Ābhīra dynasty

From people to dynasty

Ābhīra appears in Sanskrit literature as the name of a pastoral people of the west, and in the Purāṇic king-lists as a dynasty that ruled after the Āndhras — that is, after the Sātavāhanas. The two usages are not necessarily in conflict: a lineage from a herding community taking power as a larger state collapsed is an ordinary enough sequence, though the sources do not let it be demonstrated.

The dynasty is securely attested by an inscription in the Nasik caves recording a benefaction in the ninth regnal year of king Īśvarasena, son of Śivadatta, described as an Ābhīra.

The era question

The era beginning in 248 CE, used much later by the Kalachuris and by the Traikūṭakas before them, has been argued to date from the accession of Īśvarasena. The attribution is plausible and widely repeated but not established; eras were often adopted by later dynasties whose connection with the founder is obscure.

Ābhīra power in the Deccan gave way to the Traikūṭakas and then to the Vākāṭakas and Kadambas. The name persisted as a community designation, and Ahir communities of western and northern India have long claimed the connection.