Yasodharman
Encyclopedia
Devanagari
Devanagari |deva]]" and "nāgarī" ), also called Nagari , is an abugida alphabet of India and Nepal...
: यशोधर्मा) was the king of Malwa, in central 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...
, during the early part of the 6th century.
History
The Gupta empireGupta 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...
had been weakened by the attacks of the Indo-Hephthalites, known in India as the Hunas, towards the end of the 5th century, which caused it to break up into smaller states. Yasodharman defeated a Huna army and their 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 ....
in 528, which checked the Huna expansion in India. Legend has it that Yashodharman, originally a prince, had lost his kingdom and was saved by a girl while wandering in a forest.It is said that it was a message from this girl, whom he later considered a sister, that acted as a motivation behind his military endeavours. Twin monolithic pillars at Sondani in Mandsaur District
Mandsaur District
Mandsaur District is a District of Madhya Pradesh state in central India. The town of Mandsaur is the administrative headquarters of the district.-Origin of name:...
were erected by Yasodharman as a record of his victory.
Three inscriptions of Yasodharman have been found in 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:...
. One of these is of samvat 589 (532 AD). Yasodharman had acquired the title of Vikramaditya
Vikramaditya
Vikramaditya was a legendary emperor of Ujjain, India, famed for his wisdom, valour and magnanimity. The title "Vikramaditya" was later assumed by many other kings in Indian history, notably the Gupta King Chandragupta II and Samrat Hem Chandra Vikramaditya .The name King Vikramaditya is a...
. The Kashmiri poet Kalhana
Kalhana
Kalhana , a Kashmiri, was the author of Rajatarangini , an account of the history of Kashmir. He wrote the work in Sanskrit between 1148 and 1149. All information regarding his life has to be deduced from his own writing, a major scholar of which is Mark Aurel Stein...
has mentioned about three Kalidasa
Kalidasa
Kālidāsa was a renowned Classical Sanskrit writer, widely regarded as the greatest poet and dramatist in the Sanskrit language...
s. The second Kalidasa, who wrote the books 'Raguvansha' and 'Jyotirvidabharan', was court poet of Yasodharman. According to some analysts, Kalidasa has mentioned the victories of Yasodharman as 'Raghu-digvijaya'. His pillars claim that his rule extended from Himalayas in the north to Travancore
Travancore
Kingdom of Travancore was a former Hindu feudal kingdom and Indian Princely State with its capital at Padmanabhapuram or Trivandrum ruled by the Travancore Royal Family. The Kingdom of Travancore comprised most of modern day southern Kerala, Kanyakumari district, and the southernmost parts of...
in south, although that seems rather unlikely. The ruler of Magadha
Magadha
Magadha formed one of the sixteen Mahājanapadas or kingdoms in ancient India. The core of the kingdom was the area of Bihar south of the Ganga; its first capital was Rajagriha then Pataliputra...
had become his friend.
Bijayagadh inscription
The Bijayagadh Stone Pillar Inscription of Vishnuvardhana, locally known as Bhīm kī Lāţ, was erected at BayanaBayana
Bayana is a historical town in Bharatpur district of Rajasthan in India. It is a historical city founded by Banasur, who was an Asura. He lived during the time of Krishna...
in Bharatpur district
Bharatpur district
Bharatpur District is a district of Rajasthan state in western India. The town of Bharatpur is the district headquarters.-History:When Bharatpur was a princely state, it was the only political entity ever to have a Chartreuse colored flag.-Demographics:...
for having perfection been attained in samvat 428 on the fifteenth lunar day of the dark fortnight of (the month) Phâlguna. The line 3 of Bijayagadh Stone Pillar Inscription of Vishnuvardhana reads as:
- "(Line 3.)-On the ceremony of the pundarîka-sacrifice (having been performed), this sacrificial post has been caused to be set up by the Varika, the illustrious Vishnuvarhana whose royalty and name are well established,-who is the excellent son of Yashôvardhana; (and) the excellent son’s son of Yashôrâta; (and) the excellent son of the son’s son of Vyâghrarâta, - for the purpose of increasing (his) splendour, sacrifices, religion, welfare (in the other world), prosperity, fame, family, lineage, good fortune, and enjoyment.