Yashodharman belonging to the Aulikara dynasty was one of the noblest defender of Indian freedom against the despotism of the Hunas just as Chandragupta Maurya was against the Greek usurpation. He is credited for ending the Huna menace in Central India and for defeating Mihirkula, a Huna tyrant. The Aulikaras kings who ruled from their capital Mandasor were subordinate to the imperial Guptas during the 5th century A.D. and ruled as independent kings in 6th century A.D.
Yashodharman predecessors
The Rishtal inscription dated 515 A.D., claims that Prakashadharman of the Aulikara dynasty defeated Toramana in a battle. But it is impossible to determine whether Prakashadharman conquered Dasapura from the Hunas or in the conflict, the Hunas failed to subdue him. The Rishtal inscription also mentions the name of Prakashadharman’s predecessors like Rajyavardana, Vibhisanavardhana, Ajitavardhana, Jayavardhana and Drapavardhana who are identified as later Aulikaras or imperial Aulikaras by historians. Prakashadharman was the predecessor and probably the father of Yashodharman who came to power after 530 and before 533 A.D.
The invasion of the Hunas
The Hunas lived in central Asia on the western border of China as far back as the second century B.C. In course of their migrations to the west, one branch or race of them known as the Ephthalites or the white Huns occupied the Oxus valley and conquered Gandhara. After the accession of Skanda Gupta, his empire was menanced by the onrush of these barbarians who had crossed the Indus carrying devastation and destruction all around. Skanda Gupta thoroughly defeated them and we have no evidence of the Hun depredations east of Gandhara till the close of the 5th or the beginning of 6th century A.D.
The accession of Toramana
Toramana was an ordinary soldier who caught the attention of his master due to his dash and courage and was appointed as the viceroy of Gandhara under the control of the Hunas. Toramana was a born fighter and destroyer and swept away everything before him like a surging storm. After Attila he was the only general who reorganized the Hunas under his inspiring leadership and established an empire which lasted for about a hundred years. After the death of Budhagupta, towards the end of the 5th century A.D., Toraman directed his attack against the mainland of India and conquered Rajasthan, Punjab, Kashmir and eastern Malwa. He also took Magadha, Banaras and Kausambi and these territories were under his control from 502-526 A.D. In 510 A.D. one Bhanugupta (either a Gupta prince or a governor) fought a battle with Toramana without success. After this Toramana forced the reigning Gupta king Narasimha Gupta Baladitya to retire to Bengal. Toramana was the first foreign conqueror in India who built up a vast empire from central Asia to central India. After his death in 515 A.D. , his son Mihirkula succeeded him.
Mihirkula’s defeat, imprisonment and release
After the death of Toramana, the exiled Gupta ruler Narsimha Gupta Baladitya returned to Magadha and Mihirkula recognized him as the king of Magadha in turn Baladitya accepted Mihirkula’s vassalage and agreed to pay him tributes. It is said that Mihirkula began to persecute the Buddhists and ordered that all Buddhist monasteries be destroyed. Baladitya being a devout Buddhist resented this order and refused to pay tribute to Mihirkula. This revolt of Baladitya made Mihirkula to attack Magadha. But due to the heroic efforts of the soldiers of Magadha, Mihirkula was captured and brought before Baladitya. But at the intervention of Baladitya’s mother he was released. This incident took place in 530 A.D.
Mihirkula captures the throne of Kashmir
After his defeat and release, Mihirkula sought refuge in Kashmir as his brother had established himself at Gandhara. But later he led a rebellion and killed the king of Kashmir and enthroned himself as its king. He also recaptured Gandhara and from there he organized a vast army and marched towards Malwa to regain his lost territories.
Yashodharman in the saddle
Mihirkula’s march towards Malwa provoked Yashodharman who had by this time carved out a vast principality at the cost of the Guptas and other powers. The Mandasor pillar inscription claims that Yashodharman conquered all of India from the Brahmaputra river to Mount Mahendra and from Himalaya to the western ocean and to have ruled lands never conquered by the Guptas or the Huns. Probably he ruled over these areas with the help of his feudatories. Yashodharman is believed to have been a ruler of considerable power and importance though it is agreed that his claims are obviously exaggerated. In the words of R.C.Majumdar and A.S.Altekar, such a claim publicly made must have some basis in fact and we need hardly doubt that Yashodharman was a great conqueror.
Yashodharman had built up a formidable army and himself possessed the genius of a general who could face any eventuality with calm and fortitude. He dreamt of reviving and reestablishing an all-India empire. But his efforts were challenged by the Hunas who had upset the political equilibrium of the country, killed the peace of the land and heaped untold miseries on the innocent masses.
End of the Huna menace
Yashodharman marched with his army and met the advancing Hunas under Mihirkula’s leadership in the plains of Malwa or somewhere in central India. The Hunas were routed thoroughly and Mihirkula was compelled to pay homage. This incident took place in 533-534 A.D. Mihirkula retired to his original kingdom of Gandhara and was heard no more.
A brilliant star in the political arena
Yashodharman shot up like a brilliant star in the political firmament of India by completing the task left incomplete by Skanda Gupta who had likewise saved the country from the Huna menace. It is true, Narasimha Gutpa Baladitya had defeated and imprisoned Mihirkula; but his misled act of piety had led the country nowhere. It is possible that in the absence of a powerful monarch like Yashodharman, the Hunas once again might have swept the country off it feet and reestablished the reign of terror which the people had experienced for long.
Yashodharman was also known by the name Vishnuvardhana. According to Gautam N Dwivedi, Vishnuvardhana seems more likely to be his true name and he assumed later after his victory the more glorious name Yashodharman (one whose supreme attribute is glory). He also had titles like ‘Parameshvara’ and ‘Rajadhiraja’.
Saviour of the nation
The Huna invasion had changed the face of northern India and had their power not been broken, they would have still further changed the face of the country. Yashodharman came as a saviour and dealt the final and decisive blow to the Hunas who now disappeared as a great political force, broke up into fragments and soon after completely merged with the Indian population. And for this, the name of Yashodharman had since been remembered by his countrymen with respect and gratitude in the form of the Malava era.
Reference
Upendra Thakur – The Hunas in India, The Chowkhamba Sanskrit Series Office, Varanasi, 1967
Daniel Balogh – Inscriptions of the Aulikaras and their Associates, 2019
Richard Salomon – New Inscriptional evidence for the history of the Aulikaras of Mandasore, Indo-Iranian Journal, vol -32, No. 1 (January 1989)
M.Shama Rao (Edited) – The Indian Heroes, Bangalore, 1922
Gautam N Dwivedi – Some notes on Yashodharman, Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, vol- 32, 1970
R.C.Majumdar, A.S.Altekar (Editors) – A New History of the Indian People, vol 6, The Vakataka-Gupta Age, 1946
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