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→Toramana's campaign
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[[Toramana]] emerged as a formidable and charismatic leader with exceptional military skills. His dominance over rival [[Huns|Hunnic]] factions, forcing them into subordinate roles, and his strategic establishment of Parvatikā on the [[Chenab River|Chenab]] (Candrabhaga) River in [[Punjab]] as his operational base underscore his tactical acumen.<ref name=":5" /> His rapid military campaigns resulted in the conquest of large areas of northern and western India within a few years, culminating in the construction of the [[Goparaja]] funereal monument in AD 510.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=Bakker |first=Hans T. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uDxTzQEACAAJ |title=The Alkhan: A Hunnic People in South Asia |date=2020-03-12 |publisher=Barkhuis |isbn=978-94-93194-00-7 |pages=71–72 |language=en |quote=Alkhan invasion in Western India in first year of the reign of Mahārājādhirāja Toramāna First battle of Eran (Betwā Valley), in which [[Mātṛviṣṇu]] is probably killed. His younger brother Dhanyavisnu installs a Varāhamūrti in Eran (SB X.032).}}</ref> | [[Toramana]] emerged as a formidable and charismatic leader with exceptional military skills. His dominance over rival [[Huns|Hunnic]] factions, forcing them into subordinate roles, and his strategic establishment of Parvatikā on the [[Chenab River|Chenab]] (Candrabhaga) River in [[Punjab]] as his operational base underscore his tactical acumen.<ref name=":5" /> His rapid military campaigns resulted in the conquest of large areas of northern and western India within a few years, culminating in the construction of the [[Goparaja]] funereal monument in AD 510.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=Bakker |first=Hans T. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uDxTzQEACAAJ |title=The Alkhan: A Hunnic People in South Asia |date=2020-03-12 |publisher=Barkhuis |isbn=978-94-93194-00-7 |pages=71–72 |language=en |quote=Alkhan invasion in Western India in first year of the reign of Mahārājādhirāja Toramāna First battle of Eran (Betwā Valley), in which [[Mātṛviṣṇu]] is probably killed. His younger brother Dhanyavisnu installs a Varāhamūrti in Eran (SB X.032).}}</ref> | ||
== Battle == | |||
[[File:Eran archaeological site map, 1880 sketch.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.3|{{center|Eran archaeological site map, 1880 sketch]]}} | |||
This conflict, which [[Hans T. Bakker|Bakker]] refers to as the First Hunnic War, began with a campaign led by [[Toramana]] around AD 498. The [[Alchon|Alkhan]] king invaded the [[Doab#The_Doab|Ganga–Yamuna Doab]], capturing [[Mathura]], crossing the [[Yamuna]] near [[Kalpi]] (Kalapriyanatha), and advancing south into the [[Betwa]] valley to attack the western territories of the [[Gupta Empire]].<ref name=":2" /> The [[Eran]] Pillar inscription of [[Budhagupta]] from Gupta Year 165 (AD 484) mentions Suraśmicandra, the Gupta viceroy of these territories, who claimed to govern the region between the [[Ganga]] and [[Narmada]] rivers. Suraśmicandra confronted [[Toramana]] alongside [[Budhagupta]] in the battle.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bakker |first=Hans |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6p2XCgAAQBAJ&dq=battle+of+Eran+Gupta+victory&pg=PA34 |title=The World of the Skandapurāṇa |date=2015-06-29 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-27714-4 |page=34 |language=en}}</ref> | |||
[[File:Eran Budhagupta inscription.jpg|250px|thumb|{{center|Budhagupta pillar inscription at Eran.]]}} | |||
The [[Budhagupta]] inscription is dated to 484–485 CE. It is a [[Vaishnava]] inscription. It describes that the Gupta kingdom stretched from Kalindi River to Narmada River, that the inscription marks the raising of a column in honour of [[Janardana]], another name of [[Vishnu]].{{sfn|Fleet|1960|p=[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.463254/page/n303 88]}} | |||
{{Quote|text=A. [Tibetan: H. = Hūṇa], having come from the West, was a great king. He occupied the banks of the Ganges up to the East. He was of Śūdra caste, a mahārāja of large army and great power. From his base on the Ganges, from all sides he invaded the city of the Gauḍas called Tīrtha and remained there as a powerful king. There that Kṣatriya boy with a merchant entered at night, and was acknowledged at the dawn by the Śūdra king, who then retired to Nandapura [=Pāṭaliputra] on the Ganges, and in Magadha installed that boy as king.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Balogh |first=Dániel |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=frnVDwAAQBAJ&q=hunnic+people+in+south+and+Central+India |title=Hunnic Peoples in Central and South Asia: Sources for their Origin and History |date=2020-03-12 |publisher=Barkhuis |isbn=978-94-93194-01-4 |pages=293–294 |language=en |quote="Jayaswal: H., the Śūdra from the western country who invaded Magadha and Gauḍa, seems to have been the Hūṇa Toramāṇa. Later, in verse 777 he is described as having enjoyed kingdoms of others. To the author of this passage, who probably lived in the seventh century or around the turn of the eighth, the remnants of the Huns in India who had become part of the population and who have come down in several castes to our own times, would have been easily regarded as Śūdras."}}</ref>|title=Installation of Pra[kaṭāditya] by H[ūṇa]|source=Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa}} | |||
[[File:Eran Budhagupta pillar built circa 476–495 CE.jpg|thumb|upright=1|left|{{center|The [[Buddhagupta]] pillar at Eran (c.476–495 CE), raised in honour of [[Janardana]], another name of [[Vishnu]].{{sfn|Fleet|1960|p=[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.463254/page/n303 88]}} On top is a double statue of [[Garuda]], holding a serpent in his hands, with a [[chakra]] wheel behind the head.<ref name="Indian Numismatic Studies">{{cite book |last1=Bajpai |first1=K. D. |title=Indian Numismatic Studies |date=2004 |publisher=Abhinav Publications |isbn=978-81-7017-035-8 |pages=19–20 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=chGrJUMarHoC&pg=PA19 |language=en}}</ref>]]}} | |||
The two powers eventually clashed in the fertile plains around [[Eran]], also known as Airikana, or the "Refreshing Fields," where the [[Betwa]] and [[Bina River (India)|Bina]] rivers meander. On the southern banks of the Bina, [[Budhagupta]] had overseen of a religious complex dedicated to [[Vishnu]], the [[Gupta Empire]]’s tutelary deity. In this area, two local feudatories, Maharaja [[Mātṛviṣṇu]] and his younger brother [[Dhanyaviṣṇu]], had constructed a twin temple, which was guarded by a 13-meter-high pillar, the 'Column of [[Janardana]]' (Vishnu/Krishna).<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Bakker |first=Hans T. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uDxTzQEACAAJ |title=The Alkhan: A Hunnic People in South Asia |date=2020-03-12 |publisher=Barkhuis |isbn=978-94-93194-00-7 |pages=73–75 |language=en}}</ref> | |||
The two inscriptions discovered at [[Eran]] provide valuable insight into the period. The first inscription, dated to 484 CE, records a pious construction by Maharaja [[Mātṛviṣṇu]] and his younger brother [[Dhanyaviṣṇu]] during the reign of [[Budhagupta]]. The second inscription, however, documents [[Dhanyaviṣṇu]]'s construction of a temple after his brother’s death, in the first year of Rajadhiraja Maharaja [[Toramana]] Sahi Jauvla's rule. This suggests that [[Dhanyaviṣṇu]], a prominent official, abandoned the Gupta emperor during this critical time to offer his allegiance to the [[Alchon Huns|Hunas]]. This shift in loyalty likely occurred sometime after 484 CE, but within a generation.<ref name=":6">{{Cite book |last=S. R. Goyal |url=https://archive.org/details/goyal-1967_202412 |title=A history of the Imperial Guptas. With a Foreword by R. C. Majumdar. |date=1967 |pages=341–342}}</ref> | |||
The Kuvayamālā, a jain work composed in 778 CE, mentions Harigupta, linked to the [[Gupta dynasty]], as the mentor of [[Toramana]]. It also notes another of his students, Devagupta, who is referred to as a royal sage ([[Rajarshi]]). Furthermore, copper coins found in the [[Ramnagar, Varanasi|Ramnagar]] area, which was part of the ancient [[Panchala]] region, suggest the presence of a ruler named Maharaja Harigupta, who is believed to have been active around 500 CE. Harigupta, likely a scion of the Gupta imperial family, is believed to have established himself in northern Panchala. The reasons for his potential alliance with the Huna invaders are not fully explained by the available historical sources.<ref>{{Cite book |last=S. R. Goyal |url=https://archive.org/details/goyal-1967_202412 |title=A history of the Imperial Guptas. With a Foreword by R. C. Majumdar. |date=1967 |pages=339–340 |quote=According to Altekar, the find-spot of these coins would suggest the possibility of the identity of Harigupta, the adviser of Toramana with Harigupta of these coins.}}</ref> | |||