Aulikaras | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4th century–c.550 CE | |||||||||||||||
 Find spots of the Aulikara inscriptions | |||||||||||||||
| Capital | Mandsaur | ||||||||||||||
| Common languages | Sanskrit | ||||||||||||||
| Religion | Shaivism | ||||||||||||||
| Government | monarchy | ||||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||||
• Established | 4th century | ||||||||||||||
• Disestablished | c.550 CE | ||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Today part of | India | ||||||||||||||
Au-li-ka-rā) in the Risthal inscription. The first letter Au is a variation in a style specific to the 6-7th century.[3]The Aulikara dynasty (Late Brahmi script: Au-li-ka-rā), was an ancient dynasty that ruled the Kingdom of Malwa between the 4th-century CE and 6th-century CE.[4] They were based in the Malwa (Malawa) region of central India near Mandsaur, with their power center near what is now western Madhya Pradesh, southeastern Rajasthan and northeastern Gujarat. Two royal houses belonging to this clan ruled over the present-day western Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh state from c. 350 CE to 550 CE, much of it as feudatories of the Gupta Empire.[5][6]
Several major and important inscriptions of Aulikaras are known. These inscriptions suggest that they were Hindus who built several notable temples in the Gupta-style to Shiva, Surya and Vishnu, as well as Buddhist monasteries, in western Madhya Pradesh and east Rajasthan. Among these, the notable ruins are in the region near Mandsaur and the Dara Mukundara valley passage between Kota and Jhalawar. These include the Bhim ki Chauri.[7][8]
Epigraphical discoveries have brought to light two royal lines, who call themselves as the Aulikaras and ruled from Dashapura (present-day Mandsaur). The first royal house, which ruled from Dashapura comprised the following kings in the order of succession: Jayavarma, Simhavarma, Naravarma, Vishvavarma and Bandhuvarma. The Rīsthal stone slab inscription discovered in 1983 has brought to light another royal house, which comprised the following kings in the order of succession: Drumavardhana, Jayavardhana, Ajitavardhana, Vibhishanavardhana, Rajyavardhana and Prakashadharma, who defeated Toramana. In all probability, Yashodharman also belonged to this house and he was the son and successor of Prakashadharma.[9][10] Yashodharma defeated Mihirakula and freed the Malwa region from the Hunas. The rule of the Aulikaras over Malwa ended with him.[5]
- ^ Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum Vol 3 p.145
- ^ Salomon, Richard (1989). "New Inscriptional Evidence For The History Of The Aulikaras of Mandasor". Indo-Iranian Journal. 32 (1): 11. ISSN 0019-7246. JSTOR 24654606.
- ^ Vowels according to Prinsep
- ^ Balogh, D. (2019). Inscriptions of the Aulikaras and Their Associates. Beyond Boundaries. De Gruyter. pp. v–viii, 26–32. ISBN 978-3-11-064978-9.
- ^ a b Jain, Kailash Chand (1972). Malwa Through the Ages. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 250–9. ISBN 978-81-208-0824-9.
- ^ Balogh, D. (2019). Inscriptions of the Aulikaras and Their Associates. Beyond Boundaries. De Gruyter. pp. 21–23, 79–84. ISBN 978-3-11-064978-9.
- ^ Balogh, D. (2019). Inscriptions of the Aulikaras and Their Associates. Beyond Boundaries. De Gruyter. pp. 81–86, 94–97, 110, 115–116. ISBN 978-3-11-064978-9.
- ^ Jagat Narayan and KL Mankodi (2010), The Case of the Bhim ku Chauri Ruins at Mukandara, Marg, Vol 62, No. 1, pp. 80–89
- ^ Agarwal, Ashvini (1989). Rise and Fall of the Imperial Guptas, Delhi:Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 81-208-0592-5, pp.250-6
- ^ Salomon, Richard (1989). "New Inscriptional Evidence For The History Of The Aulikaras of Mandasor". Indo-Iranian Journal. 32 (1): 12. ISSN 0019-7246. JSTOR 24654606.
