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604 POLITICAL HISTORY OF ANCIENT INDIA
feudatory family. Śārdūla is expressly called sūmanta chadāmani, 'crest-jewel of vassal chiefs' in the Barābar Hill Cave Inscription of his son. The Badvā Maukharis held the office of general or military governor under some Prince of Western India in the third century A. D. The Maukharis of the United Provinces ? probably also held a subordinate rank at first. The earliest princes of this family, viz., Harivarman, Adityavarman, and īśvaravarman, were simply Mahārājas. Adityavarman's wife was Harsha Guptā, probably a sister of king Harsha Gupta. -The wife of his son and successor Žśvaravarman was also probably a Gupta princess named Upa-Guptā. In the Harālā inscription Iśānavarman, son of İśvaravarman and UpaGuptā," claims victories over the Andhras," the Śūlikas and the Gaudas and is the first to assume the Imperial title of Mahārājādhirāja. It was this which probably brought him into conflict with king Kumāra
1 CII, p. 223. The connection of the Maukharis with Gayā is very old. This is proved by the clay seal with the inscription Mokhaliśa, or Mokhalinam (Fleet, CII, 14), to which attention has already been drawn above. A reference to the Mokaris seems also to occur in the Chandravalli Stone Inscription of the Kadamba king Mayūraśarman (Arch. Survey of Mysore, A. R. 1929, pp. 50 ff). Dr. Tripathi finds a possible reference in the Mahābhāshya (JBORS, 1934, March). For the Badvā ins, see Ep. Ind., XXIII, 42 ff. (Altekar).
2 In literature the Maukhari of U. P. is associated with the city of Kanauj which may have been the capital at one time. Cf. C. V. Vaidya, Mediaeval Hindu India, I, pp. 9, 33 ; Aravamuthan, the Kaveri, the Maukharis and the Samgam Age, p. 101. Hiuen Tsang, however, declares Kanauj to have been included within the realm of the House of Pushyabhūti even before Harsha. A Gupta noble was in possession of Kuśasthala (Kanauj) for some time after the death of Rājyavardhana and before the rise of Harsha. (Harsha-Charita. Parab's ed., pp. 226, 249).
3 Fleet, CII. 220.
4 The victory over the Andhras is also alluded to in the Jaunpur stone inscription (CII, p. 230) which, according to Fleet, also seems to refer to a conflict with Dhārā, the capital of Western Mālava (?). Dr. Basāk thinks that Dhārā in this passage refers to the edge of the sword (Hist. N. E. Ind., 109).
