Amogvarsha: A Benevolent Emperor
Preface:
I was counted amongst the four greatest emperors of my time and ruled an empire convering major portion of India.
I had reigned for the longest period of time and established a country where anyone could practice their faith without any fear.
I was known as Ashoka of the south.
Yet today after a millennium, I have been reduced to mere a footnote in the sands of time.
Come and read the tale of my eventful life. May be it will help you to remain level headed in face of your successes and failures.
If I can inspire you to remain equanimous while facing the twin impostors of failure and success in your life, I would believe that my life and my tale has been worth living and telling.
Introduction:
The king Govinda the third was restless. He could not rest or sleep for days. Uneasy was the head that wore the crown. The country from kannauj from ceylon was his and had rastrakuta flag flying over it. But the days of the king were numbered. He could hear the footsteps of his approaching death. He was in a hurry to find a successor who could keep his country secure. His sons were quite young. He would have ideally wished his son Amoghvarsha to succeed him. But his son was only 14 years old. These were the last thoughts before his eyelids felt heavy and the deep sleep of death overtook him. Thus one of the greatest rulers of the kingdom died before he could teach and hand over the reigns of his kingdom to his son. Their was a internal feud for succession following the kings death. The greatest irony was played by life therein. The plotters to the throne placed Amoghvarsha to the throne thinking that he would be a ideal choice to manipulate as he was only 14 years old. Thus the wish of the dying king and the plotters to overthrow the kingdom were fulfilled. But the presence of Karka, the cousin of Amoghvarsha belonging to the Gujrat branch of the kingdom totally changed in a different direction. He became a able regent to the young king and guided him the matters of the world and his reign.
All this information would have got lost in the ravages of time but for the copper plates from surat and vadodara. The copper plates survived across the centuries to tell the tales of a kingdom and king long gone by.
Chapter 1:
Emperor Govinda 3 had ensured that all the king's across the country had submitted to his kingdom. Further, he had also defeated the Pala and Gujara Pratiharas. These 3 kingdoms had ruled over the country in last 500 years. Thus Rastrakutas were the undisputed empire builders of their time. While returning from one such campaigns in the north, sharva was born on the banks of the narmada river in the year 800 CE. The circumstances of fate forced sharva later known as Amoghvarsha to ascend to the throne in the year 815 CE.
The initial years of the reign of the boy king were quite turbulent. Their were numerous attempts on his life. It was not readily apparent who was his friend and who was his foe. Though he was aided by his able regent karka, his relatives never lost a chance to depose him and unsurp his throne. Though they were successful in their attempts and even briefly managed to depose him. But as usual fate had other plans. How could the destiny have been changed. It was in the fate of the boy king to be amongst the greatest kings of his kingdom and in the world. It is another matter how he lay forgotten in his own country despite all his achievements. The wheels of time turn and with it turns the fortunes and destinies of the men/kingdoms.
