Marriage, apart from being a social institution, was also a political tool which could be used as a form of alliance to befriend a powerful adversary. Royal marriages had their own politics, the nuances of which differed from context to context, region to region, depending on the valour, power and wealth of the kingdoms involved. However, provisional marriages share one similarity: women being used as a pawn to meet the rulers’ own interests.
Ancient Indian history is replete with examples of matrimonial alliances used to secure political allies, wield power and establish command over an extensive territory. With stringent norms and strict codes enforced to suppress women, the muffled female voices do not reach us clearly and if at all we try to steal a sneak peek into their lives, it is through the elite male authors. So, when in the 3rd century CE, a queen is issuing land grant inscriptions, in the capacity of a patron to temples, a queen, a ruler; it provides us with a remarkable opportunity to reconstruct the socio-political dimensions of her life through her own voice.
The Guptas rose to prominence with Chandragupta I in the 3rd century C.E. His marriage to Kumaradevi the Lichchavi princess is commemorated in the coins of that period and his son Samudragupta also refers to himself as Lichchavi–dauhitra, (grandson of the Lichchavis) suggesting that this matrimonial alliance brought forth political gains for the Guptas. The Nagas proved to be an important and powerful adversary during the reign of Chandragupta II and the marriage between him and Kuberanaga, a Naga princess was to befriend a potential enemy.
Chandragupta II and Kuberanaga had a daughter Munda. By the 4th Century the Vakatakas were a power to reckon with and an able contender to the Gupta power. To reach an understanding between the two powerful dynasties, Munda was married to the Vakataka ruler Rudrasena II. This marriage was a sapinda (having a common ancestor; marriages between cousins) as well as a pratiloma (Hypogamous) marriage and considered a transgression by the Manusmriti. Yet, this entailed a sort of tri-political pact between the three powerful contemporaries of the time: The Guptas, The Vakatakas and The Nagas.
The story takes a remarkable turn from here, Rudrasena II dies and Munda acts as the Queen Regent for her sons. She adopts the title Prabhavati Devi. As a queen she issues several land grant inscriptions and it is through these inscriptions that we see how remarkably this widowed queen carves out a separate identity for herself.
The Gupta tradition of patronage was carried into the Vakataka Royal family as we find land grant inscriptions being issued by Rudrasena II. Royal land grants were often made to the temples and the inscriptions contained a genealogical section that traced the descent of the ruler, the sacrifices performed, conquests, the gotras and important marriage alliances. These genealogical sections were often an attempt to seek legitimacy of power and status of the King. These inscriptions are often in Sanskrit, showing trends of Sanskritization (imbibing Sanskrit into the administrative realm) and sometimes the genealogical section is in Sanskrit whereas the rest of the inscription is in Prakrit.
Prabhavati Devi in her Land grant inscriptions, instead of mentioning the Vakataka lineage, mentions the Gupta lineage. She upholds the Gupta ties; she refers to Chandragupta II as maharajadhiraja whereas she refers to Rudrasena II as maharaja and indicates the prestige and power of the Guptas over that of the Vakatakas.
The Vakatakaswere worshippers of Shiva, whereas, the Guptas declared themselves to be worshippers of Vishnu. In her land grants, Prabhavati Devi donates land to the Bhagavatas, worshippers of Vishnu. The Vakatakas belonged to the Vishnuvridhi gotra, however, Prabhavati Devi mentions her gotra to be Dharana, which is her mother’s maiden gotra as Kuberanaga did not give up her maiden name after marriage. The Guptas on the other hand do not mention their gotra, indicating humble origins.
It is interesting to note that Gupta inscriptions while mentioning important matrimonial alliances do not have distinctive references of their Queens. The queen is someone through whom only a successor is born (utpana). Prabhavati Devi also does not refer to herself as the ruler, but rather as the wife of Rudrasena II or as the regent mother of her sons, rightful heirs to the throne. Thus, though we are awed at the power she wields, somewhere subtly yet strongly Prabhavati Devi relents that she as a woman derives her authority from her male relations and most importantly by bearing successors.
The rulers in their inscriptions often refer to the capital as Vaijeyikadharmasthana (victorious place of worship), however in case of Prabhavati Devi she does not. This might indicate that though she had power, her power was limited in the administrative realm to a tokenism. Certain scholars have argued that these inscriptions explicitly as well as implicitly mark the gender identities, and Prabhavati Devi’s inscription is an excellent example.Her inscription allows us to rescue her from the obscurity of the 3rd century history. It’s as if through them she was offering us a glimpse of the socio-political formations of the Indian subcontinent in her time. She was carving out a separate identity for herself, tracing her natal lineage, emphasising on the political connotations attached to her marriage. Although she is limited in the wielding of her power and expressing a distinct identity, we must not overlook the fact that the position ascribed to her might have given her considerable leverage in the hostile court of the Vakatakas as a Gupta princess with the entire Gupta empire and its resources behind her in support. Thus, as we look back in time, strain our ears to discern echoes of
Anushka is currently pursuing her Bachelor's degree in History from St. Stephen's College. To weave stories of the past and strike it's relevance in present times and the times to come is her hobby.
When making buys for their urgent food resources, numerous a variety of men and women opt for the already organized food supply plans. These bundles come in unique sizes, based on the amount of members in your family, or the number of people that you have got to feed.
What resources are available to anyone wanting to set up a creative writing course?