Vindhyasena (), also known as Vindhyashakti II, was a ruler of the Vatsagulma branch of the

Vakataka dynasty 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 t ...

. He was the son and successor of Sarvasena I. Vindhyasena seems to have enjoyed quite a long reign, as he issued a charter from his capital of Vatsagulma in his thirty-seventh regnal year. The charter records the grant of a village in the Nandikata region which is identified with

Nanded Nanded is a city in Maharashtra state, India. It is the List of cities in Maharashtra, tenth largest city in the state and the List of cities in India by population, seventy-ninth most populated city in India. It is the second largest city in ...

. An inscription at Ajanta from the time of

Harishena Harishena () was the last known ruler of the Vatsagulma branch of the Vakataka dynasty. He succeeded his father Devasena. Harishena was a great patron of Buddhist architecture, art and culture, with the World Heritage monument of Ajanta being ...

, a later Vakataka monarch, records Vindhyasena's victory against the rulers of the Kuntala in northern

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

, likely the

Kadambas The Kadamba dynasty were an ancient royal family from modern Karnataka, India, that ruled northern Karnataka and the Konkan from Banavasi in present-day Uttara Kannada, Uttara Kannada district in India. The kingdom was founded by Mayurash ...

. Vindhyasena ruled over a fairly extensive kingdom that included the southern part of Berar (

Vidarbha Vidarbha (Pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, �id̪əɾbʱə is a geographical region in the west Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Forming the eastern part of the state, it comprises Amravati Division, Amrav ...

) and the districts of

Nasik Nashik, formerly Nasik, is a city in the northern region of the Indian state of Maharashtra situated on the banks of the river Godavari River, Godavari, about northeast of the state capital Mumbai. Nashik is one of the Hindu pilgrimage sit ...

Ahmednagar Ahmednagar, officially Ahilyanagar, is a city in, and the headquarters of, the Ahmednagar district, Maharashtra, India. Ahmednagar has several dozen buildings and sites from the Nizam Shahi period. Ahmednagar Fort, once considered almost impre ...

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

, and Satara, as well as the

Marathwada Marathwada () is a geographical region of the States and territories of India, Indian state of Maharashtra. It was formed during the Nizam of Hyderabad, Nizam's rule and was part of the then Hyderabad State. The region coincides with the Aurang ...

region. Vindhyasena's contemporary to the north was his cousin

Prithivishena I Prithivishena I (IAST: ''Pṛthivīṣeṇa''; ) was a ruler of the Nandivardhana-Pravarapura branch of the Vakataka dynasty. He was the son and successor of Rudrasena I, the founder of the branch. Despite the expansion of the Guptas during th ...

of the main Vakataka branch. The relationship between the two branches of the dynasty appears to have been quite cordial at this time, with the main branch probably enjoying a nominal overlordship over the Vatsagulma branch. Prithivishena likely provided material aid to Vindhyasena as the latter carried out the conquest of the Kuntala country.Altekar (1960), p. 172 Upon his death, Vindhyasena was succeeded by his son

Pravarasena II Pravarasena II () was a ruler of the Nandivardhana-Pravarapura branch of the Vakataka dynasty. He was the son of Rudrasena II and Prabhavatigupta, the daughter of the Gupta Empire, Gupta emperor Chandragupta II. He succeeded his brother Damod ...

References

{{reflist Vakataka kings 4th-century Indian monarchs