Mihirakula: Biography, Facts and Career

Mihirakula (Gupta script: , Mi-hi-ra-ku-la, Chinese: 摩酰逻矩罗 Mo-hi-lo-kiu-lo), sometimes referred to as Mihiragula or Mahiragula, was the second and last Alchon Hun king of northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent from 515 to 542. He was a son of and successor to Toramana of Huna heritage. His father ruled the Indian part of the Hephthalite Empire. Mihirakula ruled from his capital of Sagala (modern-day Sialkot, Pakistan). In around 520 CE, the Chinese monk Song Yun met with Mihirakula. According to the 7th-century travelogue of the Chinese Buddhist pilgrim and student Xuanzang, Mihirakula ruled several hundreds of years before his visit, was initially interested in Buddhism, and sought a Buddhist teacher from monasteries in his domain. They did not send him a learned Buddhist scholar. Feeling insulted, he became anti-Buddhist and destroyed the monasteries in his kingdom. Mihirakula is known to have patronized Shaivism tradition of Hinduism. The Rajatarangini calls him cruel, "a man of violent acts and resembling kala (death)", who ruled "the land then overrun by hordes of mlecchas (foreigners)." According to the Chinese Buddhist pilgrim Song Yun, Mihirakula "does not believe in any religion", the Brahmins who live in his kingdom and read their sacred texts do not like him, his people were unhappy. The Buddhist texts record Mihirakula as extremely cruel and bad mannered, the one who destroyed Buddhist sites, ruined monasteries, killed monks. The Malava king Yashodharman and Gupta emperor Narasimhagupta, between 525 and 532 CE, likely by 530 CE, reversed Mihirakula's campaign in the Battle of Sondani and ended the Mihirakula era.

Quick facts about Mihirakula

• Full name: Mihirakula
• Born: 0500-01-01
• Known as: Royal
• Wikidata ID: Q2573564

Profile compiled from public Wikipedia and Wikidata data. Details can change over time.