Vindhyasena Explained

Dharma-Mahārāja
Succession:Vakataka king of Vatsagulma
Reign: – 400 CE
Predecessor:Sarvasena
Successor:Pravarasena II
House:Vakataka

Vindhyasena ([1]), also known as Vindhyashakti II,[2] was a ruler of the Vatsagulma branch of the Vakataka dynasty. He was the son and successor of Sarvasena I.

Vindhyasena seems to have enjoyed quite a long reign, as he issued a charter from his capital of Vatsagulma in his thirty-seventh regnal year.[3] The charter records the grant of a village in the Nandikata region which is identified with Nanded. An inscription at Ajanta from the time of Harishena, a later Vakataka monarch, records Vindhyasena's victory against the rulers of the Kuntala in northern Karnataka, likely the Kadambas.[4] Vindhyasena ruled over a fairly extensive kingdom that included the southern part of Berar (Vidarbha) and the districts of Nasik, Ahmednagar, Pune, and Satara,[5] as well as the Marathwada region.

Vindhyasena's contemporary to the north was his cousin Prithivishena I of the main Vakataka branch. The relationship between the two branches of the dynasty appears to have been quite cordial at this time, with the main branch probably enjoying a nominal overlordship over the Vatsagulma branch.[6] Prithivishena likely provided material aid to Vindhyasena as the latter carried out the conquest of the Kuntala country.[7] Upon his death, Vindhyasena was succeeded by his son Pravarasena II.

Notes and References

  1. Book: Shastri . Ajay Mitra . Vakatakas: Sources and History . 1997 . Aryan Books International . 9788173051234 . 212.
  2. Book: A.S. Altekar . Yazdani . Ghulam . The Early History of the Deccan . 1960 . Oxford University Press . 186.
  3. Book: D.C. Sircar . Majumdar . R.C. . The Classical Age . 1997 . Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan . 185 . Fifth.
  4. Book: Singh. Upinder. Upinder Singh. A history of ancient and early medieval India : from the Stone Age to the 12th century. 2009. Pearson Longman. New Delhi. 978-81-317-1677-9. 484. 10 August 2016.
  5. Book: A.S. Altekar . Majumdar . R.C. . Altekar . A.S. . The Vakataka-Gupta Age . 2007 . Motilal Banarsi Dass . 9788120800434 . 111.
  6. Altekar (2007), pp. 100, 111
  7. Altekar (1960), p. 172