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Pithipatis of Bodh Gaya

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Pīṭhīpatis of Bodh Gaya
1120 CE–1290 CE
Approximate location of the Pithipatis (), with contemporary polities circa 1175.[1][2]
CapitalBodh Gaya
Common languagesSanskrit
Religion
Buddhism[1]
Historical eraMedieval India
• Established
1120 CE
• Disestablished
1290 CE
Preceded by		 Succeeded by
Pala Empire
Delhi Sultanate

The Pīṭhīpatis of Bodh Gaya (also known as the Pithipatis of Magadha[3] or simply the Pithis) were the rulers of the area around Bodh Gaya from roughly the 11th to 13th centuries CE in the Magadha region of what is now Bihar in India. Pithi refers to the diamond throne where the Buddha was said to have gained enlightenment.[2]

The Pithipati chiefs styled themselves with the title of Acarya in addition to Pīṭhīpati.[2] Pithipati Buddhasena also termed himself as magadhādipati (ruler or lord of Magadha).[4]

The Mahabodhi temple prior to its restoration. The Pithipatis maintained authority over the temple for a period

Origin

[edit]
Inscription of Pithipati Jayasena inside the Mahabodhi temple sanctum, 13th-century CE

The historian, Dineshchandra Sircar, noted that the Pithipatis appear to have originally been religious authorities and priests before eventually coming into power themselves at some point in the 11th century during the Pala rule of the region and the Pithis themselves were likely subordinates of the Pala dynasty.[5][6]

Pithipati inscriptions refer to the dynasty/clan name as Chinda and Chikkora. Kumaradevī, the daughter of Devaraksita, calls her father a Chikkora, while a later descendant, Jayasena, calls his ancestors Chinda indicating the use of different family names. The Chindas/Chikkoras were descended from the Chindaka Nagas who ruled the Bastar region of what is now the modern-day state of Chhatisgarh. They were noblemen of the area who served as advisors to the Kalachuris of Ratnapura. Vallabharaja, the first Pithipati, arrived in Bodh Gaya and converted to Buddhism, whereupon he adopted the monastic name of Devaraksita.[2]

History

[edit]
Votive Stupa from 11th century Bodh Gaya

The first king of this dynasty was Vallabharāja whose rule of Bodh Gaya is confirmed by the Sarnath inscription of his daughter, Kumaradevi in the 12th century. Kumaradevi was one of the wives of Govindachandra of the Gahadavala dynasty. Vallabharāja likely arrived in Bodh Gaya from the area of Ratanpur and began a campaign against Ramapala.[2] During this conflict, he established Bodh Gaya as his base of operations and conquered it from the previous ruling family known as the Yakspāla. It has been speculated that he was aided in his campaign by Govindachandra and that Kumaradevi's marriage to Govindacharandra was part of the terms of this alliance. After gaining control of Bodh Gaya he converted to Buddhism and took on the new name, Devaraksita. At this point, he made peace with the Palas by marrying the daughter of Mahana Pala (uncle of Ramapala).[2]

The Pithipatis were contemporaries and neighbours of the Gahadavalas to the west, the Pala dynasty to the east and the Karnats of Mithila to the north.[7] In one incident that has been recorded in the Puruṣaparīkṣā of the 15th-century poet, Vidyapati, the Karnat prince, Malladeva, in an attempt to prove his valour, led an expedition that ousted the ruler of the "Chikkora dynasty" from his throne in Bodh Gaya. At the time, the ruler would have been an aged Devaraksita. In response, the Gahadavala King, possibly Jayachandra, sent a force that defeated Malladeva and restored Devaraksita or his son Deśarāja to the throne of Bodh Gaya.[2]

The Pithi chiefs were also noted for providing land to visiting Sri Lankan monks in Bodh Gaya so that they could build a monastery.[8] Inscriptions from the period detail the granting of land to the Singhalasangha by Acarya Buddhasena. It also details how a nearby village called Kottahala was granted to a Sinhalese monk called Mangalavamsin for the maintenance of the Mahabodhi temple.[9]

Islamic invasion and decline

[edit]

During the reign of Acarya Pithi Buddhasena, the region began to experience raids from Turkic invaders and the Pithipatis were forced to swear fealty to them. This is detailed in the memoirs of the Tibetan pilgrim, Dharmasvamin who visited Bodh Gaya in 1234-35.[10][11] Dharmasvamin states that Buddhasena had retreated with his soldiers into a forest and they had left the Mahabodhi temple fortified for its protection with just four monks present at the site.[1]

Relations with neighbours

[edit]

The sway of the Pithipatis at its peak seems to have extended from the Gaya and Magadha region up to the western and southern parts of Munger district as an inscription from a Pithipati ruler has been found in the village of Arma in Munger.[12] The Ramacharitam notes that the Pithipatis paid a nominal nod to the Pala Empire but managed their own internal affairs. It is likely that once the Pala dynasty ended they switched their allegiance to other powers although they seem to have regained their power following the invasion of Bakhtiyar Khalji. Inscriptional evidence shows they may have helped in repairing the Odantapuri monastery situated 70km from Bodh Gaya.[2] A thirteenth-century stone inscription also confirms that the Pithipatis donated land to the Telhara monastery. Dharmasvamin also details how the Pithipati kings patronised the monks of Nalanda.[1]

Sarnath inscription of Kumaradevī

[edit]
Inscription of Kumaradevi, daughter of Pithipati Devaraksita, which refers the construction of Dharmachakra-Jina-Vihara at Sarnath, and the invasions of the "wicked" Turushkas. 12th century CE.[13][14]

Kumaradevī, the wife of Gahadavala king, Govindachandra left an inscription in Sarnath indicating her Buddhist faith and that her father was Devaraksita who was a member of the Chikkora dynasty.[2][15]

Balogh states that Kumaradevī, the daughter of Pithipati Devaraksita, was married to Govindachandra as part of an alliance between the two kingdoms which was formed to counter the Palas.[2]

List of rulers

[edit]

Rough dates for the period of rule that each of the Pithipati kings reigned for:[2]

  • Vallabharāja (Name changed to Devaraksita after conversion) (1120–1160 CE)
  • Deśarāja (1160–1180 CE)
  • Devasthira (1180–1200 CE)
  • Buddhasena (1200–1240 CE)
  • Pūrnabhadra (1240–1255)
  • Jayasena (1255–1280)

After Jayasena, other rulers followed of which we know less about including Sangharaksita, Buddhasena II and Madhusena.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Amar, Abhishek S. (2019). "Reassessing the Muslim Attacks and the Decline of Buddhist Monasteries in the Thirteenth Century Magadha". Encountering Buddhism and Islam in Premodern Central and South Asia: 48–75. ISBN 978-3-11-062986-6.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Balogh, Daniel (2021). Pithipati Puzzles: Custodians of the Diamond Throne. British Museum Research Publications. pp. 40–58. ISBN 9780861592289.
  3. ^ Misra, BN (1996). "The Pithipatis of Magadha". Culture Through the Ages Prof. B.N. Puri Felicitation Volume: 145–160. ISBN 978-81-7320-019-9.
  4. ^ Sircar, D. C. (1978). "Bodhgayā Inscription of Pithipati Ācārya Buddhasena". Senarat Paranavitana Commemoration Volume: 255–256. doi:10.1163/9789004646476_033. ISBN 978-90-04-64647-6.
  5. ^ Sircar, Dineshchandra (1979). Some Epigraphical Records of the Medieval Period from Eastern India. Abhinav Publications. pp. 31–32. ISBN 9788170170969.
  6. ^ Sarao, KTS (2020). The History of Mahabodhi Temple at Bodh Gaya. Springer. p. 206. ISBN 9789811580673.
  7. ^ Choudhary, Radha Krishna (1954). "THE KARṆĀTS OF MITHILĀ, (C. 1097-1355 A. D.)". Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute. 35 (1/4): 91–121. JSTOR 41784923.
  8. ^ Prakash, Gyan (2003). Bonded Histories Genealogies of Labor Servitude in Colonial India. Cambridge University Press. p. 15. ISBN 9780521526586.
  9. ^ Prasad, Birendra Nath (2021). Archaeology of Religion in South Asia: Buddhist, Brahmanical and Jaina Religious Centres in Bihar and Bengal, c. AD 600–1200. Routledge. p. 423. ISBN 9781000416756.
  10. ^ Prasad Sinha, Bindeshwari (1977). Dynastic History of Magadha, Cir. 450-1200 A.D. Abhinav Publications. p. 235.
  11. ^ Singh, Anand (2013). "'Destruction' and 'Decline' of Nālandā Mahāvihāra: Prejudices and Praxis". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka. 58 (1): 23–49. JSTOR 43854933.
  12. ^ Prasad Sinha, Bindeshwari (1977). Dynastic History of Magadha. Abhinav Publications. p. 220.
  13. ^ Konow, Sten (1907). Epigraphia Indica Vol. 9. pp. 319–330.
  14. ^ Asher, Frederick M. (11 February 2020). Sarnath: A Critical History of the Place Where Buddhism Began. Getty Publications. p. 7. ISBN 978-1-60606-638-6.
  15. ^ Niyogi, Roma (1959). The History of the Gāhadavāla Dynasty. Calcutta Oriental Book Agency. p. 87.
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