Maitraka Dynasty

Common questions

What was the Maitraka Dynasty?

The Maitrakas were founded by Senapati (general) Bhatarka, a military governor of Saurashtra under the Gupta Empire, who established himself as independent around 475 CE as Gupta power waned. Early scholars misread the copper plates and took the Maitrakas for a foreign tribe; later readings (Virji) conclude Bhatarka was himself a Maitraka, probably a Kshatriya of the Lunar race with origins in the Mitra dynasty of the Mathura region.

When did the Maitraka Dynasty exist?

The Maitraka Dynasty existed 475 – 776. On this map it is drawn AD 476–731.

How large was the Maitraka Dynasty?

At its greatest extent drawn on this map, the Maitraka Dynasty covered about 307,000 km². That is the largest area the border data gives it across the years it is drawn, not necessarily its greatest extent in history.

Where was the Maitraka Dynasty?

The capital was Vallabhi (near modern Bhavnagar). Under Kharagraha I the realm included Ujjain (Virdi copperplate, 616 CE); under Dharasena III north Gujarat was incorporated.

Who ruled the Maitraka Dynasty?

Bhatarka and Dharasena I used only the title Senapati; Dronasimha declared himself Maharaja; Guhasena dropped the formula Paramabhattaraka-padanudhyata, ceasing nominal allegiance to the Guptas. Siladitya I Dharmaditya was praised by the visiting Xuanzang (c. 640) as "a monarch of great administrative ability and of rare kindness and compassion."

How did the Maitraka Dynasty end?

Weakened by repeated Arab attacks from the sea, the kingdom declined through the 8th century; the last known ruler was Siladitya VI, and the dynasty ended by 776–783. Apart from legendary accounts connecting Vallabhi's fall with Tajjika (Arab) invasions, no historical source records exactly how the dynasty ended.

How was the Maitraka Dynasty governed?

The Maitrakas issued silver drachms in Kshatrapa style bearing the trishula. They were Shaivas (all kings used the title parama-maheshwara except Dhruvasena I, a Vaishnava, and Dharapatta), tolerant of all faiths: Buddhist viharas abounded, and the important Jain council of Vallabhi was probably held under Dhruvasena I. Vallabhi University became a renowned center of secular and Buddhist learning compared to Nalanda, associated with the scholars Gunamati and Sthiramati; the pilgrim Yijing (I-Tsing) found it a great center of learning in the late 7th century, and its graduates were said to receive high executive posts.

Why does the Maitraka Dynasty still matter?

The Maitrakas bridged the Gupta and early medieval eras in western India; Vallabhi's university and its Jain and Buddhist scholarship made Saurashtra an intellectual hub, and the region's political traditions passed to the later Saindhavas and Chaulukyas.