Prithivishena I

Prithivishena I (IAST: Pṛthivīṣeṇa; r.c.360 – 385 CE^[1]) was a ruler of the Nandivardhana-Pravarapura branch of the Vakataka dynasty. He was the son and successor of Rudrasena I, the founder of the branch.

Despite the expansion of the Guptas during this time, the Vakatakas under Prithivishena seem to have retained considerable influence in Central India. Two inscriptions from the Bundelkhand region, found at Nachna or Nachne-ki-Talai in the old Jaso State and at Ganj in the old Ajaigarh State, refer to a local king named Vyaghradeva who claims to have been a vassal of the Vakataka king Prithivishena.^[2] There is some controversy over whether the Vakataka king "Prithivishena" mentioned in these inscriptions is Prithivishena I or Prithivishena II, who ruled several generations later. D.C. Sircar considers it most likely that Vyaghradeva was a vassal of Prithivishena I because the paleographical peculiarities of the Nachna and Ganj inscriptions are more similar to earlier Vakataka inscriptions, and also because it was the Guptas and not the Vakatakas who the overlords of the Bundelkhand region in the late fifth century when Prithivishena II was supposed to be ruling. A.S. Altekar likewise maintains that Vyaghradeva was a vassal of Prithivishena I and not Prithivishena II.^[3][4]

One of the most important events of Vakataka history took place during the later part of Prithivishena's reign when his son Rudrasena II married the Gupta princess Prabhavatigupta.^[5] This marriage secured an alliance between the two most powerful royal houses in India at the time. It was probably the Gupta emperor Chandragupta II who proposed the marriage of his daughter to the Vakataka prince, as he desired a cooperative ally on his southern border while his armies were operating in Malwa and Gujarat.^[6]

El contemporáneo de Prithivishena al sur fue su primo Vindhyasena, de la rama Basim o Vatsagulma de la dinastía Vakataka. La relación entre las dos ramas de la dinastía parece haber sido bastante cordial en ese momento, y la rama principal, encabezada por Prithivishena, probablemente gozaba de una soberanía nominal sobre la rama Vatsagulma. ^{[ 1 ]} Es probable que Prithivishena proporcionara ayuda material a Vindhyasena mientras este último llevaba a cabo la conquista del país de Kuntala , y así los gobernantes de la rama principal llegaron a ser conocidos como "señores de Kuntala". ^{[ 7 ]}

En inscripciones posteriores de Vakataka, Prithivishena es descrito como un conquistador justo y poseedor de las cualidades de franqueza, honestidad, humildad, compasión y pureza de mente. ^{[ 5 ]} Fue llamado un dharmavijayin ("aquel que se vuelve victorioso a través de la virtud") y fue comparado con el héroe épico Yudhishthira del Mahabharata . Al igual que su padre Rudrasena I, Prithivishena también era un adorador de Shiva . ^{[ 8 ]} Prithivishena probablemente vivió hasta una edad avanzada y tuvo una familia numerosa, ya que las inscripciones de Vakataka lo describen como un patriarca rodeado de hijos y nietos. ^{[ 9 ]} Tras su muerte, fue sucedido por su hijo Rudrasena II.