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::''For the [[Gupta empire|Gupta]] king, see [[Chandragupta II|Chandragupta II Vikramāditya]]''
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'''Vikramaditya''' ({{lang-sa|विक्रमादित्य}}) is the name of a legendary king of [[Ujjain]], [[India]], famed for his wisdom, valour and [[magnanimity]]. The title "Vikramaditya" has also been assumed by many kings in Indian history, notably the Gupta King [[Chandragupta II]] and [[Samrat Hem Chandra Vikramaditya]] (popularly known as 'Hemu').
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::''For the [[Gupta dynasty|Gupta]] king, see [[Chandragupta II|Chandragupta II Vikramāditya]]''
The name King Vikramaditya is a [[Sanskrit]] [[tatpurusha]], from विक्रम ''({{IAST|vikrama}})'' meaning "[[valour]]" and आदित्य ''[[Aditya|{{IAST|Āditya}}]]'', son of Aditi. One of the most famous sons of Aditi, or adityas, was [[Surya]] the sun god; hence, Vikramaditya means Surya, translating to "Sun of valour." He is also called ''Vikrama'' or ''Vikramarka'' (Sanskrit ''arka'' meaning the [[Sun]]).
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{{Infobox Indian Jurisdiction |
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native_name = Vikramaditya's capital, Ujjain|
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type = city |
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latd = 23.182778| longd = 75.777222|
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locator_position = right |
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state_name =  Vikramaditya's Capital|
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district = [[Ujjain district|Ujjain]] |
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leader_title = |
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altitude = 491|
 +
population_as_of = 2001 |
 +
population_total = 429,933|
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Vikramaditya may have lived in the [[1st century B.C.E.|1st century]] BCE and may have been defeated by the King Shalivahana. According to the Katha-sarita-sagara account, he was the son of [[Ujjain]]'s King [[Mahendraditya]] of the [[Paramara]] dynasty. However this was written almost 12 centuries later. Furthermore, according to other sources Vikramaditya is also recorded to be an ancestor of the [[Tuar Rajput|Tuar dynasty]] of Delhi.<ref>''Essays on Indian Antiquities'' by James Prinsep, Edward Thomas, Henry Thoby Prinsep, J.Murray 1858, p250</ref><ref>''Pre-Mussalman India'' by M. S. Nateson, Asian Educational Services 2000, p131</ref><ref>''The cyclopædia of India and of Eastern and Southern Asia'' by Edward Balfour, B. Quaritch 1885, p502</ref><ref>''Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan'' by James Tod, William Crooke, 1920, p912</ref><ref>''Essays on Indian Antiquities, Historic, Numismatic, and Palæographic, of the Late James Prinsep'' by James Prinsep, Edward Thomas, Henry Thoby Prinsep, Publ. J.Murray, 1858, p157</ref>
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The name king '''Vikramaditya''' ({{lang-sa|विक्रमादित्य}}) is a [[Sanskrit]] [[tatpurusha]], from विक्रम ''({{IAST|vikrama}})'' meaning "[[valour]]" and आदित्य ''[[Aditya|{{IAST|Āditya}}]],'' son of Aditi. One of the most famous sons of Aditi, or adityas, was [[Surya]] the sun god; hence, Vikramaditya means Surya, translating to "Sun of valor." He is also called ''Vikrama'' or ''Vikramarka'' (Sanskrit ''arka'' meaning the [[Sun]]).  
  
The association of the legendary king with the great Gupta king [[Chandragupta II]] was made by Western historians in the 19th and 20th centuries, but some historians in India do not consider this correct. Their eras being centuries apart, the Guptas appeared to have used this name for titular effect.
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Originally, the title Vikramaditya  had been bestowed upon a legendary king of [[Ujjain]], [[India]], famed for his wisdom, valor and [[magnanimity]]. He assembled a cadre of scholars, "[[nava-ratna]]" or the "[[Nine Gems]]," whose work ushered a golden age in [[Sanskrit scholarship]]. The Nine Gems included [[Dhanwanthari]], [[Kshapanaka]], [[Amarasimha]], [[Shankhu]], [[Khatakarpara]], [[Kalidasa]], [[Vetalbhatt]] (or Vetalabhatta), [[Vararuchi]], and [[Varahamihira]]. the Hindu tradition in India and [[Nepal]] holds that the widely used ancient calendar of the [[Vikrama Samvat]] or Vikrama's era had been created by the legendary king following his victory over the [[Saka]]s in 56 B.C.E.
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{{toc}}
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The title "Vikramaditya" has also been assumed by many kings in [[India]]n history. Other notables who has assumed the title include the [[Gupta dynasty|Gupta]] King [[Chandragupta II]] and [[Samrat Hem Chandra Vikramaditya]] (popularly known as "Hemu").  
  
The increasingly common naming of Hindu children by the name [[Vikram(name)|Vikram]] can be attributed in part to the popularity of Vikramaditya and the two sets of popular folk stories about his life.
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==Legend of Vikramaditya==
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[[Image:Westindischer Maler um 1400 001.jpg|thumb|300px|Kalakacharya and the [[Saka]] King (Kalakacharya [[Katha]]-Manuscript), [[Prince of Wales Museum]], [[Mumbai]].]]
  
==The Jain monk account==
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The legendary Vikramaditya is a popular figure in both Sanskrit and regional languages in India. Vikramaditya may have lived in the first century B.C.E. and may have been defeated by the King [[Shalivahana]]. According to the [[Katha-sarita-sagara]]<ref>Samskrutam, [http://samskrutam.com/samskrit/literature/literature-kathasaritasagara.aspx?section=literature Katha Sarita Sagara.] Retrieved January 21, 2009.</ref> account, written in the twelfth century C.E., he had been the son of [[Ujjain]]'s King [[Mahendraditya]] of the [[Paramara]] dynasty. According to other sources, Vikramaditya also has been recorded as an ancestor of the [[Tuar Rajput|Tuar dynasty]] of Delhi.<ref>James Prinsep, Edward Thomas, and Henry Thoby Prinsep, ''Essays on Indian Antiquities, Historic, Numismatic, and Palæographic, of the Late James Prinsep, to Which are Added his Useful Tables, Illustrative of Indian History, Chronology, Modern Coinages, Weights, Measures, etc'' (London: J. Murray, 1858), 250.</ref><ref>M. S. Nateson, ''Pre-Mussalman India: A History of the Motherland Prior to the Sultanate of Delhi'' (New Delhi: Asian Educational Services, 2000), 131.</ref><ref>Edward Balfour, ''The Cyclopædia of India and of Eastern and Southern Asia: Commercial, Industrial and Scientific, Products of the Mineral, Vegetable, and Animal Kingdoms, Useful Arts and Manufactures'' (London: B. Quaritch, 1885), 502.</ref><ref>James Tod and William Crooke, ''Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, or The Central and Western Rajput States of India'' (London: H. Milford, Oxford University Press, 1920), 912.</ref><ref>Prinsep, ''Indian Antiquities,'' 157.</ref>
  
[[Image:Westindischer Maler um 1400 001.jpg|thumb|400px|Kalakacharya and the [[Saka]] King (Kalakacharya [[Katha]]-Manuscript), [[Prince of Wales Museum]], [[Mumbai]].]]
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His name has been freely associated with events and monuments of unknown origin, giving birth to a complex of legendary tales attributed to him. [[Richard Francis Burton|Sir Richard Burton]], who first translated the tales of Vikramaditya into English, called him, "the [[King Arthur]] of the East."<ref>Sacred Texts, [http://www.sacred-texts.com/goth/vav/vav03.htm Sir Richard R. Burton, Vikram and The Vampire, Preface to The First (1870) Edition.] Retrieved January 21, 2009.</ref> The two most famous tales in Sanskrit—''[[Vetala Panchvimshati]]'' or ''[[Baital Pachisi]]'' ("The 25 tales of the Vampire") and [[Simhasana-Dwatrimshika]] ("The 32 tales of the throne)" also known as ''Sinhasan Batteesee'')—have been found in a variety of Sanskrit version as well as in regional languages.
  
The traditional Indian dating, using a calendar believed to have been established by Vikramaditya makes him a 1st century B.C.E. king. However, the generally adopted dates for the known Indian kings and dynasties do not place any Vikramaditya in this period..
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The tales of the vampire ([[Vetala]]) contains twenty-five legends in which the king tries to capture and hold on to a vampire who tells a puzzling tale, ending it with a question for the king. If the king speaks, the vampire will fly away, denying the opportunity to seize and capture him. The king can be quiet only if he does not know the answer, otherwise his head would burst open. The king, being extremely wise, discovers that he knows the answer to every question. So the game of catching the vampire and letting it escape continued twenty four times until the last question puzzles even Vikramaditya. A version of those tales exist in the [[Kathasaritsagara|Katha-Saritsagara]].
  
In a recorded form, the possibility of such a king is seen in ''"Kalakacharya Kathanaka"'', a work by a [[Jain]] sage called Mahesara Suri (Probably circa [[12th century]] CE). The Kathanaka (meaning, "an account") tells the story of a famed Jain monk ''Kalakacharya''. It mentions that ''Gardabhilla'', the then powerful king of Ujjain, abducted a nun called ''Sarasvati'' who was the sister of the monk. The enraged monk sought help of the [[Saka]] ruler, a [[Shahi]], in  [[Sakastan|Sakasthana]]. Despite heavy odds (but aided by miracles) the Saka king defeated Gardabhilla and made him a captive. Sarasvati was repatriated. Gardabhilla himself was forgiven though. The defeated king retired to the forest where he was killed by a tiger. His son, Vikramaditya, being brought up in the forest, had to rule from ''Pratishthana'' (in modern [[Maharashtra]]). Later on Vikramaditya invaded Ujjain and drove away the Sakas. To commemorate this event he started a new era called the [[Vikrama Samvat]].
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The tales of the throne link to the lost throne of Vikramaditya which king [[Bhoja]], the [[Paramara]] king of [[Dhar]], found after many centuries. Dhar become famous as well with a number of tales relating stories of how he attempted to sit on the throne. Thirty two female statues which adorn that throne challenge him to ascend the throne only if he has magnanimity equal to Vikramaditya as revealed by a tale she would narrate. That led to thirty two attempts (and thirty two tales) to claim the throne Vikramaditya, in each case Bhoja acknowledged his inferiority. Finally, the statues let him ascend the throne, pleased with his humility.
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[[Image:SatavahanaMap.jpg|thumb|right|220px|Satavahana Empire: (230 B.C.E. – 220 C.E.): Territorial extent of the Satavahana Empire (continuous line), and conquests (dotted line).]]
  
==The legend of Vikramaditya==
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===[[Nine Gems]] and Vikramaditya's court in Ujjain===
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Indian tradition claims that Dhanwanthari, Kshapanaka, Amarasimha, Shankhu, Khatakarpara, [[Kalidasa]], Vetalbhatt (or [[Vetalabhatta]]), [[Vararuchi]], and [[Varahamihira]] were a part of Vikramaditya's court in Ujjain. The king commissioned nine men of letters, called the "nava-ratna" (literally, [[Nine Gems]]), to work in his court. Kalidasa had been the legendary Sanskrit [[laureate]]. Varahmihira had been a [[soothsayer]] of renown in his era, predicting the death of Vikramaditya’s son. [[Vetalbhatt]] had been a [[Sakaldwipiya|Maga Brahmin]] known for writing work of the sixteen stanza "Niti-pradeepa" (''{{IAST|Niti-pradīpa}}'', literally, the lamp of conduct) in tribute to Vikramaditya.
  
The legendary Vikramaditya is a popular figure in both Sanskrit and regional languages in India. His name is conveniently associated with any event or monument whose historical details are unknown, though a whole cycles of tales have grown around him, so much so that [[Richard Francis Burton|Sir Richard Burton]], who first translated the tales to English called him, "the [[King Arthur]] of the East" <ref>[http://www.sacred-texts.com/goth/vav/vav03.htm Preface to The First (1870) Edition] Vikram and The Vampire by Sir Richard R. Burton.</ref>. The two most famous ones in Sanskrit are ''[[Vetala Panchvimshati]]'' or ''[[Baital Pachisi]]'' ("The 25 (tales) of the Vampire") and [[Simhasana-Dwatrimshika]] ("The 32 (tales) of the throne," also known as ''Sinhasan Batteesee''). These two are found in varying versions in Sanskrit and also in the regional languages.
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===The Jain monk account===
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The traditional Indian dating, using a calendar believed to have been established by Vikramaditya, makes him a first century B.C.E. king. The chronology for generally accepted Indian kings and dynasties does not place any Vikramaditya in that period.
  
The tales of the vampire ([[Vetala]]) tell twenty-five stories in which the king tries to capture and hold on to a vampire that tells a puzzling tale and ends it with a question for the king. If the king speaks, the vampire will fly away, else it will allow itself to be a captive. The king can be quiet only if he does not know the answer, else his head would burst open. Unfortunately, the king being extremely wise discovers that he knows the answer to every question. So this game of catching the vampire and letting it escape continues for twenty four times till the last question puzzles even Vikramaditya. A version of these tales can be found embedded in the [[Kathasaritsagara|Katha-Saritsagara]].
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''Kalakacharya Kathanaka,'' a work by Mahesara Suri, a [[Jain]] sage around the twelfth century C.E. may be the source of Vikramaditya's dates. The Kathanaka (meaning, "an account") tells the story of a famed Jain monk ''Kalakacharya''. It mentions that ''Gardabhilla,'' the then powerful king of Ujjain, abducted a nun named ''Sarasvati,'' the sister of the monk. The enraged monk sought help of the [[Saka]] ruler, a [[Shahi]], in  [[Sakastan|Sakasthana]]. Heavily outnumbered, the Saka king defeated Gardabhilla with the aid of miracles, making him a captive. [[Sarasvati]] was repatriated. Gardabhilla was forgiven though. The defeated king retired to the forest where a tiger killed him. His son, Vikramaditya, raised in the forest, had to rule from ''Pratishthana'' (in modern [[Maharashtra]]). Later, Vikramaditya invaded Ujjain and drove away the Sakas. To commemorate that event he started a new era called the [[Vikrama Samvat]].
  
The tales of the throne are linked to the throne of Vikramaditya that is lost and recovered by king [[Bhoja]], the [[Paramara]] king of [[Dhar]], after many centuries. This latter king is a himself famous and this set of tales tell about his attempts to sit on the throne. This throne is adorned by 32 female statues who challenge him to ascend the throne only if he is as magnanimous as Vikramaditya in the tale she is about to narrate. This leads to 32 attempts (and 32 tales) on Vikramaditya and in each case Bhoja acknowledges his inferiority. Finally the statues let him ascend it pleased with his humility.
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===Recent interpretations of the legend===
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Western historians in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries have made an association of Vikramaditya with the legendary king with the great Gupta king [[Chandragupta II]], but some Indian historians consider that association incorrect. Centuries had separated the eras of the two leaders; the Guptas appeared to have used the name "Vikramaditya" for titular effect. The popularity of Vikramaditya and the two sets of popular folk stories about his life has given rise to the increasingly common naming of Hindu children by the name [[Vikram(name)|Vikram]].
  
==[[Nine Gems]] and Vikramaditya's court in Ujjain==
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==Vikramaditya and [[Shalivahana era]]==
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Legend has it that the [[Satavahana]] King, [[Shalivahana]] defeated Vikramaditya and captured [[Ujjain]] in the first century C.E. Shalivahana inaugurated the [[Shalivahana era]] seventy eight C.E., retaining his capital in [[Paithan|Pratisthana]]. The account of the battle had been recorded in "[[Kathasaritsagara|Katha-Saritsagara]]." Shalivahana is a legendary figure in Indian history, the king usually identified with the Satavahana king [[Gautamiputra Satkarni]]. The Satavahanas ruled the region beginning in the third century B.C.E., long before the Guptas from Pratisthana conquered the region.
  
The Indian tradition claims that Dhanwanthari, Kshapanaka, Amarasimha, Shankhu, Khatakarpara, [[Kalidasa]], Vetalbhatt (or [[Vetalabhatta]]), [[Vararuchi]] and [[Varahamihira]] were a part of Vikramaditya's court in Ujjain. The king is said to have had nine such men of letters, called the "nava-ratna" (literally, [[Nine Gems]]).
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==See also==
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* [[Chandragupta II]]
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* [[Vampire]]
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* [[Western Chalukya Empire]]
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* [[Chalukya dynasty]]
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* [[Pulakesi II]]
  
Kalidasa was the legendary Sanskrit [[laureate]]. Varahmihira was a [[soothsayer]] of prominence of the era who predicted the death of Vikramaditya’s son. [[Vetalbhatt]] was a [[Bhojaka|Maga Brahmin]]. He is known to have attributed the work of the sixteen stanza "Niti-pradeepa" (''{{IAST|Niti-pradīpa}}'', literally, the lamp of conduct) to Vikramaditya.
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==Notes==
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<references/>
  
==The [[Vikrama Samvat]] (Vikrama Era)==
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==References==
{{main|Vikrama Samvat}}
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* Asiatic Society of Bombay, O.P. Kejariwal, Suresh K. Sharma, and Shashi Anand. 2004. ''Journal of the Asiatic Sociey of Bombay: A Comprehensive Index, 1841-2001.'' New Delhi: Nehru Memorial Museum and Library & Asiatic Society of Mumbai. ISBN 9788187614234.
In the Hindu tradition in [[India]] and [[Nepal]], the widely used ancient calendar is [[Vikrama Samvat]] or Vikrama's era. This is said to have been started by the legendary king following his victory over the [[Saka]]s in [[56 B.C.E.|56]] BCE.
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* Balfour, Edward. 1885. ''The Cyclopædia of India and of Eastern and Southern Asia: Commercial, Industrial and Scientific, Products of the Mineral, Vegetable, and Animal Kingdoms, Useful Arts and Manufactures''. London: B. Quaritch. OCLC 3257764.
 
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* Burton, Richard F., Ernest Henry Griset, and wood engraver Dalziel. 1870. ''Vikram and the Vampire''. London: Longmans, Green, and Co. OCLC 177742965.
==Vikramaditya and Shalivahana==
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* Edgerton, Franklin. 1926. ''Vikrama's Adventures; or, The Thirty-Two Tales of the Throne, a Collection of Stories About King Vikrama, as Told by the Thirty-Two Statuettes That Supported his Throne, Edited in Four Different Recensions of the Sanskrit Original (Vikrama-charita or Sinhasana-dvatrinçaka).'' Harvard oriental series, v. 26-27. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. OCLC 255821.
{{main|Shalivahana era}}
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* Nateson, M.S. 2000. ''Pre-Mussalman India: A History of the Motherland Prior to the Sultanate of Delhi''. New Delhi: Asian Educational Services. ISBN 9788120615298.
 
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* Prinsep, James, Edward Thomas, and Henry Thoby Prinsep. 1858. ''Essays on Indian Antiquities, Historic, Numismatic, and Palæographic, of the late James Prinsep, to Which are Added his Useful Tables, Illustrative of Indian History, Chronology, Modern Coinages, Weights, Measures, etc.'' London: J. Murray. OCLC 5574640.
Legend has it that the [[Satavahana]] King, [[Shalivahana]] defeated Vikramaditya and captured [[Ujjain]] in the [[1st century]] CE. As a result, the [[Shalivahana era]] was initiated in 78 C.E. by Shalivahana to celebrate his victory. The capital of the empire remained as [[Pratisthana]]. The tale of this battle is  recorded in "[[Kathasaritsagara|Katha-Saritsagara]]."
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* Tawney, Charles Henry, and Somadeva. 1880. ''The Kathá Sarit Ságara or Ocean of the Streams of Story''. Calcutta: Thomas, Baptist Mission Press. OCLC 61964843.
 
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* Tod, James, and William Crooke. 1920. ''Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, or the Central and Western Rajput States of India''. London: H. Milford, Oxford University Press. OCLC 4053976.
Shalivahana is a legendary figure in Indian history, and the king is usually identified with the [[Satavahana]] king [[Gautamiputra Satkarni]]. The Satavahanas ruled much before the Guptas from Pratisthana.
 
  
==References==
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==External links==
* The Katha Sarit Sagara, or Ocean of the Streams of Story, Translated by  C.H.Tawney, 1880
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All links retrieved May 3, 2023.
* Vikram and The Vampire, translated by Sir Richard R. Burton, 1870
 
* The Inroads of the Scythians into India, and the Story of Kalakacharya, Journal of the Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, Vol. IX, 1872
 
* Vikrama's adventures or The thirty-two tales of the throne, edited in four different recensions of the Sanskrit original (Vikrama-charita or Sinhasana-dvatrimshika), Translated by Franklin Edgerton, Harvard University Press, 1926.  
 
 
==See also==
 
* [[Nine Gems]]
 
* [[Vikrama Samvat]]
 
* [[Tomar Rajputs]]
 
* [[Hindu calendar]]
 
* [[Shalivahana era]]
 
* [[Gupta Empire]]
 
* [[Vikramaditya VI]]
 
  
==Note==
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* [http://moralstories.wordpress.com/2006/06/26/the-great-vikramaditya-maharaja/ Story of Vikramaditya re-building Ayodhya Temple]
{{Reflist}}
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* Collection of Stories showing greatness of Vikramaaditya: [http://moralstories.wordpress.com/2006/10/04/audaaryam/ Audaaryam], [http://moralstories.wordpress.com/2006/10/06/paropakaara-buddhi/ Paropakaara Buddhi], [http://moralstories.wordpress.com/2006/10/09/vitarana-buddhi/ Vitarana Buddhi], [http://moralstories.wordpress.com/2006/10/11/daana-gunam/ Daana Gunam], [http://moralstories.wordpress.com/2006/10/14/vikramaaditya-saves-a-vipra-strii/ Vikramaaditaya]
  
==References==
 
  
==External Links==
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[[Category:Biography]]
*[http://moralstories.wordpress.com/2006/06/26/the-great-vikramaditya-maharaja/ Story of Vikramaditya re-building Ayodhya Temple]
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[[Category:Politicians and reformers]]
*Collection of Stories showing greatness of Vikramaaditya [http://moralstories.wordpress.com/2006/10/04/audaaryam/ 1] [http://moralstories.wordpress.com/2006/10/06/paropakaara-buddhi/ 2] [http://moralstories.wordpress.com/2006/10/09/vitarana-buddhi/ 3] [http://moralstories.wordpress.com/2006/10/11/daana-gunam/ 4] [http://moralstories.wordpress.com/2006/10/14/vikramaaditya-saves-a-vipra-strii/ 5]
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[[Category:History]]
*[http://www.hinduism.co.za/kaabaa.htm Kaaba a Hindu Temple?]
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[[Category:History of India]]
  
 
{{credits|Vikramāditya|248471798}}
 
{{credits|Vikramāditya|248471798}}

Latest revision as of 20:21, 3 May 2023

For the Gupta king, see Chandragupta II Vikramāditya
  Vikramaditya's capital, Ujjain
Vikramaditya's Capital • India
Coordinates: 23°10′58″N 75°46′38″E / 23.182778, 75.777222
Time zone IST (UTC+5:30)
Area
Elevation

• 491 m (1,611 ft)
District(s) Ujjain
Population 429,933 (2001)

Coordinates: 23°10′58″N 75°46′38″E / 23.182778, 75.777222

The name king Vikramaditya (Sanskrit: विक्रमादित्य) is a Sanskrit tatpurusha, from विक्रम (vikrama) meaning "valour" and आदित्य Āditya, son of Aditi. One of the most famous sons of Aditi, or adityas, was Surya the sun god; hence, Vikramaditya means Surya, translating to "Sun of valor." He is also called Vikrama or Vikramarka (Sanskrit arka meaning the Sun).

Originally, the title Vikramaditya had been bestowed upon a legendary king of Ujjain, India, famed for his wisdom, valor and magnanimity. He assembled a cadre of scholars, "nava-ratna" or the "Nine Gems," whose work ushered a golden age in Sanskrit scholarship. The Nine Gems included Dhanwanthari, Kshapanaka, Amarasimha, Shankhu, Khatakarpara, Kalidasa, Vetalbhatt (or Vetalabhatta), Vararuchi, and Varahamihira. the Hindu tradition in India and Nepal holds that the widely used ancient calendar of the Vikrama Samvat or Vikrama's era had been created by the legendary king following his victory over the Sakas in 56 B.C.E.

The title "Vikramaditya" has also been assumed by many kings in Indian history. Other notables who has assumed the title include the Gupta King Chandragupta II and Samrat Hem Chandra Vikramaditya (popularly known as "Hemu").

Legend of Vikramaditya

Kalakacharya and the Saka King (Kalakacharya Katha-Manuscript), Prince of Wales Museum, Mumbai.

The legendary Vikramaditya is a popular figure in both Sanskrit and regional languages in India. Vikramaditya may have lived in the first century B.C.E. and may have been defeated by the King Shalivahana. According to the Katha-sarita-sagara[1] account, written in the twelfth century C.E., he had been the son of Ujjain's King Mahendraditya of the Paramara dynasty. According to other sources, Vikramaditya also has been recorded as an ancestor of the Tuar dynasty of Delhi.[2][3][4][5][6]

His name has been freely associated with events and monuments of unknown origin, giving birth to a complex of legendary tales attributed to him. Sir Richard Burton, who first translated the tales of Vikramaditya into English, called him, "the King Arthur of the East."[7] The two most famous tales in Sanskrit—Vetala Panchvimshati or Baital Pachisi ("The 25 tales of the Vampire") and Simhasana-Dwatrimshika ("The 32 tales of the throne)" also known as Sinhasan Batteesee)—have been found in a variety of Sanskrit version as well as in regional languages.

The tales of the vampire (Vetala) contains twenty-five legends in which the king tries to capture and hold on to a vampire who tells a puzzling tale, ending it with a question for the king. If the king speaks, the vampire will fly away, denying the opportunity to seize and capture him. The king can be quiet only if he does not know the answer, otherwise his head would burst open. The king, being extremely wise, discovers that he knows the answer to every question. So the game of catching the vampire and letting it escape continued twenty four times until the last question puzzles even Vikramaditya. A version of those tales exist in the Katha-Saritsagara.

The tales of the throne link to the lost throne of Vikramaditya which king Bhoja, the Paramara king of Dhar, found after many centuries. Dhar become famous as well with a number of tales relating stories of how he attempted to sit on the throne. Thirty two female statues which adorn that throne challenge him to ascend the throne only if he has magnanimity equal to Vikramaditya as revealed by a tale she would narrate. That led to thirty two attempts (and thirty two tales) to claim the throne Vikramaditya, in each case Bhoja acknowledged his inferiority. Finally, the statues let him ascend the throne, pleased with his humility.

Satavahana Empire: (230 B.C.E. – 220 C.E.): Territorial extent of the Satavahana Empire (continuous line), and conquests (dotted line).

Nine Gems and Vikramaditya's court in Ujjain

Indian tradition claims that Dhanwanthari, Kshapanaka, Amarasimha, Shankhu, Khatakarpara, Kalidasa, Vetalbhatt (or Vetalabhatta), Vararuchi, and Varahamihira were a part of Vikramaditya's court in Ujjain. The king commissioned nine men of letters, called the "nava-ratna" (literally, Nine Gems), to work in his court. Kalidasa had been the legendary Sanskrit laureate. Varahmihira had been a soothsayer of renown in his era, predicting the death of Vikramaditya’s son. Vetalbhatt had been a Maga Brahmin known for writing work of the sixteen stanza "Niti-pradeepa" (Niti-pradīpa, literally, the lamp of conduct) in tribute to Vikramaditya.

The Jain monk account

The traditional Indian dating, using a calendar believed to have been established by Vikramaditya, makes him a first century B.C.E. king. The chronology for generally accepted Indian kings and dynasties does not place any Vikramaditya in that period.

Kalakacharya Kathanaka, a work by Mahesara Suri, a Jain sage around the twelfth century C.E. may be the source of Vikramaditya's dates. The Kathanaka (meaning, "an account") tells the story of a famed Jain monk Kalakacharya. It mentions that Gardabhilla, the then powerful king of Ujjain, abducted a nun named Sarasvati, the sister of the monk. The enraged monk sought help of the Saka ruler, a Shahi, in Sakasthana. Heavily outnumbered, the Saka king defeated Gardabhilla with the aid of miracles, making him a captive. Sarasvati was repatriated. Gardabhilla was forgiven though. The defeated king retired to the forest where a tiger killed him. His son, Vikramaditya, raised in the forest, had to rule from Pratishthana (in modern Maharashtra). Later, Vikramaditya invaded Ujjain and drove away the Sakas. To commemorate that event he started a new era called the Vikrama Samvat.

Recent interpretations of the legend

Western historians in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries have made an association of Vikramaditya with the legendary king with the great Gupta king Chandragupta II, but some Indian historians consider that association incorrect. Centuries had separated the eras of the two leaders; the Guptas appeared to have used the name "Vikramaditya" for titular effect. The popularity of Vikramaditya and the two sets of popular folk stories about his life has given rise to the increasingly common naming of Hindu children by the name Vikram.

Vikramaditya and Shalivahana era

Legend has it that the Satavahana King, Shalivahana defeated Vikramaditya and captured Ujjain in the first century C.E. Shalivahana inaugurated the Shalivahana era seventy eight C.E., retaining his capital in Pratisthana. The account of the battle had been recorded in "Katha-Saritsagara." Shalivahana is a legendary figure in Indian history, the king usually identified with the Satavahana king Gautamiputra Satkarni. The Satavahanas ruled the region beginning in the third century B.C.E., long before the Guptas from Pratisthana conquered the region.

See also

Notes

  1. Samskrutam, Katha Sarita Sagara. Retrieved January 21, 2009.
  2. James Prinsep, Edward Thomas, and Henry Thoby Prinsep, Essays on Indian Antiquities, Historic, Numismatic, and Palæographic, of the Late James Prinsep, to Which are Added his Useful Tables, Illustrative of Indian History, Chronology, Modern Coinages, Weights, Measures, etc (London: J. Murray, 1858), 250.
  3. M. S. Nateson, Pre-Mussalman India: A History of the Motherland Prior to the Sultanate of Delhi (New Delhi: Asian Educational Services, 2000), 131.
  4. Edward Balfour, The Cyclopædia of India and of Eastern and Southern Asia: Commercial, Industrial and Scientific, Products of the Mineral, Vegetable, and Animal Kingdoms, Useful Arts and Manufactures (London: B. Quaritch, 1885), 502.
  5. James Tod and William Crooke, Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, or The Central and Western Rajput States of India (London: H. Milford, Oxford University Press, 1920), 912.
  6. Prinsep, Indian Antiquities, 157.
  7. Sacred Texts, Sir Richard R. Burton, Vikram and The Vampire, Preface to The First (1870) Edition. Retrieved January 21, 2009.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Asiatic Society of Bombay, O.P. Kejariwal, Suresh K. Sharma, and Shashi Anand. 2004. Journal of the Asiatic Sociey of Bombay: A Comprehensive Index, 1841-2001. New Delhi: Nehru Memorial Museum and Library & Asiatic Society of Mumbai. ISBN 9788187614234.
  • Balfour, Edward. 1885. The Cyclopædia of India and of Eastern and Southern Asia: Commercial, Industrial and Scientific, Products of the Mineral, Vegetable, and Animal Kingdoms, Useful Arts and Manufactures. London: B. Quaritch. OCLC 3257764.
  • Burton, Richard F., Ernest Henry Griset, and wood engraver Dalziel. 1870. Vikram and the Vampire. London: Longmans, Green, and Co. OCLC 177742965.
  • Edgerton, Franklin. 1926. Vikrama's Adventures; or, The Thirty-Two Tales of the Throne, a Collection of Stories About King Vikrama, as Told by the Thirty-Two Statuettes That Supported his Throne, Edited in Four Different Recensions of the Sanskrit Original (Vikrama-charita or Sinhasana-dvatrinçaka). Harvard oriental series, v. 26-27. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. OCLC 255821.
  • Nateson, M.S. 2000. Pre-Mussalman India: A History of the Motherland Prior to the Sultanate of Delhi. New Delhi: Asian Educational Services. ISBN 9788120615298.
  • Prinsep, James, Edward Thomas, and Henry Thoby Prinsep. 1858. Essays on Indian Antiquities, Historic, Numismatic, and Palæographic, of the late James Prinsep, to Which are Added his Useful Tables, Illustrative of Indian History, Chronology, Modern Coinages, Weights, Measures, etc. London: J. Murray. OCLC 5574640.
  • Tawney, Charles Henry, and Somadeva. 1880. The Kathá Sarit Ságara or Ocean of the Streams of Story. Calcutta: Thomas, Baptist Mission Press. OCLC 61964843.
  • Tod, James, and William Crooke. 1920. Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, or the Central and Western Rajput States of India. London: H. Milford, Oxford University Press. OCLC 4053976.

External links

All links retrieved May 3, 2023.

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