Historicity Vikramaditya

1 historicity

1.1 malava king
1.2 gupta kings

1.2.1 chandragupta ii
1.2.2 skandagupta


1.3 other rulers

historicity

although authors believe vikramaditya mythical character, others hypothesize historical malava king around first century bce. still others believe legendary character based on historical king, identified chandragupta ii, gautamiputra satakarni or yashodharman. vikramaditya may based on several kings, legends whom gradually coalesced tradition surrounding him. according k. krishnamoorthy, vikramaditya , kalidasa used common nouns identify patron king , court poet.

malava king

rajbali pandey, kailash chand jain , others believe vikramaditya ujjain-based malava king. shakas advanced sindh malwa around first century bce, , defeated vikramaditya. krita era, later came known vikrama samvat, marked victory. chandragupta ii later adopted title of vikramaditya after defeating shakas. proponents of theory vikramaditya mentioned in works dating before gupta era, including brihatkatha , gatha saptashati. vikramaditya cannot based on chandragupta ii, since gupta capital @ pataliputra (not ujjain). according raj pruthi, legends surrounding first-century king gradually became intertwined of later kings called vikramaditya (including chandragupta ii).

critics of theory gatha saptashati shows clear signs of gupta-era interpolation. according a. k. warder, brihatkathamanjari , kathasaritsagara enormously inflated , deformed recensions of original brihatkatha. jain works not mention vikramaditya , navaratnas have no historical basis 9 scholars not appear have been contemporary figures. legends surrounding vikramaditya contradictory, border on fantastic , inconsistent historical facts; no epigraphic, numismatic or literary evidence suggests existence of king name (or title) of vikramaditya around first century bce. although puranas contain genealogies of significant indian kings, not mention vikramaditya ruling ujjain or pataliputra before gupta era. there little possibility of historically-unattested, powerful emperor ruling ujjain around first century bce among shungas (187–78 bce), kanvas (75–30), satavahanas (230 bce–220 ce), shakas (c. 200 bce – c. 400 ce) , indo-greeks (180 bce–10 ce).

gupta kings

a number of gupta empire kings adopted title of vikramaditya or equivalent, such samudragupta s parakramanka . according d. c. sircar, hem chandra raychaudhuri , others, exploits of these kings contributed vikramaditya legends. distinctions among them lost on time, , legendary shalivahana based on exploits of several satavahana kings.

chandragupta ii

chandragupta ii on coin

some scholars, including d. r. bhandarkar, v. v. mirashi , d. c. sircar, believe vikramaditya based on gupta king chandragupta ii. based on coins , supia pillar inscription, believed chandragupta ii adopted title vikramaditya. khambat , sangli plates of rashtrakuta king govinda iv use epithet sahasanka , has been applied vikramaditya, chandragupta ii. according alf hiltebeitel, chandragupta s victory against shakas transposed fictional character credited establishing vikrama samvat era.

in of legends vikramaditya had capital @ ujjain, although mention him king of pataliputra (the gupta capital). according d. c. sircar, chandragupta ii may have defeated shaka invaders of ujjain , made son, govindagupta, viceroy there. ujjain may have become second gupta capital, , legends him (as vikramaditya) may have developed. guttas of guttavalal, minor dynasty based in present-day karnataka, claimed descent gupta empire. chaudadanapura inscription alludes vikramaditya ruling ujjain, , several gutta kings named vikramaditya. according vasundhara filliozat, guttas confused vikramaditya chandragupta ii; however, d. c. sircar sees further proof vikramaditya based on chandragupta ii.

skandagupta

the vikramaditya of ayodhya legend identified skandagupta (r. 455 – 467 ce) number of scholars. book 18 of kathasaritsagara describes vikramaditya son of mahendraditya of ujjain. according d.c. sircar, kumaragupta (r. 415–455 ce) adopted title mahendraditya. son, skandagupta, adopted title vikramaditya, , set of legends may based on skandagupta.

other rulers

in kathasaritsagara recension of 25 vetala stories, king mentioned ruler of pratishthana. a. k. warder notes satavahanas notable ancient dynasty ruled pratishthana. according satavahana inscription, king gautamiputra satakarni defeated shakas. 1 of gautamiputra satakarni s epithets vara-varana-vikrama-charu-vikrama. however, according d. c. sircar, epithet means 1 gait beautiful of choice elephant , unrelated vikramaditya. other vikramaditya legends note king s capital ujjain (or, less commonly, pataliputra), satavahanas never had capital @ these cities. vikramaditya described adversary of pratishthana-based king satavahana (or shalivahana) in number of legends.

max müller believed vikramaditya legends based on sixth-century aulikara king yashodharman. aulikaras used malava era (later known vikrama samvat) in inscriptions. according rudolf hoernlé, name of malava era changed vikramaditya yashodharman. hoernlé believed yashodharman conquered kashmir , harsha vikramaditya mentioned in kalhana s rajatarangini. although yashodharman defeated hunas (who led mihirakula), hunas not shakas; yashodharman s capital @ dasapura (modern mandsaur), not ujjain. there no other evidence inspired vikramaditya legends.