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{{about||the mythological person|Yaudheya (Mahabharat)}}
{{Infobox country
| conventional_long_name = Yaudheya
| name =
| image_map = South Asia historical AD375 EN.svg
| map_caption = Yaudheyas (in the north-west) and their contemporaries as part of the [[Gupta Empire]] around 375 CE
| image_map2 = File:Indian tribes between the Indus and the Ganges.jpg
| map_caption2 = Location of the Yaudheya relative to other groups: the Audumbaras, the Vemakas, the Vrishnis, the Kunindas, the Pauravas and the Arjunayanas.
| capital = [[Rohtak|Khokhrakot]]
| government_type = [[Republic]]
| year_end = 4th century CE
| year_start = 5th century BCE
}}'''Yaudheya''' or '''Yoddheya Gana (Yoddheya Republic)''' was an ancient militant confederation. The word Yaudheya is a derivative of the word from yodha meaning [[warriors]].<ref name="Yaudheyas 1998, pp. 1122">“Yaudheyas.” Ancient Communities of the Himalaya, by Dinesh Prasad. Saklani, Indus Pub. Co., 1998, pp. 112–115.</ref><ref>Smith, V. (1897). Art. XXIX.—The Conquests of Samudra Gupta. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 29(4), 859-910. doi:10.1017/S0035869X0002503X</ref> They were principally [[kshatriya]] renowned for their skills in warfare, as inscribed in the [[Junagadh rock inscription of Rudradaman]] by the [[Indo-Scythian]] ruler [[Rudradaman]] of the [[Western Satraps]]. The Yaudheyas emerged in the 5th century BCE and governed independently until being incorporated into the [[Maurya Empire]]. Following the disintegration of the Maurya Empire, the Yaudheyas regained autonomy and ruled as contemporaries to the [[Shunga Empire]] and [[Indo-Greek Kingdoms]], and minted their own coinage. However, they were conquered by the [[Western Satraps|Kshatraps]] led by Rudradaman, and although briefly winning independence, they were then annexed by the [[Kushan Empire]] under [[Kanishka]].<ref name="Yaudheyas 1998, pp. 1122"/> The Yaudheya Republic reformed and flourished up to the middle to the 4th century when it was ultimately conquered by [[Samudragupta]] and incorporated into the [[Gupta Empire]] until being disestablished.<ref name="Yaudheyas 1998, pp. 1122"/>

== Geography ==
The Yaudheyas formed in the land between the [[Indus river]] and the [[Ganges river]], called '''Bahudhanyaka,''' with their capital in [[Khokrakot]] ([[Rohtak]]).{{cn|date=April 2020}} Bahudhanyaka was originally composed of modern-day Haryana. Early Yaudheya coins were additionally found in [[Punjab|East Punjab]], and [[Rajasthan|North Rajasthan]], and [[Western Uttar Pradesh]]. They also governed [[Garhwal division|Garhwal]], [[Kumaon division|Kumaon]], and [[Himachal Pradesh]], in their later military campaigns.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tK5y4iPArKQC&q=yaudheya+rohtak&pg=PA115|title=Ancient Communities of the Himalaya|last=Saklani|first=Dinesh Prasad|date=1998|publisher=Indus Publishing|isbn=9788173870903}}</ref> Yaudheya coins have been excavated as far as [[Bahawalpur]] in [[Pakistan]].

In the [[Mahabharata]], the land Bahudhanyaka is stated to be among the countries subjugated by [[Nakula]], the fourth [[Pandava]] in his conquest. Bahudhanyaka was the first to fall in Nakulas in of the western direction toward [[Sakastan]], which agrees with the [[Rohtak]]-[[Hisar (city)|Hisar]] area.<ref name="Bharadwaj 1986">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_5MtAAAAMAAJ&q=Bahudhanyaka|title=Studies in the Historical Geography of Ancient India|last=Bharadwaj|first=O. P.|date=1986|publisher=Sundeep Prakashan|isbn=9788185055893}}</ref>

[[Varahamihira]] in his Brihatsamhita (XIV.28 and XVI.22) placed them in the northern division of India.

==Literature==
Puranas (e.g. Brahmanda, Vayu, Brahma and Harivamsha) described Yaudheyas as the descendants of [[Usinara]] and Nrigu.<ref>Pargiter, F.E. ''Ancient Indian Historical Tradition'' Motilal Banarasidass, Delhi, 1972 pp.109</ref>

There are other references to them namely in the [[Mahabharata]], Mahamayuri, [[Brihat-Samhita|Brihatsamhita]], [[Puranas]], Chandravyakarana and Kashika.

In the [[Mahabharata]], the land Bahudhanyaka is stated to be among the countries subjugated by [[Nakula]], the fourth [[Pandava]]. Bahudhanyaka was the first to fall to Nakulas conquest in of the western direction toward [[Sakastan]], which agrees with the [[Rohtak]]-[[Hisar (city)|Hisar]] area.<ref name="Bharadwaj 1986"/>

[[Varahamihira]] in his Brihatsamhita (XIV.28 and XVI.22) placed them in the northern division of India.

They are mentioned in [[Pāṇini|Pāṇini's]] [[Ashtadhyayi]] and [[Ganapatha]].

==History==

=== Rise of the Republic ===
[[File:Late Vedic Culture (1100-500 BCE).png|thumb|Late Vedic Culture (1100-500_BCE)]]
The Yaudheyas emerged as an entity following the decline of the [[Kuru Kingdom]] (c. 1200 BCE–c. 525 BCE). The Yaudheyas would eventually encompass the land formerly belonging to the Kurus, including their former capitals [[Indraprastha]], [[Hastinapur]], and [[Assandh|Āsandīvat]]. The Kuru Kingdom which was the prominent power in the [[Vedic age]] fell in importance when compared to the other [[Mahajanapadas]].

The earliest references of the existence of the Yaudheyas is in [[Pāṇini]]'s [[Ashtadhyayi]] (V.3.116-17 and IV.1.178) of (c.500 BCE) and the [[Ganapatha]]. In his works the Yaudheyas are mentioned as ''ayudha-jivin sanghas'' i.e., a community living by the profession of arms.<ref name="Yaudheyas 1998, pp. 1122"/>

The region of Bahudhanyaka was ruled by the Yaudheyas who minted coins bearing the legend 'Bahudhanyaka Yaudheyanam'.
<br />[[File:YaudheyaCoin.jpg |thumb|Coin of the Yaudheyas with depiction of Kumāra [[Karttikeya]], 1st century BCE, [[Punjab]].]]

=== [[Maurya Empire]] ===
The Yaudheyas were incorporated into the [[Maurya Empire]] by [[Chandragupta Maurya]]. They also annexed the [[Pauravas]]. Chandragupta, under the tutelage of [[Chanakya]], won over local kingdoms and republics in Punjab before conquering the [[Nanda Empire]]. Chandragupta heavily relied on the Yaudheya Gana in his campaigns.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jbjT9GG__nEC&q=maurya+yaudheya&pg=PA269|title=India: From Indus Valley Civlization to Mauryas|last=Gupta|first=Gyan Swarup|date=1999|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|isbn=9788170227632}}</ref> His military had a high representation of the Yaudheya Gana and similar republicans. Additionally, Yaudheya elites and chiefs in were appointed government positions.

As recorded in the Bijoygarh inscription commissioned around Ashokas reign, the Yaudheya-gana-puraskrta appointed a chief who held the title of Maharaja-Senapati.<ref name=":1" /> This chief of the Yaudheya republic was appointed the [[Senapati|Mahasenapati]] or 'Great Commander of the Army' for the Mauryan military. The [[Arthashastra]] written by Chanakya described the senapati as adept in all modes of warfare (sarvayudha), all weapons (praharana), possessing modesty and restraint (vidyavinita), and capable of controlling all four wings of the army (chaturangini sena).

=== Post Maurya Empire ===
Yaudheyas mention military victories on their coins ("Victory of the Yaudheyas"), soon after the [[Maurya Empire]]. It is thought the Yaudheyas had become an independent kingdom at that point, and existed concurrently with the [[Shunga Empire]] and [[Indo-Greek Kingdoms]].<ref>"Most of the people east of the Ravi already noticed as within Menander's empire -Audumbaras, Trigartas, Kunindas, Yaudheyas, Arjunayanas- began to coins in the first century BC, which means that they had become independent kingdoms or republics.", Tarn, The Greeks in Bactria and India [https://books.google.com/books?id=-HeJS3nE9cAC&pg=PA324 p.324].</ref>

In the second and first century BC the Yaudheyas occupied the [[Haryana]] (''Bahudhanyaka'') portion of [[Greater Punjab]]; comprising [[Rohtak]], [[Hisar (city)|Hissar]], [[Karnal]] and [[Gurugram]], as well as the adjoining desert of [[Marwar]].<ref name=":0" />

===Defeat against the Western Satraps (2nd century CE)===
During the second century CE, the Yaudheya gana confronted the [[Indo-Scythians]] but they were annexed by [[Rudradaman I]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6n7vV0eiS3YC&q=yaudheya&pg=PA47|title=Haryana: Past and Present|last=Sharma|first=Suresh K.|date=2006-02-01|publisher=Mittal Publications|isbn=9788183240468|language=en}}</ref>

The [[Junagadh rock inscription of Rudradaman]] (c. 150 CE)<ref>[http://projectsouthasia.sdstate.edu/Docs/HISTORY/PRIMARYDOCS/EPIGRAPHY/JunagadhRockInscription.htm Junagadh Rock Inscription of Rudradaman I], accessed on 23 March 2007.</ref> acknowledged the military might of the Yaudheyas "who would not submit because they were proud of their title "heroes among the [[Kshatriya]]s"", although the inscription claims that they were ultimately vanquished by Rudradaman.<ref>Rosenfield, "The dynastic art of the Kushans", p132</ref><ref>Rapson, "A catalogue of the Indian coins in the British Museum", p.lx</ref>

{{quote|Rudradaman (...) who by force destroyed the Yaudheyas who were loath to submit, rendered proud as they were by having manifested their' title of' heroes among all Kshatriyas.|Junagadh rock inscription<ref>[http://projectsouthasia.sdstate.edu/Docs/HISTORY/PRIMARYDOCS/EPIGRAPHY/JunagadhRockInscription.htm Source]</ref>}}

Despite this devastating conflict, the Yaudheyas retained an identity within the Satrapy and eventually won independence from the Indo-Scythians.

===Kushan Empire===
[[File:Huvishka Maaseno.jpg|thumb|Coin of [[Kushan]] ruler [[Huvishka]] (152-192 CE), featuring [[Maaseno]], the incarnation of the [[Karttikeya]] of the Yaudheyas.]]
It is thought that the [[Kushans]] then became suzerains of the Yaudheyas when they endeavored to hold the [[Mathura]] area.<ref name="Pal">Indian Sculpture: Circa 500 B.C.-A.D. 700, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Pratapaditya Pal, University of California Press, 1986, p.78 [https://books.google.com/books?id=clUmKaWRFTkC&pg=PA78]</ref> An indication is the fact that the Kushan ruler [[Huvishka]] featured [[Maaseno]] on his coins, the Kushan incarnation of the Hindu god [[Karttikeya]], or [[Kartikeya|Skanda]], whose epithet was "[[Kartikeya|Mahasena]]". This god being particularly important to the Yaudheyas, it may have been incorporated into Kushan coinage when the Kushans expanded into Yaudheya territory.<ref>[https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=231327 Classical Numismatics Group]</ref><ref name="Pal"/>

In [[Kanishka|Kanishka's]] rock [[Rabatak inscription]], he describes campaigning into "the realm of the [[kshatriyas]]" in India, which presumably includes the Yaudheya's territories. Furthermore, Kanishka refers to commissioning statue of various local Iranian and Indian deities, including the deity Mahasena or Mahaseno ([[Kartikeya]]) which was the chief deity of the Yaudheyas and was often depicted in their coinage.
{{quote| '''(Line 4)''' In the year one it has been proclaimed unto India, unto the *whole of the realm of the *kshatriyas..."}}
{{quote| '''(Lines 10-11)''' ...and he is called Maaseno... and he likewise gave orders to make images of these gods who are written above..."|[[Rabatak inscription]] of Kanishka}}

===Feudatories of the Gupta Empire===
[[File:Bijayagadh inscription of the Yaudheyas.jpg|thumb|400px|Bijayagadh inscription of the Yaudheyas. The undated inscription reads "Perfection has been attained! Of the Maharaja and Mahasenapati, who has been made the leader of the Yaudheya tribe,... and having asked the settlement, headed by the [[Brahman]]s, as to the health of (their) bodies etc..., writes "There is ....."."<ref name="CII">Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum Vol 3 [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.358795 p251]</ref>]]
{{main|Allahabad Pillar#Samudragupta inscriptions}}
The name of the Yaudheyas is later mentioned in the Allahabad pillar inscription of the [[Gupta Empire]] ruler [[Samudragupta]], as submitting to his rule.<ref name="CII"/>

{{quote|'''(Lines 22–23)''' ([[Samudragupta]], whose) formidable rule was propitiated with the payment of all tributes, execution of orders and visits (to his court) for obeisance by such frontier rulers as those of [[Samatata|Samataṭa]], [[Ḍavāka]], [[Kamarupa|Kāmarūpa]], [[Nepala|Nēpāla]], and [[Kartṛipura]], and, by the [[Malavas|Mālavas]], [[Arjunayanas|Ārjunāyanas]], [[Yaudheyas|Yaudhēyas]], [[Mādrakas]], [[Abhiras|Ābhīras]], Prārjunas, Sanakānīkas, Kākas, Kharaparikas and other (''tribes'')."|[[Allahabad Pillar#Samudragupta inscription|Allahabad pillar of Samudragupta]]}}

==Numismatic evidences==
<gallery mode="packed">
Karttikeya With Spear And Cock in a coin of Yaudheyas.jpg | Kumāra Karttikeya with [[vel]] and [[rooster]], coin of the Yaudheyas
SixHeadedKarttikeyaYaudheyaCoin.jpg | Six-headed [[Karttikeya]] on a Yaudheya coin. [[British Museum]].
Karttikeya shrine with anteloppe in a coin of Yaudheyas Punjab 2nd century CE.jpg | [[Karttikeya]] shrine with antelope. Yaudheya, Punjab, 2nd century CE
File:Yaudheyas. Circa 3rd-4th Century AD.jpg|Coin of the Yaudheyas. Circa 3rd-4th Century CE.
</gallery>

The Yaudheyas only utilized [[Brahmi script]] on their coins and seals.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=chGrJUMarHoC&q=yaudheya&pg=PA26|title=Indian Numismatic Studies|last=Bajpai|first=K. D.|date=October 2004|publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn=9788170170358}}</ref>

[[Alexander Cunningham]] divided the Yaudheya coins into two distinctive kinds; the older and smaller class A coins dating from before the 1st century BCE, and the larger Class B coins from the 3rd century CE during the decline of the [[Indo-Scythians|Indo-Scythian]] power.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/reportatourinpu00cunngoog|page=[https://archive.org/details/reportatourinpu00cunngoog/page/n155 142]|quote=yaudheyas.|title=Report of a Tour in the Punjab in 1878-79|last=Cunningham|first=Sir Alexander|date=1882|publisher=Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing}}</ref> Cunningham states that the later coins evidently copied from the Indo-Scythians money.

[[John Allan (numismatist)|John Allan]] classified Yaudheya coins into six classes, while [[Vincent Arthur Smith]] previously gave three types. The classification used by Allen has been mostly followed by scholars till today.

Yaudheya coins were found in the ancient capital of [[Khokrakot]] (modern [[Rohtak]]), and [[Naurangabad, Bhiwani|Naurangabad]].{{cn|date=April 2020}}

Based on the early coins produced by the Yaudheyas, it can be safely said that [[Karttikeya]] was considered their [[Iṣṭa-devatā]].

===Footnotes===
{{reflist|30em}}

===Further reading===
* Dasgupta, K.K. ''A Tribal History of Ancient India: A Numismatic Approach'', Calcutta, 1974.
* Lahiri, Bela ''Indigenous States of Northern India (Circa 200 B.C. - 320 A.D.)'', University of Calcutta, 1974.

[[Category:Ancient Indian culture]]

Yaudheya - Revision history

imported>Rancid Boar: Corrected the hyperlink to the appropriate page