Malavas
Encyclopedia
The Malavas were an ancient India
n 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. They successfully maintained their tribal organisation till the time of Samudragupta
. The era, which later became known as the Vikrama Samvat is associated with the Malavas. Initially it was mentioned as the Krita era and then as the Malava era. Most probably this era was mentioned as the Vikrama era for the first time in the Dholpur stone inscription of Chahmana Chandamahasena in 898 CE.
, the hundred sons of the Madra
king Ashvapati, the father of Savitri were known as the Malavas, after the name of their mother, Malavi. Although Malavas are not actually mentioned by Panini, but his sutra V.3.117 mentions a number of tribes aa the ayudhajivi samghas (those who live by the profession of arms) and the Kashika includes the names of the Malavas and the Kshudrakas in this group of tribes. The Malavas are actually mentioned in the Mahabhashya (IV.1.68) of Patanjali
.
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 tribe, which initially lived in the present-day Punjab province
Punjab (Pakistan)
Punjab is the most populous province of Pakistan, with approximately 45% of the country's total population. Forming most of the Punjab region, the province is bordered by Kashmir to the north-east, the Indian states of Punjab and Rajasthan to the east, the Pakistani province of Sindh to the...
in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, later migrated to the present-day Eastern Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
state in India
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...
and finally settled in the present-day North-western 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 in India
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...
, which is known as Malwa after them. They successfully maintained their tribal organisation till the time of Samudragupta
Samudragupta
Samudragupta , ruler of the Gupta Empire , and successor to Chandragupta I, is considered to be one of the greatest military geniuses in Indian history according to Historian V. A. Smith. His name is taken to be a title acquired by his conquests...
. The era, which later became known as the Vikrama Samvat is associated with the Malavas. Initially it was mentioned as the Krita era and then as the Malava era. Most probably this era was mentioned as the Vikrama era for the first time in the Dholpur stone inscription of Chahmana Chandamahasena in 898 CE.
Origin
According to the MahabharataMahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
, the hundred sons of the Madra
Madra
Madra, Mada or Madraka is the name of an ancient region and its inhabitants, located in the north-west division of the ancient Indian sub-continent.-Uttaramadra division:...
king Ashvapati, the father of Savitri were known as the Malavas, after the name of their mother, Malavi. Although Malavas are not actually mentioned by Panini, but his sutra V.3.117 mentions a number of tribes aa the ayudhajivi samghas (those who live by the profession of arms) and the Kashika includes the names of the Malavas and the Kshudrakas in this group of tribes. The Malavas are actually mentioned in the Mahabhashya (IV.1.68) of Patanjali
Patañjali
Patañjali is the compiler of the Yoga Sūtras, an important collection of aphorisms on Yoga practice. According to tradition, the same Patañjali was also the author of the Mahābhāṣya, a commentary on Kātyāyana's vārttikas on Pāṇini's Aṣṭādhyāyī as well as an unspecified work of medicine .In...
.