The Valkhā Kingdom of Bāgh-Māhiṣmatī: State Formation and Religious Developments ( Circa Fourth–Fifth Centuries)

The Valkhā kingdom ( c. 357–487 ad ) that figures as a peripheral polity in Gupta historiography is the main focus of study in this article, which studies this polity in its own terms by shifting the focus to the area of Bāgh-Māhiṣmatī in central India, where the Valkhā rulers ruled for about 130 years. The Valkhās accepted the Gupta authority to keep in check the threat from the Vākāṭakas and the Śaka-Kṣatrapas, and an analysis of their copper-plate inscriptions shows that they consolidated their hold over their territory by patronising different Hindu and folk cults (Nārāyaṇa, Mātṛkās, Kārttikeya and Bappapiśācadeva) as well as varied religious groups (Pāśupatas, Brahmanas and Buddhists) in the hilly terrain along the Narmada River.