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{{Short description|Indian dynasty (6th – 9th centuries)}}
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The '''Pratiharas of Mandavyapura''',{{efn|[[IAST]]: Pratīhāras of Māṇḍavyapura}} also known as the '''Pratiharas of Mandore''' (or Mandor), were a dynasty that ruled parts of the present-day [[Rajasthan]] between 6th and 9th centuries. They first established their capital at Mandavyapura (modern [[Mandore]]), and later ruled from Medantaka (modern [[Merta City|Merta]]).

== Origins ==

The origin of the dynasty is described in two inscriptions: the 837 CE [[Jodhpur]] inscription of Bauka and the 861 CE Ghantiyala (or [[Ghatiya Assembly constituency|Ghatiyala]]) inscription of Kakkuka. According to the two inscriptions, the family descended from the brother of Ramabhadra. This brother is identified as the legendary [[Kshatriya]] hero [[Lakshmana]], the brother of [[Rama]]. He is said to have as a door-keeper ("pratihara") for Rama, because of which the family came to be known as Pratihara. The [[Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty|imperial Pratiharas]] also claimed descent from the legendary hero [[Lakshmana]]. The members of the two families also share identical names such as [[Mihira Bhoja|Bhoja]], Kakkuka and [[Nagabhata I|Nagabhata]]. Based on these evidences, it appears that the two families were related, although the exact relationship between them is not known. It appears that the Pratiharas of Mandavyapura ultimately became feudatory of the imperial Pratiharas.{{sfn|Baij Nath Puri|1957|p=19}}

== History ==
The earliest known historical members of the family are Harichandra and his second wife Bhadra. In Pratihāra inscriptions, Harichandra is mentioned as a ''vipra'' (implying a [[Brahmin|Brahmana]] status) while Bhadra came from a [[Kshatriya]] noble family. They had four sons: Bhogabhatta, Kakka, Rajjila and Dadda. These four men captured Mandavyapura and erected a rampart there.{{sfn|Vibhuti Bhushan Mishra|1966|p=3}}<ref>{{Cite book|title=Epigraphia Indica Vol. 18|publisher=[Archaeological Survey of India]|year=1983|pages=95 |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.56668/page/n135/mode/1up }}</ref> It is not known where the family lived before the conquest of Mandavyapura.{{sfn|Baij Nath Puri|1957|p=20}}

A 625 CE inscription of a feudatory ruler named Rajilla has been found at Vasantgarh. This Rajilla and his father Vajrabhata Satyashraya were vassals of the [[Chavda dynasty|Chapotkata]] ruler Varmalata. B. N. Puri identified this Rajilla as Harichandra's son Rajilla, although the names of their fathers are different according to epigraphic evidence. Puri argued that the members of the two families shared similar names such as Tata, Bapaka and Bauka, and names ending in -bhata (Vajrabhata and Nagabhata).{{sfn|Baij Nath Puri|1957|p=20}}

=== Nagabhata ===

Nagabhata, fourth in line from Harichandra, moved his capital from Mandavyapura to Medantaka (modern [[Merta City|Merta]]).{{sfn|Baij Nath Puri|1957|p=20}} The original capital still retained its importance, as Nagabhata's successor Tata is said to have retired there.{{sfn|Baij Nath Puri|1957|p=20}}

=== Tata ===
Nagabhata and his queen Jajjika-devi had two sons: Tata and Bhoja. The [[Chinese people|Chinese]] Buddhist traveler [[Xuanzang]] described a kingdom named ''Kiu-che-lo'' and its capital ''Pi-lo-mi-lo''. These two words have been identified as Chinese transcriptions of "[[Gurjar|Gurjara]]" and "Bhillamala" ([[Bhinmal]]). Historian [[R. C. Majumdar]] theorized that the king of ''Kiu-che-lo'' was the Mandavyapura Pratihara king Tata. But [[Baij Nath Puri]] was critical of this theory, because Xuanzang describes the king as [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] and his kingdom as the second largest in western India. The Mandavyapura [[Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty|Pratihara kingdom]] was a small one. Moreover, Xuanzang does not mention Mandavyapura or Medantaka. According to Puri, the ruler mentioned by Xuanzang was another king named Varmalata.{{sfn|Baij Nath Puri|1957|p=24}}

Tata retired to a hermitage in Mandavyapura after handing over the kingdom to his younger brother [[Mihira Bhoja|Bhoja]]. Next, Tata's son Yashovardhana ascended the throne, possibly after a disputed succession.{{sfn|Baij Nath Puri|1957|p=25}}
=== Shiluka ===
His descendant Shiluka is said to have "fixed a perpetual boundary" between the Stravani and Valla countries. He is also said to have "knocked down" the Bhattika Devaraja of Valla. This appears to be a reference to his victory over the neighbouring rulers. Stravani can be identified with a place in the modern [[Jaisalmer district]], and has been mentioned as "Taban" by the Arab writers. R. C. Majumdar identified Bhattika Devaraja as the Pratihara king [[Devaraja (Pratihara dynasty)|Devaraja]], but B. N. Puri disagrees with this theory.{{sfn|Baij Nath Puri|1957|p=21}}

Shiluka also excavated a tank, established a new city and commissioned the Siddheshvara Mahadeva temple at a place called Treta.{{sfn|Baij Nath Puri|1957|p=25}} His son Jhota retired after appointing his son Bhiladitya as king, and proceeded to the [[Bhagirathi]] river.

=== Kakka ===
Bhiladitya retired after handing over the kingdom to his son Kakka.{{sfn|Baij Nath Puri|1957|p=23}} Kakka is said to have gained fame in the battle of Mudgagiri (modern [[Munger]]) against the ruler of [[Gauḍa (region)|Gauda]].{{sfn|Baij Nath Puri|1957|p=22}} This probably refers to his participation in the campaign of his overlord [[Nagabhata II]].{{sfn|Baij Nath Puri|1957|p=26}}

He was married to Rani Padmini of the Bhati clan, considered to be identical with the Bhatis of Jaisalmer.<ref name="Brajadulal">{{cite book | last=Chattopadhyaya | first=Brajadulal | title=The Making of Early Medieval India, Second Edition | publisher=OUP India | publication-place=New Delhi | date=2012-10-11 | isbn=978-0-19-807725-1|page=81}}</ref>

According to the Jodhpur inscription, Kakka's son Bauka defeated and killed a king of the [[Maura Dynasty|Mayura dynasty]].{{sfn|Baij Nath Puri|1957|p=25}}

=== Kakkuka ===
Kakkuka, a step-brother of Bauka, was the son of Kakka and Durlabhadevi. According to a Ghantiyala inscription, he gained fame in the countries of Travani (Stravani), Valla, Mada, Arya, [[Gurjaradesa|Gurjaratra]], [[Lata (region)|Lata]] and Parvata. This Another Ghantiyala inscription mentions that he established a market at a place called Rohiṃsakūpa, which had been deserted for the fear of the [[Abhira tribe|Abhira]]s.{{sfn|Baij Nath Puri|1957|p=21}}

Kakkuka is the last known ruler of the dynasty. The dynasty probably ended with him, and the kingdom became a part of the territories of the imperial Pratiharas of Kannauj.{{sfn|Baij Nath Puri|1957|p=26}} The Imperial Pratihara dynasty later broke into several small states after the [[Ghaznavid]] invasions. These branches fought each other for territory and one of the branches ruled [[Mandore]] till the 14th century.

This Pratihara branch had marital ties with [[Chunda of Mandore|Rao Chunda]] of the [[Rathore (Rajput clan)|Rathore]] clan and gave Mandore in dowry to Chunda, resulting in the Pratiharas getting absorbed into what later became [[Jodhpur State]]. This was specifically done to form an alliance against the [[Turkic peoples|Turks]] of the [[Tughlaq dynasty]].<ref name="DQ">{{Cite book |last=Belli |first=Melia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6dR0CgAAQBAJ&dq=rao+chunda+of+mandore&pg=PA142 |title=Royal Umbrellas of Stone: Memory, Politics, and Public Identity in Rajput funerary arts |publisher=Brill |year=2005 |isbn=9789004300569 |pages=139}}</ref>

== Rulers ==

[[Rudolf Hoernlé]] assumed a period of 20 years for each generation, and placed the dynasty's founder Harichandra in c. 640 CE. [[Baij Nath Puri]] placed Harichandra in c. 600 CE. [[R. C. Majumdar]], on the other hand, assumed a period of 25 years for each generation, and placed him in c. 550 CE.{{sfn|Baij Nath Puri|1957|p=23}} The following is a list of the dynasty's rulers ([[IAST]] names in brackets) and estimates of their reigns, assuming a period of 25 years:{{sfn|Vibhuti Bhushan Mishra|1966|p=3}}

* Harichandra (Haricandra) alias Rohilladhi, r. c. 550 CE
* Rajilla, r. c. 575 CE
* Narabhatta (Narabhaṭa) alias Pellapelli, r. c. 600 CE
* Nagabhata (Nāgabhaṭa) alias Nahada, r. c. 625 CE
* Tata (Tāta) and Bhoja, r. c. 650 CE
* Yashovardhana (Yaśovardhana), r. c. 675 CE
* Chanduka (Canduka), r. c. 700 CE
* Shiluka (Śīluka) alias Silluka, r. c. 725 CE
* Jhota, r. c. 750 CE
* Bhilladitya alias Bhilluka, r. c. 775 CE
* Kakka, r. c. 800 CE
* Bauka (Bāuka), r. c. 825 CE
* Kakkuka, r. c. 861 CE

Bauka and Kakkuka were sons of Kakka from different mothers. The [[Jodhpur]] and Ghantiyala inscriptions of the two step-brothers give same genealogy of the family, except the last two names. Since these two inscriptions were found not far from each other, it appears that Bauka succeeded Kakka (rather than the two dividing Kakka's kingdom).{{sfn|Baij Nath Puri|1957|p=19}}

== Notes ==
<references group="lower-alpha" />
== References ==
{{reflist|2}}

=== Bibliography ===
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |author=Baij Nath Puri |authorlink=Baij Nath Puri |title=The history of the Gurjara-Pratihāras |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=szkhAAAAMAAJ |year=1957 |publisher=[[Munshiram Manoharlal]] |oclc=2491084 }}
* {{cite book |author=Cynthia Talbot |title=The Last Hindu Emperor: Prithviraj Cauhan and the Indian Past, 1200–2000 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m3DjCgAAQBAJ |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2015 |isbn=9781107118560 }}
* {{cite book |author=Vibhuti Bhushan Mishra |title=The Gurjara-Pratīhāras and Their Times |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sDMJAQAAIAAJ |year=1966 |publisher=S. Chand |oclc=3948567 }}
{{refend}}

[[Category:Pratiharas]]
[[Category:Dynasties of India]]

Pratiharas of Mandavyapura - Revision history

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