Silavarman

Author:Laxman Burdak, IFS (R)

---

Silavarman (A.D. 250-300) was a Pona King of Jagatgram, an ancient village in Dehradun district of Uttarakhand. It was the capital of Pona king Silavarman (A.D. 250-300). Pona has been identified as Punia clan of Jats by Bhim Singh Dahiya.

Variants

• Shilavarman (शिलावर्मन्)

Jat History

Bhim Singh Dahiya writes: The people called Paunikas (Paunas) are mentioned in Vayu Purana. They were ruling near Jagadhari on the Yamuna river and their epigraph has been found at Jagatgram near Chuhadpur in Dehradun district.

Archaeological Survey of India tells that Jagatgram ancient site was excavated by, ASI between the year 1952 - 54. Excavations revealed remains of three fire alters and other associated material include inscribed bricks. These fire alter known as Syena chiti in form of flying Eagle shaped belongs Ashvamedha sacrifices perform by their authors. Sanskrit inscriptions in the late third century AD Brahmi characters on bricks used in one of the three Jagatgram altars inform that the king Silavarman, alias Pona, of Yugasaila, who belonged to the Vrishagana gotra, performed four Asvamedha sacrifices here. Obviously during the third century AD at least western part of Central Himalaya was known as Yugasiala. In Pan Indian context such altars are extremely rare.

---

Vrisha (वृष) is one of the name of Shiva mentioned in Aswamedha Parva, Mahabharata/Book 14 Chapter 8 verse (XIV.8.19)

---

Dinesh Prasad Saklani writes that ....We have evidences to show the architectural knowledge of the early historic people in the form of sacrificial structure, the remains of which are in the shape of bricks of recognizable measurements at Jagatgram. The second site from the same place brought out a number of inscribed bricks. The third site yielded the relics of another structure related to horse sacrifice in the shape of bricks. Those bricks are arranged in triangular, oblong and squire plans for building an eagle-shaped altar. The bricks have different names to distinguish them.

The paleographical study also assigns the inscribed bricks a date of about 3rd-4th century. Ramchandran attributed that site to the Yaudheya dynasty, to which according to him, the King Silavarman might have belonged. p.163

Dinesh Prasad Saklani writes that ....Another hypothesis has been forwarded else where that the King Silavarman probably belonged to Singhapura, mentioned in the Lakhamandala prasati.

---

Dinesh Prasad Saklani writes that the Khasas, Kunindas and Yaudheyas etc had a democratic republican form of political system in ancient times.

---

Archaeological Survey of India places Silavarman as a post-Kushan and pre-Gupta king, i.e., between A.D. 250 and 300.

---

Omacanda Hāṇḍā states that the burnt brick yjnashala platform made of inscribed burnt brick at Jagatigram near Kalsi, a little away on the left bank of Yamuna assigned to the 3rd century AD, also indicates that this place remained a capital centre of a kingdom under Shilavarman.

---

Nothing can be stated as regards to Shilavarman who wrote the story of spread of Buddhism in Tibet. We can not say that Shilavarman is same as the Kamalashila, but neither can we deny it.

अकतग्राम

विजयेन्द्र कुमार माथुर ने लेख किया है ...अकतग्राम (AS, p.9) जिला देहरादून, उत्तर प्रदेश: 1953 में इस स्थान से तीसरी शती ई. के गोढ्य-वंशी राजा शीलवर्मन् द्वारा किए गए अश्वमेध यज्ञ के चिह्न प्राप्त हुए थे। शीलवर्मन् ऐतिहासिक काल के उन थोड़े से राजाओं में से हैं जिन्हें महान् अश्वमेध यज्ञ करने का सौभाग्य प्राप्त हुआ था। प्रथम शती ई. पू. में इतिहास-प्रसिद्ध शुंगनरेश पुष्यमित्र ने भी अश्वमेध यज्ञ किया था। वह समय था जब प्राचीन वैदिक धर्म बौद्ध धर्म के सर्वग्रास से धीरे-धीरे मुक्त हो रहा था। संभव है शीलवर्मन् ने भी प्राचीन परंपरा का निर्वाह करते हुए ही इस स्थान पर अश्वमेध यज्ञ का अनुष्ठान किया था। अकतग्राम से शीलवर्मन् के संस्कृत अभिलेख के अतिरिक्त अश्वमेध के यूपादि के भी अवशेष प्राप्त हुए हैं।

See also

For details see Jagatgram.