Previous Year Question
Who out of the following performed a ritual called ‘Hiranya-Garbha’?
Mayur Sharman
Harichandra
Danti Durga
Harsha
Correct Answer: C
Detailed Solution
Dantidurga is regarded as the real founder of the imperial power of the Rashtrakutas. The Rashtrakutas had initially been feudatories of the Badami Chalukyas, but during the eighth century Dantidurga expanded his power and overthrew Chalukya supremacy.
The inscriptional tradition associated with him records that he performed the Hiranyagarbha ritual at Ujjayini.
Hiranyagarbha was an important royal Mahadana, literally meaning the “golden womb.” It carried the symbolism of ritual rebirth and was used to reinforce the ruler's elevated royal and social status.
A later Rashtrakuta record states that during Dantidurga's Hiranyagarbha ceremony at Ujjayini, the Gurjara ruler and other kings served as pratiharas or gatekeepers.
The statement carried a political meaning in addition to its ritual significance. It represented Dantidurga as a sovereign ruler before whom other kings occupied a subordinate position.
Around 752 CE, he overthrew Chalukya authority and established Rashtrakuta predominance in the Deccan. His Samangad plates of 754 CE are also important evidence for his imperial rise.