Sharvavarman
Maharajadhiraja
Nalanda clay seals of Sharvavarman
Emperor of Kanyakubja
Reignc. 560-575 CE
PredecessorIshanavarman
SuccessorAvantivarman
IssueAvantivarman
DynastyMaukhari
FatherIshanavarman
MotherLakshamivati
Sharvavarman is located in South Asia
Nalanda
Asirgarh
Find spots of seals belonging to Sharvavarman
"Lord Sharvavarman" in the Asirgarh seal: "Śrī Śa-rvva-va-rmmā"

Sharvavarman (Brahmi script: 𑀰𑀭𑁆𑀯𑁆𑀯𑀯𑀭𑁆𑀫𑁆𑀫𑀸 , Gupta script: Śa-rvva-va-rmmā, complete form: Śarvavarman Indra Bhattarika) was the Maukhari ruler of Kanyakubja from circa 560-575 CE and held the title of "Mahārājādhirāja", "King of Kings" i.e. "Emperor".[1]

Sharvavarman may have been the greatest of the Maukhari emperors, invading Magadha circa 575 CE and defeating the Later Guptas kings Damodaragupta and Mahasenagupta, which made him ruler of the entire Uttar Pradesh.[2][3]

Asirgarh and Nalanda seals

Shavavarman was the son of Ishanavarman. He and the chronology of his family are rather well known, because of a copper seal he created: the Asirgarh seal.[4][2] The seal reads:

Asirgarh seal inscription of Sharvavarman

(There was) the illustrious Maharājā Harivarman, whose fame stretched out beyond the four oceans; who had other kings brought into subjection by (his) prowess and by affection (for him); who was like (the god) Chakradhara, in employing (his) sovereignty for regulating the different castes and stages of religious life; (and) who was the remover of the afflictions of (his) subjects. His son, who meditated on his feet, (was) the illustrious Mahârâja Âdityavarman, begotten on the Bhaṭṭârikâ and DêvîJayasvâminî. His son, who meditated on his feet, (was) the illustrious Mahârâja Îśvaravarman, begotten on the Bhaṭṭârikâ and Dêvî Harshaguptâ. His son, who meditated on his feet, (was) Mahârâjâdhirâja, the glorious Îśvaravarman, begotten on the Bhaṭṭârikâ and Dêvî Upaguptâ. His son, who meditates on his feet, (is) the most devout worshipper of (the god) Mahēśvara, the Mahârâjâdhirâja Śarvavarman, the Maukhari, begotten on the Bhaṭṭârikâ and Mahâdêvî Lakshamîvatî.

— Fleet, John Faithful. Inscriptions of the Early Gupta Kings and Their Successors. Calcutta: Superintendent of Govt. Printing, 1888.[5]

Several other nearly identical seals of Sharvavarman were also discovered in Nalanda.[6] The content of the seals is identical, but small variations indicate that they come from different molds.[6]

Reign

Sasanian Empire King Khosrow I sits before the chessboard, while his vizir and the Indian envoy of Kannauj are playing chess. Shahnama, 10th century CE.[7]

Sharvarman was an important rival of the Late Guptas king Mahasenagupta (r. c. 562-601 CE) during the period 575-585 CE.[8]

With the end of Hunnic power in India, new contacts were established between India and the Sasanian Empire. Intellectual games such as chess and backgammon demonstrated and celebrated the diplomatic relationship between Khosrow I and a "great king of India." The vizier of the Indian king invented chess as a cheerful, playful challenge to King Khosrow. It seems that the Indian ruler who sent the game of chess to Khosrow may have been Śarvavarman, between the beginning of Śarvavarman's reign in 560/565 and the end of Khosrow's reign in 579,[7][9][10] When the game was sent to Iran it came with a letter which read: "As your name is the King of Kings, all your emperorship over us connotes that your wise men should be wiser than ours. Either you send us an explanation of this game of chess or send revenue and tribute us."[11] Khosrow's grand vizier successfully solved the riddle and figured out how to play chess. In response the wise vizier created the game backgammon and sent it to the Indian court with the same message. The Indian king was not able to solve the riddle and was forced to pay tribute.[11]

Sharvavarman was succeeded by his son Avantivarman, as indicated by the "Sohanag seal of Avantivarman".[2][1][12]

References

  1. ^ a b Indian History. Allied Publishers. 1988. p. 413. ISBN 978-81-8424-568-4.
  2. ^ a b c Sinha, Bindeshwari Prasad (1977). Dynastic History of Magadha, Cir. 450-1200 A.D. Abhinav Publications. pp. 119–120.
  3. ^ Mookerji, Radha Kumud (1 January 2016). Harsha: Calcutta University Readership Lectures 1925. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 55. ISBN 978-81-208-0862-1.
  4. ^ Vats, Madho Sarup (1946). "Sohnag Terracotta Seal of Avantivarman". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 9: 74–77. ISSN 2249-1937. JSTOR 44137039.
  5. ^ Fleet, John Faithfull (1960). Inscriptions Of The Early Gupta Kings And Their Successors. pp. 219–221.
  6. ^ a b Sastri, Hirananda (1931). Epigraphia Indica Vol.21. pp. 72–75.
  7. ^ a b Eder, Manfred A. J. (2010). South Asian Archaeology 2007 Proceedings of the 19th Meeting of the European Association of South Asian Archaeology in Ravenna, Italy, July 2007, Volume II (PDF). Archaeopress Archaeology. p. 69. ISBN 978-1-4073-0674-2.
  8. ^ Schmidt, Karl J. (20 May 2015). An Atlas and Survey of South Asian History. Routledge. p. 77. ISBN 978-1-317-47680-1.
  9. ^ Bakker, Hans T. (2017). The Huns in Central and South Asia. How Two Centuries of War against Nomadic Invaders from the Steps are Concluded by a Game of Chess between the Kings of India and Iran.
  10. ^ Cazaux, Jean-Louis; Knowlton, Rick (19 September 2017). A World of Chess: Its Development and Variations through Centuries and Civilizations. McFarland. p. 342. ISBN 978-1-4766-2901-8.
  11. ^ a b Canepa 2009, p. 181
  12. ^ Kuppuswamy (Prof.), T. V. (1995). History of Tamilakam. Darkness at Horizon. Shri Bhagavan Vedavyasa Itihasa Samshodhana Mandira. p. 256. In the Sohanag seal of Avantivarman , Sharvavarman is shown as his father.

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