Uchchhakalpa dynasty


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The Uchchhakalpa dynasty ruled parts of central India during 5th and 6th centuries. Their territory included north-eastern parts of present-day Madhya Pradesh. Their capital was located at Uchchhakalpa, the present-day Unchehara.
The Uchchhakalpas were neighbours of the Parivrajakas, and appear to have been feudatories of the Gupta Empire. The dynasty is known from inscriptions issued by two of its kings: Jayanatha and Sharvanatha.

History

Inscriptions of two Uchchhakalpa kings, dated in an unspecified calendar era, are available: Jayanatha and Sarvanatha. The era is now generally identified with the Gupta era, although some earlier scholars identified it as the Kalachuri era. The Uchchhakalpa inscriptions are written in the central Indian variety of the Gupta script. Moreover, the Bhumara stone pillar inscription names the Uchchhakalpa ruler Sharvanatha and the Parivrajaka ruler Hastin as contemporaries. This suggests that both were vassals of the Guptas, and the calendar era mentioned in the Uchchhakalpa inscriptions is the Gupta era.
According to these inscriptions, the earliest king of the dynasty was Oghadeva. He was succeeded by Kumaradeva, Jayasvamin, and Vyaghra. Jayanatha, the dynasty's earliest king attested by his own inscriptions, was a son of king Vyaghra and queen Ajjhitadevi. Jayanatha was succeeded by Sharvanatha, who was his son from queen Murundasvamini. Nothing is known about the successors of Sharvanatha.

Genealogy

The following kings and queens of the dynasty are known :
The following copper-plate inscriptions from the Uchchhakalpa reign have been discovered.
Find spotIssued byYear PurposeSource
KaritalaiJayanatha174 Land grant
KhohJayanatha177 Grant of a village to Brahmins
UncheharaJayanatha182 Village grant. See Katni copper-plate of Jayanātha.
SohawalSharvanatha191
KhohSharvanatha193 Village grant
KhohSharvanatha197 One of the copper plates is missing, but it appears to be a village grant as it quotes a Mahabharata verse which states that it is the king's duty to protect the land granted by him or his ancestors.
NavagramaSharvanatha and Parivrajaka ruler Hastin198 Grant of a village to the Brahmins of Parashara gotra and Madhyandina Shakha
KhohSharvanatha214 Grant of villages for the worship of the goddess Pishtapurika
KhohSharvanathaUndatedGrant of a village to Chhodugomika

Inscriptions of a Vakataka feudatory named Vyaghra-deva have been found at Nachna-Ganj. According to one theory, this ruler may be identical with the Vyaghra of Uchchhakalpa dynasty, but this identification is doubtful.