Mahodaya
| Author:Laxman Burdak, IFS (R) |
Mahodaya (महोदय) was name of Kannauj during the rein of Harshavardhana (606-647 AD). Mahodaya is also name of a mountain mentioned in Ramayana (6.101.29).
Origin
Variants
- Mahodaya महोदय-1 = Kanyakubja कान्यकुब्ज (AS, p.730)
- Mahodaya महोदय-2 = Mahodaya Parvata महोदय पर्वत AS, p.730)
History
Kannauj reached the pinnacle of its glory in the 7th century under emperor Harshavardhana (606-647 A.D.) Harshavardhana made Kannauj his capital and united his people, the Jats, as one nation under it. At that time it had earned the name of Mahodaya Sree due to its grandeur and prosperty. Kannauj then had a teeming population, with hundreds of Hindu and Buddhist temples and monasteries, extending along the east bank of the Ganges for about four miles. It had beautiful gardens and tanks, and was strongly fortified. Harshavardhana, however, was greatly weakened after being defeated by the Chalukya emperor Pulakesin II; his empire fell apart soon after his death.
In Ramayana
Valmiki Ramayana Yuddha Kanda 101, 29-30 mentions that Hanuman was called upon to fetch Sanjivani herb from the mount Mahodaya, when Rama's brother Laxmana was injured in war with Ravana in Lanka. [1]
महोदय
विजयेन्द्र कुमार माथुर[2] ने लेख किया है ...महोदय-1 (AS, p.730) = कान्यकुब्ज. 'पंचालाख्योस्ति विषयो मध्यदेशेमहोदयपुरं तत्र' (विष्णुधर्मोत्तर पुराण 1,20,2-3.) (दे. कान्यकुब्ज)
महोदय-2 (AS, p.730) = वाल्मीकि रामायण युद्ध कांड 101, 29-30 में उल्लिखित पर्वत जहां से लंका के रणक्षेत्र में घायल हुए लक्ष्मण के उपचार के लिए हनुमान औषधि लाए थे--'सौम्य शीघ्रमितो गत्वा पर्वतं हि महोदयम, पूर्वं तु कथितो योअसौ वीर जाम्बवता तव, दक्षिणे शिखरे जातां महौषधिमिहानय'.