Mingling of Cultures (E): The Maukharis

The Maukharis was an Indian royal dynasty that ruled and controlled vast areas of Northern India for over six generations. However, the dynasty ruled over much of Uttar Pradesh and Magadha. However, the geneology imply a connection with the later Maukharis of Kanauj. Haṛāhā Inscription of Iśānavarman (c. 554 CE)^[1] issued by the King Iśānavarman (Sūryavarman) of this dynasty records a praśasti of the ruling King Iśānavarman. In the description part, we may notice that the king was a great devotee of lord Śiva. Still, at the same time he performed vedic sacrifices and “When the fire was kindled during his sacrificial performances, the volume of smoke black like pitch darkness rising on all sides and increased through the tossing and whirling produced by the wind in the sky, made the crowds of peacocks noisy, as they mistook it for the large cloud.”^[2]