Rise Of The Frontier Dynasties

The frontier dynasties were very important for us. The emergence of these dynasties was seen in the boundaries of India. One of the important dynasty was Palas. Palas was the great empire in Northern India established in 8th century in Bengal. The tripartite of Palas, Pratiharas, and Rashtrakutas were regularly fought battles for the sovereignty of Kannauj. The other dynasties were the Sena dynasty which replace the Pala dynasty after its downfall and the Kingdom of Kashmir in which Karkota, Utpala, and Lohara were important for us.  

The Pala dynasty:

Gopala (750-775 AD)-

• In Bengal, Gopala established the Palas Empire. By caste, Gopala belonged to the Kshatriyas. Vanga, or East Bengal, was his birthplace. He was a Buddhist fanatic. A monastery was founded in Nalanda by him.

Dharmapala (775-810 AD)-

• He was an outstanding commander. Parameswara, Paramabhattaraka, and Maharajadhiraj were his titles. He founded the well-known Vikramshila monastery in Rajshahi, which later became a major Buddhist Vihara. 
• Devapala was the son of Dharmapala who married to Rannadevi, the daughter of Rashtrakuta monarch Parabola.
• Dharmapala was a devoted Buddhist who was passionate about his faith. He took the title of Paramasaugat. In the court of Dharmapala, the famous Buddhist scholar Haribhadra was patronised. Dharmapala established well-known Buddhist monasteries in Vikramshila and Somapuri (Paharpur). Gujarati poet Soddhala christened Dharmapala as “Uttarapath Swamin”. He deposed Indrayudha, the ruler of Kannauj, and replaced him with Chakrayudha. Dharmapala was regarded as the founder of Vikramshila University. 

Devapala (810-850 AD)-

• Devapala was an aggressive imperialist who spent much of his life fighting in military expeditions. He also agreed to be a patron of Buddhism, art, and literature. After Devapala established Mungera, it became the Kingdom’s capital. He was granted the title of Param Saugat. The Devapala donated five villages to Shailendravansh ruler Balaputradeva, the monarch of Java, in order to build a Buddhist monastery at Nalanda. Devapala built the great Buddhist monastery of Odantapuri (Bihar).

Mahipala I (988-1038 AD)-

• The Pala dynasty’s ruler, Mahipala I, is recognised as the second founder. Rajendra Chola invaded during his reign and got defeated. Magadha and South Bihar were the extents of his empire. Palas had reached the end of their reign by the middle of the 12th century AD, and its last emperor, Madanapala, died as a common noble.
• During Pala’s reign, Gaudiriti, a literary science, was developed. The Pala rulers were Buddhist patrons, encouraging Buddhist education, literature, and fine arts. They played a great role in the development of Buddhism and the tantric sect.

Sena Empire:

• After the Pala dynasty, Bengal was controlled by the Sena dynasty. Karnataka-Kshatriya or Brahma-Kshatriya were the titles of the Sena rulers. Sena was most likely from the south. Samantsena, the first known member of the Sena dynasty, founded the Sena kingdom at Radha in Bengal and established the Sena empire. Nadia served as the country’s capital (lakhnauti). Hemantsena was his son, while Vijayasena was the most powerful monarch of the dynasty.

Vijayasena (1095-1158 AD):

• Vijayasena was the empire’s first autonomous king. In Bengal, he was the true founder of the Sena dynasty. He was a Shaiva disciple who constructed a temple in Rajshahi. At Deopara, he constructed the Pradhugneshwar temple (a large Shiva shrine). Vilasadevi, a Sura family princess, was his wife. At his court, the poet Umapatidhara resided and wrote the famous Deopara-prashasti, through which we can learn about his reign.

Vallalasena (1158-1178 AD):

• Vijayasena was succeeded by his son, Vallalasena. The famous book Daansagar and Adhbhutsagar was composed by him.

Lakshmanasena (1178-1205 AD):

• At the ripe old age of 60, he sat on the throne. During Laxman Sen’s reign, Jayadeva, a prominent court poet, was a treasure. During his tenure, Halayudha was the Chief Minister and the head of the Justice Department. He patronised Jayadeva, the author of Halayudha and Gitagovinda, Dhoyi, the author of Pawandoot, and Halayudha, the author of Brahmanasarvasva.

Visvarupasena:

• Visvarupasena, Lakshmanasena’s son, ruled for around 14 years after Lakshmanasena. His brother, Kesavasena, succeeded him. During Kesavasena’s reign, the empire weakened.
• The first empire to portray their inscription in Hindi was the Sen Empire.

The kingdoms of Kashmir:

The chronological order of the dynasties that rule the Kashmir was as follows-

                           Karkota dynasty (625-855 AD)
                           Utpala dynasty (855-1003 AD),   
                           Lohara Dynasty (949-1003 AD) 

Karkota Dynasty (625-855 AD):

• The information about this dynasty is given in the book Rajatarangini written by Kalhan. Before this dynasty, the Kashmir was ruled by Ashoka the great of the Mauryan empire. Srinagar and Parihaspura were the capital of this dynasty. 

Durlabh Vardhana:

• He was the founder of the dynasty. He was the son of Karkota Naga or Naga dynasty as they belong to the Nagas group. He was Baladitya’s successor who was his father-in-law and last ruler of the Gonada Dynasty. Queen Ananglekha was the wife of Duralabha Vardhana. She was the daughter of Baladitya.
• Hiuen Tsang visited the Kashmir valley during his time. He was a Chinese traveler and learned Sanskrit and Hindu scriptures for two years.

Durlabhaka:

• He was Duralabha Vardhana’s son. Durlabhaka married Narendraprabha (a gorgeous merchant’s wife) and they had three kids (Chandrapida, Muktapida, Tarapida). Chandrapida reigned for nine years (711-722 AD), gaining Kalhan’s title of “Crest Jewels Among the Kings.”

Tarapida:

• The dynasty’s next ruler was Tarapida. He was Chandrapida’s younger brother. He was a tyrant who governed with tyranny. The great Lalitaditya Muktapida eventually came to the throne. 

Lalitaditya Muktapida (724-60 AD):

• He was the son of Durlabhaka. His other moniker was Samudragupta of Kashmir. Cankuniya was the commander-in-Chief of Lalitaditya. Near the shrine of Kheer Bhawani, he erected Parihaspur as his capital (city of pleasure). 
• He built the Martand temple on Mattan Karewa, which is also known as the sun/dead egg temple or Martand temple. Parnotsa (Poonch) and Lalitpura (Latapura) were two new cities established by him. Bhavabhuti was his court poet. 
• In Kannauj, he vanquished Yashovarman and brought Bhavabhuti and Vakpatiraja (poets). He defeated Jivitagupta (Bihar and Bengal) after beating Kannauj and expand his empire to the south of the Kaveri River. Afghanistan and Ladakh were conquered during his reign. Jayapida was the dynasty’s last important ruler.

Utpala Dynasty (855-949 AD):

Avantivarman:

• He was the creator of the Utpala dynasty. During his reign, Sheru was Prime Minister during his reign. Avantipura was established on the Jhelum’s bank. Suyya, one of Ancient Kashmir’s most famous engineers, existed during his reign.

Sankaravarman:

• His son, Sankaravarman, became his successor. His wife, Queen Sugandha, followed him to the throne, followed by Yashakardeva, who established Varnata, his cousin, on the throne. Sangramdev was also seated on the throne by Varnata. Sangramdev was assassinated by Paravgupta, and the Gupta dynasty was established. 

Gupta Dynasty (949-1003 AD):

• This dynasty began with Parwa Gupta. His son, Kshemagupta, became his heir. Queen Didda was his bride (Daughter of the ruler of Poonch). She pretended to be the state’s ruler. Mahmud Ghazni conquered Kashmir during his reign. The throne was given to Sangram by Queen Didda who was the son of Udairaj, Brother of Didda. Sangram started the Lohara dynasty after Queen Didda died in 1003.

Lohara Dynasty:

Sangramraja (1003-28 AD)-

• He was the founder of this dynasty. Harmaja ruled after him only for 22 days. 
• The next king was Anantadeva (1028-1068 AD). After him, the next king was Kalasha or Ranaditya II. He rebelled against his father. Utkarsha and Harsha was the son of Kalasha. After Kalasha, Harsha (1089-1101 AD) came to power.

Jayashima (1128-49 AD)-

• He revived Hinduism and built many temples and shrines. Famous poet Kalhan lived during his reign and completed Rajatarangini. The last ruler of this Dynasty was Vanitadeva who died in 1171 AD and this dynasty came to the end.

Varman dynasty of Kamarupa:

• This dynasty emerged in the mid of the 4th century AD. The dynasty was founded by Pushyavarman. Its capital was Pragyajyotish. Later, the dynasty becomes a part of the Pala dynasty.