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The Ikshvaku dynasty (IAST: Ikṣvāku) ruled in the eastern Krishna River valley of India, from their capital at Nagarjunakonda (modern Nagarjunakonda in Andhra Pradesh) for over a century during 3rd and 4th centuries CE. The Ikshvakus are also known as the Andhra Ikshvakus or the Ikshvakus of Vijayapuri to distinguish them from their legendary namesakes: the Solar dynasty.
The Ikshvaku kings were Shaivism and performed Vedic rites, but Buddhism also flourished during their reign. Several Ikshvaku queens and princes contributed to the construction of the Buddhist monuments at present-day Nagarjunakonda.
A record of the Vijayapuri king Ehuvala Chamtamula traces his ancestry to the legendary Ikshvakus. The Ikshvakus of Vijayapuri seem to be same as the "Shriparvatiya Andhras" mentioned in the Matsya Purana.
No information is available about Chamtamula's parents, except that his father had multiple wives and daughters. Chamtamula had two , named Chamtasri (IAST: Cāṃtaśrī) and Hammasri (IAST: Hammaśrī). Chamtasri, who married Mahatalavara Skandashri of Pukiya family (he is Commander-in-chief and a feudatory), played an important role in the construction of a Buddhist chaitya.
The records of the later Ikshvaku kings describe Chamtamula as a great performer of the Vedic sacrifices such as Agnishtoma, Vajapeya and Ashvamedha. These descriptions are corroborated by archaeological discoveries, including those of Chamtamula's Ashvamedha-type coins, a tank used for the Avabhritha ceremony, the kurma-chiti (a tortoise-shaped sacrificial altar), and the skeleton of a horse. An inscription of the later Ikshvaku king Ehuvala Chamtamula states that Vasishthiputra Chamtamula won many battles with his valour.
Chamtamula had many wives. His daughter Adavi Chamtisri (IAST: Cāṃtiśrī) married Mahasenapati Mahatalavara Dandanayaka Khamdavishakha (IAST: Khamḍaviśāakha) of the Dhanaka family. He was succeeded by his son Virapurushadatta. An inscription dated to the 20th regnal year of Virapurushadatta mentions Chamtamula's death, which can be interpreted in various ways. It is possible that Chamtamula lived up to this time, having given up the throne at an earlier date; alternatively, it is possible that the inscription merely commemorates his death anniversary.
His daughter Kodabalishri (IAST: Kodabaliśrī) married the ruler of the Vanavasa country (possibly the Chutu dynasty ruler of modern Banavasi). He had two sons, Eli Ehavuladasa (whose mother was Yakhilinika) and Evuvala Chamtamula (whose mother was Khamduvula, and who succeeded him on the throne).
The Ikshvaku kingdom seems to have suffered multiple foreign invasions during Ehuvala's reign. The Sarvadeva temple inscription credits his commander Anikke with victories on the battlefield. The memorial pillar of his general Mahasenapati Chamtapula, a Kulahaka chief, also alludes to battle victories.
Hariti-putra Virapurushadatta, the son of Ehuvala and queen Kapanashri (Kapanaśrī), bore the titles of an heir apparent: Maharaja Kumara and Mahasenapati. However, he did not ascend the throne, probably because he died before his father. Ehuvala was succeeded by Rudrapurushadatta, who was his son from Vammabhatta, the daughter of a Mahakshatrapa (the Western Kshatrapa ruler).
The Shakas (the Western Kshatrapas) appear to have greatly influenced the Ikshvaku kingdom during Ehuvala's rule. Some of the inscriptions issued during this period use the Shaka title svamin for the king. An inscription to commemorate Vammabhatta, issued during the 11th regnal year of his son Rudrapurushadatta uses this title svamin for all the preceding kings.
According to American academic Richard Salomon "a Nagarjunakonda memorial pillar inscription of the time of King Rudrapurusadatta attests to a marital alliance between the Western Ksatrapas and the Iksvaku rulers of Nagarjunakonda".
By the mid-4th century, the Pallava dynasty had gained controlled of the former Ikshvaku territory, and the Ikshvaku rulers may have been reduced to vassal status.
Assuming 227 CE as the last date of the Satavahana king Puloma IV, and assuming that the Ikshvaku rule began immediately after that, scholar K. Krishna Murthy assigns the following dates to the kings, based on their inscriptions:
Historian Upinder Singh estimates the reigns of the Ikshvaku rulers as follows:
Buddhism also flourished in Ikshvaku kingdom, and several princes and queens contributed to the construction of the Buddhist shrines. Chamtashri, the sister of Vasishthiputra Chamtamula, generously donated towards the construction of a mahachaitya ("great chaitya"), which was built during the 6th regnal year of her son-in-law Virapurushadatta, under the supervision of Ananda. A reliquary containing the tooth of Gautama Buddha (according to a local inscription) has been discovered among the ruins of the mahachaitya. According to the Buddhist tradition, the relics were brought by Mahadeva, a missionary sent by the 3rd century BCE empire Ashoka to propagate Buddhism.
Inscriptions dated to the regnal years 6, 10, 14, 15, 18, 19, 20, and 24 of Virapurushadatta's rule record the construction of Buddhist monuments by royal ladies and commoners. During the reign of Ehuvala Chamtamula, Mahadevi Bhattideva commissioned a monastery for the teachers of the Bhaushrutiya (Bhauśrutīya) Buddhist sect. Mahadevi Kodabalishri (Kodabaliśrī) commissioned a monastery for the leaders of the Mahishasaka (Mahiśāsaka) sect. Chandrashri (Candraśrī), an upasika performed many religious activities in favour of the Apara-mahavina-seliya sect. A stupa (now termed as Stupa No. 9 at Nagarjunakonda) was renovated during Ehuvala's reign. Kumara-nandin, a merchant, installed an image of Buddha with a Sanskrit inscription during the same period.
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