The Origin of the Aulikaras

Abstract

The Aulikaras, as well as most or all of the associated lineages, probably started out as hereditary leaders among the warrior communities (kṣatra­gaṇa) of the Mālava tribe. This nation originated far to the north, occupying the territory around the river Ravi in the Punjab in Maurya times and migrating gradually to the south.2 In the late centuries BCE and the early centuries CE their centre of power was Mālavanagara, modern Nagar in the Bharatpur district of Rajasthan. Their presence here is attested to by numerous coins, many of which bear legends such as mālavānāṃ jayaḥ or mālava­gaṇasya jayaḥ (Jain 1972b, 6). They are also referred to, in the form mālaya, in the Nasik Inscription of Uṣavadāta (early second century CE), which mentions Śaka aid to the Uttamabhadra tribe against the Mālavas.3 This inscription does not say what area the Mālavas and Uttamabhadras inhabited, but it does mention Uṣavadāta bathing at Pushkar afterwards, so their territory must have been near modern Ajmer. The end of the second century CE saw a protracted war of succession in the Śaka kingdom between Jīvadāman and his uncle Rudrasiṃha I (Majumdar and Altekar 1954, 31–32). This probably provided an opportunity for the Mālava tribes to increase their territories and level of independence. From the third century onward, inscribed sacrificial pillars (yūpa) commemorate Mālava chieftains both in the south and north of modern Rajasthan (to the southwest and northeast of Nagar). The earliest of these are the yūpas of Nandsa ( , 25°14’56”N 74°16’49”E, Bhilwara district, Rajasthan; Figure 2), which preserve two copies of an inscription (one of the copies being written lengthwise, the other crosswise on the same pillar) commemorating a tremendous sixty-one day sacrifice (°aikaṣaṣṭi­rātram atisatram) held by Nandisoma, son of Jayasoma, grandson of Bhṛguvardhana, great-grandson of Jayatsena,4 who bore the clan name Sogi or Sogin. It has been suggested (Altekar 1948, 260) that this sacrifice, conducted in the Kṛta year 282 (ca. 225 CE), was in celebration of a victory against a Śaka ruler. Whether or not this is correct,