Rudradaman I
Encyclopedia
Saka
The Saka were a Scythian tribe or group of tribes....
ruler from the Western Kshatrapas
Western Kshatrapas
The Western Satraps, Western Kshatrapas, or Kshaharatas were Saka rulers of the western and central part of India...
dynasty. He was the grandson of the celebrated Sah king Chastana
Chastana
Chastana, or Castana, was a ruler of the Saka Western Satraps in northwestern India around 130 CE. He was satrap of Ujjain during that period....
. Rudradaman I was instrumental in the decline of the Satavahana
Satavahana
The Sātavāhana Empire or Andhra Empire, was a royal Indian dynasty based from Dharanikota and Amaravati in Andhra Pradesh as well as Junnar and Prathisthan in Maharashtra. The territory of the empire covered much of India from 230 BCE onward...
Empire.
Mahakshatrapa
Rudradama I took up the title of Maha-kshtrapaMaha-kshtrapa
Maha-kshtrapa was a title meaning "Great Satrap" in early medieval Gujarat. As satraps of the failing Scythian Empire, some leaders in western India elevated their titles to Great Satrap when they became increasingly independent of imperial rule....
("Great Satrap"), after he became the king and then strengthened his kingdom. During his reign he married a Hindu woman and converted to Hinduism Quoting from the book Buddhist critical spirituality: Prajñā and Śūnyatā, the author Shōhei Ichimura speaks thus about him,
Victory over the Satavahana
He maintained matrimonial relationships with Satavahanas and conceded the country of Aparanta to Vashishtiputra SatakarniVashishtiputra Satakarni
Vashishtiputra Sātakarni , was a Satavahana king in Central India, who ruled during the 2nd century century CE. He was the brother of Vasisthiputra Sri Pulamavi Vashishtiputra Sātakarni (r. 130-160 CE), was a Satavahana king in Central India, who ruled during the 2nd century century CE. He was the...
, his son-in-law and probably son of Gautamiputra Satakarni, as dowry. In spite of the matrimonial link, at least two wars took place between them wherein he defeated Satavahanas but spared the life of Satakarni(probably, Goutami Putra Satakarni), essentially because of their relationship. However, it is not known who was the aggressor in either of the wars and whether there were more wars between them.
As a result of his victories, Rudradaman regained all the former territories previously held by Nahapana, except for the extreme south territories of Poona and Nasik. Satavahana dominions were limited to their original base in the Deccan and eastern central India around Amaravati
Amaravati, Andhra Pradesh
Amaravathi is a small town situated on the banks of the River Krishna in the Guntur District of Andhra Pradesh, India. It is famous for its Amareswara temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. The temple is one of the famous Pancharamas. Amaravati, also known as Dhanyakataka/Dharanikota was the site of a...
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While most of the scholars, following Rapson believe that Rudradaman ruled from Ujjain, there is no such evidence to support this. In fact, there is evidence to prove the contrary:
- Jain sources mention that after Nahapana (40 years) and Gardabhilas (15 years), Sakas will rule Ujjain but for only four years. Chastana no doubt has ruled Ujjain but he must have ruled it only for four years. His son Jayadaman (a Kshatrapa as against Castana being a Mahaksatrapa) was an ineffectual king and lost most of the territory won by Castana. This must have included all important Ujjain as well.
- Natural History of Claudius Ptolemy in 160 CE record Castana as the king of Avanti while it is known that it is Rudradaman who was ruling between 130 to 150 CE. Ptolemy was obviously referring only to the last best known ruler and if Rudradaman was ruling Avanti, he would have mentioned him, since he was certainly well known through his conquests.
- Truly speaking, Rudradaman made no reference to Avanti. He said he conquered Eastern and Western Akaravanti (Eastern Malwa) - Western Akaravanti being land lying east to Bhopal, which does not include any western part of Malwa or Avanti. Akaravanti, earlier called as Sudarsana, comprised only Eastern Malwa. Western Akaravanti does not refer to Avanti.
Other facts
Junagadh
Junagadh is the headquarters of Junagadh district in the Indian state of Gujarat. The city is the 7th largest in Gujarat. The city is located at the foot of the Girnar hills, 355 km south west of state capital Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad. The city is in western India. Literally translated,...
inscription dated 150 CE
150
Year 150 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Squilla and Vetus...
credits Rudradaman I with supporting the cultural arts and Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
literature and repairing the dam built by the Mauryans. He in fact repaired the embankments of the lake Sudarshana, which was constructed by the Mauryas for checking floods.
Rudradaman fought many a battle against the Satavahanas(or the Andhras)and Satkarni, the son of the Andhra king Pulmayi, in an effort to end the hostilities, married the daughter of Rudradaman. Rudradaman also conquered the Yaudheya
Yaudheya
Yaudheya or Yaudheya Gana was an ancient confederation who lived in the area between the Indus river and the Ganges river. They find mention in Pāṇini's Ashtadhyayi and Ganapatha. There are other references to them namely in Mahabharata, Mahamayuri, Brihatsamhita, Puranas, Chandravyakarana and...
tribes in Haryana
Haryana
Haryana is a state in India. Historically, it has been a part of the Kuru region in North India. The name Haryana is found mentioned in the 12th century AD by the apabhramsha writer Vibudh Shridhar . It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, and by Rajasthan to the west and south...
, as described in the Girnar
Girnar
Girnar is a collection of mountains in the Junagadh District of Gujarat, India, situated near Junagadh at a distance of 327 km from Ahmedabad. It is a holy place and an important pilgrimage for both Hindus and Jains. There are a number of temples located here. Amidst the lush green Gir...
inscription:
However, in the next century the warlike Yaudheyas became more powerful. The indigenous Naga
Naga people
The term Naga people refers to a conglomeration of several tribes inhabiting the North Eastern part of India and north-western Burma. The tribes have similar cultures and traditions, and form the majority ethnic group in the Indian state of Nagaland...
s also were aggressive toward Saka
Saka
The Saka were a Scythian tribe or group of tribes....
kshatrapas
Western Kshatrapas
The Western Satraps, Western Kshatrapas, or Kshaharatas were Saka rulers of the western and central part of India...
in the 3rd century.
Rudradaman is also known as the king who was ruling when the Greek writer Yavanesvara
Yavanesvara
Yavaneśvara, Sanskrit for "Lord" "of the Greeks" , was a man who lived in the Gujarat region of India under the rule of the Western Kshatrapa Saka king Rudrakarman I....
translated the Yavanajataka
Yavanajataka
The Yavanajātaka of Sphujidhvaja is an ancient text in Indian astrology....
from Greek to Sanskrit, which influenced astrology in India.