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A Brahmin and a feudatory of the Gupta Empire, Mātṛviṣṇu is prominently mentioned in several inscriptions of Eran, Central India, who valiantly fought along with the Emperor Bhanugupta in the First Battle of Eran in which he was martyred. In 484 CE, he is described as being a Maharaja and the Vishayapati (district officer) of Eran under the reign of Maharaja Surasmichandra, who governed the region between the Yamuna and the Narmada River. He comes from a family of pious Brahmins performing religious and spiritual duties; his grandfather was Indraviṣṇu and his forefather was Varuṇaviṣṇu, both known for their participation in studies of scripture and enactment of sacrificial rites.

Mātṛviṣṇu
Maharaja
Mandapa of the Vishnu Temple at Eran.
Successor	Dhanyaviṣṇu
Died	498 CE, Eran
Burial	Eran, Madhya Pradesh
Religion	Vaishnavism
Military career
Battles / wars	First Battle of Eran

Etymology

Mātṛviṣṇu is mentioned in the Eran Stone Boar Inscription from the reign of Toramana (500–515 CE), and in Eran Stone Pillar Inscription of Budhagupta. Perhaps Mātṛ signifies one of the seven Mātṛkās or possibly, Vedic Mātariśvan (read Agni) and its concatenation with Viṣṇu underlines a unique theological or cultural synthesis pertinent of the Gupta period.

Religious activities

The stone pillar in Eran was installed by Mātṛviṣṇu and is called the "Column of Janārdana" (Viṣṇu/Kṛṣṇa) - a thin, 13-metre-high column. He established, with his younger brother Dhanyaviṣṇu, a twin temple complex dedicated to Viṣṇu on the southern banks of the Bina River.Janārdana's emblem (Garuda) thus stands out on the pillar. This complex grew during Budhagupta's reign reflecting the imperial standard and the pride of Gupta Empire.

Military achivements

Testimonials

Mātṛviṣṇu is described in the Eran Stone Pillar Inscription of Budhagupta as a mighty and triumphal king, whose renown spread "to the frontiers of the four oceans". He also claimed to have been chosen by the “goddess of sovereignty” as her consort — language that echoed the epithets used for great Gupta emperors like Samudragupta and Skandagupta. His self-titled "Maharaja," while demonstrating his subordination to it within the Gupta administrative system, shows that he asserts some measure of authority himself.

First Battle of Eran

Mātṛviṣṇu valiantly fought and perished during the First Battle of Eran (Betwa Valley). His brother Dhanyaviṣṇu commissioned a Varāhamūrti (boar idol) at Eran and supervised the building of a temple in memory of his brother. The acts are etched to stone 'deeds' from the first year of the reign of Toramana, signifying a shift of allegiance to the marauding Huna forces.

The inscriptions reveal that in these regions, the Gupta administration was in a fragmented state, and the feudal system (mamsa) prevalent then, enabled local chiefs to change their loyalty when it suited them. The defection of Dhanyaviṣṇu to the Hunas after the death of Mātṛviṣṇu demonstrates how local feudatories supported the conquest of the Gupta Empire by Toramana. This transition would have taken place not long after 484 CE and probably within a generation from that date.

Legacy

In bequeathal, Mātṛviṣṇu’s contributions to religious architecture, monuments, sculptures, and his royal pretensions are but facets of the intricate networks of loyalty and power that characterized politics in distinctly Gupta-era India. The surviving inscriptions of Mātṛviṣṇu and his family aid in reconstructing the cultural, religious, and administrative world of an emperor.

References

Citations

1. Bakker 2020, p. 33.
2. Sharma 1978, p. 116.
3. Sharma 1978, p. 41.
4. Balogh 2020, p. 330.
5. Bakker 2020, p. 73.
6. Goyal 1967, p. 11. sfn error: no target: CITEREFGoyal1967 (help)
7. Bakker 2020, p. 75.
8. Goyal 1967, p. 341. sfn error: no target: CITEREFGoyal1967 (help)
9. Goyal 1967, p. 406. sfn error: no target: CITEREFGoyal1967 (help)

Sources

• Sharma, Tej Ram (1978). Personal and Geographical Names in the Gupta Inscriptions. Concept Publishing Company. p. 41.
• Bakker, Hans T. (2020-03-12). The Alkhan: A Hunnic People in South Asia. Barkhuis. p. 33. ISBN 978-94-93194-00-7.
• S. R. Goyal (1967). A history of the Imperial Guptas. With a Foreword by R. C. Majumdar.
• Balogh, Dániel (2020-03-12). Hunnic Peoples in Central and South Asia: Sources for their Origin and History. Barkhuis. ISBN 978-94-93194-01-4.

• People from the Gupta Empire
• Indian maharajas
• 5th-century Indian people
• Vassal rulers of the Gupta Empire
• 5th-century deaths
• Indian warriors
• 5th-century births
• Ancient Indian people
• Indian military leaders
• 498 deaths