Ancient History
Part IV

Rudrasena(I)  was followed by his son Parthivisena( I ), who ruled for a long time and brought peace and contentment to his people, During his reign this branch of the Vakatakas became matrimonially connected with the illustrious Gupta family of north India. Chandragupta II - Vikarmaditya - married his daughter Prabhavatigupta II to Prthivisena I's son, Rudrasena II, Probably Western Ksatrapas. Rudrasena II died soon after accession, leaving behind two sons Divakarasena and Damodarasena alias Pravarasena II. As neither of them had come of age, Prabhavatigupta ruled as regent for the elder son Divakarasena for at least thirteen years. She seems to have been helped in the government of the kingdom by military and civil officers sent by her father Chandragupta II. One of these was the great Sanskrit poet Kalidasa, who, while residing at the Vakataka capital Nandivardhana, must have visited Ramagiri (modern Ramtek), where the theme of his excellent lyric Meghaduta suggested itself to him.

Prabhavatigupta has left us two copper-plate inscriptions. The earlier of them, though discovered in distant Poona, originally belonged to Vidarbha. It was issued from the then Vakataka capital Nandivardhana and records the dowager queen's grant of the village Danguna (modern Hinganghat) to a Brahmana after offering it to the feet of the Bragavat (i.e., Ramachandara) on Karika sukla dvadasi evidently at the time of Parane after observing a fast on the previous day of the Prabodhini Ekadasi Some of the boundary villages can still be traced in the vicinity of Hinganghat.

Divakarasena also seems to have died when quite young. He was succeeded by his brother Damodarasena, who on accession assumed the Pravarasena of his illustrious ancestor. He had a long reign of thirty years and was known for his learning and liberality. More than a dozen land-grants made by him have come to light. One of them which was made at the instance of his mother Prabhavatigupta in the nineteenth regnal year is noteworthy. The plates recording it were issued from the feet of Ramagirisvamin (i.e., God Ramachandra on the hill of Ramagiri) and record the grant which the queen-mother made as on the previous occation, viz., after observing a fast on the Probodhini Ekadasi.

Pravarasena II founded a new city which the named Pravarapura, where he shifted his capital some time after his eleventh regnal year. Some of his later land-grants were made at the new capital. He built there a magnificent temple of Ramachandra evidently at the instance of his mother who was a devout worshipper of Visnu. Some of the sculptures used to decorate this temple have recently been discovered at Pavnar on the bank of the Dham, 9.656 km. (6 miles) from Wardha, and have thus led to the identification of Pravrapura with Pavnar.

Pravarasena II is the reputed author of the Setubandha, a Prakrit kavya in glorification of Ramachandra. This work has been greatly praised by Sanskrit poets and rhetoricians. According to a tradition recorded by a commentator of this work, it was composed by Kalidasa who ascribed it to Pravarasena. Pravarasena is also known from some Prakrit gathas which were later interpolated in the Sattasai.

Pravarasena II was succeeded by his son Narendrasena, during whose reign Vidarbha was invaded by the Nala king Bhavadatta varman. The latter penetrated as far as the Nagpur district and even occupied Nandivardhana, the erstwhile Vakataka capital. The Rddhapur plates record the grant which Bhavadatta had made while on a pilgrimage to Prayaga. The plates were issued from Nandivardhana which was evidently his capital at the time. In this emergency the Vakatakas has to shift their capital again. They moved it to Padmapura, modern Padampur near Amganv in the Bhandara district. A fragmentary inscription which was proposed to be issued from Padmapur has been discovered at the village of Mohalla in the Durg district.