Mātṛviṣṇu

{{Infobox royalty

| name = Mātṛviṣṇu

| title = Maharaja
Vishayapati

| image = File:Vishnu temple mandapa at Eran, Madhya Pradesh.jpg

| image_size = 220px

| caption = Mandapa of the Vishnu Temple at Eran

| successor = Dhanyaviṣṇu

| death_date = 498 CE, Eran

| death_place =

| burial_place = Eran, Madhya Pradesh

| era name = Classical

| religion = Vaishnavism

| module = {{Infobox military person

| embed = yes

| battles = First Battle of Eran

}}

{{IAST|Mātṛviṣṇu}} is a Brahmin and a feudatory of the Gupta Empire. He is mentioned in several inscriptions of Eran, Central India, who fought along with the emperor Bhanugupta in the First Battle of Eran in which he was martyred.{{Cite book |last=Bakker |first=Hans T. |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=ZLnVDwAAQBAJ}} |title=The Alkhan: A Hunnic People in South Asia |date=2020-03-12 |publisher=Barkhuis |isbn=978-94-93194-00-7 |language=en}}{{rp|33}} In 484 CE, he is described as being a maharaja and the {{IAST|Vishayapati}} (district officer) of Eran under the reign of Maharaja Surasmichandra, who governed the region between the Yamuna and the Narmada River. He comes from a family of pious Brahmins; his grandfather was {{IAST|Indraviṣṇu}} and his forefather was {{IAST|Varuṇaviṣṇu}}, both known for their participation in studies of scripture and enactment of sacrificial rites.{{Cite book |last=Sharma |first=Tej Ram |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WcnnB-Lx2MAC |title=Personal and Geographical Names in the Gupta Inscriptions |date=1978 |publisher=Concept Publishing Company |language=en}}{{rp|116}}

Etymology

Mātṛviṣṇu is mentioned in the Eran Stone Boar Inscription from the reign of Toramana (500–515 CE), and in the Eran Stone Pillar Inscription of Budhagupta. {{IAST|Mātṛ}} may signify one of the seven Matrikas or possibly, Vedic Mātariśvan (read Agni) and its concatenation with Viṣṇu underlines a unique theological or cultural synthesis pertinent of the Gupta period.{{rp|41}}

Religious activities

File:20150712 im Keshava-Tempel - Krishna als Janardhana.JPG}}]]

The stone pillar in Eran was installed by Mātṛviṣṇu and is called the Column of Janārdana (Viṣṇu/Kṛṣṇa) - a thin, 13-metre-high column. He established, with his younger brother Dhanyaviṣṇu, a twin temple complex dedicated to Viṣṇu on the southern banks of the Bina River.{{Cite book |last=Balogh |first=Dániel |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=frnVDwAAQBAJ|page=330}} |title=Hunnic Peoples in Central and South Asia: Sources for their Origin and History |date=2020-03-12 |publisher=Barkhuis |isbn=978-94-93194-01-4 |language=en|p=330}} Janārdana's emblem (Garuda) stands out on the pillar. This complex grew during Budhagupta's reign, reflecting the imperial standard and the pride of Gupta Empire.{{{rp|73}}

Military achievements

= Testimonials =

Mātṛviṣṇu is described in the Eran Stone Pillar Inscription of Budhagupta as a mighty and triumphal king, whose renown spread "to the frontiers of the four oceans". He also claimed to have been chosen by the “goddess of sovereignty” as her consort — language that echoed the epithets used for Gupta emperors such as Samudragupta and Skandagupta. His self-titled Maharaja, while demonstrating his subordination to it within the Gupta administrative system, shows that he asserted some measure of authority.{{Cite book |last = Goyal | first =S. R. |url=https://archive.org/details/goyal-1967_202412 |title=A history of the Imperial Guptas. With a Foreword by R. C. Majumdar. |date=1967}}{{rp|11}}

= First Battle of Eran =

File:Eran archaeological site map, 1880 sketch.jpg

Mātṛviṣṇu perished during the First Battle of Eran (Betwa Valley). His brother Dhanyaviṣṇu commissioned a Varāhamūrti (boar idol) at Eran and supervised the building of a temple in memory of his brother. The acts are etched to stone 'deeds' from the first year of the reign of Toramana, signifying a shift of allegiance to the marauding Huna forces.{{{rp|75}}

The inscriptions reveal that in these regions, the Gupta administration was fragmented, and the feudal system (mamsa) prevalent then enabled local chiefs to change their loyalty when it suited them. The defection of Dhanyaviṣṇu to the Hunas after the death of Mātṛviṣṇu demonstrates how local feudatories supported the conquest of the Gupta Empire by Toramana. This transition took place not long after 484 CE, probably within a generation.{{rp|341}}

Legacy

Mātṛviṣṇu’s contributions to religious architecture, monuments, sculptures, and his royal pretensions are facets of the networks of loyalty and power that characterized politics in distinctly Gupta-era India. The surviving inscriptions of Mātṛviṣṇu and his family aid in reconstructing the cultural, religious, and administrative world of an emperor.{{rp|406}}