VIKRMADITYA
- THE GREAT EMPEROR
Born: 102 BCE
Father: Gandharvasena
Died: 15 CE
Reign: 77 BCE - 15 CE
Vikramaditya was a
great emperor of ancient India. Often referred as an ideal king, he is known
for his generosity, courage and scholarly patronage. Vikramaditya is depicted
in hundreds of traditional Indian stories, including Baitala (Vampire) and
Singhasan Battisi. Many describe him as a universal ruler, his capital at
Ujjain (Pataliputra or the establishment in a few stories). The name Raja
Vikramaditya is derived from the combination of 'Vikram' and 'Aditya' which
means 'the sun of might' or 'mighty like the sun'. Meaning is Sun). Vikram era
It is said to have been initiated by the king after his victory over Shakas in
56 BCE.
Emperor Vikramaditya was born in 101 BCE after 3000 years of Kali period.
He ruled for 100 years. - (Gita Pradhan, Gorakhpur Bhavishpuran, p. 245).
Vikramaditya sat on the throne of Ujjayini, the ancient city of India. Vikramaditya
was famous for his wisdom, valor and generosity, in whose court Navratna resided.
It is said that Vikramaditya was very powerful and he depicted Shakas.
Introduction to Personal Life Vikramaditya
According to Vikram
Samvat, King Gandharvasen, son of Nabovahana, was also the Chakravarti emperor.
His father was also called Mahendraditya. He had other names such as Garda
Bhill, Gadbarabesh.
Gandharvasen had sons Vikramaditya and Bhartrihari. Vikram's mother's name was
Saumardarshana, who was also called Veeramati and Madanrekha. He had a sister called
Manavati. Other Than His brother Bhartrihari, also had Alaka Shankh and others.
The
War With Shakas
Malwa is said to have been ruled by Vikramaditya's brother Bhartrihari. The invasion of Shako
had increased during the rule of Bhartrhrit. When Bhartrihari renounced the kingdom by
assuming renunciation, the Vikram army took over the rule and he first drove Shako out of his
territory in 57-58 BC. In memory of this, he started the expansion of his kingdom by starting the
Vikram era.
Vikramaditya launched a massive campaign to liberate India's land from foreign rulers. It is said
that he re-formed his army. His army was the most powerful army in the world, which launched
an campaign in all directions of India, liberating India from foreigners and tyrannical kings.
Historical Person
According to Kalhan's 'Rajatarangini', anarchy spread in Kashmir around 14 AD when King
Hiranya of blind Yudhishthira dynasty died childless. Seeing this, on the advice of the ministers
there, King Vikramaditya of Ujjain sent Matrugupta to take over the kingdom of Kashmir
. According to the Nepalese dynasty, there is a mention of the arrival of King Vikramaditya of
Ujjain in Nepal during the time of King Anshuvarman of Nepal (first century BC).
Raja Vikram is found in the texts of Sanskrit, Prakrit, Ardhamagadhi, Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi,
Bangla etc. languages of India. Many stories of his valor, generosity, kindness, forgiveness etc.
are found in Indian literature.
Names of Vikramaditya's Navaratnas
The tradition of keeping the Navaratnas started from the great emperor Vikramaditya
who was also adopted by the emperor Akbar.
The Navaratnas of Emperor Vikramaditya are called
Amarasimha
Dhanavantari
Ghatakarapara
Kalidasa
Kshapanaka
Shanku
Varahamihira
Vararuchi
Vetala Bhatta
These Navratnas included high-quality scholars, top poets, arithmetic scholars and science experts.
Promoter of Vikram Samvat
There have been many scholars in the country who believe that Vikram Samvat was promoted by
King Vikramaditya of Ujjain. The enforcement of this era is confirmed by the Jyotirvidabharana
Granth, which was written in 3068 Kali i.e. 34 BCE. According to this Vikramaditya ran the
Vikram Samvat in 3044 Kali i.e. 57 BC
Historisity And Early Life
Although some authors believe Vikramaditya was a mythological character, others
speculate that he was a historical Malava king from around the first century BCE.
Still others believe that he was based on a historical character, distinguished as
Chandragupta II, Gautamiputra Satakarni or Y Referman.
According to historians, the kingdom of Ujjain's Emperor Vikramaditya was in the
Indian subcontinent as well as Iran, Iraq and Arabia. The Arab conquest of
Vikramaditya is described by the Arabic poet Jarham Kintoi in his book 'Saiyar-ul
-Okul'. According to the Puranas and other history texts, it is found that Arabs and
Egypt were also under Vikramaditya.
Saqr-ul-Okul is a historical book in the famous library Maktab-e-Sultania of the city of
Istanbul, Turkey. It mentions an inscription relating to King Vikramaditya
which states that '… those people are fortunate to have been born at that time and
lived in the kingdom of King Vikram. He was a very kind, generous and dutiful ruler
who thought about the welfare of every person.
... He spread his holy religion among us, sent scholars even faster than the sun of
his country to this country so that the light of education could spread. These
scholars and scholars have done a philanthropy by telling us about the presence
of God and the true path to truth. All these scholars came here to teach their religion
on the instruction of King Vikramaditya…
Other emperors whose name
has been named Vikramaditya
Sriharisa, Shudraka, Hal, Chandragupta II, Shiladitya, Yashovardhana etc. Actually, the word Aditya
is used from the gods. Later, after the fame of Vikramaditya, the kings were given
the title 'Vikramaditya'.
There have been more Vikramadityas before and after Vikramaditya, leading to confusion. Emperor
Vikramaditya of Ujjain was followed by Samudragupta's son
Chandragupta II or Chandragupta Vikramaditya
in 300 AD.
One Vikramaditya II took place in the 7th century, the son of Vijayaditya (Vikramaditya I). Vikramaditya II
also kept the power of the Chalukya kingdom intact in his time. It was during the time of Vikramaditya II
that the Arabs attacked Lat Desh (southern Gujarat). Due to the valor of Vikramaditya II, the Arabs were not
successful in their efforts and this majestic Chalukya king was able to protect his empire from Arab invasion.
The Several Vikramadityas
The Pallava king defeated Pulakesan and killed him. His son Vikramaditya,
who was as great a ruler as his father, ascended the throne.
He again started a struggle against his enemies of the south.
He recovered the old glory of the Chalukyas to a great extent.
Even his great-grandson
Vikramaditya II was a great warrior.
In 753 AD Vikramaditya and his son were overthrown by a chief named Danti Durga.
He established another great empire in Maharashtra and Karnataka,
which was called Rashtrakuta.
Vikramaditya II was followed by Emperor Hemachandra Vikramaditya
'Hemu' in the 15th century.
After 'Emperor Hemachandra Vikramaditya' Vikramaditya Pancham
'Satyashraya ascended the
throne of Kalyani. He assumed the throne of the Chalukya kingdom in about 1008 AD. This was
Vikramaditya during the time of Raja Bhoja of Bhopal.
Vikramaditya V fought several wars following the policies of his ancestors.
In his time, the Chalukyas clashed with the Paramaras of Malwa and in retaliation for
the defeat and murder of
Vakpatiraja Munj, Parmar Raja Bhoj attacked and defeated the Chalukya kingdom,
but in a battle
Vikramaditya V also defeated Raja Bhoj. Had given.
The Legendary Stories Of
Vikramaditya
The whole cycle of stories around Vikramaditya is very intresting. The two most popular Sanskrit series
are the Betal Pachisi ("25 Tales of Vampires") and the Throne-Dwatrinsika ("32 Stories of the
Throne" also known as Sihnson Battisi). Many conversions of these two are found in Sanskrit and regional
languages.
In the stories of the vampire (Betal), Betal narrates twenty-five stories, in which the king wants to take Betal
captive and he confuses the king with confusing stories and ends by placing a question to the king. In fact,
first a monk begs the king to bring him to Betal without uttering a word,
Otherwise, the betel will fly back to its place. The king could remain silent only when he did not know the
answer, otherwise the head of the king would be torn. Unfortunately, the king realizes
that they know the answer
to all his questions;
That is why till the last question confusing Vikramaditya, the process of capturing Betal and then leaving him
goes on twenty-four times. A conversion of these stories can be seen in Katha-Saritsagar.
The accounts of the throne are linked to the throne of Vikramaditya which was lost and recovered by Bhoja,
the Paramara king of Dhar several centuries later. King Bhoj himself was also very famous and this series of
stories is about his attempts to ascend the throne. This throne had 32 effigies, which could speak
And challenges the king that the king can only sit on the throne in that position
if he is as liberal as Vikramaditya
in the story he narrates. This leads to 32 attempts (and 32 stories) of Vikramaditya
and each time Bhoja accepts
his inferiority. Finally the effigies are pleased with his modesty and allow him to sit on the throne.
Achievements Of Vikramaditya
Vikramaditya was a great monarch. He defeated Sakas and ended Saka era and Vikram Samvat
era started their after. It was a time when cruel kings like Julius Ceaser of Rome wanted to prove
their sovereignty over entire world. For this they were ready to do as much bloodshed as they can.
Vikramaditya won the hearts of people of India and also other Asian countries and ruled over entire
Asian subcontinent. He brought down the glory of Julius Ceaser and forced him to accept his
Sovereignty. He promoted every religion. Peace and prosperous prevailed in his kingdom.
He regarded Judaism, Zorostrainism and Buddhism as native religions of Hinduism. He opened
many Libraries, Hospitals, Temples in Asia. He was devotee of Lord Shiva and received anointment
in the age of 12. After conquering entire Asia even the gods recognised him as an universal monarch.
He was having a golden throne with 32 dolls in his throne. Truth of this 32 dolls was they were 32
beautiful virgins which turned into dolls because of curse of Rishi Duravasa. They accepted to be a
part of the throne of Vikramaditya by accepting his suzerainty in return of protection from demons.
Even Indra king of gods was jaleous of his glory. He patronised numerous scholars and their were
numerous poets in his court. He ruled for 100 yrs and was having army of 3 crore soldiers no king
in the history of India was having such a huge army. His glory was as compared to the gods. He was
gifted with enormous powers and truely was an universal monarch.
Highlights
Vikramaditya :
·
Born: 102 BCE
·
Father: Gandharvasena,
Mother: Saumardarshana
Brother: Bhartrihari
Sister: Manavati
·
Died: 15 CE
reign: 77 BCE - 15 CE (Ujjain)
Names of Vikramaditya's Navaratnas:
The Navaratnas of Emperor
Vikramaditya are called
1. Amarasimha
2. Dhanavantari
3. Ghatakarapara
4. Kalidasa
5. Kshapanaka
6. Shanku
7. Varahamihira
8. Vararuchi
9. VetalaBhatta
The Legendary Stories Of Vikramaditya
Betal Pachisi ("25 Tales of Vampires")Throne-Dwatrinsika ("32 Stories of the Throne"
also known as Sihnson Battisi
Vikramaditya was a great emperor of ancient India. Often referred as an ideal king, he is known
for his generosity, courage and scholarly patronage. Vikramaditya is depicted in hundreds of
traditional Indian stories, including Baitala (Vampire) and Singhasan Battisi. Many describe him as
a universal ruler, his capital at Ujjain (Pataliputra or the establishment in a few stories). The name
Raja Vikramaditya is derived from the combination of 'Vikram' and 'Aditya' which means 'the sun
of might' or 'mighty like the sun'. Meaning is Sun). Vikram era It is said to have been initiated by the
king after his victory over Shakas in 56 BCE.
