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A.D. 470 Saurashtra, with its capital Valabhi, drifted away from the Gupta Empire to
become an independent kingdom under Senapati Bhatarka of the Maitraka family. This kingdom
came to include the district of Kaira and part of Malwa on the mainland by A.D. 722. The
Valabhi kings were very powerful and some of them were devout worshippers of Shiva. But
Shiladitya I leaned towards Buddhism. Dhruvasena II, Baladitya, the son-in-law of Emperor
Shri Harsha, ruled over modern Northern Gujarat. A
few years later, in A.D. 649, part of southern Gujarat, comprising the territory then
known as Bhrugukachchha, formed part of the territory of Dharasena IV (A.D. 640-49) who,
for some time, bore the imperial title derived from his grandfather Shri Harsha. |
