Political marriages in India have occurred throughout history, and during the reign of various dynasties.
Classical period
Mauryan Empire
According to Appian, Seleucus I Nicator, one of Alexander's Macedonian generals who established the Seleucid Empire in 312 BCE with its capital at Babylon, brought Persia and Bactria under his authority, putting his eastern front facing the empire of Chandragupta. Seleucus and Chandragupta waged war until they reached an understanding. Seleucus married off his daughter, Berenice, to Chandragupta to forge an alliance.
Alain Daniélou and D. D. Kosambi note that Seleucus appeared to have fared poorly after ceding large territories west of the Indus to Chandragupta. The Maurya Empire added Arachosia (Kandahar), Gedrosia (Balochistan), Aria (Herat), and Paropamisadae (Kabul). According to Strabo, Seleucus Nicator gave these regions to Chandragupta along with a marriage treaty, and in return received five hundred elephants. The details of the engagement treaty are not known.. However, since the extensive sources available on Seleucus never mention an Indian princess, it is thought that the marital alliance went the other way, with Chandragupta himself or his son Bindusara marrying a Seleucid princess, in accordance with contemporary Greek practices to form dynastic alliances. An Indian Puranic source, Pratisarga Parva of the Bhavishya Purana, described the marriage of Chandragupta with a Greek ("Yavana") princess, daughter of Seleucus. The Mahavamsa also states that, seven months after the war ended, Seleucus gave one of his daughters, Berenice (known in Pali as Suvarnnaksi), in marriage to Chandragupta.
Chandragupta sent 500 war elephants to Seleucus, which played a key role in Seleucus' victory at the Battle of Ipsus.India, the Ancient Past, Burjor Avari, p. 106-107. In addition to this treaty, Seleucus dispatched Megasthenes as an ambassador to Chandragupta's court, and later Antiochos sent Deimakos to his son Bindusara at the Maurya court in Patna.
Gupta Empire Chandragupta I married the Lichchhavi princess Kumaradevi. The Licchavi were an ancient clan headquartered at Vaishali in present-day Bihar during the time of Gautama Buddha. A Lichchhavi kingdom existed in present-day Nepal in the first millennium CE. However, the identity of Kumaradevi's Lichchhavi kingdom is not certain.
Samudragupta's inscription mentions that several kings tried to please him by attending to him personally; offering him their daughters in marriage (or, according to another interpretation, gifting him maidens); and seeking the use of the Garuda-depicting Gupta seal for administering their own territories. These kings included "Daivaputra-Shahi-Shahanushahi, Shaka-Murundas, and the rulers of the island countries such as Simhala".
Chandragupta II married Kuvera-naga (alias Kuberanaga), whose name indicates that she was a princess of the Naga dynasty, which held considerable power in central India before Samudragupta subjugated them. This matrimonial alliance may have helped Chandragupta consolidate the Gupta empire, and the Nagas may have helped him in his war against the Western Kshatrapas.
Kumaragupta I was married to Anantadevi. According to historian R. N. Dandekar, Anantadevi was a Kadamba princess. The Talagunda pillar inscription suggests that the Kadamba king, Kakusthavarman established a matrimonial alliance with the Guptas.
Satavahana dynasty Simuka, in order to overthrow the Kanvas, forged an alliance with Ambhiya chief Tranakayiro Kalalaya, by marrying his son, Satakarni, to Tranakayira's daughter Nayanika. This paved the way for the foundation of Satavahana rule over most of Southern India.
In an effort to end the hostilities with the Western Satraps, Vashishtiputra Satakarni, the younger son of Gautamiputra Satakarni, married the daughter of Rudradaman I. The region of Aparanta was conceded by Rudradaman to Vashishtiputra Satakarni as dowry. Despite their marital ties, at least two wars occurred between them, during which the Satavahanas were defeated. Rudradaman, however, spared the life of Vashishtiputra Satakarni, primarily because of their familial relationship.
Vakataka dynasty Rudrasena II, the ruler of the Pravarapura-Nandivardhana branch of the Vakataka dynasty, married Prabhavatigupta, the daughter of the Gupta emperor Chandragupta II.
Narendrasena of the Vakataka dynasty was married to a "daughter of a king of Kuntala" named Ajjhitabhattarika. She is purported to be the daughter of the Kadamba king Kakusthavarman, who is known to have married off his daughters to several prominent royal families.
Madhava Varma II of the Vishnukundina dynasty married the daughter of Prithivishena II after subduing him.
Medieval period Rashtrakuta dynasty The Rashtrakuta ruler, Amoghavarsha I, got his daughter Chandrabbalabbe married to Ganga dynasty prince Butuga I. This marriage sealed the alliance between the Ganga dynasty and the Rashtrakutas.
Amoghavarsha III was married to a Kalachuri princess named Kundakadevi. He also had a daughter named Revakanimmadi, who was married to the Western Ganga King Butuga II.
Chalukya dynasty Chalukya ruler Kirtivarman II married to a sister of the Sendraka king Shri-vallabha Senanada, who swore allegiance to the Chalukyas after Kirtivarman's conquest of the Kadamba kingdom.
Pulakeshin married the daughter of the Ganga ruler Durvinita, who became the mother of Pulakeshin's son, Vikramaditya I. In return, Shilabhattarika, a daughter of Pulakeshin II was married to Dadiga, a grandson of Durvinita. Pulakeshin II also married an Alupa princess named Kadamba Devi after subduing them.
Chalukyas of Vatapi The Chalukya ruler Vikramaditya I entered into a marital alliance with the Western Ganga dynasty by marrying Gangamahadevi.
Vijayaditya I's son, Vishnuvardhana IV, was forced to sue for peace by marrying his daughter, Silamahadevi, to the Rashtrakuta ruler Dhruva Dharavarsha.
Western Chalukyas Ayyana I was married to the daughter of Rashtrakuta ruler Krishna II. This marriage raised the Chalukya family's political status. Ayyana I's descendant, Vikramaditya IV, married Bontha Devi, a daughter of the Kalachuri king Lakshmana-raja. Tailapa II married the Rashtrakuta princess Jakavve, the daughter of Bhammaha Ratta, possibly to strengthen his political position.
Bhillama III, a vassal king of the Yadava dynasty of Devagiri, rebelled against Jayasimha II. Jayasimha successfully dealt with the rebellion and managed to recover all of his lost territories by 1024 CE. Bhillama III later married Avalladevi, the daughter of Jayasimha II, as an act of peace.
Vikramaditya VI married one of Virarajendra Chola's daughters, establishing a temporary truce between the two kingdoms. He also dealt with a revolting Kadamba feudatory by marrying off his daughter, Maila Devi, to the Kadamba King Jayakeshi II.
Pratiharas of Mandore Kakka, the Pratihara ruler of Mandore, is said to have married Rani Padmini of the Bhati clan, which is considered by some to be identical with the Bhatis of Jaisalmer.
Pala dynasty
The second ruler of the Pala dynasty in the Bengal region, Dharmapala, was married to a princess named Kamadevi of the Rashtrakuta empire.
Vigrahapala III, son of Nayapala and ruler of the Pala dynasty in the Bengal region, succeeded in receiving Princess Yauvanasri in marriage, a daughter of Lakshmi Karna, ruler of the Kalachuri dynasty of Tripuri, after defeating her father in battle.
Utpala dynasty
Queen Sugandha, daughter of Svamiraja, a Darad Hindu ruler of a kingdom near Kashmir, was married to the second ruler of the Utpala dynasty, Raja Shankaravarman, and gave birth to Gopalavarman.
Princess Didda, daughter of Simharāja, the king of the Utpala dynasty, was married to Kshemagupta, ruler of the Lohara dynasty of Kashmir.
Yadava dynasty Yadava ruler Vaddiga I married Vaddiyavve, also known as Vohivayya, the daughter of Rashtrakuta chieftain Dhorappa, who was the younger brother of Rashtrakuta emperor Krishna III. His descendant Bhillama II married Lachchiyavve, a Rashtrakuta princess. The wives of Vesugi and Bhillama III were Chalukya princesses.
Chahamanas According to their inscriptions, the Chahamanas have been noted to have a distinct preference for the Rashtrakutas or Ratraudhas. Tribhuvanesvara of the Chahamana family has been mentioned as having married Laksmidevi of the Rashtrakuta lineage. Alhanadeva was also married to Annalladevi of the Rashtrakuta family. Dharavarsa, a member of the Paramara dynasty, also married the daughter of the Chahamana ruler Kelhanadeva. Satyaraja, belonging to the Paramara family of Vagada, was married to Rajsri of the Chahamana family.
According to the Kanhadade Prabandha, written in the 15th century by Padmanābha, Piroja, the daughter of Alauddin Khalji, fell in love with Viramadeva Songira of Jalore. Alauddin proposed to marry her to Viramadeva, but Viramadeva rejected the offer, triggering Alauddin's invasion of Jalore.
Guhila dynasty The Guhilas contracted marital relations with Rajput clans such as the Caulukyas, the Paramaras, the Rashtrakutas, the Cahamanas, and the Hunas.
Rawal Bharttripatta II married a Rashtrakuta princess named Mahalakshmi to forge an alliance against the Pratiharas. His son, Rawal Allata, entered into a matrimonial alliance with the Hunas by marrying a Huna princess, Hariyadevi. Naravāhana, the son of Allata, married Princess Jejaya of the Chahamana family.
Vijayasimha got his daughter, Syamaladevi, married to the Parmara ruler Udayaditya, which ended the traditional animosity between the two houses. Vijayasimha's daughter, Alhaṇadevi, later married the Kalachuri king Gayakarna.
Tejasimha married a Songira princess named Rupadevi. Songira records also maintain an account of Subali, a Guhila princess, marrying a Songira chief named Rao Samantsimha. This was in contravention to the rigid clan hierarchy and the concept of hypergamy among the Rajputs.
Tomaras of Gwalior The Gujari Mahal, located in Hisar, Haryana, still hums with the immortal love story of Tomar Rajput emperor Man Singh Tomar and his lover, a Mirgnyani, a Gujjar lady. Man Singh Tomar built Gujjari Mahal in 1354.
Khilji dynasty
After Alauddin's conquest of Devagiri in either 1296 or 1304, Ramachandra, chief of the Yadava dynasty, got his daughter Jhatyapali Yadava married to Alauddin Khalji. She later became the mother of Alauddin's son and successor Shihab-ud-din Omar.
Tughlaq dynasty
Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq (Ghazi Malik) the founder of the Tughlaq dynasty, was married to a Hindu Jat woman.
Emperor Firuz Shah Tughlaq married a Gurjar lady and also built the Gujari mahal, Hissar for his wife in 1356.
Sipasalar Rajab Tughlaq (Malik Rajab Turk), the younger brother of Sultan Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq and ruler of the Tughlaq dynasty, was married to princess Bibi Naila. Bibi Naila was a Jat concubine-born daughter of a Rajput ruler, Raja Ran Mal (Rana Mall) Bhatti of Abohar, Punjab.
Bahmani kingdom
Alau'd-din Ahmad Shah, the first ruler of the Bahmani kingdom, married the daughter of Sultan Nadir Khan of the Farooqi dynasty. He also married the daughter of the ruler Sangameshwar.
In 1406, Firuz Shah Bahmani, the Muslim ruler of the Bahmani kingdom, married the daughter of the Hindu King Deva Raya II of the Vijaynagar Empire. Firuz Shah also married his son to a woman whom the Ruler of Vijayanagara had also desired to marry. The Bahmanis prevented women of their clan from marrying beyond their own rank, with some of them being married off to the saintly Ni'mat Allahi family of Bidar.
Jaunpur Sultanate
Mahmud Shah Sharqi, the ruler of the Jaunpur Sultanate and son of Ibrahim Shah Sharqi, was married to a princess named Bibi Raji. She was the daughter of Sultan Alam Shah, the last ruler of the Sayyid dynasty.
Bijapur kingdom