Telangana History Vakatakas (250-500 A.D)

Telangana History Vakatakas (250-500 A.D) 

In South India after Abheera dynasty, vast empire was established by Vakatakas. After con­quering Maharashtra, Vidarbha, Telangana regions they gained complete control over them. Eventhough they were effective rulers, still we don’t know clear­ly about their origin and antecedents. Opinions are different on their origin. Some people developed a theory that they belongs to North India, where as others opinioned that they were South Indians. According to K.RJayaswal, Vaktakits birth place was Bijnatli of Bundelkhand or Bigat. He claims that the word Bigat after years metamorphed into Vakataka’ which was their native place. Long after this transformed name of their birth place became name of their dynasty. He made it clear that Bigat was the old name of ‘Bhagat’ which at present it is nearer to Orcha in Madhya Pradesh. So he final­ly resolved that Vakatakas belongs to North India. But Doctor V.V. Mirashi, Jayaswal contradicted this view and concluded that Vakatakas were South Indians only.

Vakataka word in Amaravati inscription In Andhra region Vakata word first appears on pillar inscription in Amaravati, Guntur district. According to this inscription, once a person named as Vakataka arrived to this place along with his two wives. After donating something to the place of Buddhistic worship, he carved this inscription. Now it is established that this inscrip­tion belongs to 25QAD. We can see the word  Vakataka first time in this inscription. Some other people assumed that, Vakataka was the name of a village, and the villagers were known as Vakatakas. This village lied somewhere nearer to Amaravati, so these people, belongs to Andhra state. After getting employment in Satavahana Royal court they might have migrated to Maharashtra. Suitably Pravarasena named his son as Gautamiputra Satakami. This name itself shows their respect towards Satavahana kings. Before completion of the century after the fall of Satavahana dynasty Vakatakas established their kingdom. So Vakataka dynasty might had been in existence at the time of Satavahana period. At the same time Pravarasena mentioned that he was the son of ‘Hariti’. In those days the custom of worshipping deity Hariti was very common and this was prevailed in Nagarjunakonda. The person who engraved the Amaravati inscription might have belongs to the period of Yindhya Shakti’ who was the founder of Vakataka kingdom. The relation between that per­son and Vindhya Shakti is not known. But it is an established fact that these two beldngs to the same dynasty. All these sources reveal that Vakatakas belongs to Southlndia. After Satavahanas… Vakatakas dethroned Abheeras . who ruled Maharashtra, and became the rulers of the kingdom.

Vindhya Shakti (250-270 A.D.)

Vindhya Shakti was the founder of Vakataka dynasty. But his origin and antecedents was not  known. According to mythology he ruled Vidisha Purika regions. His capital was ‘Vidisha Nagaram’ at present it is in Madhya Pradesh. It is an expecta­tion that he conquered and ruled the places of Vindhya Mountain region so he was called as Vindhya Shakti. There is a 16^th inscription in Ajanta where it shows that he belongs to Vakataka dynasty, Dwija and Vishnuvruddha Gotra. So as like Sungas, Kanwas and Satavahanas.. Vakatakas were also Brahmins. Vindhya Shakti did not adorn with any title. So his kingdom might be a smaller one.

Pravarasena-I (270-330 A.D.)

After Vindhya Shakti his son Pravarasena-I came to power and ruled long period of 65 years. He was a great conqueror. At his tenure Vakataka king­dom expanded and transformed into a great power­ful kingdom. The area of the kingdom expanded from Bundelkhand in north to Srisailam in south. In his period only Western Andhra i.e. Telangana came under his rule. He edorned with the titles of ‘Pravara Samrat’, and ‘Dharma Maharaj’. For his victories, Pravarasena performed four ‘Aswamedha Yagas’, Vajapeya’, ‘Agnishtoma’, ‘Astoyanu’, ‘Utvi’, ‘Shodasi’, ‘Brihaspati Sava’, ‘Sadyaskra’ Yagas and gave large donations to Brahmins. He mentioned that he was the son of Hariti. His son name was Gautamiputra Satakarni. This was the name of Satavahanas. He performed his son’s marriage with Bhoonaga’s daughter, who belongs to saila Dynasty’. With this marriage rela­tions with North India Naga dynasty strengthened and Vakataka power attained the stability in Southlndia. Pravarasena had four sons. Out of them Gautamiputra Satakarni was elder one and Sarvasena was fourth one. But information about others is not available. Pravarasena appointed his youngest son Sarvasena the ruler of Maharashtra. Unfortunately Gautamiputra Satakarni died while his father was alive. Gautamiputra had a son named as Rudrasena. After Pravarasena, his grandson Rudrasena became the king of Vidisha. But his uncle Sarvasena merged this region into his king­dom. So kingdom was divided into two parts. One part of this kingdom Maharashtra came under Sarvasena and other parts Vidisha, Vidarbha, Telangana regions came under Rudrasena. Sarvasena made Vatsagulma‘ as his capital and  continued to rule. This Vatsagulma situated in Akola district of Maharashtra. Some people compar­ing today’s ‘Basen’ as Vatsagulma’. Rudrasena’s royal family had the names of Main branches as “Sritreeka branch’, where as Sarvasena djmasty got the name of Vatsagulma branch’.

Rudrasena – I (330-355 A.D.)

Rudrasena was contemporary of Samudra gupta. He was the great devotee of ‘Maha Bhairava’. With the help of his relative, Rudrasena fought with Samudragupta and died in 350 AD. Samudragupta’s Allahabad inscription mentioned his name as Rudradeva.

Prithvisena-I (355-380 A.D.)

After the death of Rudrasena, his son Prithvisena-I came to power. He was also a great devotee of Lord Shiva. He was the contemporary of Samudragupta’s son Chandragupta-II. He wage a war with Shakas who was the rulers of Malva . By knowing the strength of Vakatakas, he married his daughter Prabhavati Gupta with Rudrasena-II who was the son of Prithvisena. With the help of Vakataka’s, Chandragupta defeated ‘Shaka’s’ and occupied Malva, Gujarat regions. At the same time Prithvisena also fought with Shaka’s. He constructed town ‘Nandivardhana’ and made it as capital.

Rule of Prabhavati Gupta (385-405 AJ)     

Rudrasena died just four years after marriage, at that time he had two sons. One? was Divakara sena and other was Damodarasena. After the death of his father elder son Divakarasena declared as ruler. But unfortunately he was also died. Then declared Damodarasena as king.. Prabhavati herself started ruling the kingdom. Pune copper inscrip­tion describes about her administration. This inscription was engraved by Prabhavati Gupta. According to this inscription we can understand that she was an ideal lady and her kingdom was expand­ed up to Srisailam.

Pravarasena-11 (420-450A.D)

Damodarasena attained the title of Pravarasena-n and ascend the throne. He was a great scholar and poet, great lover of art. His great poetic work in Prakrit was ‘Setubandham‘. He built ‘Pravarapura‘ town and made it as capital. Some people believe that he was the desciple of Kalidasa.

Narendrasena (450-475 A.D.)

Damodarasena’s son Devendrasena was a great conqueror. He defeated Kalinga, Kosala, Malva kingdoms. But at the final stage his kingdom was attacked by Nala dynasty kings, and eventually they occupied some parts of Narendrasena kingdom. Vakataka inscriptions explains us about their defeats. Nala dynasty also belongs to Telugu origin who ruled Rayalaseema region

PridhvSena – II(475-490 AJ).)

After Narendrasena his son Pridhvisena-II came to power and defeated Nala kings.

Important Features of Vakataka period 

Including Telangana entire Deccan region was very famous for thin cloths during 2nd century BC. Different tradesmen formed, independent unions. Land tax was the important source for the state income. Tax was paid in the form of kind. State also get income from the tax levied on the imports from town to village and village to town. Village unions were there. Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism were pre­vailed as important religions. In Deccan Buddhism became most important religion and spread to remotest areas. In Ajanta, Ellora caves architect paints depicts how Buddhism spread in those days. Mahayana Buddhism also seen. Saiva, Vaishnava followers were also present in the society. Skandhavarma built Lord Vishnu temple. Pravarasena-II was follower of Saiva sect. Compare to Vaidika customs, Epic customs were most fol­lowed by the people. Pilgrimage to Prayaga like sacred places was common. Epic rituals were per­formed with great respect. Ekadashi, Sankranti fes­tivals were famous among people. People treated construction of temples with great regard. But there were no evidence that temples were transformed into education centres. Caste system prevailed in the society. But it was not practiced strictly. Every person has freedom to choose a profession which he likes. Inter caste marriages were common. Eventhough Vakatakas were brahmins, they mar­ried Gupta women. It was the best example. In Brahmin families child marriage system became as custom. This became great hurdle for women educa­tion. widows had right on the property of her hus­band. Sati practice was very rare, and can be seen in Kshatriya families only. If we see ‘Ajanta art’ we can understand that women got high respect in the society.

For spreading of education and religious cul­tures, ‘Agrahara’s‘ were donated. Number of books in Sanskrit and Prakrit languages were written. Changes were took place in epics. Yagnavalkya, Naaradeeya, Kaatyayana Smritis were com­posed. Padartha Sangraham’, ‘Karika’, ‘Lankaavarta’ principles were compiled in this peri­od. Vakatakas patronised poets and scholars. They themselves were poets. The great poet Kalidasa was in the Royal court of Vakatakas. He wrote ‘Meghadhootam’ while he was in Ramtek (some his­torians opined that this Ramtek Ramagiri which is in Karimnagar district). Pravarasena-II wrote ‘Setu Bandha’.. a poetic work in Prakrit language.

Sarvasena wrote ‘ Harivijayam’ (the story of Paarijaataapaharanam) a composition in Prakrita. He also wrote number of ‘stories’ those were included in ‘Gaadhasaptashati’. His capital city Vatsagulma’ which was a great cultural centre. Vakatakas encouraged paintings, architect, sculp­ture. InAjanta, Ellora caves no. XVI, XVII touris­tic caves, XIX cave is a place of Buddhistic wor­ship were belongs to the period of Vakatakas.

Bit Bank

★ Who was the founder of Vakataka kingdom – Vindhyashakti
★ Which religion was followed by Vakatakas. – Hindu, Buddhism
★ The name of the Vakataka king who got the title ofSamrat – Pravarasena
★ After Pravarasena Vakataka kingdom divided into? – Purika and Vatsagulma capital
★ Name of the king who married Rudrasena-II . – Prabhavati the daughter of Chandragupta Vikramaditya-II
★ Who wrote ‘Setu bandha’ a poetic work in Prakrita – Pravarasena-II
★ Which inscriptions are base for the history of Vakatakas – Allahabad pillar inscription, Ajanta cave
★ Who was the last famous king in Vakataka dynasty – Harisena (475-500AD)
★ Harivijaya (composition in Prakrita) was written by – Sarvasena
★ The name Vakataka first identified in whbfh inscription of Andhra Pradesh- Amaravati pillar
★ The name of the capital city of Vindhya Shakti who was the originator of Vakataka dynasty. – Vidisha (MP)
★ Which cave inscription in Ajanta describes Vindhyashakti was ‘Dvija’ (twice born), and belongs to ‘Vishnu Vrudha Gotra”. – 16th cave
★ Vakatakas belongs to which caste –Brahmins
★ In which Vakataka king’s period Telangana came under their rule. – Pravarasena-I
★ Name the Vakataka king who was contemporary of Samudra Gupta – Rudrasena
★ Who built Nandivardhana town and made it as capital city – Prithvisena
★ The ruling of Prabhavati Gupta was inscribed in which inscription – Pune copper inscription
★ Pravarapura town was built by which Vakataka king – Pravarasena-II
★ Which Vakataka king was the desciple of Kalidasa – Narendrasena
★ Which Vakataka king married his daughter with Vishnukundina king Madhava varma –Prithvisena
★ Which Vishnukundina king was famous as ‘Dvayalankara’ (Dual adorning) for Vakataka and Vishnukundina dynasties – Vikramendra varma
★ What was an important income source in the reign of Vakataka kingdom? – Land tax
★ Which were important ‘religions of Vakataka period – Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism
★ After which Vakataka king, their kingdom divided into Purika and Vatsagulma capitals- Pravarasena
★ Which was the first capital of Vakatakas – Vidarbha
★ Who ruled Telangana parallel and after Vakatakas – Vishnukundina
★ The tax levied imports from villages to towns and towns to villages is an – another important source of income
★ Which goods were imported during Vakataka period – textiles, oil
★ The famous festivals in Vakataka period – Ekadashi, Sankranti
★ Child marriages were prevailed in which cast – Brahmins
★ Widows in Vakataka period had _____over their husband’s property . right
★ Sati custom was common in which cast – Kshatriyas
★ Languages of Vakataka period – Sanskrit, Prakrit
★ Which Smritis were written dining Vakataka period –Yagnavalkya, Naaradeeya, kaatyayana
★ Which Sutras were composed during Vakataka period – Sankhya, Kaarika, Lankaavarta
★ The Prakrit poetic work of Sarvasena –Hari Vijaya (Paarijaataapaharana vrittanta)
★ Vatsagulma became the famous cultural centre during which Vakataka king. Sarvasena
★ In Ajanta, Ellora caves, which Buddhistic monas-teries were built by Vakatakas –XVI, XVII
★ Which Buddhist worship caves were belongs to the period of Vakatakas in Ajanta, Ellora ? .XIX
1. Who was the founder of Vakataka kingdom
1. Pravarasena-I 2.Vindhyashakti ~
3. Rudrasena-I 4. Rudrasena-II
Ans 2

2. Prabhavati Gupta was wife of which Vakataka king
1. Rudrasena-I 2. Prithivisena-I
3. Rudrasena-II 4. Pravarasena-II
Ans 3

3. Which Vakataka king own the title of Samrat
1. Pravarasena-I 2. Sarvasena
3. Rudrasena-II 4. Pravarasena-II
Ans 1

4. Who wrote Prakrit poetic work ‘Setubandha’
1. Pravarasena 2. Pravarasena-II
3. Rudrasena-II 4. Sarvasena
Ans 2

5. Which inscriptions are base for Vakataka history
1. Allahabad pillar inscription
2. Pune copper inscription
3. Ajanta caves
4. None of the above
Ans 1

6. Which are the most important religions in Vakataka period
1. Buddhism, Jainism
2. Hinduism, Jainism
3. Hinduism, Buddhism, jainism
4. None of the above
Ans 3

7. Prakrit poetic work Harivijaya written by
1. Harisena 2. Sarvasena
3. Pravarasena-II 4. Rudrasena-II
Ans 2

8. The originator of Vakatakas Vindhyashakti’s capital city was
1. Ujjain 2. Akola
3. Vidisha 4. Aurangabad
Ans 3

9. Which Vakataka king was the contempo¬rary of Samudra Gupta .
1. Pravarasena-II 2. Rudrasena-II
3. Pravarasena-II 4. Rudrasena-I
Ans 4

10. Which cave inscription explains Vindhyashakti belongs to Vakataka dynasty, Dvija (twice born), Vishnu Vriddha Gotra
1.14th 2.15th 3.16th 4.17th
Ans 3

11 Which inscription describes the rule of Prabhavati :
1. Pune copper inscription
2. Allahabad pillar inscription
3. Ajanta caves
4. None of the above
Ans 1

12. Which Vakataka king was the desciple of Kalidasa ?
1. Rudrasena-I
2. Narendrasena
3. Rudrasena-II
4. Pravarasena-II
Ans 2

13. For the dynasties Vakataka and Vishnukundina ‘Dvayalankara’ title was given to which Vishnukundina king ?
1. Prithivisena
2. Pravarasena-II
3. Vikramendra varma
4. Narendrasena
Ans 3