Mapping 'Mo-ho-laa-cha': How Inscriptions and Xuanzang Grounded the Early Boundaries of Maharashtra

The historical geography of western India did not emerge fully formed in Sanskrit court poetry. While later medieval texts define Maharashtra as a vast expanse stretching from the Narmada River down to Karnataka, earlier textual and epigraphic records show a much more gradual territorial crystallization. By comparing 4th-century stone inscriptions from Central India with 7th-century Chinese travel accounts, historians can trace how localized demonyms gradually transformed into a recognized political region.

The primary evidence for this geographic transition rests on two distinct anchor points: the Eran pillar inscription carved under the Indo-Scythian ruler Sridharavarman, and the travel records of the Tang Dynasty monk Xuanzang, who visited peninsular India during the reign of the Chalukya emperor Pulakeshin II.

The Eran Inscription and Early Demonyms

In the Sagar district of present-day Madhya Pradesh, the ancient site of Eran served as an important mint and administrative outpost. Among its monuments stands a sandstone pillar bearing an inscription from the reign of the Saka ruler Sridharavarman, who held authority in Central India. The inscription records the construction of a monument by Sridharavarman's military commander, Satyanaga.

In the text, Satyanaga is described using the term Maharashtri (a person from the Maharashtra region). Scholars note that in the 4th century CE, this designation functioned primarily as an ethnonym or regional identity label rather than a bounded territorial state. The presence of a soldier carrying this regional identifier as far north as Malwa demonstrates the early migration and geographic footprint of people associated with the western Deccan.

Epigraphic records show that during this era, political control over Malwa and the northern Deccan shifted frequently. Sridharavarman's rule at Eran was followed by the westward expansion of the Gupta Empire under Samudragupta, who established his own inscription at the site. Throughout these administrative shifts, the regional label recorded on the Eran pillar preserved one of the earliest firm epigraphic references to the populace of Maharashtra.

Xuanzang and 'Mo-ho-laa-cha'

By the 7th century CE, foreign travel accounts demonstrate that the regional label had expanded into a recognized territorial kingdom. The Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang, who traveled across India between 629 and 645 CE, recorded his observations of the western regions in his work, the Great Tang Records on the Western Regions.

In his travelogue, Xuanzang transcribes the name of the kingdom as Mo-ho-laa-cha—the phonetic Chinese rendering of Maharashtra. He describes the realm as a powerful state ruled by a king named Pu-lo-ki-she, identified by historians as the Chalukya monarch Pulakeshin II.

Xuanzang’s account offers specific geographic and social details regarding the domain:

• Tradition holds that the regional population was known for a distinct martial ethos, while evidence shows Xuanzang described the populace as martial, proud, and fiercely loyal to their sovereign.
• Scholars debate the precise physical boundaries of the kingdom during this period, but Xuanzang observed that its military forces successfully resisted the southern expansion of Emperor Harshavardhana of Kannauj.
• The pilgrim noted that the capital served as a flourishing center of trade and religion, housing both Buddhist monasteries and Hindu temples.

Xuanzang’s records confirm that by the 7th century, Mo-ho-laa-cha was no longer merely a descriptive label for migrating individuals or military officers. It had solidified into a broad political geography under Chalukyan administration, anchored around the Western Deccan and extending toward the coastal ports of Konkan.

Tracing the Geographic Shift

The transition from the 4th-century Eran pillar to 7th-century Chinese accounts illustrates how early Indian regional identity evolved:

[4th Century: Eran Inscription]
Satyanaga designated as 'Maharashtri'
--> Indicates a regional demonym/identity active in Central India

[7th Century: Xuanzang's Records]
Realm documented as 'Mo-ho-laa-cha'
--> Represents a consolidated territorial state under Pulakeshin II

Evidence shows that early geographic terms in the Indian subcontinent frequently migrated alongside political lines and trade routes. While traditional Puranic literature often projects modern state boundaries backward into antiquity, the combined testimony of epigraphy and contemporary foreign travelogues provides a concrete timeline for how early western India mapped its borders.