Magadha Empire UPSC Notes Political Condition of India in the 6th Century AD- Ancient History ( UPSC Questions )
After the fall of the Gupta Empire there was the absence of such a central and universal supreme power in the country which could succeed in uniting the country. Political unity totally disappeared and there appeared on the Indian scene small and petty independent Kingdoms which began to display their actions. They were constantly at war with each other which put a great obstruction in India’s path to progress.
Magadha Empire UPSC Notes 2021
(1) The Gupta king’s of Magadh : In these days , king’s of the Gupta family were ruling over Magadh . Their kingdom was small and was very much limited. Near about 530 AD another branch of the Gupta family under the leadership of Krishna Gupta established a new royal family. The succeeding kings of this family continued fighting against the Gaurs of Bengal. In the end Gaurs were defeated. After some time the Guptas engaged themselves in fighting against the Maukhares of kannauj.
(2) The Maukhari Family of Kanyakubja: (Magadha Empire UPSC Important)
This family was perhaps the oldest ruling family . Several branches of this family established their kingdoms in rajasthan and bihar. After the downfall of the Gupta Empire one of its branches established a stable and strong kingdom at kannauj. This family made rapid and steady progress so much so that even the Guptas of Magadh began to fell afraid of them. As a result of this they began to fight against each other. The worthiest and powerful king of this family was ishavarman. tha Kanyakubja rulers formed matrimonial alliance with the pushyabhuti ruling family of Thaneswar and with their help they defeated the huns.
The last great king of this family was Grihavarman who was married to princess Rajyashri, the daughter of King prabhakar vardhan and the sister of Emperor Harshavardhana. He was defeated and killed when shashank the king of Bengal and devagupta, the king of Malwa combined their armies and attacked kannauj. Later on the kingdoms of kannuaj and Thaneswar were combined by Harshavardhana.
(3) The Pushyabhuti family of Thaneswar ( Magadha Empire UPSC Important)
In the beginning of the 6th century AD. The pushyabhuti family emerged in Thaneswar in eastern punjab( now haryana). The credit for the establishment of this family goes to Prabhakar vardhan. Through matrimonial alliances he increased the power and the prestige of his family and later on the domination of this kingdom were greatly extended leading to the establishment of vardhan empire.
(4) The Hun State : The western provinces of india were under the control of the Huns. in 558 AD Yashovardhan th king of Malwa inflicted a crushing defeat upon the Huns. But after some time they again launched their forces against them and defeated them thoroughly . As a result of this defeat the power of the Huns was shattered.
(5) The Kingdom of Malwa : The power of the great Gupta was shattered as a result of the attacks of th Huns. Baladitya Bhanu Gupta had again brought Malwa under his control and defeated Huns, but the Guptas could not retain their control over Malwa for long. Yashvardhan an able general established a strong kingdom in Malwa and began extending his dominations. He formed a confederacy of all the Malwa kingdoms and defeated and drove out the Huns from the country.
The hun ruler mihirkul had to flee from the battlefield to save his life and seek refuge in Kashmir. Yashvardhan was the most celebrated ruler of his times in India and he had established A very strong kingdom in the country.
(6) The Kingdom of Valiabhis :. When the Gupta Empire had grown weak the provincial governors of the empire began to declare themselves independent. A governor bhallarak by name established an independent kingdom in 485 AD . Harshavardhana the emperor had to fight a war with Dhurva sen II a king of his family. Later on Harshavardhana married his daughter to Dhurva sen.
(7) The Kingdom of Sindh : A new family of kings arose in Sindh. According to the Chinese traveller Hieun- Tsang a shudra family was ruling over Sindh in those days. Prabhakar vardhan the founder of vardhan empire attacked this kingdom. during the times of Harshavardhana Sindh became a part of the empire of harsh.
(8) The kingdoms of eastern India : In the 6th century AD many kingdoms arose in the eastern province of india. The most famous of these was the Kingdom of Gaurs in Bengal. the Gaurs king remained engaged in fighting against the Gupta Empire. during the days of king shashank the might and power of this kingdom greatly increased. He was the contemporary of emperor Harshavardhana. harsh defeated him in war.
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