Gurjara-Pratihara Dynasty
Etymology:
The Gurjaras are variously seen as a foreign people gradually assimilated into Indian society, or as the local people who belonged to the land called Gurjara, or as being a tribal group. The Pratiharas, who derived their name from the word pratihara (Sanskrit: “doorkeeper”) are seen as a tribal group or a clan of the Gurjaras. In the epic Ramayana, Prince Lakshmana acted once as a doorkeeper to his elder brother King Rama. Since Lakshmana was regarded as their ancestor, the Pratiharas adopted this title.
Did you know?
The geographical name of
Gujarat is derived from Gurjara.
Origin:
Harichandra is said to have laid the foundation of this dynasty in the 6th century C.E. He created a small kingdom at Bhinmal near about 550 C.E. after the fall of Gupta Empire, generally with feudatory status. The line of Nagabhata ruled first at Ujjain and later at Kannauj during the 8th to 11th centuries. Other Gurjara lines existed, but they did not take the surname Pratihara.
The Pratiharas who first had their capital at Bhinmal gained prominence under Nagabhatta I who offered stout resistance to the Arab rulers of Sind who were trying to encroach on Rajasthan, Gujarat, the Punjab, etc
Neighboring kingdoms:
All the 3 kingdoms were fighting for the power in Northern central India and to gain control over Kannauj thus began what is known as tripartite struggle. It continued for about the next hundred and fifty years under various succeeding kings with ups and downs. The Gurjara-Pratiharas, however, could continue to maintain their hold over Kannauj till the last.
Rise of Gurjar-Pratihars:
Vatsraja:
Nagabhatta I was succeeded by his brother's sons, Kakkuka and Devaraja. Devaraja was succeeded by his son Vatsaraja who proved to be an influential ruler. He ruled from C.E 775 to 805. During A.D. 775-800, Vatsaraja followed an aggressive imperial policy. He defeated Pala king Dharmapala of Bengal. Vatsaraja extended his rule over to a large part of North India and made Kannauj in western Uttara Pradesh his capital.
Nagabhatta II:
He was succeeded by his son MihiraBhoja.
MihiraBhoja :
When Mihirabhoja was in the wars of eastern India, king Sankarvarman of Kashmir had brought Karnal region under his control. But even after that some portion of the Karnal region remained under the control of Mihirabhoja.
During the reign of Mihirabhoja, Amoghavarsa and Krishna II were the Rashtrakuta kings who were ruling over Kannauj. These were weak rulers and hence Mihirabhoja captured Kannauj and extended his empire up to river Narmada. In the course of time, however, Dhruva II, the Gujarat samanta of Amonghvarsa defeated Mihirabhoja in the battle and had driven him away. The war between Rashtrakutas and Bhoja continued for several years, and both tried to bring the province of Avanti under their control.
Mihirabhoja had also conquered many other provinces. He had attacked Karnal, western and southern Saurashtra etc
His empire extended from the Terai of Himalaya to Bundelkhanda and Kausambhi, to the frontier of Palakingdom in the east, and Saurashtra in the west. A large portion of Rajasthan was also under his control.
It can be said that Mihirbhoj made Kannauj his capital and succeeded in consolidating Pratihara power and influence in Malwa, Rajputana and Madhyadesh.
His reign was regarded as the glorious period of Pratihara ascendency.
Mahendrapala:
Mahendrapala succeeded to the throne of his father, Mihirabhoja. He succeeded in maintaining the empire of his father and extended it further by annexing Magadha and parts of Northern Bengal. He lost some parts to the Kings of Kashmir. It is believed that his empire extended from the Himalayas to the Vindhyas and from the Eastern to the Western Ocean.
A Foreigners Voice:
Al- Masudi, a native of
Baghdad, who visited Gujarat in 915–16, testifies to the great power and
prestige of the Pratihara rulers and the vastness of their empire. He calls the
Gurjara-Pratihara kingdom Al-Juzr. Al-Masudi says that the empire of Juzr had
1,80,000 villages, cities and rural areas and was about 2000 km in length and
2000 km in breadth. The king’s army had four divisions, each consisting of
7,00,000 to 9,00,000 men.
Fall of Gurjar-Pratihar:
After death of Mahendrapala, a war of succession took place which substantially weakened the power of the dynasty.
Mahendrapala was succeeded by his son Bhoja II but his cousin, Mahipala, shortly dethroned him and became the ruler of Kannauj. During his period, the Rashtrakutas King, Indra III defeated Mahipala of Kannauj. After Indra III retiring to the south, Mahipala again consolidated his position. In the period in-between the Pala rulers captured some eastern parts of his empire and occupied the forts of Kalinjar and Chitrakuta. His period marked the beginning of the decline of the power of Pratiharas.
Mahipala was succeeded by his so Mahendrapala II. He ruled only for a year. Afterwards, we find no less than four successors during a period of fifteen years. Devapala, Vinayakapala II, Mahipala II and Vijayapala ruled in succession over the throne of Kannauj but none of them proved to be a capable ruler. That resulted the decline of the dynasty.
Fun Fact:
In 725, the old ruler of
Sindh took his army and attacked the Somnath temple and destroyed the temple.
Pratishtha King Nag Bhatt II constructed the Somnath temple for the third time
in 815 using a red stone (sandstone) stone.
Administration:
King occupied the highest position in the state and had enormous powers, they adopted big titles such as 'Parmeshwara', 'Maharajadhiraja'. They appointmented the samantas . The samantas were called Maha Pratihara. They used to give military help to their Kings and fought for them the advice of the high officers was taken in matters of administration.
There were eight types of different officers in the administration such as:
• Kottapala- highest officer of the fort,
• Tantrapala- representative of the king in 8 samanta states,
• Dandapashika- highest officer of the police,
• Baladhikrat- the chief of army.
• Dandanayaka- to look after the military and justice department,
• Vynaharina - legal expert and used to provide legal advice
• Bhangika- the officer who wrote order of charities and grants,
• Dutaka- to carry order and grants of the king to specified persons,
The Pratiharas had organized their empire into different units for administrative convenience. The entire state was divided into many bhuktis. There were many mandals in each bhukti and each mandala had several cities and many villages as well.
The villages were locally administered. The elders of the villages were called Mahattar who looked after the administration of the village. Gramapati was an officer of the state who advised in matters of village administration.
The administration of the city was looked after by councils which are referred as Goshthi, Panchakula, Sanviyaka and Uttar sobha.
Thus, the administration of the Pratiharas was quite efficient. It was on account of the efficient administration that the Pratiharas were able to defend India from the attacks of the Arabs.
Architecture and Literature:
The Pratiharas were patrons of learning and literature. The Pratihara kings were followers of Hinduism. They build with many fine buildings and temples at Kanauj. Their temples were constructed in an open pavillion style which Gained fame across the northern and central India, and it led to the beggining of Nagabhatta style temples in the region. One of the most notable Gurjara-Pratihara style of architecture was Khajuraho, built by their vassals, the Chandelas of Bundelkhand.
The epigraphic records show that the building of temples and the educational institutions attached with them, formed community projects, in which the entire village community participated. Many Indian scholars went to the court of the Caliph at Baghdad along with embassies. However, the names of the Indian kings are not known who sent these embassies. This interaction between India and Arab led to the spread of Indian culture, literature, and science, especially mathematics, algebra, and medicine to the Arab world from where these were further transmitted to Europe.
Cultural Footprint:
Here mention may be made
of Rajashekhara. He was the court poet of the Gurjara Pratiharas. He was an
eminent Sanskrit poet, dramatist, and critic. Rajashekhara wrote the
Kavyamimamsa between 880 and 920 CE. The work is essentially a practical guide
for poets that explains the elements and composition of a good poem. He is most
noted for the Karpuramanjari, a play written in Sauraseni Prakrit. Rajashekhara
wrote the play to please his wife, Avantisundari, a woman of taste and
accomplishment. Rajashekhara is perhaps the only ancient Indian poet to
acknowledge a woman for her contributions to his literary career.
Legacy
Nagabhata I's efforts were crucial in checking the Arab invasion of India. The Pratiharas remained as strong bulwarks against the Arabs. They also made valuable contributions in the field of art, culture and commerce. The sculptural styles developed during the period were unique and remained an influence on later styles. The nagara style of Hindu temple architecture received a big boost under their rule. According to this style, the temple was built on a stone platform with steps leading up to it, with many regional variations. The highlight was a shikhara (a mountain-like spire on top, curving in shape). This style became very popular in northern India in the following centuries.
By:- Shireen Katre FY Mechanical, Shubham Gupta FY Computer Science (Team Historic Wednesday)
References:
• Kulke, H., (ed.), The State in India 1000-1700, New Delhi, 1995.
• Majumdar, R.C., Ancient India, Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Pvt. Ltd. (2016)
• Chandra, Satish ,History of Medieval India, Orient BlackSwan; First edition (2007)
• . Sastri K.A.Nilakanta,A History of South India: From Prehistoric Times to the Fall of
Vijayanagar , Oxford,1997
• https://www.britannica.com/topic/Gurjara-Pratihara-dynasty
Image references:
• By w:user:Planemad - Own workInternational Borders: University of Texas map library - India Political map 2001Disputed Borders: University of Texas map library - China-India Borders - Eastern Sector 1988 & Western Sector 1988 - Kashmir Region 2004 - Kashmir Maps.State and District boundaries: Census of India - 2001 Census State Maps - Survey of India Maps.Other sources: US Army Map Service, Survey of India Map Explorer, Columbia UniversityMap specific sources: "John Keay, History of India, 2000, Grove publications, New York, ISBN 0-8021-3797-0" page 198., CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1846341
• https://www.worldhistory.org/uploads/images/11071.jpg?v=1629256502
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gurjara-Pratihara_dynasty#/media/File:Jain_statues,_Gwalior.jpg
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gurjara-Pratihara_dynasty#/media/File:Baroli_Temple_Complex
• https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/travel/Veraval/Somnath-Temple-Gujarat/ps46918897.cms
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