The Bhadra dynasty ( bn, ভদ্র রাজবংশ) was a
South Asian royal house which had reigned over the kingdom of
Samatata
Samataṭa (Brahmi script: ''sa-ma-ta-ṭa'') was an ancient geopolitical division of Bengal in the eastern Indian subcontinent. The Greco-Roman account of ''Sounagoura'' is linked to the kingdom of Samatata. Its territory corresponded to much ...
, located
in what is present-day
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
.
Of
Brahmin
Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (gur ...
origin, their rule flourished during the first half of the 7th century, though little is known about their history. The kings of the dynasty bore names with the suffix "Bhadra", leading to suggestions of familial links with the vassal chiefs
Samanta
Samanta was a title and position used in the history of the Indian subcontinent between 4th and 12th centuryThe Journal of the Bihar Research Society, Volumes 69-70, p.77 to denote a vassal or tributary chief. The term roughly translates to ''neig ...
Narayanabhadra and Jyeshthabhadra, who find mention in the Vappaghosavata grant of
Jayanaga and the
Nidhanpur grant of
Bhaskaravarman
Bhaskaravarman () (600–650), the last of the Varman dynasty, was an illustrious king of medieval Kamarupa. After being captured by the Gauda king during the reign of his father, he was able to re-establish the rule of the Varman's. He mad ...
respectively.
Deddadevi, the wife of the first
Pala Pala may refer to:
Places
Chad
*Pala, Chad, the capital of the region of Mayo-Kebbi Ouest
Estonia
* Pala, Kose Parish, village in Kose Parish, Harju County
* Pala, Kuusalu Parish, village in Kuusalu Parish, Harju County
*Pala, Järva County, vi ...
emperor
Gopala I
Gopala (Bangla: গোপাল) (ruled c. 750s–770s CE) was the founder of the Pala dynasty of Bihar and Bengal regions of the Indian Subcontinent. The last morpheme of his name ''Pala'' means "protector" and was used as an ending for the name ...
and mother to his successor
Dharmapala
A ''dharmapāla'' (, , ja, 達磨波羅, 護法善神, 護法神, 諸天善神, 諸天鬼神, 諸天善神諸大眷屬) is a type of wrathful god in Buddhism. The name means "'' dharma'' protector" in Sanskrit, and the ''dharmapālas'' are a ...
, is believed to have been the daughter of a Bhadra monarch.
Additionally, the
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
traveller
Xuanzang
Xuanzang (, ; 602–664), born Chen Hui / Chen Yi (), also known as Hiuen Tsang, was a 7th-century Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator. He is known for the epoch-making contributions to Chinese Buddhism, the travelogue of ...
described
Śīlabhadra Śīlabhadra (Sanskrit; ) (529–645Nakamura, Hajime. ''Indian Buddhism: A Survey with Bibliographical Notes.'' 1999. p. 281) was a Buddhist monk and philosopher. He is best known as being an abbot of Nālandā monastery in India, as being an e ...
, a prominent scholar at
Nalanda Monastery, as being a scion of this family.
In relation to the latter, the historian P. L. Paul suggests that the "Bhadra" name only became associated with the dynasty as a result of the fame of Śīlabhadra. Paul posits that the family were in fact identical to the
Khadga dynasty
The Khadga dynasty ( bn, খড়্গ বংশ) was a dynasty which ruled the areas of Vanga and Samatata in Bengal from the mid 7th to early 8th Century CE. Chronologically, the dynasty emerged as a powerful kingdom between the fall of Gauda ...
, who ruled Samatata during the remainder of the 7th century.
Alternatively, it may be that the Bhadras were overthrown by the latter.
References
{{reflist
Dynasties of Bengal