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Maukhari dynasty of Kannauj

The Maukharis rose as Gupta feudatories and, under Ishanavarman, became independent kings ruling from Kannauj. They made Kannauj the prize of north India for the next five centuries; the last of them, Grahavarman, married Harsha’s sister Rajyashri.

  1. Harivarmanc. 510 CE
  2. Adityavarmanearly 6th century CE
  3. Ishvaravarmanc. 530–550 CE
  4. Ishanavarmanc. 550–576 CE
  5. Sharvavarmanc. 576–580 CE
  6. Avantivarmanc. 580–600 CE
  7. Grahavarmanc. 600–605 CE
  8. +1
Period: c. 510–606 CE (Kannauj line)Region: The Ganga–Yamuna doab and eastern Uttar Pradesh, with a branch in GayaCapitals: Kanyakubja (Kannauj)
Photo: Photo Dharma from Penang, Malaysia · CC BY 2.0

01An old clan

The Maukhari name is old. At Badva in the Kota district of Rajasthan, three stone yupas, sacrificial posts, dated in the Krita era to 238–239 CE, record triratra sacrifices by Maukhari senapatis. In Bihar a Maukhari family ruled around Gaya: Yajnavarman, his son Shardulavarman and grandson Anantavarman. Anantavarman’s Sanskrit inscriptions in the Barabar and Nagarjuni hills, carved into caves the Mauryas had cut for the Ajivikas, record that he set up an image of Krishna in one and of Bhutapati, Shiva, with the Devi in another.

02Ishanavarman takes the crown

The Kannauj line of Harivarman, Adityavarman and Ishvaravarman served the later Guptas. Ishanavarman broke away. His Haraha inscription of 554 CE says he defeated the Andhras with their thousands of elephants, the Shulikas, and the Gaudas who took refuge by the sea, and he was the first of his house to call himself maharajadhiraja and strike his own silver coins. The Maukharis and the Later Guptas of Magadha fought for generations over the middle Ganga; the Aphsad inscription of the Later Guptas names Maukhari kings among their foes.

Barabar and Nagarjuni Caves
Place · 3rd century BCE, Ashoka and his grandson DasharathaBarabar and Nagarjuni CavesThe oldest rock-cut caves in Bharat, hollowed out of solid granite and polished to a mirror finish, which Ashoka and Dasharatha gave to the Ajivika ascetics.Read →

03Grahavarman and Rajyashri

Sharvavarman’s copper seal, found at Asirgarh, gives the line from Harivarman. His successor Avantivarman’s son Grahavarman married Rajyashri, daughter of Prabhakaravardhana of Thanesar. Bana’s Harshacharita tells what followed: soon after Prabhakaravardhana died, about 605, the king of Malwa killed Grahavarman and threw Rajyashri into prison at Kannauj. Her brother Rajyavardhana defeated the Malwa army but was then murdered by Shashanka of Gauda. Harsha found Rajyashri in the Vindhya forest about to enter a fire, saved her, and took over Kannauj; with that the Maukhari kingdom passed to the Pushyabhutis.

The rulers

  1. 1HarivarmanFirst of the Kannauj linec. 510 CE
  2. 2Adityavarmanearly 6th century CE
  3. 3Ishvaravarmanc. 530–550 CE
  4. 4IshanavarmanHaraha inscription, 554 CE; first maharajadhirajac. 550–576 CE
  5. 5SharvavarmanAsirgarh sealc. 576–580 CE
  6. 6Avantivarmanc. 580–600 CE
  7. 7GrahavarmanHusband of Rajyashri; killed by the king of Malwac. 600–605 CE
  8. 8Anantavarman (Gaya branch)Barabar and Nagarjuni cave inscriptions6th century CE

What they left

  • Kannauj made the imperial city of north India
  • The Haraha inscription of 554 CE
  • Anantavarman’s images and inscriptions in the Barabar caves
  • The Badva yupas, stone posts of Vedic sacrifice

People

BanabhattaPoet
7th century CE, court of Harsha

Banabhatta

Court poet of Harsha, author of Kadambari

HarshavardhanaRuler
590–647 CE; reigned 606–647

Harshavardhana

Emperor of Kannauj, playwright

Places

Barabar and Nagarjuni CavesStanding
The Maurya Empire

Barabar and Nagarjuni Caves

The oldest rock-cut caves in Bharat, hollowed out of solid granite and polished to a mirror finish, which Ashoka and Dasharatha gave to the Ajivika ascetics.

Kannauj (Kanyakubja)Ruined
The Age of Great Kingdoms

Kannauj (Kanyakubja)

For five hundred years whoever held Kannauj on the Ganga held the claim to north India. Harsha ruled from it, the Pratiharas, Palas and Rashtrakutas fought a century-long war over it, and its fall to Muhammad Ghuri in 1194 opened the Ganga plain.

On the timeline

  • c. 550 CE

    Gupta power fadesPolity

    Worn by the Huna wars, the empire broke into the Maukharis of Kannauj, the later Guptas of Magadha, the Maitrakas and others.