Abhira dynasty
Abhiras of Nasik | |||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
203 A.D.[1]–315 or 370[1] | |||||||||||||||||||
Status | Empire | ||||||||||||||||||
Capital | Anjaneri, Thalner, Prakashe, Bhamer, Asirgarh | ||||||||||||||||||
Common languages | Apabhraṃśa, Sanskrit, Prakrit | ||||||||||||||||||
Religion | Hinduism | ||||||||||||||||||
Government | Monarchy | ||||||||||||||||||
Historical era | Early Classical | ||||||||||||||||||
• Established | 203 A.D.[1] | ||||||||||||||||||
• Overthrow of the Abhiras by the Traikutakas. Reconquest of lost territories by the Saka kshtarapas and the rise of the Vakataka dynasty. Defeat of petty Abhira chieftains by Kadamba ruler Mayurasarman. | 315 or 370[1] | ||||||||||||||||||
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Today part of | India |
The Abhira dynasty was a dynasty that ruled over the western
The Abhira era was started by
Origin
According to sociologist M. S. A. Rao, There are hisotrical and semi-historical evidences that proves
]The
According to the
Accoording to some authors, the origin of the
Some sources state that
]They were among the successors of the
The Gunda inscription dated Saka year 103 (181 CE) refers to Abhira Rudrabhuti as the
The inscription refers Rudrasimha to as simply a ksatrapa, ignoring the existence of any mahaksatrapa. According to Sudhakar Chattopadhyaya, this indicates that the Abhira general was the de facto ruler of the state, though not assuming any higher title. The inscription states Abhira Rudrabhuti as the son of the general Bapaka.[18][page needed] The Abhira dynasty was probably related Abhira Rudrabhuti.[1][page needed][18][page needed]
History
The history of the Abhiras is shrouded in much obscurity. An Abhira king is known to have sent an embassy to the
]During the time of the
"Samudragupta, whose formidable rule was propitiated with the payment of all tributes, execution of orders and visits (to his court) for obeisance by such frontier rulers as those of Samataṭa,
Ābhīras, Prārjunas, Sanakānīkas, Kākas, Kharaparikas and other nations."
The duration of the Abhira rule is uncertain, with most of the Puranas giving it as sixty-seven years, while the Vayu Purana gives it as one hundred and sixty-seven years.[1][27] According to V.V Mirashi, the following were the feudatories of the Abhiras-[28]
- The Maharajas of Valkha[28]
- Isvararata[28]
- The kings of Mahishmati[28]
- The Traikutakas[28]
The Abhiras spoke Apabhraṃśa, and seem to have patronized Sanskrit. The Nasik cave inscription of Isvarsena is written mostly in Sanskrit. Several guilds flourished in their kingdom, in which people invested large amounts for making endowments. This indicates peace, order and security in the kingdom of the Abhiras.[27]
Mahaksatrapa Isvaradatta
According to Dr. Bhagwan Lal, The Abhira or Ahir King Ishvardatta entered Gujarat from North Konkan defeated Vijayasena, a Kshatriya and established his supremacy.[29][page needed]
Saka Satakarni
Another king claiming to be a son of Mathari besides Abhira Ishwarsena is Sakasena. He is identified with Saka Satakarni, whose coins have been found over Andhra Pradesh and is taken to be a Satavahana king and successor of Yajna Sri Satakarni. However, K.Gopalchari thinks that Sakasena was a Abhira king. Reasons:
- The name of Sakasena or Saka Satakarni does not occur in the Puranic genealogies of the Satavahana kings. He claimed to be th son of Mathari, the wife of Abhira Sivadatta, as indicated by his epithet Mathariputra.[1]
- The traditional title of Siri which is found on most coins and inscriptions of the Satavahanas is significantly absent in the case of this ruler.[1]
- Considering the dynastic rivalry between the Saka Kshatrapas, the naming of a Satavahana prince with its main content as Saka is very unnatural and unlikely.[1]
- The Abhiras were earlier in the service of the Saka rulers of Ujjaini, and in those days, feudatory chiefs used to name their sons after the names of their overlords. The name of Sakasena was probably a result of this practice. The suffix of Sena in his name also suggests that he was an Abhira king and related to Ishwarsena.[1]
So this concludes that Ishwarsena's predecessor was his elder brother Sakasena, and Ishwarsena ascended the throne after his death.[1]
Sakasena was probably the first great Abhira king. His inscriptions from the Konkan and coins from Andhra Pradesh suggest that he ruled over a large portion of the Satavahana Empire.[1]
Abhira Ishwarsena
Ishwarsena was the first independent Abhira king. He was the son of Abhira Sivadatta and his wife Mathari.
The Traikuta rule of Aparanta or Konkan begins in A.D. 248 (Traikuta era) exactly the time of Ishwarsena's rule, hence Traikutas are identified with the Abhira dynasty.[33][page needed]
The
List of rulers
The following is the list of the sovereign and strong Abhira rulers-
- Abhira Sivadatta
- Sakasena alias Saka Satakarni
- Abhira Ishwarsena alias Mahaksatrapa Isvaradatta
- Abhira Vashishthiputra Vasusena
- Abhiranshah
Territory
The Abhiras ruled western Maharashtra which included
Decline
After the death of Abhira Vashishthiputra Vasusena, the Abhiras probably lost their sovereign and paramount status.[1] The Abhiras lost most of their domains to the rising Vakatakas (north) and the Kadambas (south-west).[40] The Abhiras were finally supplanted by their feudatories, the Traikutakas. But still many petty Abhira chieftains and kings continued to rule until the fourth century, roughly till 370 AD, in the Vidarbha and Khandesh region. They continued to rule, but without sovereignty, until they came into conflict with the Kadamba king Mayurasarman and were defeated.[26][1]
Descendants
According to Ganga Ram Garg, the modern-day Ahir caste are descendants of Abhira people and the term Ahir is the Prakrit form of the Sanskrit term Abhira.[41] This view gets support in many writings.[1]
A notable
]See also
References
- ^ JSTOR 44148188. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
- ^ Central Provinces District Gazetteers- Nagpur.
- ^ Numismatic Digest. Numismatic Society of Bombay. 1985. p. 74.
- ^ A Comprehensive History of India: pt. 1. A.D. 300-985. Orient Longmans. 1981.
- ^ Numismatic Digest. Numismatic Society of Bombay. 1982.
- ISBN 978-81-88934-28-7.
- ^ The Numismatic Chronicle. Royal Numismatic Society. 1983.
- ^ Maharashtra State Gazetteers: Buldhana. Director of Government Printing, Stationery and Publications, Maharashtra State. 1976. p. 224.
- ISBN 978-0-8364-2133-0.
- ^ Gokhale, Balkrishna Govind (1962). Samudra Gupta: Life and Times. Asia Publishing House.
- ^ Society, Bihar Research (1933). The Journal of the Bihar Research Society.
The Bhagavata calls the Abhiras, 'Saurashtra' and 'Avantya' rulers (Saurashtra-Āvanty Ābhīrāḥ), and the Vishnu treats the Abhiras as occupying the Surashtra and Avanti provinces.
- ISBN 978-81-7022-374-0.
According to the Mahabharata (Sabha. 31), the Abhiras lived near the seashore and on the bank of the Sarasvati, a river near Somanāth in Gujarāt.
- ISBN 978-81-85579-57-3.
Some people say that the Abhira were Sudra, but it is wrong and Mahabharat mentions both of them distinctly. It says that both the Sudra and the Abhira were living on the bank of river Saraswati. The Abhira who ruled over the Deccan for some time, were, according to Patanjali's counting, a caste by themselves, not included among the Sudra (Ghurye 1961 : 62). The word 'Jati' is applied by the great grammarian Patanjali to such ethnic groups as the Abhira, whom he declares to be other 'Jati' than the Sudra. By implication the Sudra too were a 'Jati'. 'Varna' and 'Jati' would thus appear to be inter-changeable terms. It is clear that other groups than the four traditional ones were not only in existence, but had come to be recognised as jatis (Vyakaranamahabhashya : 1,2,72).
- ^ Congress, Indian History (1959). Proceedings - Indian History Congress.
- ^ Ghurye, Govind Sadashiv (1957). Caste and Class in India. Popular Book Depot.
- ISBN 978-81-85579-57-3.
- ^ ISBN 9788120805927.
- ^ ISBN 9788120829411. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
- ISBN 9780195099843.
- ISBN 9781317193746.
- ISBN 978-9004057258.
- ^ Vogel, Jean Ph (1947). India antiqua. Brill Archive. p. 299.
- ^ Thomas, F. w (1921). Epigraphia Indica Vol.16. p. 233.
- ISBN 0226742210.
- ^ a b Fleet, John Faithfull (1888). Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum Vol. 3. pp. 6–10.
- ^ ISBN 9788126909087.
- ^ a b Majumdar, M R. "Chronology of Gujarat". Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda.
- ^ ISBN 978-81-208-2941-1.
- ^ a b "Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency: pt. 1. History of Gujarát". google.co.in. 1896.
- ISBN 9788170223740.
- ISBN 9788180900297.
- ^ Vasudev Vishnu Mirashi (1955). Inscriptions of the Kalachuri-Chedi Era, Part 1. Government Epigraphist for India Original from the University of Michigan. pp. xxx.
- ISBN 9788120804401. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
- ISBN 978-81-224-1198-0.
- )
- ^ Maharashtra (India). Gazetteers Dept (1977). Maharashtra State Gazetteers: Sholapur Gazetteer of India Volume 24 of Maharashtra State Gazetteers, Maharashtra (India). Gazetteers Dept. Director of Government Printing, Stationery and Publications, Maharashtra State. p. 40.
- )
- ^ "5 Post Maurya Dynasties (In South India)". History discussion. 7 August 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
- ^ Krishnan, V. S.; Shrivastav, P. N.; Verma, Rajendra (1996). Rajgarh By Madhya Pradesh (India). Government Central Press. p. 18.
- ISBN 9780904173161.
- ISBN 978-8-12220-455-1.
- ISBN 978-81-7062-216-1.
- ISBN 978-1-85065-670-8.
Sources
- Banerjee, Biswanath (1999). Shudraka. Makers of Indian Literature. New Delhi: Sahitya Academy. ISBN 81-260-0697-8.