{{Short description|Ancient Indian tribe}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2017}} {{Use Indian English|date=March 2017}} {{Infobox former country | common_name = Malavas | linking_name = the Kingdom of Malwa | native_name = Mālava-deśa or Mālava-gaṇa | conventional_long_name = Malavas | image_map = {{South Asia in 150 BCE|center|Location on the Malavas and contemporary South Asian polities circa 150 BCE.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Schwartzberg |first1=Joseph E. |title=A Historical atlas of South Asia |date=1978 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |location=Chicago |page=145, map XIV.1 (d) |isbn=0226742210 |url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/schwartzberg/pager.html?object=182 |archive-date=24 February 2021 |access-date=16 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224162023/https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/schwartzberg/pager.html?object=182 |url-status=dead }}</ref>|{{Annotation|85|112|[[File:Long Rectangle (plain).png|40px]]}}||none}} | year_start = c. 4th century BCE | year_end = c. 7th century CE | religion = [[Historical Vedic religion]] <br> [[Jainism]] <br> [[Buddhism]] <br> [[Ājīvika|Ajivikism]] | government_type = [[Ganasangha|Aristocratic republic]] | p1 = Avanti (Ancient India) | p2 = Western Satraps | s1 = Chalukyas | s2 = Kingdom of Valabhi | s3 = Gurjara Confederacy | today = [[India]] }} The '''Malavas''' ([[Brahmi script]]: 𑀫𑁆𑀫𑀸𑀭𑀯 ''Mālava'') or '''Malwas''' were an ancient [[India]]n tribe and confederation. They are a federation attested in various states in North and Central India. The modern regions of [[Malwa (Punjab)]] and [[Malwa]] region in [[Madhya Pradesh]] and [[Rajasthan]] are eponyms attributed to them.<ref name="grover222">{{cite book |last1=Grover |first1=Parminder Singh |title=Discover Punjab: Attractions of Punjab |last2=Singh |first2=Davinderjit |publisher=Golden Point Pvt Lmt. |others=Photographs by Bhupinder Singh |year=2011 |location=Ludhiana, Punjab, India |pages= |chapter=Section 1: Introduction – Regions of Punjab |quote=Regions of Punjab: The much-truncated India's portion of present Punjab is divided into three natural regions: The Maiha, The Doaba, The Malwa. Majha: Majha starts northward from the right bank of river Beas and stretches up to the Wagha village, which marks the boundary between India and Pakistan. Majha in Punjabi means the heartland. The region is divided into three districts: 1. Amritsar, 2. Gurdaspur, 3. Tarn Taran. Doaba: The rivers Sutlei in the south and Beas in the North bound the Doaba of Puniab. The Doaba region is divided into four districts: 1. Jalandhar, 2. Nawanshahr, 3. Kapurthala, 4. Hoshiarpur. Malwa: The area south of the river Sutlej is called Malwa. The name has stuck because a clan called Molois (sometimes written as Malawis in ancient works) once ruled this area, which must have spread up to present State of Gujrat which was known as the Subah of Malwa as late as the Mughul times. Malwa the largest part of the Punjab is divided into the following 12 districts after the names of their headquarters: 1. Bathinda, 2. Barnala, 3. Faridkot, 4. Fatehgarh Sahib, 5. Ferozepur, 6. Ludhiana, 7. Mansa, 8. Moga, 9. Sangrur, 10. Muktsar, 11. Patiala, 12. Rup Nagar, 13. SAS Nagar – Mohali. |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dy-pOAnlQL0C&q=malwa+punjab&pg=PT16}}</ref> Their power gradually declined as a result of defeats against the [[Western Satraps]] (2nd century CE), the [[Gupta Empire|Gupta]] emperor [[Samudragupta]] (4th century), and the [[Chalukyas of Vatapi|Chalukya]] emperor [[Pulakeshin II]] (7th century).
The [[Malava era]], which later came to be known as Vikram Samvat, may have been first used by them.
== Vedic Era == The Malavas are a tribe mentioned in several ancient Indian texts, including the ''[[Mahabharata]]'' and ''[[Mahabhashya]]''.{{sfn|Tej Ram Sharma|1978|p=148}} According to the [[Mahabharata]], the hundred sons of the [[Madra kekaya]] king Ashvapati, the father of Savitri were known as the ''Malava''s, after the name of their mother, Malavi.{{sfn|Bela Lahiri|1974|pp=262-278}}
They are later regarded as a [[Gana]] which functions as a republic or confederation. Panini mentions a group of tribes called ''ayudhajivi samgha''s (those who live by the profession of arms) including the Malavas and the Kshudrakas his sutra V.3.117.<ref>{{Cite book |last=India) |first=Oriental Institute (Vadodara |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d1pjAAAAMAAJ&q=malawa+gana+panini&dq |title=Journal of the Oriental Institute |date=1983 |publisher=Oriental Institute, Maharajah Sayajirao University |language=en}}</ref> The Malavas are also mentioned in the ''Mahabhashya'' (IV.1.68) by [[Patanjali]].{{sfn|B. C. Law|1973|pp=60-65}} Patanjali states that the serfs and slaves of the Malava Gana were not to be considered Malavya, a term only applied to children of tribesmen with full rights.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sharma |first=Ram Sharan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9_E3K8fQoDgC&pg=PA119&dq#v=onepage&q&f=false |title=Aspects of Political Ideas and Institutions in Ancient India |date=1991-01-01 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publishing House |isbn=978-81-208-0827-0 |language=en}}</ref>
== Macedonian Empire == The location of the original homeland of the Malavas is not certain, but modern scholars generally connect them with the "[[Mallian Campaign|Malli]]" or "Malloi" mentioned in the ancient Greek accounts, which describe [[Alexander the Great|Alexander]]'s war against them.{{sfn|D. C. Sircar|1971|p=205}}{{sfn|Tej Ram Sharma|1978|p=147}} At the time of Alexander's invasion in the 4th century BCE, the Malloi lived in present-day [[Punjab region]], in the area to the north of the confluence of the [[Ravi River|Ravi]] and the [[Chenab River|Chenab]] rivers.{{sfn|D. C. Sircar|1971|p=205}}
== Territorial Extent == [[File:Mmālava in the Allahabad Pillar inscription.jpg|thumb|The name "Malava" ([[Brahmi script]]: 𑀫𑁆𑀫𑀸𑀭𑀯 ''Mmālava'') in the [[Allahabad Pillar inscription]] of [[Samudragupta]] (350-375 CE).]] The Malavas extent and timeline is not fully elucidate. During the time of their conflicts with Alexander, they were attested in Punjab, however their presence in other regions at that time is not known. Furthermore, there are no literary or epigraphical mention of the Malavas during the [[Maurya Empire]]. The Malava gana resurfaced again three centuries later when they began to issues thousands of coins in [[Uniara]] in [[Tonk district]] near [[Jaipur]], which likely represented Malavanagara (present-day Nagar Fort) their historical capital. These coins bear the legend Malavanam jayah (lit. 'victory of the Malavas'), and have been dated between 250 BCE and 250 CE during the Saka Era. Several inscriptions dated in the Malava era have been found in various parts of Rajasthan, which suggests that the Malava influence extended to a wider part of Rajasthan. It is unknown if they claimed the region prior or relocated here following their conflicts with entities such as Macedonians, Mauryans, [[Indo-Greek Kingdom|Indo-Greek]], or [[Indo-Scythians]] during their occupation of Punjab.{{sfn|D. C. Sircar|1971|p=205}} Following their resurgence in Malavanagar, the Malavas ultimately claimed the [[Malwa]] region in central India: this region was named after them some time after the 2nd century CE.{{sfn|P. K. Bhattacharyya|1977|p=147}} Some historians attribute the Malavas, originally residing in the Punjab region, migrating to Central India/Rajasthan due to the Huna invasion.{{sfn|Kapur Singh|1959|p=340}}
===Conflict against the Western Satraps=== [[File:Gangdhar inscription of Vishvavarman.jpg|thumb|[[Gangadhar Stone Inscription of Viśvavarman]], king of the [[Aulikaras]], a branch of the Malavas, and contemporary of [[Kumaragupta]], 423 CE.<ref name="CII"/>]] Around 120 CE, the Malavas are mentioned as besieging the king of the [[Uttamabhadras]] to the south, but the Uttamabhadras were finally rescued by the [[Western Satraps]], and the Malvas were crushed.{{sfn|Parmanand Gupta|1989|p=33}} The account appears in an inscription at the [[Nashik Caves]], made by [[Nahapana]]'s viceroy [[Ushavadata]]:
{{blockquote|... And by order of the Lord I went to release the chief of the Uttamabhadras, who had been besieged for the rainy season by the Malayas, and those Malayas fled at the mere roar (of my approaching) as it were, and were all made prisoners of the Uttamabhadra warriors.|Inscription in Cave No.10 of the [[Nashik Caves]].<ref>Epigraphia Indica Vol.8 [https://archive.org/details/EpigraphiaIndica p.78-79]</ref>}}
=== Conflict with the Guptas === In the 4th century CE, during the reign of the [[Gupta Empire|Gupta]] emperor [[Samudragupta]], the Malavas most probably lived in Rajasthan and western Malwa.{{sfn|Tej Ram Sharma|1978|p=147}} The [[Allahabad Pillar]] inscription of Samudragupta names the Malavas among the tribes subjugated by him:{{sfn|Ashvini Agrawal|1989|p=119}}
{{blockquote|'''(Lines 22–23)''' ([[Samudragupta]], whose) formidable rule was propitiated with the payment of all tributes, execution of orders and visits (to his court) for obeisance by such frontier rulers as those of [[Samatata|Samataṭa]], [[Ḍavāka]], [[Kamarupa|Kāmarūpa]], [[Nepala|Nēpāla]], and [[Kartṛipura]], and, by the Mālavas, [[Arjunayanas|Ārjunāyanas]], [[Yaudheyas|Yaudhēyas]], [[Mādrakas]], [[Abhira dynasty|Ābhīras]], Prārjunas, Sanakānīkas, Kākas, Kharaparikas and other (''tribes'')."|Lines 22–23 of the [[Allahabad Pillar|Allahabad pillar inscription]] of [[Samudragupta]] (r.c.350-375 CE).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Fleet |first1=John Faithfull |title=Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum Vol. 3 |date=1888 |pages=6–10 |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.49403/page/n213/mode/2up}}</ref>}}
The [[Aulikaras]] who ruled in the Malwa region may have been a Malava clan, and may have been responsible for the name "Malwa" being applied to the region.{{sfn|P. K. Bhattacharyya|1977|p=147}}
== Post-Gupta period == {{ Annotated image | image=Map of the Gupta Empire.png | width=290 | image-width = 290 <!-- DO NOT CHANGE MAP SIZE (290) AS THIS WILL DISPLACE THE LABELS --> | image-left=0 | image-top=0| float = right | annotations = {{Annotation|82|112|[[File:Long Rectangle (plain).png|35px]]}} {{Annotation|text-align=center|230|5|South-Asia<br>400-450 CE|font-weight=bold|font-style=normal|font-size=10|color=#000000}} {{Annotation|85|80|[[Yaudheya|YAUDHEYAS]]|text-align=center|font-weight=bold|font-style=normal|font-size=6|color=#000000}} {{Annotation|110|70|[[Arjunayanas|ARJUNAYANAS]]|text-align=center|font-weight=bold|font-style=normal|font-size=6|color=#000000}} {{Annotation|80|60|[[Madra Kingdom|MADRAKAS]]|text-align=center|font-weight=bold|font-style=normal|font-size=6|color=#000000}} {{Annotation|85|115|MALAVAS|text-align=center|font-weight=bold|font-style=normal|font-size=6|color=#000000}} {{Annotation|text-align=center|175|84|[[Licchavi (kingdom)|LICCHAVIS]]|font-weight=bold|font-style=normal|font-size=7|color=#000000}} {{Annotation|text-align=center|100|142|[[Abhira dynasty|ABHIRAS]]|font-weight=bold|font-style=normal|font-size=6|color=#000000}} {{Annotation|text-align=center|115|215|[[Kalabhra dynasty|KALABHRAS]]|font-weight=bold|font-style=normal|font-size=7|color=#000000}}{{Annotation|text-align=center|120|195|[[Western Ganga dynasty|WESTERN<br>GANGAS]]|font-weight=bold|font-style=normal|font-size=5|color=#000000}} {{Annotation|text-align=center|43|65|[[Hind (Sasanian province)|SASANIAN<br>HIND]]|font-weight=bold|font-style=normal|font-size=6|color=#000000}} {{Annotation|text-align=center|85|152|[[Traikutaka dynasty|TRAITAKUTAS]]|font-weight=bold|font-style=normal|font-size=6|color=#000000}} {{Annotation|text-align=center|100|165|[[Vakatakas|VAKATAKAS]]|font-weight=bold|font-style=normal|font-size=8|color=#000000}} {{Annotation|text-align=center|95|185|[[Kadamba dynasty|KADAMBAS]]|font-weight=bold|font-style=normal|font-size=6|color=#000000}} {{Annotation|text-align=center|210|130|[[Samatata|SAMATATAS]]|font-weight=bold|font-style=normal|font-size=6|color=#000000}} {{Annotation|text-align=center|235|113|[[Gauda Kingdom|GAUDA]]|font-weight=bold|font-style=normal|font-size=6|color=#000000}} {{Annotation|text-align=center|247|90|[[Varman dynasty|KAMARUPAS]]|font-weight=bold|font-style=normal|font-size=6|color=#000000}} {{Annotation|text-align=center|45|20|[[Alchon Huns|ALCHON HUNS]]|font-weight=bold|font-style=normal|font-size=7|color=#000000}} {{Annotation|text-align=center|5|5|[[Hephthalites|HEPHTHALITES]]|font-weight=bold|font-style=normal|font-size=8|color=#000000}} {{Annotation|text-align=center|1|45|[[Sasanian Empire|SASANIAN<br>EMPIRE]]|font-weight=bold|font-style=normal|font-size=8|color=#000000}} {{Annotation|text-align=right|270|190|MAPS<br>[[Template:South Asia in 500 BCE|-500]]<br>[[Template:South Asia in 150 BCE|-150]]<br>[[Template:South Asia in 120 CE|120]]<br>[[Template:South Asia in 350 CE|350]]<br>[[Template:South Asia in 500 CE|500]]<br>[[Template:South Asia in 600 CE|600]]<br>[[Template:South Asia in 1000|1000]]<br>[[Template:South Asia in 1175|1175]]<br>[[Template:South Asia in 1250|1250]]<br>[[Template:South Asia in 1400|1400]]|font-weight=bold|font-style=normal|font-size=5|color=#000000}} |caption={{center|Approximate location of the Malavas within the Gupta Empire, and neighbouring polities in South Asia, circa 400-450 CE.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Schwartzberg |first1=Joseph E. |title=A Historical atlas of South Asia |date=1978 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |location=Chicago |page=145, map XIV.1 |isbn=0226742210 |url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/schwartzberg/pager.html?object=182 |archive-date=24 February 2021 |access-date=16 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224162023/https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/schwartzberg/pager.html?object=182 |url-status=dead }}</ref>}}}} Post-Gupta records attest to the Malava presence in multiple regions, including present-day [[Madhya Pradesh]] and [[Gujarat]].{{sfn|D. C. Sircar|1971|pp=207-208}}
=== Present-day Gujarat ===
[[Xuanzang]] (also 7th century) locates Malava (transcribed as 摩臘婆, "Mo-la-p'o")<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Burgess |first1=Jas. |title=Mo-la-p'o, 摩 臘 婆 |journal=The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland |date=1906 |pages=220–222 |doi=10.1017/S0035869X00034109 |jstor=25210226 |s2cid=211514829 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25210226 |issn=0035-869X}}</ref> in present-day Gujarat, describing Kheta ([[Kheda]]) and Anandapura ([[Vadnagar]]) as parts of the Malava country.{{sfn|D. C. Sircar|1971|pp=206-207}} Xuanzang suggests that this Malava country was a part of the [[Maitraka]] kingdom.{{sfn|D. C. Sircar|1971|p=208}} Like Banabhatta, he describes Ujjayini ("Wu-she-yen-na") as a distinct territory, but unlike Banabhatta, he locates Malava to the west of Ujjayini. The 7th century [[Aihole inscriptions|Aihole inscription]] of the [[Chalukyas of Vatapi|Chalukya]] king [[Pulakeshin II]], who defeated the Malavas, also locates them in present-day Gujarat.{{sfn|D. C. Sircar|1971|pp=206-207}} The 9th century [[Rashtrakuta]] records state that their emperor [[Govinda III]] stationed governor Kakka in the [[Lata (region)|Lata]] country (southern Gujarat) to check the advance of the [[Gurjara-Pratiharas]] into Malava.{{sfn|D. C. Sircar|1971|p=208}}
=== Present-day Madhya Pradesh ===
Although the region that ultimately came to be known as [[Malwa]] included [[Ujjain]], the post-Gupta records distinguish between the territory of the Malavas and the region around Ujjain. [[Banabhatta]]'s ''Kadambari'' (7th century) describes [[Vidisha]] in present-day eastern Malwa as the capital of the Malavas, and Ujjayini (Ujjain) in present-day western Malwa as the capital of the distinct [[Avanti (India)|Avanti]] kingdom.{{sfn|D. C. Sircar|1971|p=206}} This Malava king was defeated by the [[Pushyabhuti dynasty|Pushyabhuti]] king Rajyavardhana around 605 CE, as attested by Banabhatta's ''[[Harshacharita]]'' as well as the Pushyabhuti inscriptions.{{sfn|D. C. Sircar|1971|p=208}} The distinction between these Malava and Ujjain regions is also found in the writings of the 9th century Muslim historian [[Al-Baladhuri]], who states that [[Junayd ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Murri|Junayd]], the Arab governor of [[Sindh]], raided Uzain (Ujjain) and al-Malibah (Malava) around 725 CE.{{sfn|D. C. Sircar|1971|p=209}}
From the 10th century onward, historical records use the term "Malavas" to refer to the [[Paramara dynasty|Paramaras]], who ruled the present-day Malwa region. It is probable that the Paramaras were descended from the ancient Malavas. However, they came to be called "Malavas" after they started ruling the Malwa region, which was named after the ancient Malavas. {{sfn|D. C. Sircar|1971|p=209}} In the kayastha-prakasha's ''Vijayanti'' (c. 11th century), Avanti (the area around Ujjain) and Malava are stated to be identical. Thus, it appears that the present-day definition of Malwa became popular in the later half of the 10th century.{{sfn|D. C. Sircar|1971|p=210}}
== Malavagan era ==
The era, which later became known as the [[Vikrama Samvat]] is associated with the Malavas. Initially it was mentioned as the ''Krita'' era and then as the ''Malavagans'' era. Most probably this era was mentioned as the ''Vikrama'' era for the first time in the Dholpur stone inscription of Chaitravamasakulam ruler Chaitarmahasena in 898 CE.{{sfn|Bela Lahiri|1974|pp=262-278}}
==Rulers== * Soma, under whom the Malavas re-asserted their independence from the [[Western Satraps|Sakas of Ujjayini]] after the death of [[Rudrasena I (Saka king)|Rudrasena I]]{{sfn|Ashvini Agrawal|1989|p=58}} * Vishvavarman circa 423 CE.<ref name="CII"/> * Bandhuvarman, his son and feudatory of [[Kumaragupta]].<ref name="CII"/>
==See also== * [[Malwa]] * [[Malwa (Punjab)]]
== References == <references> <ref name="CII">Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum Vol 3 [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.358795 p.72]</ref> </references>
=== Bibliography ===
{{refbegin}} * {{cite book |author=Ashvini Agrawal |title=Rise and Fall of the Imperial Guptas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hRjC5IaJ2zcC&pg=PA315 |year=1989 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0592-7 }} * {{cite book |author=B. C. Law |title=Tribes in Ancient India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YApuAAAAMAAJ |year=1973 |publisher=Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute }} * {{cite book |author=Bela Lahiri |title=Indigenous states of northern India, circa 200 B.C. to 320 A.D. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vdu1AAAAIAAJ |year=1974 |publisher=University of Calcutta }} * {{cite book |author=D. C. Sircar |title=Studies in the Geography of Ancient and Medieval India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AqKw1Mn8WcwC&pg=PA205 |year=1971 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0690-0 }} * {{cite book |author=P. K. Bhattacharyya |title=Historical Geography of Madhya Pradesh from Early Records |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=njYpsvmr2dsC&pg=PA147 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |year=1977 |isbn=978-81-208-3394-4 }} * {{cite book |author=Parmanand Gupta |title=Geography from Ancient Indian Coins & Seals |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LzHpZ5N5MhcC&pg=PA33 |year=1989 |publisher=Concept |isbn=978-81-7022-248-4 }} * {{cite book |author=Tej Ram Sharma |title=Personal and Geographical Names in the Gupta Inscriptions |url=https://archive.org/details/personalgeograph00sharuoft |page=[https://archive.org/details/personalgeograph00sharuoft/page/258 258] |year=1978 |publisher=Concept |oclc=249004782 }} * {{cite book |author=Kapur Singh |title=Parasharprasna: Or the Baisakhi of Guru Gobind Sing (an Exposotion of Sikhism) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SoP5mUhwU6AC&q=huna+parmars |page=340 |year=1959 |publisher= Hind }} {{refend}} [[Category:Malavas| ]] [[Category:History of Malwa]] [[Category:Ancient peoples of India]] [[Category:Former republics in Indian history]] [[Category:States and territories disestablished in the 7th century]]