Second Aulikara dynasty

4th to 6th century dynasty in Indian subcontinent

"Aulikara dynasty" redirects here. For other uses, see Aulikara dynasty (disambiguation).

Second Aulikara dynasty

Parent family| House of Aulikara
Country| Kingdom of Daśapura
Founded| 350
Founder| Drapavardhana
Final ruler| Yashodharman
Seat| Daśapura
Titles| Adhiraja
Rajadhiraja

* * *

Disputed:
Maharajadhiraja  of Avanti
Dissolution| 545

The Second Aulikara dynasty (Late Brahmi script:  Au-li-ka-rā) was a royal dynasty that ruled over the Kingdom of Daśapura, and at its peak under Yashodharman Vishnuvardhana controlled a vast area, consisting of almost all of Northern India (excluding the east) and parts of Deccan plateau.[1][2] It was the second royal house of the Aulikara clan.[3]

## Origins

[edit]

The dynasty belonged to the ancient clan of the Aulikaras, and was the second royal house belonging to this clan.[3]

## Territory

[edit]

Battle of Sondani

Mahendra

Himalayas

"Western Ocean"

Brahmaputra River

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In the Mandsaur pillar inscription, Yashodharman claims he controlled the territory from the neighbourhood of Lauhitya (Brahmaputra River) to the "Western Ocean" (Western Indian Ocean), and from the Himalayas to mountain Mahendra.[4] He also claims he defeated the Hunas at Sondani.[5]

The second Aulikara dynasty initially controlled the Malwa plateau, but at its peak under Yashodharman Vishnuvardhana controlled a vast area (the Aulikara Empire), consisting of almost all of Northern India and northern parts of the Deccan plateau.[3]

### Establishment

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Aulikara rulers such as Adityavardhana and Dravyavardhana expanded their kingdom[6] and one of their successors Yashodharman conquered vast territories from the Hunas and Guptas after the Battle of Sondani, defeating the Huna Chief Mihirakula around 528 A.D.,[7][8][9][10] thus establishing the short-lived Aulikara empire.[11][5][12] Yashodharman's capitol was almost certainly Dashapura,[13][14][15][16] probably established by Yashodharman[17] though initially thought to have been Ujjayinī, which has since been disproven.[15] Kingdoms such as the Later Guptas and Maukhari dynasty were their vassals.[18]

### Decline

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Most of the empire disintegrated after Yashodharman's death.[19] Nothing is known about the dynasty after his death, and Malwa was conquered by the Kalachuris of Mahishmati.[20][18]

After the collapse of Aulikara power in Northern India, the Later Guptas and Maukharis began fighting for imperial supremacy.[18]

## List of rulers

[edit]

Find spots of the Aulikara inscriptions

The following Aulikara rulers are known from epigraphic evidence:[a]

* Senapati Drapa-vardhana; alternatively read as Druma-vardhana, and identified by some with king Dravya-vardhana mentioned by Varahamihira (see above)
* Jaya-vardhana
* Ajita-vardhana or Jita-vardhana [b]
* Vibhishana-vardhana
* Rajya-vardhana
* Prakasha-dharman (fl. 515-516 CE)[c]
* Yashodharman alias Vishnuvardhana[d]
* Possibly Maharajadhiraja Dravya-vardhana (see above)

## See also

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* First Aulikara dynasty
* Yashodharman
* Malwa
* Battle of Sondani
* List of rulers of Malwa
* Shiladitya

## Notes

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1. ^ The predecessors of Prakasha-dharman are known from his 515-516 CE Rīsthal inscription.[21] The connection between Prakasha-dharman and Yashodharman is evident from the fact that Vasula, son of Kakka, composed the text of Prakasha-dharman's Risthal inscription as well as that of Yashodharman's undated Mandsor inscription. The stanzas of the inscriptions mentioning this fact are identical. Yashodharman ruled a few years after Prakasha-dharman, as attested by his 532 CE Mandsor inscription, and was probably his successor.[22]
2. ^ K.V. Ramesh and S.P. Tiwari read the name as Ajita-vardhana. V.V. Mirashi reads it as Jita-vardhana. A.M. Shastri considers Ajita-vardhana as more likely to be correct.[23]
3. ^ The Risthal inscription also calls Prakasha-dharman Bhagvat-prakasha, which V.V. Mirashi incorrectly believed to be the first ruler of the dynasty.[23]
4. ^ The alternative name "Vishnu-vardhana" is absent in Yashodharman's own inscriptions. It is known only from an inscription of the family of his Rajasthaniya.[23]

## References

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1. ^ Ashvini Agarwal (1989), Rise and Fall of the Imperial Guptas, Motilal Banarsidass, p. 250-6, ISBN 81-208-0592-5
2. ^ Salomon, Richard (1989). "New Inscriptional Evidence For The History Of The Aulikaras of Mandasor". Indo-Iranian Journal. 32 (1): 12. doi:10.1163/000000089790082971. ISSN 0019-7246. JSTOR 24654606.
3. ^ a b c Jain, Kailash Chand (1972). Malwa Through the Ages. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 250–9\. ISBN 978-81-208-0824-9.250-9&rft.pub=Motilal+Banarsidass&rft.date=1972&rft.isbn=978-81-208-0824-9&rft.aulast=Jain&rft.aufirst=Kailash+Chand&rft_id=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZR-J6-WOH4QC&dq;=Aulikaras&pg;=PA250&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Second+Aulikara+dynasty" class="Z3988">
4. ^ Salomon, Richard (1989). "New Inscriptional Evidence For The History Of The Aulikaras of Mandasor". Indo-Iranian Journal. 32 (1): 11. doi:10.1163/000000089790082971. ISSN 0019-7246. JSTOR 24654606.
5. ^ a b Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum Vol 3 p.145
6. ^ Jain, Kailash Chand (31 December 1972). Malwa Through The Ages. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. ISBN 978-81-208-0824-9.
7. ^ Singh, Pradeep. "YASHODHARMAN ~ यशोधर्मा,King of Malwa kept Malichha(Non Hindus), on defensive for 600 years". Retrieved 2022-06-29.
8. ^ "Studies in Ancient Indian History" (PDF). sahitya.marathi.gov.
9. ^ Fleet, John Faithfull (1960). Inscriptions Of The Early Gupta Kings And Their Successors.
10. ^ Fleet, John Faithful (1981). Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum Vol.3 (inscriptions Of The Early Gupta Kings).
11. ^ Tribal Culture, Faith, History And Literature, Narayan Singh Rao, Mittal Publications, 2006 p.18
12. ^ Foreign Influence on Ancient India by Krishna Chandra Sagar p.216
13. ^ Dwivedi, Gautam N. (1966). "The Date and Identity of Yasodharman-Visnuvardhana". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 28: 45–50\. ISSN 2249-1937. JSTOR 44140389.45-50&rft.date=1966&rft_id=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44140389#id-name=JSTOR&rft.issn=2249-1937&rft.aulast=Dwivedi&rft.aufirst=Gautam+N.&rft_id=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44140389&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Second+Aulikara+dynasty" class="Z3988">
14. ^ Atherton, Cynthia Packert (1997). The Sculpture of Early Medieval Rajasthan. BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-10789-2.
15. ^ a b Balogh, Dániel (2019-10-28). Inscriptions of the Aulikaras and Their Associates. Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. ISBN 978-3-11-064978-9.
16. ^ Bakker, Hans T. (2020-03-31). The Alkhan: A Hunnic People in South Asia. Barkhuis. ISBN 978-94-93194-06-9.
17. ^ Atherton, Cynthia Packert (1997). The Sculpture of Early Medieval Rajasthan. BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-10789-2.
18. ^ a b c Shastri, Ajay Mitra (1991). Varāhamihira and His Times. Kusumanjali Book World.
19. ^ Sagar, Krishna Chandra (1992). Foreign Influence on Ancient India. Northern Book Centre. ISBN 978-81-7211-028-4.
20. ^ Early History of Rajasthan. Bharatiya Vidya Prakashan. 1978.
21. ^ A.M. Shastri 1991, p. 47.
22. ^ A.M. Shastri 1991, p. 48.
23. ^ a b c A.M. Shastri 1991, p. 56.

### Bibliography

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* A.M. Shastri (1991). Varāhamihira and His Times. Kusumanjali. OCLC 28644897.
* Dániel Balogh (2019). Inscriptions of the Aulikaras and Their Associates. De Gruyter. ISBN 9783110649789.