhishanasara. He also constructed a temple dedicated to Brahma
at Dashapura. During the excavation at Mandsaur in 1978 by a team of Vikram University
, Ujjain
, led by V.S. Wakankar
, his two glass seals inscribed with the legend Shri Prakashadharma were found. In all probabilities he was succeeded by his son Yashodharma Vishnuvarma.
An undated fragmentary Mandsaur inscription provides a name of a suzerain ruler Adityavardhana and his feudatory Maharaja Gauri. Adityavardhana has been recently identified with Prakashadharma by a historian Ashvini Agarwal. The Chhoti Sadri inscription dated Malava Samvat 547 (490 CE) and written by Bhramarasoma, son of Mitrasoma supplies a genealogy of Adityavardhana's feudatory ruler, Maharaja Gauri. The first ruler of this Manavayani kshatriya
family was Punyasoma. He was succeeded by his son Rajyavardhana. Rashtravardhana was the son of Rajyavardhana. Rashtravardhana's son and successor was Yashogupta. The last ruler of this family, Gauri was son of Yashogupta. He excavated a tank at Dashapura for the merit of his deceased mother. This inscription also mentions the name of a prince, Gobhata but his relationship with Gauri is not known.
victory pillar inscriptions (found at Sondani, near present-day Mandsaur town) and a stone inscription dated Malava Samvat 589 (532 CE) record the military achievements of him. All of these inscriptions were first published by John Faithfull Fleet
in 1886. The undated pillar inscriptions, which were also written by poet Vasula, son of Kakka say that his feet were worshipped by the Huna ruler Mihirakula
. These also state that his feudatories from the vicinity of the river Lauhitya (Brahmaputra) in the east, from the Mahendra mountains (Eastern Ghats
) in the south, up to the Himalayas
in the north and the Paschima Payodhi (Arabian Sea) in the west came to the seat of his empire to pay homage. he assumed the titles, Rajadhiraja and Parameshvara. Yashodharma's dated inscription informs us that in 532 CE, Nirdosha, his Rajasthaniya was governing the area between the Vindhyas and the Pariyatras (Aravalis) and his headquarters was Dashapura. Probably the rule of the Aulikaras ended with Yashodhrma
, Ujjain
in 1979 from the foundations of a building. This inscription, paleographically assignable to the late 5th-early 6th centuries, records a dynasty comprising four successive rulers: Yajnadeva, Virasoma, his son Bhaskaravarma and his son Kumaravarma. Wakankar claimed them as the Aulikaras and V.V. Mirashi claimed this dyansty a separate one, which defeated and succeeded the Aulikaras. But none of these theories received support from other historians. Most probably the Kalachuri
s succeeded the Aulikaras, as the Kalchuri kings Krishnaraja and his son Shankaragana are found ruling over the same region immediately after the Aulikaras.
The most significant monuments which definitely belong to the Aulikara period are two freestanding victory pillars of Yashodharma Vishnuvardhana bearing his iinscriptions. These almost identical pillars, situated at Sondani, a suburb to the southeast Mandsaur, are made of sandstone. The height of the entire column is 44 ft 5 in. Its square base is 4 ft 5 in high and 3 ft 4 in wide. The bell-shaped capital is 5 ft 2 in high. Its shaft is sixteen faced round. Most probably there was a crowning statue, which has not been found.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n clan. Two royal houses belonging to this clan ruled over the present-day western Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh , often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and Indore is the largest city....
state from c. 350 CE to 550 CE.
Epigraphical discoveries have brought to light two distinct royal houses, who call themselves as the Aulikaras and ruled from Dashapura (present-day Mandsaur
Mandsaur
Mandsaur or Mandsour is a city in the Malwa region and district of Madhya Pradesh state of central India. It is the administrative headquarters of Mandsaur District.-Origin of name:...
). The first royal house, which ruled from Dashapura comprised the following kings in the order of succession: Jayavarma, Simhavarma, Naravarma, Vishvavarma and Bandhuvarma. The Risthal stone slab inscription discovered in 1983 has brought to light another royal house, which comprised the following kings in the order of succession: Drumavardhana, Jayavardhana, Ajitavardhana, Vibhishanavardhana, Rajyavardhana and Prakashadharma, who defeated Toramana
Toramana
Toramana was a Huna ruler in India. He is known from the Rajatarangini, coins and inscriptions. In the Kura inscription his name is mentioned as Rajadhiraja Maharaja Toramana Shahi Jaula. The Eran Boar Image inscription of his first regnal year indicates that eastern Malwa was included in his...
. In all probability, Yashodharma Vishnuvardhana also belonged to this house and he was the son and successor of Prakashadharma. Yashodharma defeated Mihirakula
Mihirakula
Mihirakula was the most important Sveta Huna ruler in India. He was the son of Toramana, the founder of Huna power in India. He ruled his horde from 502 to 530 ....
and freed the Malwa region from the Hunas
Huna people
Huna is the name under which the Xionite tribes who invaded northern India during the first half of the 5th century were known.-History:...
. The rule of the Aulikaras over Malwa ended with him.
Origin of the Aulikaras
Nothing is mentioned about the origin of the Aulikaras or the Olikaras (as mentioned in the Bihar Kotra inscription of Naravarma) in their inscriptions. Based on the fact that, they used the Malava Samvat in preference to the use of Gupta era in all of their inscriptions in spite of their first royal house being a feudatory of the Guptas, a historian, D.C. Sircar assumed them as a clan of the MalavasMalavas
The Malavas were an ancient Indian tribe, which initially lived in the present-day Punjab province in Pakistan, later migrated to the present-day Eastern Rajasthan state in India and finally settled in the present-day North-western Madhya Pradesh state in India, which is known as Malwa after them....
. This clan settled in the Dasheraka region (present-day western Malwa) in the course of their migration from the North-West. His view was supported by K.K. Dasgupta and K.C. Jain.
The first royal house
Earliest information regarding the first royal house is known from two inscriptions of Naravarma, the Mandsaur inscription dated Malava SamvatBikram Samwat
Vikram Samvat is the calendar established by Indian emperor Vikramaditya...
461 (404 CE) and the Bihar Kotra inscription dated Malava Samvat 474 (417 CE). The founder of this house is Jayavarma. He was succeeded by his son, Simhavarma, who is mentioned as a Kshitisha (king). His son and successor Naravarma is mentioned as a Parthiva (king) and Maharaja. His epithet was Simhavikrantagami (one who moves with the stride of a lion). Naravarma was succeeded by his son Vishvavarma, who is mentioned in the Gangdhar stone inscription dated Malava Samvat 480 (423 CE). The Gangadhara stone inscription records construction of a Matrika temple by his minister Mayurakshaka. Mayurakshaka also constructed a temple dedicated to Vishnu. Vishvavarma was succeeded by his son Bandhuvarma, who is eulogised by poet Vatsabhatti in the Mandsaur stone inscription of the guild of silk-weavers dated Malava Samvat 529 (473 CE). This inscription informs us that he was a feudatory of the Gupta emperor
Gupta Empire
The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire which existed approximately from 320 to 550 CE and covered much of the Indian Subcontinent. Founded by Maharaja Sri-Gupta, the dynasty was the model of a classical civilization. The peace and prosperity created under leadership of Guptas enabled the...
Kumaragupta I. It was during his reign, a temple dedicated to Surya
Surya
Surya Suraya or Phra Athit is the chief solar deity in Hinduism, one of the Adityas, son of Kasyapa and one of his wives, Aditi; of Indra; or of Dyaus Pitar . The term Surya also refers to the Sun, in general. Surya has hair and arms of gold...
was constructed by the guild of silk-weavers at Dashapura in the Malava Samvat 493 (436 CE). This temple was renovated in 473 CE by the same guild.
The intermediate period
The history of Dashapura remained obscure after Bandhuvarma. The Mandsaur inscription dated Malava Samvat 524 (467 CE), written by Ravila mentions a king of Dashapura named Prabhakara, who defeated the enemies of the Guptas. Dattabhata was the commander of his army, whose donations to the Lokottara Vihara is recorded in this inscription. Soon after Prabhakara, another Aulikara royal house came to power, about which we came to know from the Risthal inscription. The exact relationship between these two royal houses is not certain.The second royal house
A stone slab inscription discovered in 1983 in Risthal near SitamauSitamau
Sitamau is a town and a nagar panchayat in Mandsaur district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is in the Mandsaur district of Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh.It was the seat of the princely Sitamau State....
, has brought to light another royal house belonging to the Aulikara family. This inscription dated Malava Samvat 572 (515 CE) is written by poet Vasula, son of Kakka in chaste Sanskrit. The script used is the late Gupta Brahmi paleographically assignable to the 5th-6th centuries. Unlike the earlier royal house, this royal house was never a Gupta feudatory. The Risthal inscription mentions Drumavardhana as the founder of this house. He assumed the title, Senapati. He was succeeded by his son Jayavardhana, who commanded a formidable army. He was succeeded by his son Ajitavardhana. According to the Risthal inscription, he was constantly engaged in performing Soma
Soma
Soma , or Haoma , from Proto-Indo-Iranian *sauma-, was a ritual drink of importance among the early Indo-Iranians, and the subsequent Vedic and greater Persian cultures. It is frequently mentioned in the Rigveda, whose Soma Mandala contains 114 hymns, many praising its energizing qualities...
sacrifices. Ajitavardhana was succeeded by his son Vibhishanavardhana. He was praised in the Risthal inscription for his noble qualities. Vibhishanavardhana's son and successor Rajyavardhana expanded his ancestral kingdom. Rajyavardhana was succeeded by his son Prakashadharma.
Prakashadharma
Prakashadharma was a notable king of this dynasty, who assumed the title, Adhiraja. The Risthal inscription gives us information about his achievements. It records the construction of a tank and a ShivaShiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
temple at Risthal by Bhagavaddosha, a Rajasthaniya (viceroy) of Prakashadharma. This inscription mentions that Prakashadharma defeated the Huna
Huna people
Huna is the name under which the Xionite tribes who invaded northern India during the first half of the 5th century were known.-History:...
ruler Toramana
Toramana
Toramana was a Huna ruler in India. He is known from the Rajatarangini, coins and inscriptions. In the Kura inscription his name is mentioned as Rajadhiraja Maharaja Toramana Shahi Jaula. The Eran Boar Image inscription of his first regnal year indicates that eastern Malwa was included in his...
, sacked his camp and had taken away the ladies of his harem. The tank constructed at Risthal during his reign was named after his grandfather as Vibhishanasara. He also constructed a temple dedicated to Brahma
Brahma
Brahma is the Hindu god of creation and one of the Trimurti, the others being Vishnu and Shiva. According to the Brahma Purana, he is the father of Mānu, and from Mānu all human beings are descended. In the Ramayana and the...
at Dashapura. During the excavation at Mandsaur in 1978 by a team of Vikram University
Vikram University
Vikram University is a university in the city of Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, India.Ujjain is known for its antiquity and its rich cultural and religious traditions.The university, which is named after the ruler Vikramaditya, was established in 1957...
, Ujjain
Ujjain
Ujjain , is an ancient city of Malwa region in central India, on the eastern bank of the Kshipra River , today part of the state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the administrative centre of Ujjain District and Ujjain Division.In ancient times the city was called Ujjayini...
, led by V.S. Wakankar
V. S. Wakankar
Vishnu Shridhar Wakankar was an Indian archeologist.In 1958 Wakankar discovered the Bhimbetka rock caves. In 1970 UNESCO inscribed the Bhimbetka rock caves as a World Heritage Site...
, his two glass seals inscribed with the legend Shri Prakashadharma were found. In all probabilities he was succeeded by his son Yashodharma Vishnuvarma.
An undated fragmentary Mandsaur inscription provides a name of a suzerain ruler Adityavardhana and his feudatory Maharaja Gauri. Adityavardhana has been recently identified with Prakashadharma by a historian Ashvini Agarwal. The Chhoti Sadri inscription dated Malava Samvat 547 (490 CE) and written by Bhramarasoma, son of Mitrasoma supplies a genealogy of Adityavardhana's feudatory ruler, Maharaja Gauri. The first ruler of this Manavayani kshatriya
Kshatriya
*For the Bollywood film of the same name see Kshatriya Kshatriya or Kashtriya, meaning warrior, is one of the four varnas in Hinduism...
family was Punyasoma. He was succeeded by his son Rajyavardhana. Rashtravardhana was the son of Rajyavardhana. Rashtravardhana's son and successor was Yashogupta. The last ruler of this family, Gauri was son of Yashogupta. He excavated a tank at Dashapura for the merit of his deceased mother. This inscription also mentions the name of a prince, Gobhata but his relationship with Gauri is not known.
Yashodharma
The most prominent king of this dynasty was Yashodharma Vishnuvardhana. Yashodharma's two identical undated MandsaurMandsaur
Mandsaur or Mandsour is a city in the Malwa region and district of Madhya Pradesh state of central India. It is the administrative headquarters of Mandsaur District.-Origin of name:...
victory pillar inscriptions (found at Sondani, near present-day Mandsaur town) and a stone inscription dated Malava Samvat 589 (532 CE) record the military achievements of him. All of these inscriptions were first published by John Faithfull Fleet
John Faithfull Fleet
John Faithfull Fleet C.I.E was an English civil servant with the Indian Civil Services and became known as a historian, epigraphist and linguist...
in 1886. The undated pillar inscriptions, which were also written by poet Vasula, son of Kakka say that his feet were worshipped by the Huna ruler Mihirakula
Mihirakula
Mihirakula was the most important Sveta Huna ruler in India. He was the son of Toramana, the founder of Huna power in India. He ruled his horde from 502 to 530 ....
. These also state that his feudatories from the vicinity of the river Lauhitya (Brahmaputra) in the east, from the Mahendra mountains (Eastern Ghats
Eastern Ghats
The Eastern Ghats or Eastern Ghauts are a discontinuous range of mountains along India's eastern coast. The Eastern Ghats run from West Bengal state in the north, through Orissa and Andhra Pradesh to Tamil Nadu in the south passing some parts of Karnataka. They are eroded and cut through by the...
) in the south, up to the Himalayas
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
in the north and the Paschima Payodhi (Arabian Sea) in the west came to the seat of his empire to pay homage. he assumed the titles, Rajadhiraja and Parameshvara. Yashodharma's dated inscription informs us that in 532 CE, Nirdosha, his Rajasthaniya was governing the area between the Vindhyas and the Pariyatras (Aravalis) and his headquarters was Dashapura. Probably the rule of the Aulikaras ended with Yashodhrma
Successors of the Aulikaras
A fragmentary undated inscription of a hitherto unknown ruler Kumaravarma was found by Girija Shankar Runwal during Mandsaur excavation by the team of Vikram UniversityVikram University
Vikram University is a university in the city of Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, India.Ujjain is known for its antiquity and its rich cultural and religious traditions.The university, which is named after the ruler Vikramaditya, was established in 1957...
, Ujjain
Ujjain
Ujjain , is an ancient city of Malwa region in central India, on the eastern bank of the Kshipra River , today part of the state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the administrative centre of Ujjain District and Ujjain Division.In ancient times the city was called Ujjayini...
in 1979 from the foundations of a building. This inscription, paleographically assignable to the late 5th-early 6th centuries, records a dynasty comprising four successive rulers: Yajnadeva, Virasoma, his son Bhaskaravarma and his son Kumaravarma. Wakankar claimed them as the Aulikaras and V.V. Mirashi claimed this dyansty a separate one, which defeated and succeeded the Aulikaras. But none of these theories received support from other historians. Most probably the Kalachuri
Kalachuri
Kalachuri Empire is this the name used by two kingdoms who had a succession of dynasties from the 10th-12th centuries, one ruling over areas in Central India and were called Chedi or Haihaya and the other southern Kalachuri who ruled over parts of Karnataka...
s succeeded the Aulikaras, as the Kalchuri kings Krishnaraja and his son Shankaragana are found ruling over the same region immediately after the Aulikaras.
Aulikara administration
Only three offices of the Aulikaras are known from their epigraphical rewcords: the Senapati (commander-in-chief), the Amatyas (ministers) and the Rajasthaniya (viceroy). The exact nature of the office of the Rajasthaniya, which is mentioned in several inscriptions is not clear from them. George Buhlar rendered Rajasthaniya as the viceroy, and his view is mostly accepted. It seems that the office of the Rajasthaniya of the Aulikaras became hereditary in the Naigama family since the days of Shashthidatta. Shashthidatta's son Varaha is identified with Varahadasa of the Chittaurgarh fragmentary inscription of his grandson by a historian D.C. Sircar. Varaha's son Ravikirti was an amatya under Rajyavardhana. He had three sons by his wife Bhanugutpa: Bhagavaddosha, Abhayadatta and Doshakumbha. Bhagavaddosha was a Rajasthaniya under Prakashadharma. His younger brother Abhayadatta was appointed a Rajasthaniya after him The Chiitaurgarh fragmentary inscription mentions Abhayadatta as a Rajasthaniya of Dashapura and Madhyama. The Mandsaur inscription dated Malava Samvat 589 describes Abhayadatta as the Rajasthaniya between the Vindhyas and the Pariyatras. His nephew and son of Doshakumbha, Nirdosha succeeded him as the Rajasthaniya of the same region. Nirodsha's elder brother Dharmadosha was also a high ranking official under the Aulikaras, but his exact designation is not known.Art and architecture