Devagupta was the king of Malwa from 601 to 606 AD. He ruled the territories which had initially been the western part of the erstwhile

Later Guptas The Later Gupta dynasty, also known as the Later Guptas of Magadha, were the rulers of Magadha and Malwa from the 6th to 8th centuries CE. The Later Guptas emerged after the disintegration of the Imperial Guptas. However, there is no evidence ...

prior to the conquest of its eastern part by the Kingdom of Kannauj. He was the eldest son of

Mahasenagupta Mahasenagupta was King of Magadha from 562 until his defeat in 575 and thereafter the King of Malwa until his death in 601. He belonged to the Later Gupta dynasty of Magadha. Just before his death, Mahasenagupta sent his sons Kumaragupta and M ...

and a member of the

Later Gupta dynasty The Later Gupta dynasty, also known as the Later Guptas of Magadha, were the rulers of Magadha and Malwa from the 6th to 8th centuries CE. The Later Guptas emerged after the disintegration of the Imperial Guptas. However, there is no evidence ...

. Devagupta is known for having engineered a Malwa–Gauda alliance with Shashanka of Gauda to counter the Thanesar–Kannauj alliance. The alliance was initially successful, and Devagupta's forces reached Kannauj and killed the king of Kannauj. However, the king of Thanesar defeated Malwa and killed Devagupta, but was himself killed in the war with Gauda. Harsha succeeded him and repelled the Gauda invasion. Following the defeat of Devagupta, the other two sons of Mahasenagupta were sent to Kannauj and Harsha restored Madhavagupta to the throne of the Kingdom of Kannauj as a vassal.

Background

The

Gupta Empire The Gupta Empire was an Indian empire during the classical period of the Indian subcontinent which existed from the mid 3rd century to mid 6th century CE. At its zenith, the dynasty ruled over an empire that spanned much of the northern Indian ...

had greatly reduced in power in the sixth century. The Kingdom of Kannauj, initially a vassal of the empire, had declared its independence and frequently warred with the empire. In 575 AD, Sharvavarman of Kannauj conquered the eastern half of the empire that comprised the core of the empire. Mahasenagupta escaped to the eastern remaining portion of the empire in Malwa and established the

rump state A rump state is the remnant of a once much larger state that was reduced in the wake of secession, annexation, occupation, decolonization, a successful coup d'état or revolution on part of its former territory. In the last case, a government st ...

of the Kingdom of Malwa. He was succeeded by his Devagupta in 601 AD. Devagupta was warry of the new Thanesar–Kannauj alliance to the north of kingdom and sought to destroy it. He allied with Shashanka of Gauda and created the Malwa–Gauda alliance to counter the Thanesar–Kannauj alliance.

Fall of Malwa

The alliance was initially successful, and Devagupta's forces reached Kannauj and killed King Grahavarman of Kannauj. However, the king of Thanesar

Rajyavardhana Rajyavardhana, also known as Rajya Vardhan, was the king of Thanesar from 605 to 606, and the eldest son of Prabhakarvardhana and member of the Pushyabhuti dynasty. He ascended the throne after his father's death and was succeeded by his younger ...

defeated Malwa and killed Devagupta, but was himself killed in the war with Gauda. Harsha succeeded him and repelled the invasion by Gauda, finally winning the war.

References

{{reflist Kings of Malwa Later Gupta dynasty