2017-04-28 Fri

All of us are eagerly waiting for the sequel of the famous movie Baahubali. The second part of it, Baahubali: the Conclusion is set to release at the end of April. Amongst much curiosities and expectations, the kingdom where the entire story of Baahubali unfolds is not entirely a fragment of imagination!

Mahishmati, the fictional kingdom from the movie, was an ancient city located in central India. It finds mentions in several texts including Mahabharata, Ramayana (Hindu) and Digha Nikaya (Buddhist). The celebrated epic poetry of Kalidasa “Raghuvamsa” also mentions Mahishmati as a city located on the Narmada River. It was an important city in the southern part of the Avanti Kingdom and later in the Anupa Kingdom. Though the exact location of this ancient city is uncertain it is said to be located somewhere along the banks of the Narmada River in Madhya Pradesh, India.

Mahismati is most famous for the Kalachuri Dynasty (6th and 7th centuries CE) which had Mahishmati as its capital city. Epigraphs and coins of three of its important rulers: Krishnaraja, Shankaragana, and Buddharaja are known to be found over a wide area. The rise of the Badami Chalukyas in the 7th CE led to the decline of Kalachuris of Mahishmati. However, they continued to exist in the Malwa region and later in 12th century CE another Kalachuri dynasty arose in the Deccan with its power seat in Karnataka carving a kingdom out of the Kalyani Chalukyas.

Mahishmati again came in popular culture when the Telegu films Baahubali: the Beginning (2015) and its sequel Baahubali: the Conclusion (2017) were released. The fictional story is set in the ancient Kingdom of Mahishmati.

The silver coin depicted aside belongs to King Krishnaraja of the Kalachuris of Mahishmati. Circulated from 550 - 575 CE this silver dramch or rupaka depicts the king’s head to right on the obverse and a Nandi (bull) seated on a ramp, three dots below the ramp with the Brahmi legend “Parama Maheswara Mata Pitri Padanudhyata Sri Krishnaraja” inscribed around the dull. All within dotted border.

You may not know why Kattappa killed Baahubali (i.e. if you haven’t seen the movie yet), but now you know that Mahishmati was an ancient city which has played an important part in the history of central India.

Go on...watch the movie and meanwhile at the theatres, boast your historical knowledge of Mahishmati.

Jai Mahishmati!