300px, Gunda inscription of Rudrasimha, Saka year 103. Rudrasimha I date 114 Saka Era

Rudrasimha I was a

Western Kshatrapa The Western Satraps, or Western Kshatrapas (Brahmi: , ''Mahakṣatrapa'', "Great Satraps") were Indo-Scythian (Saka) rulers of the western and central parts of India (extending from Saurashtra in the south and Malwa in the east, covering moder ...

ruler, who reigned from 178 to 197 CE. He was son of

Rudradaman I Rudradāman I (r. 130–150) was a Śaka ruler from the Western Kshatrapas dynasty. He was the grandson of the king Caṣṭana. Rudradāman I was instrumental in the decline of the Sātavāhana Empire. Rudradāman I took up the title of '' ...

, grandson of

Jayadaman Jayadaman was a Western Kshatrapa ruler, although possibly only a Kshatrapa, rather than a Mahakshatrapa. He was the son of Chastana, and the father of Rudradaman I, but he may have pre-deceased Chastana, and never ruled as supreme ruler of th ...

, and grand-grandson of

Chashtana Chashtana (Greek: (epigraphic), ; Brahmi: ; Kharosthi: , ), also known as Tisman Ror was a Kardamaka dynasty ruler of the Saka Western Satraps in northwestern India during 78-130 CE, when he was the satrap of Ujjain. He was a descendant ...

. During his reign, the

Abhiras The Abhira people (Devanagari: आभीर) were a legendary people mentioned in ancient Indian epics and scriptures. A historical people of the same name are mentioned in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea. The Mahabharata describes them a ...

became increasingly important. Some of them were even serving as generals. Ashvini Agrawal thinks that the Abhira king '' Isvardatta'' was a general in the service of Rudrasimha I who deposed his master in 188 A.D and ascended the throne. Ashvini Agrawal further says that Rudrasimha I soon deposed him and regained the throne in 190 A.D.

Reign

Numismatics and Epigraphics

From the reigns of

Jivadaman Jivadaman was a Saka ruler of the Western Kshatrapas in northwestern India during the 2nd century CE. He was the son of Damajadasri I (170–175), and the brother of Satyadaman. Biography The exact dating of Jivadaman's reign has been deb ...

and Rudrasimha I, the date of minting of each coin, reckoned in the

Saka era The Shaka era (IAST: Śaka, Śāka) is a historical Hindu calendar era (year numbering), the epoch (its year zero) of which corresponds to Julian year 78. The era has been widely used in different regions of the Indian subcontinent as well a ...

, is usually written on the obverse behind the king's head in

Brahmi numerals Brahmi numerals are a numeral system attested in the Indian subcontinent from the 3rd century BCE. It is the direct graphic ancestor of the modern Hindu–Arabic numeral system. However, the Brahmi numeral system was conceptually distinct from ...

, allowing for a quite precise datation of the rule of each king. This is a rather uncommon case in Indian numismatics. Some, such as the numismat R.C Senior considered that these dates might correspond to the much earlier

Azes era The "Azes era" (also known as the ''Aja'' or ''Ajasa'' era, Prakrit: ''Ayasa vaṣaye'') starting 47/46 BCE, was named after the Indo-Scythian king, "King Azes the Great" or Azes I. As a number of inscriptions are dated in this era it is of great ...

instead.

Influence of Abhiras

During his reign, the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

at Gunda, north

Kathiawar Kathiawar (), also known as Saurashtra, is a peninsula in the south-western Gujarat state in India, bordering the Arabian Sea and covering about . It is bounded by the Kutch district in the north, the Gulf of Kutch in the northwest, and by the ...

, mentioning "the digging of a well for the welfare of society by

Senapati Senapati ( , ''sena'' meaning "army", ''Pati (title), pati'' meaning "lord") is a title in ancient India denoting the rank of general (military), General. It was a hereditary title of nobility used in the Maratha Empire. During wartime, a ''Sar ...

Bapaka's son, Rudrabhuti

Abhira Abhira may refer to: *Abhira people The Abhira people (Devanagari: आभीर) were a legendary people mentioned in ancient Indian epics and scriptures. A historical people of the same name are mentioned in the Periplus of the Erythr ...

", and dated to Saka era 103 (181 CE). The inscription also gives a detailed genealogy of the kings up to Rudrasimha: The inscription refers Rudrasimha to as simply a ''ksatrapa'', ignoring the existence of any ''mahaksatrapa''. According to Sudhakar Chattopadhyaya, this indicates that the Abhira general was the '' de facto'' ruler of the state, though not assuming any higher title. The inscription states Abhira Rudrabhuti as the son of the general Bapaka. The Abhira dynasty was probably related Abhira Rudrabhuti.

Notes

References

* Rapson, "A Catalogue of Indian coins in the British Museum. Andhras etc..." {{Western Satraps Western Satraps