>Bangaru Yachama Nayudu at 03:49, 17 June 2021

2021-06-17T03:49:34Z

New page

{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2015}}
{{Use Indian English|date=December 2015}}
{{Infobox royalty
| title = '''Dharma-Mahārāja'''
| image =
| caption =
| succession =
| reign = c. 455 - 480 CE
| predecessor = [[Sarvasena II]]
| successor = [[Harishena]]
| spouse =
| issue =
| house = [[Vakataka]]
| father =
| mother =
}}
{{Vakataka Infobox}}
'''Devasena''' ({{reign|{{circa|455}}|480 CE}}<ref>{{cite book |last1=Shastri |first1=Ajay Mitra |title=Vakatakas: Sources and History |date=1997 |publisher=Aryan Books International |isbn=9788173051234 |page=212}}</ref>) was a ruler of the Vatsagulma branch of the [[Vakataka dynasty]]. He was the son and successor of [[Sarvasena II]].

The reign of Devasena seems to have witnessed a resurgence of the power and influence of the Vatsagulma Vakatakas, and the [[Ajanta Caves|Ajanta]] inscriptions speak of King Devasena in glowing terms.<ref name = "sircar">{{cite book |author1=D.C. Sircar |editor1-last=Majumdar |editor1-first=R.C. |title=The Classical Age |date=1997 |publisher=Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan |page=186 |edition=Fifth}}</ref> Unlike his predecessors [[Pravarasena II of Vatsagulma|Pravarasena II]] and Sarvasena II, who bore the simple title of ''mahārāja'', Devasena revived the title of ''dharmamahārāja'' which had last been used by [[Vindhyashakti II]].<ref name = "dharmamaharaja">{{cite book |last1=Bakker |first1=Hans |title=The Vakatakas: An Essay in Hindu Iconology |date=1997 |publisher=Egbert Forsten |location=Groningen |isbn=9069801000 |page=33}}</ref> It is possible that Devasena had expanded his kingdom south into [[Karnataka]], for some of his [[Indian copper plate inscriptions|copper plates]] were discovered in the [[Bidar district]] of northern Karnataka.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Shastri |first1=Ajay Mitra |title=The Age of the Vakatakas |date=1992 |publisher=Harman Pub. House |isbn=9788185151519 |page=250}}</ref> In the east, Devasena established relations with the rising power of the [[Vishnukundins]], giving his daughter in marriage to the Vishnukundin king [[Madhava Varma II|Madhavavarman II Janashraya]].<ref name = "singh">{{cite book |last1=Singh |first1=Upinder |title=A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India From the Stone Age to the 12th Century |date=2016 |publisher=Pearson India Education Services |isbn=9788131716779 |page=484}}</ref>

The reign of Devasena is also notable for the Hisse-Borala stone inscription. This inscription, which contains the date of year 380 of the [[Saka era]] (corresponding to 457/58 CE), is the only record that provides a firm chronological basis for Vakataka dynastic history.<ref>Bakker (1997), pp. 31-32</ref> The inscription was discovered about 10 kilometers south of Devasena's capital of Vatsagulma (the present-day [[Washim]]) and records the construction of a water storage tank by a nobleman named Svamilladeva. The tank was named Sudarshana, which was also the name of a reservoir built by the children of [[Prabhavatigupta]] in her honor, and was possibly inspired by the famous Sudarshana lake of [[Junagadh]] in [[Gujarat]].<ref name = "singh" /> [[Ajay Mitra Shastri]] believes that Svamilladeva himself originally hailed from Gujarat and employed the Saka calendar era in the Hisse-Borala inscription due to the long-standing usage of that calendar era in Gujarat.<ref>Shastri (1992), p. 247</ref>

Devasena entrusted the administration of his kingdom to his minister Hastibhoja, who was both able and popular.<ref>{{cite book |author1=A.S. Altekar |editor1-last=Majumdar |editor1-first=R.C. |editor2-last=Altekar |editor2-first=A.S. |title=The Vakataka-Gupta Age |date=2007 |publisher=Motilal Banarsi Dass |isbn=9788120800434 |page=112}}</ref> We later also find Hastibhoja's son Varahadeva employed as the minister of [[Harishena]], the son and successor of Devasena.<ref name = "sircar" /><ref>Bakker (1997), p. 34</ref> Similarly, the noble Svamilladeva of the Hisse-Borala inscription is also encountered in Devasena's Bidar plates of his fifth regnal year and again in the Thalner plates of Harishena, where he is now employed as a ''dūtaka'' or liaison officer.<ref name = "dharmamaharaja" /> It thus appears that the reign of Devasena saw the rise of several nobles and families to great status in the Vakataka court, and they continued to have influence in the reign of Harishena.

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Vakataka dynasty]]
[[Category:5th-century Indian monarchs]]

Devasena (Vakataka king) - Revision history

>Bangaru Yachama Nayudu at 03:49, 17 June 2021