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Provenance (from the French ''provenir'', 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody or location of a historical object. The term was originally mostly used in relation to works of art but is now used in similar senses i ...
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The Uchchhakalpa (
IAST: Ucchakalpa) dynasty ruled parts of central India during 5th and 6th centuries. Their territory included north-eastern parts of present-day
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...
. Their capital was located at Uchchhakalpa, the present-day
Unchehara.
The Uchchhakalpas were neighbours of the
Parivrajakas, and appear to have been feudatories of the
Gupta Empire
The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire which existed from the early 4th century CE to late 6th century CE. At its zenith, from approximately 319 to 467 CE, it covered much of the Indian subcontinent. This period is considered as the Gold ...
. The dynasty is known from inscriptions issued by two of its kings: Jayanatha and Sharvanatha.
History
Inscriptions of two Uchchhakalpa kings, dated in an unspecified
calendar era
A calendar era is the period of time elapsed since one '' epoch'' of a calendar and, if it exists, before the next one. For example, it is the year as per the Gregorian calendar, which numbers its years in the Western Christian era (the Copti ...
, are available: Jayanatha (Year 174–182) and Sarvanatha (Year 191–214). The era is now generally identified with the
Gupta era
The Gupta era is a historical calendar era that begins from c. 318–319 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 Valabh ...
(which begins in 318–319 CE), although some earlier scholars identified it as the
Kalachuri era (which begins in 248–249 CE). The Uchchhakalpa inscriptions are written in the central Indian variety of the
Gupta script. Moreover, the
Bhumara stone pillar inscription names the Uchchhakalpa ruler Sharvanatha and the
Parivrajaka ruler Hastin as contemporaries. This suggests that both were vassals of the Guptas, and the calendar era mentioned in the Uchchhakalpa inscriptions is the Gupta era.
According to these inscriptions, the earliest king of the dynasty was Oghadeva. He was succeeded by Kumaradeva, Jayasvamin, and Vyaghra. Jayanatha, the dynasty's earliest king attested by his own inscriptions, was a son of king Vyaghra and queen Ajjhitadevi. Jayanatha was succeeded by Sharvanatha, who was his son from queen Murundasvamini. Nothing is known about the successors of Sharvanatha.
Genealogy
The following kings and queens of the dynasty are known (
IAST names):
* ''Mahārāja'' Ogha-deva and ''Mahādevi'' Kumarā-devī
* ''Mahārāja'' Kumarā-deva and ''Mahādevi'' Jaya-svāminī
* ''Mahārāja'' Jaya-svāmin and ''Mahādevi'' Ramā-devī
* ''Mahārāja'' Vyāghra and ''Mahādevi'' Ajjhita-devī
* ''Mahārāja'' Jaya-nātha and ''Mahādevi'' Murunda-svaminī, r. c. 493–507 CE
* ''Mahārāja'' Śarva-nātha (Sharvanatha), r. c. 508–533 CE
Inscriptions
The following copper-plate inscriptions from the Uchchhakalpa reign have been discovered.
Katni copper-plate charter..jpg , Katni inscription of Jayanatha, Plate 1
Copper-plate charter of maharaja Jayanatha, the Uchchakalpa ruler dated circa 502.jpg , Katni inscription of Jayanatha, Plate 2
Katni copper-plate charter of Jayanātha, third plate..jpg , Katni inscription of Jayanatha, Plate 3
513 CE Khoh copper plate inscription, Vishnu Surya temple Hinduism, king Sarvanatha, Sanskrit.jpg , 512-513 Khoh inscription of Sharvanatha
517 CE Khoh copper plate inscription, Vishnu Lakshmi Hinduism, king Sarvanatha, Sanskrit.jpg , 517 Khoh inscription of Sharvanatha
534 CE Khoh copper plate inscription, Lakshmi temple Hinduism, king Sarvanatha, Sanskrit.jpg , 533-534 Khoh inscription of Sharvanatha
Inscriptions of a
Vakataka
The Vakataka dynasty () was an ancient Indian dynasty that originated from the Deccan in the mid-3rd century CE. Their state is believed to have extended from the southern edges of Malwa and Gujarat in the north to the Tungabhadra River in th ...
feudatory named Vyaghra-deva have been found at
Nachna-Ganj. According to one theory, this ruler may be identical with the Vyaghra of Uchchhakalpa dynasty, but this identification is doubtful.
References
Bibliography
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External links
Uchchhakalpa inscriptionsby D.N Lielukhine, Oriental Institute
* Siddham – the South Asia Inscriptions Database
Jayanāthaan
Śarvanātha
Dynasties of India
History of Madhya Pradesh
Gupta Empire