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[[Prabhavatigupta|Prabhavati]], known for her strong personality, played a significant role in influencing the policies of the Vakataka court, especially given the amiable temperament of her father-in-law, [[Prithivishena I|Prithvishena I]], and the weakness of her husband, [[Rudrasena II]]. After Rudrasena II's death around 380-385 CE, [[Prabhavatigupta|Prabhavati]] became the regent for her two minor sons, Divakarasena and [[Damodarasena]], further strengthening Gupta influence. Her regency continued until around 410 CE when [[Damodarasena]] assumed the throne as [[Damodarasena|Pravarasena]].<ref name=":4" /> | [[Prabhavatigupta|Prabhavati]], known for her strong personality, played a significant role in influencing the policies of the Vakataka court, especially given the amiable temperament of her father-in-law, [[Prithivishena I|Prithvishena I]], and the weakness of her husband, [[Rudrasena II]]. After Rudrasena II's death around 380-385 CE, [[Prabhavatigupta|Prabhavati]] became the regent for her two minor sons, Divakarasena and [[Damodarasena]], further strengthening Gupta influence. Her regency continued until around 410 CE when [[Damodarasena]] assumed the throne as [[Damodarasena|Pravarasena]].<ref name=":4" /> | ||
== Samudragupta's Aryavarta campaigns == | |||
{{See also|Samudragupta}} | |||
=== Conquest of Central India by Samudragupta (r. 336–380 CE) === | |||
[[File:SamudraguptaCoin.png|thumb|Coin of Samudragupta, with [[Garuda]] pillar, emblem of [[Gupta Empire]]. The name [[File:Gupta_ashoka_s.svg|12x12px]][[File:Gupta_ashoka_mu.jpg|14x14px]][[File:Gupta_ashoka_ddrr.jpg|13x13px]] ''Sa-mu-dra'' in an early version of the Gupta [[Brahmi script]], appears vertically under the left arm of the king.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Allen |first1=John |url=https://archive.org/details/in.gov.ignca.47214 |title=Catalogue of the coins of the Gupta dynasties |date=1914 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/in.gov.ignca.47214/page/n123 1]-2}}</ref>]] | |||
: Some scholars believe that the term "Shaka-Murundas" refers to a single entity. For example, scholars such as [[Sten Konow]] assert that "Murunda" is a [[Shakas|Shaka]] title meaning "lord"; the [[Kushans]] also used similar titles (for example, [[Kanishka]] is titled a "muroda" in his Zeda inscription).{{sfn|Agrawal|1989|p=123}} | |||
: Other scholars, such as [[K. P. Jayaswal]], believe that Shakas and Murundas are two different groups of people.{{sfn|Agrawal|1989|p=123}} According to this theory, Shakas here most probably refers to the [[Western Kshatrapa]] rulers of [[Ujjain]].{{sfn|Sharma|1989|p=89}} Jayaswal notes that the ''[[Puranas]]'' mention the rule of 13 Murunda kings, and [[Hemachandra]]'s ''Abhidhana-Chintamani'' describes Murunda as people of [[Lampaka]] (in present-day Afghanistan). However, Agrwal points out that these sources are of relatively late origin, and it is possible that a branch of the Shakas had come to be known as "Murundas".{{sfn|Agrawal|1989|p=123}}[[File:Allahabad pillar Samudragupta inscription Shaka word in Line 23.jpg|thumb|The vanquished "Śaka" ([[File:Gupta_allahabad_sh.svg|15px]][[File:Gupta_allahabad_k.svg|15px]]) mentioned by Samudragupta in the [[Allahabad pillar]] (Line 23) probably refer to the [[Saka]] ruler [[Sridharavarman]] in Central India.<ref name="CII4">{{cite book |last1=Mirashi |first1=Vasudev Vishnu |title=Corpus inscriptionum indicarum vol.4 pt.2 Inscriptions of the Kalachuri Chedi Era |date=1955 |publisher=Archaeological Society of India |pages=605–611 |url=https://archive.org/details/in.gov.ignca.3725/page/n321}}</ref>]] | |||
=== Battle of Eran === | |||
: The exact location of the Shakas mentioned in Samudragupta's inscription is not certain. [[Vincent Arthur Smith|V. A. Smith]] identified them with the [[Western Kshatrapas]], who controlled the western [[Malwa]] and [[Saurashtra (region)|Saurashtra]] regions. [[D. R. Bhandarkar]] alternatively identified the Shaka-Murunda ruler with [[Shridhara-varman]], a Shaka ruler whose inscriptions have been discovered at [[Sanchi]] ([[Kanakerha inscription]]) and [[Eran]].<ref name="CII4" /> Eran then came under the direct control of Samudragupta, as attested by his Eran inscription.{{sfn|Agrawal|1989|p=123}}<ref name="CII4" /> | |||
: The Central Indian region around [[Vidisha]], [[Sanchi]] and [[Eran]] had been occupied by a Saka ruler named [[Sridharavarman]], who his known from the [[Kanakerha inscription]] at Sanchi, and another inscription with his Naga general at Eran.<ref name="Shaw 58">Buddhist Landscapes in Central India: Sanchi Hill and Archaeologies of Religious and Social Change, c. Third Century BC to Fifth Century AD, Julia Shaw, Routledge, 2016 [https://books.google.com/books?id=IUbUDAAAQBAJ&pg=PR58 p58-59]</ref> At [[Eran]], it seems that Sridharavarman's inscription is succeeded by a monument and an inscription by [[Gupta Empire|Gupta King]] [[Samudragupta]] (r.336-380 CE), established "for the sake of augmenting his fame", who may therefore have ousted Sridharavarman's Sakas in his campaigns to the West.<ref>"During the course of this expedition he is believed to have attacked and defeated the Saka Chief Shridhar Varman, ruling over Eran-Vidisha region. He then annexed the area and erected a monument at Eran (modern Sagar District) "for the sake cf augmenting his fame"." in {{cite book |last1=Pradesh (India) |first1=Madhya |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7CYLAQAAIAAJ |title=Madhya Pradesh: District Gazetteers |last2=Krishnan |first2=V. S. |date=1982 |publisher=Government Central Press |page=28 |language=en}}</ref> Sridharavarman is probably the "Saka" ruler mentioned in the [[Allahabad pillar]] inscription of Samudragupta, as having "paid homage" to the Gupta king,<ref name="CII42">{{cite book |last1=Mirashi |first1=Vasudev Vishnu |url=https://archive.org/details/in.gov.ignca.3725/page/n321 |title=Corpus inscriptionum indicarum vol.4 pt.2 Inscriptions of the Kalachuri Chedi Era |date=1955 |publisher=Archaeological Society of India |pages=605–611}}</ref> forced to "self-surrender, offering (their own) daughters in marriage and a request for the administration of their own districts and provinces".<ref>Lines 23-24 of the [[Allahabad pillar]] inscription of Samudragupta: "Self-surrender, offering (their own) daughters in marriage and a request for the administration of their own districts and provinces through the Garuḍa badge, by the [[Kushan Empire|Dēvaputra-Shāhi-Shāhānushāhi]] and the Śaka lords and by (rulers) occupying all Island countries, such as Siṁhala and others."</ref> | |||
==Reference== | ==Reference== | ||
{{reflist}} | {{reflist}} | ||