Gangadeva (also known as Gangeyadeva) was the second ruler of the

Karnat dynasty Karnat or Karnata dynasty was a Maithil dynasty established in 1097 CE. The dynasty had two capitals which were Simraungadh in Bara District of Nepal and Darbhanga, Bihar which became the second capital during the reign of Gangadeva. The kingdom ...

Mithila Mithila may refer to: Places * Mithilā, a synonym for the ancient Videha state ** Mithilā (ancient city), the ancient capital city of Videha * Mithila (region), a cultural region (historical and contemporary), now divided between India and Nepal ...

. He succeeded his father

Nanyadeva Nanyadeva (IAST: ') was the founder of the Karnata (Karan Kayastha) dynasty of Mithila. He was the ancestor of Harisimhadeva and descendant of Suheldev . He established his capital in Simraungadh and ruled the greater Mithila region for 50 years. ...

as King in 1147 and ruled until 1187.

Rule

There is controversy surrounding the succession of the throne of Mithila following Nanyadeva's death as he was recorded as having two sons, Malladeva and Gangadeva however most inscriptions and manuscripts detail Gangadeva's rule only. The

Pratap Malla Pratap Malla (1624–74 A.D.) was King of Kantipur from 1641 until his death in 1674. He attempted to unify Kathmandu Valley by conquering Lalitpur and Bhaktapur, but failed in the effort. He was successful in extending and securing the borders ...

inscription of

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...

details that Gangadeva came to the throne in 1147 and was considered to be a very brave King. He was a contemporary of King Madanpala of the Pala's of neighbouring

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

and led attacks against them regaining some of the territories that had been lost during Nanyadeva's reign while also gaining new territory. The ''

Ramacharitam The ''Ramacharitam'' is a Sanskrit epic poem written in ''Arya metre'' by Sandhyakar Nandi (c. 1084 - 1155 CE) during Pala Empire. This work simultaneously narrates the story of the Ramayana and the Pala king Ramapala. Manuscripts A palm-leaf ma ...

'' also details that both Nanyadeva and Gangadeva claimed some sort of political authority in Gauda as he was declared as ''Gaudadwhaj''. Following the downfall of the Palas, the

Sena dynasty The Sena dynasty was a Hindu dynasty during the early medieval period on the Indian subcontinent, that ruled from Bengal through the 11th and 12th centuries. The empire at its peak covered much of the north-eastern region of the Indian subcont ...

came into power in neighbouring Bengal and Ballala Sena was also a contemporary of Gangadeva but led no attacks on Mithila. Gangadeva was also notable for his administrative reforms and added Darbhanga as an additional capital of the Karnat dynasty along with

Simraungadh Simraungadh, Simraongarh or Simroungarh (, Devanagari: सिम्रौनगढ) was a fortified city and the main capital of the Tirhut Kingdom founded by Karnat King Nanyadeva in 1097. At present time, it is a municipality of Nepal, locat ...

. The village of Gangapur Rajni in

Madhepura district Madhepura district is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar state, India, and Madhepura town is the administrative headquarters of this district. Madhepura district is a part of Kosi division. History Madhepura is part of the Mithila regio ...

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...

was named after Gangadeva.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gangadeva 12th-century monarchs in Asia History of Bihar History of Nepal 12th-century Nepalese people