Rudrasena I (Saka king)

For the Vakataka king, see Rudrasena I (Vakataka king).

Rudrasena I (r. 200–222) was a Saka ruler of the Western Satrap dynasty in the area of Malwa in ancient India. During his reign, the Saka ksatrapas remained strong after a period of instability during the reign of Rudrasimha I.^[2]

Rudrasena I
Western Satrap king
Rudrasena I, Saka year 136 (214 CE).[1]
Reign	200–222 CE
Predecessor	Jivadaman, Satyadaman
Successor	Prthivisena, Samghadaman
Father	Rudrasimha I

Gadha (Jasdan) inscription of Rudrasena, Saka Year 127 (204-205 CE).

Biography

He is mainly known from his coins. Several have a date in Brahmi numerals on the reverse (such as 142 Saka Era = 220 CE). The reverse shows a three-arched hill or Chaitya, with a river, a crescent moon and the sun, within a legend in Brahmi "Rajno Mahaksatrapasa Rudrasihaputrasa Rajno Mahaksatrapasa Rudrasenasa", "The great satrap Rudrasena, son of the great satrap Rudrasiha".

Reign

Rudrasena succeeded his cousin Jivadaman, who had no sons, as a ruler of the Western Satraps.^[3]

Coin of Rudrasena I (200–222). Brahmi date: 131 Saka era. 16mm, 2.2 grams. Obverse: portrait of the ruler, with pseudo-Greek legend around (..ΥΙΟΙΙΥΛΙΗΟ..) and date (, 131) to left in Brahmi. Reverse: Chaitya hill, with Brahmi legend around (starting at 1 o'clock):

Rudrasena I (Brahmi coin legend)

"King and Satrap Rudrasena, son of King and Great Satrap Rudrasimha".^[4]

His sister Prabhudama was perhaps married to a ruler of Vaishali.^[2] After his death, the Malavas under their king Soma re-asserted their independence from the Saka satraps.^[2]

References

1. Rapson, E. J. (Edward James) (1908). Catalogue of the coins of the Andhra dynasty, the Western Ksatrapas, the Traikutaka dynasty, and the "Bodhi" dynasty. London : Printed by order of the Trustees. pp. 96–105.
2. Ashvini Agrawal (1989). Rise and Fall of the Imperial Guptas (Hardcover). Motilal Banarsidass. p. 58. ISBN 9788120805927.
3. Sailendra Nath Sen (1999). Ancient Indian History and Civilization. New Age International. p. 190. ISBN 978-81-224-1198-0.
4. Rapson, E. J. (Edward James) (1908). Catalogue of the coins of the Andhra dynasty, the Western Ksatrapas, the Traikutaka dynasty, and the "Bodhi" dynasty. London : Printed by order of the Trustees. p. 96.

External links

• Western Satrap coins Archived 12 December 2006 at the Wayback Machine

Preceded by Jivadaman	Western Satrap 200–222	Succeeded by Samghadaman