Chapter On« the PR^,SFNT and ANCIF-NT BOUNUARIF.S OF
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■n',- ‘ ♦ Chapter On« THE PR^,SFNT AND ANCIF-NT BOUNUARIF.S OF KADHYAPRADKSH The word ^^.adhyapr&desh Itself connotes that the region is in the midst of India. It is bounded by iJihar and Orissa on the east, Khandesh and a part of Central India on the west. Central India, on the north and the GodSvari and the PaingangS on the south. Originally the region was not called Madhyapradesh. It is a cluster of different states and was never ruled by one king. Kodern Madhyapradesh was shaped after the advent of the British regime. Today a considerable portion of the country, lying between the laardhff, T5pi and the PaingaAgS is called Vidarbha. ”The Madhyapradesh excluding the districts of Sagar and Jabalpur that is below the NarmadS was included in * Dakshinfipatha^. * Dakshii^Spatha* covered the coun> tries between the NariRadS and the K^fnS. This term was thus applied in the centuries preceding and infflediately following the Christian era." The Aitareya Brfifunaijia describes Bhima, the king of Vidarbha. The region is mentioned in the Jalminlya 3 4 Upanisad BrShmana. The Brhadlranvaka Upanlsad mentions. ^ Kane, P .V ., JASB XXIV, 621. 2 V II.34. 5 11.440. ^ Vedic Index. 11.297. a sage named Vldarbhl Kaundinya. This name is appa rently derived from the city of Kundina, the capital of Vidarbha. The Praanopanli^d ^ refers to a sage of Vidarbha named fihSrgava as a contemporary of A^valSyana. The Nasik cave inscription of VSsi^^hiputra Pulumfivi mentions Vidarbha. This is perhaps the earliest epi- graphical reference to Vidarbha. 6 The KahlbhSrata describes it, as an ancient and renowned kingdom in the Deccan with Kun^ina on the banks of the Varadfi as its capital. 7 "Vidarbha was one of the most ancient renowned kingdoms. It comprised the valley of the Payo^nl, the modern PurnSi and the middle portion of the TSpI. It corresponded to the western part of the modern Berar and the valley country west of that.” B h P J a The Aitareva Drfihmana mentions BhOJas. The Matsya Purina^ tells us that they were the kindreds of the 5 1 .1 ., I I . 1. ^ III 57.17. 7 Ma^rkandeya. 57.47*. Pargiter, F.E., Bib. Ind., ® V III.14. 9 Matsva. U .3 6 ; V8vu. 95.35.36. southern realm of Vidarbha. We have evidence of a closer connection between the Bhojas and the Vidarbha. A place named Bhojakata is included within this country, by the Harivamea.^^ The Chammak grant of the VSkl^aka king Pravarasena II makes it clear that the Bhojakata Amravati territory included, the .fioxoBCXtxic district in Berar, a part of ancient Vidarbha.' The Bhojas are mentioned in 11 12 the Asokan inscriptions. The BhSrhut Stupa has an inscription commemorating a donation from a nun of Bhojakata. KSlidfisa in his Raghuvamsa^^ calls the king of Vidarbha a BhOJa. Nimar and the adjoining part of the district were 14 included in the ancient Avanti. The PurSnas style the first dynasty of the country as Haihaya.^^ The Kaihayas are said to have overthrown the NIgas, the aboriginal 16 inhabitants of the NannadS region. In the fourth century B.C. Avanti formed an integral part of the Magadhan Empire. Vi^nup^rva, 60.32 Hultssch, CII I. 44. Cunnigham, BhSrhut Stupa. 123. 13 V .39-40. The Ajge of Imperial Unity. 13* 15 Katsya 43.^.29 U , n i l , 8fi4.85; Bom. Gag.. 1.2.313, etc. The southern portion of the ancient Chedi com- Jabfelpur Segar prised the -TiiKKi.i ^nd Saufjor districts. The Chedis were one of the most ancient tribes of India* The country of the Chedis corresponded roughly to the modern bundelkhand and some adjoining parts of Madhyapradesh. 17 The Chedi people are mentioned in the Rigveda. In the mediaeval period, the southern frontiers of Chedi extended to the banks of Namadfi. The remaining portion of the province was occupied by the non-Aryan tribes such as the ^abaras, Pulindas, Andhras, etc. The Sabaras inhabited in the south-east 19 portion of the district of Raipur. The Pulindas in- 20 habited the Man^lfi region. The Pfirindas mentioned in the Asokan edicts were identified by Biihler with the 21 Pulindas. They also occur in the Katsya and VSvu 22 Puranas. The Kalinga kings 23 exercised suserainty over the Jungle tribes, inhabiting the Aiaarakantaka ranges. 5 . 3f 7 . 3 9 . ^^Ait.Br..' VII.Ifi. ^^JASB LIX, 1890.289. ^°Hultasch, CII I, 2 3 . ^Wtsya. 114.48. ^^VSvu. 55.126. ^^Kurrna, 11.39.9; VSvu. 77.4.13* In th« Vtk&taka period the region encircling Kandla was called 'Mekala*. The Vindhya is also known by this name. The river NarmadS is called ^Mekala- kanyl», as it rises from this region. The word <>;ekala» first q e c w in the inscription of Prithviseija 11.^^ The Chhattisgadh area is called *Kosala*. This »Kosala» is to the south of ancient »Kosala». The *Kosala* which is mentioned in Balaghat plates of PrithTisena II comprised the Raipur, Bilaspur and Saabal- pur region. The Asokan edicts refer to the Bhojas and Pulindas but they do not mention any king of this area. The Rupanatha edict indicates that A ^k a 's empire embraced the northern part of the province vis. the ;^egar Jabalpur Migax and ibdiitstkinHt districts. After the Kaurya rule the ^uhgas claimed the 25 suzerainty over **ldarbha. The MglavikSgnimitram refers to Tajnasena as a king of Vidarbha. We have no evidence of the Indo-Greeks in Madhya- pradesh. ^ 9, 271. MaiavikSgnimitram. V.13. In the early part of the second century A .D., the SStavShana sovereign ruler Gautamlputra Satakarni held sway over the country. Ke Is described as the lord of the Vindhya. The Junagarh inscription of Rudradfiman dated A.D. 150 records the victory of Rudra- daman over S&takarni, the lord of DaksinSpatha, who was also a lord of Vidarbha. Ive have no records of the SStavShanas from this area, but coins issued by the kings, SStakar^i, PulumSvi, Tajna SStakarni and Krsna Sfitakarni have been discovered in the Chanda district* A hoard of £>Itavahana coins was discovered at Tarhala near Mangrula In the Akola 26 district. They bear the names of SStakarni, PulumSvi, l^ivasri Pulumavi, Skanda SStakarni, Yajna SStakarni, Kumbha Sfitakarni, Krsna SStakarni, ^aka SStakarni. The successors of Tajna Sfitakarni nif^t have extended the Sfitavfihana empire in the eastern Madhyapradesh. Accord ing to Nasik Prasasti, it seems that Gautamiputra held direct sway over Vidarbha and a nominal suzerainty over the remaining part of Madhyapradesh. A copper coin of the king ^ivasri Xpll&ka discovered in Chhattisgadh possibly indicates that ’ iiaksina Kosala* was once under the Sfitavfihana kings. 26 JNSI 11.63. Khgravela 27 Khfiravela was the contemporary of Sltakarnl 1. He subdued the Bhojakas. The Gunji rock inscription refers to the reign of the illustrious KujD&raTaradatta • The characters of the inscription are BrShmi, resembling in a general way to those of the Kasik inscription of UshavadSta. This is the earliest inscription of the region mentioning a royal name, found in Chhattisgarh. But it laentions neither the family nor any ancestors of the king Kum&ravaradatta. The Guptas Samudragupta conquered the *AtavlrSJyas* i.e . the hilly tracts of the Vindhyas. He also defeated king llahendra of Kosala. The Eran stone inscription men> Sagar tione ancient F.riki^a. The and Jabalpur region was under the rule of Samudragupta Frabhfivatiguptfi, the daughter of Chandragupta II was married to the VSkl^aka king Rudrasena II. The VSka^akas The VSkStakas were the most important power in 27 ' El IX, 71. 8 Kadhyapradesh. Their copper plates supply us with some details about the political and cultural history, administra tive units and officers, names of places and Brfihmanas with their gotras and Vedic sakhSs. There were sixteen rulers of the two branches of the VSkS^akas. From the adninistrative units and places mentioned in the epigraphs, it seems that Amravfiti the districts of ikD090!b6r, ^ardha, Nagpur, Chindwada, Balaghat Betul and oacktoxk were included in the dominion of the Vfikla^akas. One of the records has been found at Nachna in Bundclakhand division, and the other at Ganja, in the same region. It is evident that the VSkfi^akas extended their eiapire ov«r this tract. Pravarasena I is described as Samrat. Karendrasena*s command is said to have been honoured by the kinie cf Kosala Kekala and KSlava. The charter of Vindhya^akti XI issued from Vatsagulraa records the grant of a village in the region of Nftndikata, wf-ich has been identified with Nanded in KiarathawS^a region. It seems that the dominion of Vindhya^akti cotr.prised the couthex*n frin.^e of Eerar and the northern districts of KarB^ha* -wSdl, probably with some of the adjoining regions. Harife^^a \fbo belonged to Bsslm branch of the VSkStakas w&c one of the most powerful rulers of the age. He defeated the kings of ^untala, Avanti, TTosala, Triknta and I.ata. The VSka^akas were the lovers of learning and patrons of art and literature. The celebrated *Vaidarbhi riti* flourished at the coiirt <if these kings. S<xo» magnificent cavea at Ajanta were excavated during the reign of Harieena. The VlkStakas ruled froa about the middle of the third to about the middle of the sixth century, A.JD. Deotek inscription 26 is the only lithic record of this family. Some of the letters of this inscription resetuble in many cases to those of the Girnar edicts of Asoka. 'itie tarabhapurlyas The Sarabhapuriyas ruled in the.closinr decades of the fifth century to the third quarter of the sixth century. We have nine copper plates of these kings.