History of India, c. 150 A.D. to 350 A.D.: Naga–Vakataka Imperial Period c16.s2.38

c16.s2.38

The ‘Magadha Dynasty’ of Kalinga. One of the earliest rulers of this Magadha dynasty was Śaktivarman and probably the next ones were Chandravarman and his son Vijayanandivarman. Vijayanandi-varman changed the dynastic name from ‘the Magadha family’ into ‘the Śālaṅkāyana dynasty’. This must have happened in or after Skanda Gupta’s time. We find a successor of Vijayanandi-varman Vijayadeva-varman) even performing a horse-sacrifice, i.e. declaring his full independence. It is almost certain that the later Vākāṭakas, when they conquered Kaliṅga, were asserting their rights as relations or successors of the Guptas, as well as their old right of overlordship over this part of the country, and their assertion must have been against the Śālaṅkāyanas. This ‘Magadha kula’ was evidently the ruling feudatory family set up by Samudra Gupta or his successor. They were Brahmins taken from Magadha. Their early kings issue their charters in Sanskrit. The name of the first ruler must have been Guha which the Vāyu and the Brahmāṇḍa give. Its form as Guhān or Guham, [given in the Viṣṇu Purāṇa] is a remnant of the original accusative which is here lost in the Vāyu and the Brahmāṇḍa. That a ruler over Kaliṅga with the name Guha (‘Guha Śiva’) was a feudatory under the Emperor of All-India and beyond (Jambudvīpa) ruling from Pāṭaliputra, who was Brahmanical in faith, is described in the legendary History of the Tooth Relic of Ceylon¹, which is believed to belong to the fourth century A.D. It seems to have its foundation in the fact of Guha’s governorship under Samudra Gupta.