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Ghatotkacha (king)
Ghatotkacha ( Gupta script: ''Gha-to-tka-cha'', IAST: Ghaṭotkaca, r. c. late 3rd century - early 4th century) was a pre-imperial Gupta king of northern India. He was a son of the dynasty's founder Gupta, and the father of the dynasty's first emperor Chandragupta I. Sources Ghatotkacha was a son of Gupta, the founder of the Gupta dynasty. Like his father, Ghatotkacha is not attested by his own inscriptions. The earliest description of him occurs in his grandson Samudragupta's Allahabad Pillar inscription, and is repeated verbatim in several later records of the dynasty. Earlier scholars attributed a gold coin and a clay seal to him, but these are now unanimously assigned to Ghatotkacha-gupta, who was a son or a younger brother of the 5th century Gupta ruler Kumaragupta I. Period Modern historians date the beginning of the Gupta calendar era to 318-319 CE. This era probably marks the ascension of Chandragupta I to the Gupta throne, which means that Ghatotkacha's r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maharaja
Maharaja (also spelled Maharajah or Maharaj; ; feminine: Maharani) is a royal title in Indian subcontinent, Indian subcontinent of Sanskrit origin. In modern India and Medieval India, medieval northern India, the title was equivalent to a prince. However, in late ancient India and History of South India, medieval south India, the title denoted a king. The form "Maharaj" (without "-a") indicates a separation of noble and religious offices, although since in Marathi the suffix ''-a'' is silent, the two titles are near homophones. Historically, the title "Maharaja" has been used by kings since Vedic period, Vedic times and also in the second century by the Indo-Greek Kingdom, Indo-Greek rulers (such as the kings Apollodotus I and Menander I) and then later by the Indo-Scythians (such as the king Maues), and also the Kushans as a higher ranking variant of "Raja". Eventually, during the medieval era, the title "Maharaja" came to be used by sovereignty, sovereign princes and vassal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chandragupta I
Chandragupta I ( Gupta script: ''Cha-ndra-gu-pta'', r. c. 319–335 CE) was a monarch of the Gupta Empire, who ruled in northern and central India. His title Mahārājadhirāja ("Great king of kings") suggests that he was the first suzerain ruler of the dynasty. It is not certain how he turned his small ancestral kingdom into an empire, although a widely accepted theory among modern historians is that his marriage to the Licchavi princess Kumaradevi helped him extend his political power. Their son Samudragupta further expanded the Gupta Empire. Period of reign Chandragupta was a son of the Gupta king Ghatotkacha, and a grandson of the dynasty's founder Gupta, both of whom are called ''Maharaja'' ("great king") in the Allahabad Pillar inscription. Chandragupta assumed the title ''Maharajadhiraja'' ( "great king of kings") and issued gold coins, which suggests that he was the first imperial ruler of the dynasty. Chandragupta certainly reigned in the first quarter of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ghatotkacha
Ghatotkacha (, ; ) is a character in the ancient Indian epic ''Mahabharata''. His name comes from the fact that he was bald (''utkacha'') and shaped like a ghatam, or a pot. He is the son of the Pandava Bhima and the demoness Hidimbi. As the head of one akshauhini army, he was an important fighter from the Pandava side in the Kurukshetra war and caused a great deal of destruction to the Kaurava army. Ghatotkacha killed many demons like Alambusha, Alayudha, and many gigantic Asuras. He was specifically called out as the warrior who forced Karna to use his Vasavi Shakti weapon, and courted a hero’s death in the great war. Biography Birth and early life On the burning of the '' Lakshagriha'', the Pandavas escape through a tunnel and reach a forest. While they were sleeping, the demon chief Hidimba in the forest sees the Pandavas from the top of a tree, and he appoints his sister Hidimbi to bring them to him for food. Hidimbi goes to the Pandavas in the guise of a beautiful ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kurukshetra War, a war of succession between two groups of princely cousins, the Kauravas and the Pandava, Pāṇḍavas. It also contains Hindu philosophy, philosophical and devotional material, such as a discussion of the four "goals of life" or ''puruṣārtha'' (12.161). Among the principal works and stories in the ''Mahābhārata'' are the ''Bhagavad Gita'', the story of Damayanti, the story of Shakuntala, the story of Pururava and Urvashi, the story of Savitri and Satyavan, the story of Kacha (sage), Kacha and Devayani, the story of Rishyasringa and an Ramopakhyana, abbreviated version of the ''Rāmāyaṇa'', often considered as works in their own right. Traditionally, the authorship of the ''Mahābhārata'' is attributed to Vyasa, Vy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hem Chandra Raychaudhuri
Hem Chandra Raychaudhuri (; 8 April 1892 – 4 May 1957Raychaudhuri, Hemchandra (1972). ''Political History of Ancient India: From the Accession of Parikshit to the Extinction of the Gupta Dynasty'', Calcutta: University of Calcutta, 7th edition, pp. iv-vi) was an Indian historian, known for his studies on ancient India. Early life and education Hemchandra Raychaudhuri came from a Baidya family. He was the son of Manoranjan Raychaudhuri, the ''Zamindar'' of Ponabalia in the present-day Jhalokati District in Bangladesh, and his wife Tarangini Devi. He completed his schooling at Brajamohan Institution in Barisal. He passed the University of Calcutta's entrance examination in 1907, standing first. He then joined Scottish Church College, Calcutta and after that Presidency College, Calcutta, standing First in the First Class in his B.A. (Hons.) examination in 1911. For his outstanding achievements in this examination he was awarded the Eshan Scholarship. He again stood First in th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Licchavi (tribe)
The Licchavis of Vaishali ( Māgadhī Prakrit: ; Pāli: ; Sanskrit: ऋक्षवी ''Ṛkṣavī''; English: "Bear Clan") were an ancient Indo-Aryan tribe and dynasty of north-eastern Indian subcontinent whose existence is attested from the Iron Age to the Classical Age. The population of Licchavi, the Licchavikas, were organised into a (an aristocratic oligarchic republic), presently referred to as the Licchavi Republic, which was the leading state of the larger Vajjika League. Following their eventual subjugation in the Magadha-Vajji war, the Licchavis continued to reside in the region of Vaishali. The fourth century A.D. Gupta Emperor, Samudragupta was the son of a Licchavi princess and referred to himself as a ''Licchavi-Dauhitra''. Location The Licchavikas lived in the southwest part of the Vajjika League, which was itself bounded to the north, east, south, and west, respectively, by the Himālaya mountains, and the Mahānadī, Gaṅgā, and Sadānirā rive ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maharajadhiraja
Maharaja (also spelled Maharajah or Maharaj; ; feminine: Maharani) is a royal title in Indian subcontinent of Sanskrit origin. In modern India and medieval northern India, the title was equivalent to a prince. However, in late ancient India and medieval south India, the title denoted a king. The form "Maharaj" (without "-a") indicates a separation of noble and religious offices, although since in Marathi the suffix ''-a'' is silent, the two titles are near homophones. Historically, the title "Maharaja" has been used by kings since Vedic times and also in the second century by the Indo-Greek rulers (such as the kings Apollodotus I and Menander I) and then later by the Indo-Scythians (such as the king Maues), and also the Kushans as a higher ranking variant of "Raja". Eventually, during the medieval era, the title "Maharaja" came to be used by sovereign princes and vassal princes, and the title " Maharajadhiraja" was used by sovereign kings. Eventually, during the Mu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vincent Arthur Smith
Vincent Arthur Smith (3 June 1843 – 6 February 1920) was an Irish Indologist, historian, member of the Indian Civil Service, and curator. He was one of the prominent figures in Indian historiography during the British Raj. In the 1890s, he was key to exposing the forgeries of Alois Anton Führer, then working for the Archaeological Survey of India, who Smith caught in the act of making fake inscriptions. Biography Smith was born in Dublin on 3 June 1843 which was then part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. His father was Aquilla Smith, well known in medical and numismatic circles in Dublin and London. After graduating from Trinity College Dublin, he passed the final examination for the Indian Civil Service in 1871, at "the head of the list", and served in what is now Uttar Pradesh until 1900, in the regular ICS roles, rising to the post of Chief Secretary to the government in 1898, becoming a Commissioner the same year. Throughout this period he was a proli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Radha Kumud Mukherjee
Radha Kumud Mukherjee (also spelled Radhakumud Mookerji; 25 January 1884 – 9 September 1963), also known as Radha Kumud Mukhopadhyaya, was an Indian historian and a noted Indian nationalist during the period of British colonial rule. He was the brother of the sociologist Radhakamal Mukerjee. Career Mukherjee obtained a doctorate from the University of Calcutta in 1905 and joined the newly established National Council of Education, teaching at the Bengal National College. After 1915, he embarked on a series of tenures at universities in Benares, Mysore, and Lucknow. He published ''Indian Shipping: A History of Seaborne Trade and Maritime Activity of the Indians from the Earliest Times'' in 1912. He was an advocate of the notion of Greater India in which Indian merchants and adventurers with huge fleets brought Indians to Southeast Asia and became the foundation of kingdoms in that region. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan (IAST: ''Padma Bhūṣaṇa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gupta Era
The Gupta era is a historical calendar era that begins from –319 CE. It was used by the Gupta emperors, as well as their vassals and their successors in present-day northern India and Nepal. It is identical to the Vallabhi era (or Valabhi era), which was used in the Saurashtra region of western India, although regional differences lead to a slightly different calculation for the conversion of Vallabhi era years to Common Era (CE). History The Gupta era is now believed to have been started by the Gupta kings, although there have been several debates over its origin in the past. The 11th century Persian writer Al-Biruni, who described the Guptas as "wicked", stated that the Gupta era marked the end of the Gupta dynasty. He dated the Gupta era to the year 241 of the Shaka era, that is, 318–319 CE which later led to debates about the era's origin among the 19th century historians since his statement would mean the Gupta era ended around 319 CE rather than begin at that time. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kumaragupta I
Kumaragupta I was Gupta Empire, Gupta emperor from 415 until his death in 455. A son of the Gupta king Chandragupta II and Queen Dhruvadevi, he seems to have maintained control of his inherited territory, which extended from Gujarat in the west to Bengal region in the east. Kumaragupta performed an Ashvamedha sacrifice, which was usually performed to prove imperial sovereignty, although no concrete information is available about his military achievements. Based on the epigraphic and numismatic evidence, some modern historians have theorized that he may have subdued the Aulikaras of central India and the Traikutaka dynasty, Traikutakas of western India. The Nalanda mahavihara was possibly built during his reign. The Bhitari pillar inscription of Skandagupta, Bhitari pillar inscription states that his successor Skandagupta restored the fallen fortunes of the Gupta family, which has led to suggestions that during his last years, Kumaragupta suffered reverses, possibly against the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Allahabad Pillar
The Allahabad Pillar is a ''stambha'', containing one of the pillar edicts of Ashoka, erected by Ashoka, emperor of the Maurya dynasty, who reigned in the 3rd century BCE. While it is one of the few extant pillars that carry Ashokan edicts, it is particularly notable for containing later inscriptions attributed to the Gupta emperor Samudragupta (4th century CE). Also engraved on the stone are inscriptions by the Mughal emperor Jahangir, from the 17th century. According to some scholars, the pillar was moved from its original location and installed within Akbar's Allahabad Fort in Prayagraj (formerly Allahabad), Uttar Pradesh by Emperor Akbar himself, but this theory is disputed by other scholars who point out the absence of any confirmatory evidence that the pillar was moved, and pre-Mughal inscriptions that indicate that it was already present in its current location. As the fort is now occupied by the Indian Army, the public are only allowed limited access to the premises ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
