Accuntpayable1 at 11:14, 5 October 2025

2025-10-05T11:14:09Z

New page

{{short description|King of Magadha (562–575) and King of Malwa (575–601)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2025}}
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2025}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name = Mahasenagupta
| image = File:Archer type coinage of King Mahasenagupta of the Later Gupta dynasty.png
| caption = Archer type coinage of King Mahasenagupta of the Later Gupta dynasty, c. 6th century CE<ref name=Kumar2024>{{cite book |last1=Kumar |first1=Sanjeev |title=Treasures of the Gupta Empire: A Numismatic History of the Golden Age of India |date=2024 |publisher=Archaeopress |isbn=9781803277967 |pages=491–514 |doi=10.2307/jj.17610828 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/jj.17610828}}</ref>
| succession = [[King of Magadha]]
| reign = 562–575
| predecessor = [[Damodaragupta]]
| successor = Himself as ''King of Malwa''
| succession1 = [[King of Malwa]]
| reign1 = 575–601
| predecessor1 = Himself as ''Emperor of Magadha''
| successor1 = [[Devagupta]]
| house = [[Later Gupta dynasty|Later Gupta]]
| father = [[Damodaragupta]]
| mother =
| death_date = 601
| death_place =
}}
'''Mahasenagupta''' was [[King of Magadha]] from 562 until his defeat in 575 and thereafter the [[King of Malwa]] until his death in 601. He belonged to the [[Later Gupta dynasty]] of Magadha.<ref name=bio/>

Just before his death, Mahasenagupta sent his sons Kumaragupta and Madhavagupta to [[Thanesar]], where they became companions of [[Rajyavardhana]] and [[Harshavardhana]]. Madhavagupta was made the Kannauj vassal of Magadha after the war. In Malwa, he was succeeded by his son [[Devagupta]], who was defeated by Rajyavardhana of Kannauj in 605.<ref name=MalwaGaudaAlliance>{{cite book|quote=This Mālava king has been taken to be Devagupta who may have succeeded Mahasenagupta's kingdom in Malwa or certainly East Malwa. 56 The Maukhari-Vardhana entente may have contributed to Malwa-Gauda alliance;|author=George E. Somers|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gYO25eaDrqUC|title=Dynastic History Of Magadha|date=1977 |page=140|publisher=Abhinav Publications |isbn=978-81-7017-059-4 }}</ref>
{{Later Guptas of Magadha}}
== Reign ==
In order to counter the hostility of the Kingdom of Kannauj, near the start of his reign he allied himself with the [[Pushyabhuti dynasty|Kingdom of Thanesar]] by giving his sister's hand in marriage to [[Adityavardhana]]. Mahasenagupta went to war with the [[Kamarupa Kingdom]] around 575 during a period of anarchy in [[Bengal]], and defeated the king of Kamarupa, [[Susthitavarman]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Davidson |first1=Ronald |title=Indian Esoteric Buddhism: A Social History of the Tantric Movement |date=2002 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=9780231126199 |pages=37–38 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KsgzCgAAQBAJ&q=Mahasenagupta}}</ref>

However, he soon faced two disastrous invasions following this event. A king of the Deccan, [[Kirttivarman I]] of the [[Chaulukya]] royal family, subdued Anga, Vanga, Kalinga and Magadha. The Tibetan ruler, [[Namri Songtsen]] (AD 570–618) successfully campaigned into central India (modern day Bihar and perhaps also Uttar Pradesh). This raid considerably weakened Magadha and the king of Kannauj, [[Sharvavarman]] succeeded in conquering a part of the already crumbling empire of Magadha. Mahasenagupta, therefore, fled to Malwa, which he ruled as rump state. Here too he faced adversaries in the form of the Kalachuri king, [[Shankaragana]]. The [[Kalachuris of Mahishmati]] occupied [[Vidisa]] in AD 608-9 and the [[Kingdom of Valabhi]] took over [[Ujjain]] in AD 616–17.<ref name=bio>{{cite book|author=Sailendra Nath Sen|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wk4_ICH_g1EC|title=Ancient Indian History and Civilization| date=1999 |pages=247–8| publisher=New Age International | isbn=978-81-224-1198-0 }}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:6th-century Indian monarchs]]
[[Category:Later Gupta dynasty]]
[[Category:Kings of Magadha]]
[[Category:Kings of Malwa]]

Mahasenagupta - Revision history

Accuntpayable1 at 11:14, 5 October 2025