https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=UshavadataUshavadata - Revision history2026-10-21T22:38:21ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.43.6https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ushavadata&diff=257282&oldid=prev->Antiquistik at 21:26, 8 November 20212021-11-08T21:26:46Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|2nd century Western Satrap viceroy}}<br />
{{use dmy dates|date=September 2017}}<br />
{{Use Indian English|date=September 2017}}<br />
{{Infobox military person<br />
| name = Ushvadata<br />
| native_name = <br />
| native_name_lang = उश्वदता<br />
| image = Karla caves Chaitya pillars vs Pandavleni Cave No10 pillars.jpg<br />
| image_size =<br />
| alt =<br />
| caption = <br />
| birth_date = 2nd century?<br />
| death_date = 2nd century?<br />
| birth_place = [[Western Satraps|Western Satrap kingdom]]<br />
| death_place = <br />
| birth_name =<br />
| allegiance = [[Western Satraps]]<br />
| serviceyears = 2nd century<br />
| commands = [[Viceroy]] of southern Saka territories including [[Nasik]], [[Karla Caves|Karle]] & [[Junnar]].<ref>"Catalogue of Indian coins of the British Museum. Andhras etc." Rapson. p. LVII</ref><ref name="Tripathi">{{cite book|last1=Tripathi|first1=Rama Shankar|title=History of Ancient India|date=1942|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|isbn=9788120800182|page=216|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rOVpOG6MPMcC|language=en}}</ref><br />
| battles = Saka-Malava War, [[Saka-Satavahana Wars]]<br />
| battles_label =<br />
| spouse = Dakshamitra<br />
| relations = *Dinika (father)<br />
*[[Nahapana]] (father-in-law)<br />
*Dakshamitra (spouse)<br />
}}<br />
'''Ushavadata''' ([[Brahmi]]: {{IAST|U-ṣa-va-dā-ta}}, {{IAST|Uṣavadāta}}), also known as '''Rishabhadatta''', was a viceroy and son-in-law of the [[Western Kshatrapa]] ruler [[Nahapana]], who ruled in western India.<br />
<br />
==Name==<br />
Ushavadata's name is attested in his inscriptions as {{IAST|Uṣavadāta}}, which is derived from the [[Saka language|Saka]] name {{lang|xsc|*R̥śvadāta}}, meaning "rightly created".<ref>{{cite book |last=Harmatta |first=János |author-link=János Harmatta |editor-last1=Harmatta |editor-first1=János |editor-link1=János Harmatta |editor-last2=Puri |editor-first2=B. N. |editor-link2=Baij Nath Puri |editor-last3=Etemadi |editor-first3=G. F. |date=1999 |chapter=Languages and scripts in Graeco-Bactria and the Saka Kingdoms |title=History of civilizations of Central Asia |volume=2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DguGWP0vGY8C |location=Delhi |publisher=[[Motilal Banarsidass|Motilal Banarsidass Publishing House]] |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=9U6RlVVjpakC&pg=PA413#v=onepage&q&f=false 413] |isbn=978-8-120-81408-0}}</ref><br />
<br />
== Inscriptions ==<br />
[[File:Nasik_Cave_inscription_No_10.jpg|thumb|[[Pandavleni Caves|Nasik Cave]] inscription No.10. of Ushavadata, Cave No.10.]]<br />
Much of the information about Ushavadata comes from his [[Nasik inscription of Ushavadata|Nashik]] and [[Karla Caves|Karle]] inscriptions. The Nashik inscription contains an eulogy of Ushavadata in [[Sanskrit]], and then records the donation of a cave to Buddhists in a [[Middle Indo-Aryan languages|Middle Indo-Aryan language]]. The Karle inscription contains a similar eulogy, but in the Middle Indo-Aryan language.{{sfn|Andrew Ollett|2017|p=39}}<br />
<br />
== Early life ==<br />
<br />
Ushavadata was the son of one Dinika.{{sfn|Andrew Ollett|2017|p=40}} He identifies as a [[Shakas|Shaka]] ([[IAST]]: Śaka) in his Nashik inscription:<br />
<br />
{{quote|"[Success !] By permanent charities of Ushavadata, the Shaka, [son of Dinika], son-in-law of king Nahapana, the [Kshahara]ta Kshatrapa...."|Inscription No.14a of Nahapana, Cave No.10, Nasik{{sfn|Senart|1906|p=[https://archive.org/details/EpigraphiaIndica/page/n113/mode/2up?view=theater 85]-[https://archive.org/details/EpigraphiaIndica/page/n113/mode/2up?view=theater 86]}}}}<br />
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He believed in [[Brahmanism]],{{sfn|N. B. Divatia|1993|p=42}} and married [[Nahapana]]'s daughter Dakshamitra.<br />
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== Charity ==<br />
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Both of Ushavadata's inscriptions mention the following of his charitable acts:{{sfn|Andrew Ollett|2017|p=40}}<br />
<br />
* Donated 300,000 cows<br />
* Donated gold for the establishment of a holy site on the banks of the Barnasa river<br />
* Donated 16 villages to the deities and [[Brahmin|Brahmanas]] (priests)<br />
* Gave 8 wives to the Brahmanas at the holy site of [[Prabhas Patan|Prabhasa]]<br />
* Fed hundreds of thousands of Brahmanas every year<br />
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The Nashik inscription records more such acts, stating that Ushavadata exhibited very pious behaviour at the Trirashmi hills, where the Nashik caves are located:{{sfn|Andrew Ollett|2017|pp=39-40}}<br />
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* Donated four-roomed rest houses in [[Bharukachchha]] (Bharuch), [[Dashapura]] (Mandsaur), Govardhana (near Nashik), and [[Shurparaka]] ([[Nala Sopara]])<br />
* Commissioned gardens, tanks, and wells<br />
* Established free crossings at several rivers, including Iba, Parada, [[Daman Ganga River|Damana]], [[Tapti River|Tapi]], Karabena, Dahanuka, and Nava<br />
* Established public water stations on both the banks of these rivers<br />
* Donated 32,000 coconut tree stems at Nanamgola village to the associations of ''charaka''s at Pimditakavada, Govardhana, Suvarnamukha, and Shurparaka<br />
* Purchased a field from a [[Brahmin|Brahmana]] family, and donated it to Buddhists along with a rock-cut cave (one of the [[Nasik Caves]]).{{sfn|Andrew Ollett|2017|p=39}}<br />
<br />
{{quote|"Success! In the year 42, in the month Vesakha, Ushavadata, son of Dinika, son-in-law of king Nahapana, the Kshaharata Kshatrapa, has bestowed this cave on the [[Samgha]] generally...."|Inscription No.12 of Nahapana, Cave No.10, Nasik{{sfn|Senart|1906|p=[https://archive.org/details/EpigraphiaIndica/page/n107/mode/2up?view=theater 82]-[https://archive.org/details/EpigraphiaIndica/page/n111/mode/2up?view=theater 83]}}}}<br />
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{| class="wikitable" style="margin:0 auto;" align="center" colspan="2" cellpadding="3" style="font-size: 80%; width: 100%;"<br />
|-<br />
|state = {{{1<includeonly>|collapsed</includeonly>}}} align=center colspan=2 style="background:#D3D3D3; font-size: 100%;"| '''Nasik [[Pandavleni Caves]], cave No.10'''<br />
|-<br />
|<gallery mode="packed" heights=100px><br />
File:036 Cave 10, Front (33928302236).jpg|Front<br />
037 Cave 10, Verandah (33125843084).jpg|Veranda<br />
038 Cave 10, Interior (33928438936).jpg|Interior<br />
039 Cave 10, Chaitya and Umbrellas (33928437976).jpg|Chaitya and Umbrellas<br />
040 Cave 10, Inscription (33928437016).jpg|Inscription by Ushavadata's wife, Dakshamitra.<br />
</gallery><br />
|}<br />
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== Military career ==<br />
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Ushavadatta campaigned in the north under the orders of Nahapana to rescue the [[Uttamabhadras]], who had been attacked by the Malayas (identified with the [[Malavas]]).{{sfn|Senart|1906|p=[https://archive.org/details/EpigraphiaIndica/page/n101/mode/2up?view=theater 78]-[https://archive.org/details/EpigraphiaIndica/page/n105/mode/2up?view=theater 79]}} He also extended the realm by defeating other enemies.<ref name="imperial">{{cite book |author1=Ashvini Agrawal |title=Rise and Fall of the Imperial Guptas |date=1989 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=9788120805927 |page=58 |url=https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/Rise_and_Fall_of_the_Imperial_Guptas/hRjC5IaJ2zcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Rishabhdatta&pg=PA58&printsec=frontcover |language=English |format=Hardcover}}</ref><br />
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The [[Satavahana]] king [[Gautamiputra Satakarni]] appears to have defeated Rishabhadatta. An inscription discovered in Nashik, dated to the 18th year of Gautamiputra's reign, states that he donated a piece of land to Buddhist monks; this land was earlier in the possession of Ushavadata.{{sfn|Upinder Singh|2008|p=383}}<br />
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==See also==<br />
* [[Nasik inscription of Ushavadata]]<br />
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== References ==<br />
{{reflist}}<br />
<br />
=== Bibliography ===<br />
{{ref begin}}<br />
* {{cite book |author=Andrew Ollett |title=Language of the Snakes: Prakrit, Sanskrit, and the Language Order of Premodern India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aNA1DwAAQBAJ&pg=PP1 |year=2017 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-29622-0 }}<br />
* {{cite book |author=N. B. Divatia |title=Gujarati Language and Literature |publisher= Asian Educational Services |year=1993 |isbn= 81-206-0648-5 }}<br />
* {{cite book |author=Upinder Singh |title=A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H3lUIIYxWkEC&pg=PA383 |year=2008 |publisher=Pearson Education India |isbn=978-81-317-1120-0 }}<br />
* {{cite book |author-last=Senart |author-first=E. |author-link=Émile Senart |editor-last=Hultzsch |editor-first=R. |editor-link=E. Hultzsch |date=1906 |title=Epigraphia Indica |volume=8 |url=https://archive.org/details/EpigraphiaIndica/Epigraphia_Indica |location=Kolkata |publisher=Government of India Central Printing Office |isbn=978-1-246-36021-9 }}<br />
{{ref end}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:2nd-century Indian people]]<br />
[[Category:Year of birth missing]]<br />
[[Category:Year of death missing]]<br />
[[Category:Converts to Hinduism]]<br />
[[Category:Western Satraps]]</div>->Antiquistik