Siyaka

Siyaka (IAST: Sīyaka; reigned c. 949-972 CE), also known as Harsha (IAST: Harṣa), was a Paramara king, who ruled in west-central India. He appears to have been the first independent ruler of the Paramara dynasty. Siyaka is the earliest Paramara ruler known from his own inscriptions, which have been discovered in present-day Gujarat, and suggest that he was once a feudatory of the Rashtrakutas of Manyakheta. After the death of the Rashtrakuta emperor Krishna III, he fought against the new king Khottiga, and sacked the Rashtrakuta capital Manyakheta in c. 972 CE. This ultimately led to the decline of the Rashtrakutas, and established the Paramaras as an imperial power. Siyaka was the son of Vairisimha II. The Harsola copper-plate inscriptions issued by Siyaka are dated 31 January 949 CE. Based on this, it can be inferred that Siyaka must have ascended the Paramara throne sometime before January 949 CE. In his own inscriptions, as well as the inscriptions of his successors Munja and Bhoja, he is called "Siyaka". In Udaipur prashasti inscription (which mentions an earlier king called Siyaka), as well as the Arthuna inscription, the predecessor of Munja has been called Harsha (or Shri Harsha-deva). Therefore, modern historians also refer to him as Siyaka II to distinguish him from Siyaka I mentioned in the Udaipur inscription; some scholars believe that Siyaka I is a fictional person. Merutunga, in his Prabandha-Chintamani, names the king as Simha-danta-bhata (alternatively Simha-bhata). According to one theory, "Siyaka" is the Prakrit corruption of the Sanskrit "Simhaka". Georg Bühler suggested that the full name of the king was Harsha-simha, and both parts of this name were used to refer to him. By the time of Siyaka's ascention to the Paramara throne, the once-powerful Gurjara-Pratiharas had declined in power, because of attacks from the Rashtrakutas and the Chandelas. Siyaka's 949 CE Harsola inscriptions suggests that he was a feudatory of the Rashtrakuta ruler Krishna III.