Political History of Ancient India, from the Accession of Parikshit to the Extinction of the Gupta Dynasty c12.s6.25

c12.s6.25

The most important achievement of Śiśunāga seems to have been the destruction of the ‘glory’ of the Pradyota dynasty of Avanti. Pradyota the first king of the line, had been succeeded, according to tradition, by his sons Gopāla and Pālaka after whom came Viśākha and Āryaka. The name of Gopāla is omitted in the *Purāṇas* with the possible exception of the *k* Viṣhṇu manuscript, where it finds mention instead of Pālaka.¹ The accession of the latter synchronised, according to Jaina accounts, with the passing away of Mahāvīra. He is reputed to have been a tyrant. Viśākha-bhūpa (i.e., king Viśākha-called Viśākha-yūpa in most Purāṇic texts) may have been a son of Pālaka.² The absence of any reference to this prince in non-Purāṇic accounts that have hitherto been available, may suggest that he ruled in some outlying district (Māhishmatī), or was set aside in favour of Āryaka who occupied the throne, as a result of a popular outbreak, almost immediately after the fall of Pālaka. The Purāṇas place after Āryaka or Ajaka a king named Nandivardhana, or Vartivardhana, and add that Śiśunāga will destroy the prestige of the Pradyotas and be king. Dr. Jayaswal identifies Ajaka and Nandivardhana of the Avanti list with Aja-Udāyin and Nandivardhana of the Pūrāṇic list of Saiśunāga kings. Dr. D. R. Bhandarkar, on the other hand, says that Āryaka or Ajaka was the son of Gopāla, the elder brother of Pālaka.¹ 'Nandivardhana' and 'Vartivardhana' are apparently corruptions of Avantivardhana, the name of a son of Pālaka according to the *Kathā-sarit-sāgara*,² of Gopāla according to the Nepalese *Bṛihat-kathā*,³ or possibly identical with Avantisena, a grandson of Pālaka according to the *Āvaśyaka Kathānakas*.⁴ The Pradyota dynasty must have been humbled by Śiśunāga in the time of king Avantivardhana. The Magadhan victory was doubtless facilitated by the revolution that placed Āryaka, a ruler about whose origin there is hardly any unanimity, on the throne of Ujjain.