Mahasenagupta was King of Magadha from 562 until his defeat in 575 and thereafter the

King of Malwa The Kingdom of Malwa was ruled by kings discontinuously from 350 to 1462. Later Gupta dynasty (575–606) * Mahasenagupta (575–601) * Devagupta (601–606) Paramara dynasty (c. 800–1305 CE) According to historical 'Kailash Chand ...

until his death in 601. He belonged to the Later Gupta dynasty of Magadha. Just before his death, Mahasenagupta sent his sons Kumaragupta and Madhavagupta to

Thanesar Thanesar (IAST: Sthāṇvīśvara) is a historic city and Hindu pilgrimage sites, Hindu pilgrimage centre in the Kurukshetra district of Haryana, India. It is located approximately 160 km northwest of Delhi. The city Kurukshetra's area merge ...

, where they became companions of

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 ...

and

Harshavardhana Harshavardhana (Sanskrit: हर्षवर्धन; 4 June 590 – 647) was an emperor of Kannauj from April 606 until his death in 647. He was the king of Thanesar who had defeated the Alchon Huns, and the younger brother of Rajya ...

. Madhavagupta was made the Kannauj vassal of Magadha after the war. In Malwa, he was succeeded by his son Devagupta, who was defeated by Rajyavardhana of Kannauj in 605.

Reign

In order to counter the hostility of the Kingdom of Kannauj, near the start of his reign he allied himself with the Kingdom of Thanesar by giving his sister's hand in marriage to

Adityavardhana Adityavardhana was a king of Thanesar in northern India around the time of the decline of the Gupta Empire. He was the third ruler of the Pushyabhuti dynasty, and father of Prabhakaravardhana. Adityavardhana's father was Rajyavardhana I and his ...

. Mahasenagupta went to war with the

Kamarupa Kingdom Kamarupa (; also called Pragjyotisha or Pragjyotisha-Kamarupa), an early state during the Classical period on the Indian subcontinent, was (along with Davaka) the first historical kingdom of Assam. The Kamrupa word first appeared in the ...

around 575 during a period of anarchy in

Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...

, and defeated the king of Kamarupa,

Susthitavarman Susthitavarman (also known as Sri-Mriganka) (590-595) was a ruler of Kamarupa. He was a son of Sthitavarman and Queen Nayanadevi. Reign Susthitavarman was renowned as Sri-Mriganka. He was succeeded by his two sons, Supratisthitavarman and Bhas ...

. However, he soon faced two disastrous invasions following this event. A king of the Deccan,

Kirttivarman I Kirttivarman I (IAST: Kīrtti-varman; r. c. 566–592) was a ruler of the Chalukya dynasty of Vatapi (present-day Badami) in India. He ruled parts of present-day Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. Kirttivarman was the son of ...

of the

Chaulukya The Chaulukya dynasty (), also Solanki dynasty, was a dynasty that ruled parts of what are now Gujarat and Rajasthan in north-western India, between and . Their capital was located at Anahilavada (modern Patan). At times, their rule extended ...

royal family, subdued Anga, Vanga, Kalinga and Magadha. The Tibetan ruler,

Namri Songtsen Namri Songtsen (), also known as "Namri Löntsen" () (died 618) was according to tradition, the 32nd King of Tibet of the Yarlung dynasty. (Reign: 570 – 618) During his 48 years of reign, he expanded his kingdom to rule the central part of the ...

(AD 570–618) successfully campaigned into central India (modern day Bihar and perhaps also Uttar Pradesh). This raid considerably weakened Magadha and the king of Kannauj,

Sharvavarman Sharvavarman (Brahmi script: 𑀰𑀭𑁆𑀯𑁆𑀯𑀯𑀭𑁆𑀫𑁆𑀫𑀸 , Gupta script: ''Śa-rvva-va-rmmā'', complete form: ''Śarvavarman Indra Bhattarika'') was the Maukhari ruler of the Kingdom of Kannauj from 560 to 575 CE. ...

succeeded in conquering a part of the already crumbling empire of Magadha. Mahasenagupta, therefore, fled to Malwa, which he ruled as rump state. Here too he faced adversaries in the form of the Kalachuri king, Shankaragana. The

Kalachuris of Mahishmati The Kalachuris of Mahismati, or the Early Kalachuris, were an early medieval Indian dynasty that ruled present-day Maharashtra, as well as parts of mainland Gujarat and southern Madhya Pradesh. Their capital was located at Mahishmati. Epigrap ...

occupied

Vidisa Vidisha (विदिशा, formerly known as Bhelsa and known as Besnagar and Bhaddilpur in ancient times) is a city in Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of Vidisha district. It is located 62.5 km north ...

in AD 608-9 and the

Kingdom of Valabhi The Kingdom of Valabhi was an early medieval India, early medieval kingdom in Western India from 475 to 776. It was founded by #Bhaṭārka, Bhatarka, a Senapati, general in the Gupta Empire, and ruled by the Maitraka dynasty. Following the decli ...

took over

Ujjain Ujjain (, , old name Avantika, ) or Ujjayinī is a city in Ujjain district of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the fifth-largest city in Madhya Pradesh by population and is the administrative as well as religious centre of Ujjain ...

in AD 616–17.

References

{{reflist 6th-century Indian monarchs Later Gupta dynasty Kings of Magadha Kings of Malwa