Nagabhata II (reign 795–833) was an Indian Emperor from

Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty The Gurjara-Pratihara was a dynasty that ruled much of Northern India from the mid-8th to the 11th century. They ruled first at Ujjain and later at Kannauj. The Gurjara-Pratiharas were instrumental in containing Arab armies moving east of the ...

. He ascended the throne of

after his father

Vatsraja Vatsaraja (780–800) or Vatsraja was an Emperor of the Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty in Northern India. He was grand-nephew of Nagabhata I and his mother was queen Bhuyikadevi. He was the first ruler of Rajasthan to win victories over the distant re ...

. His mother was queen Sundari-Devi. He was designated with imperial titles - ''Paramabhattaraka'', ''Maharajadhiraja'', and ''Paramesvara'' after conquest of

Kannauj Kannauj ( Hindustani pronunciation: ənːɔːd͡ʒ is a city, administrative headquarters and a municipal board or Nagar Palika Parishad in Kannauj district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The city's name is a corrupted form of the class ...

Reign

Nagabhata II finds a mention in the Gwalior inscription. He defeated the rulers of Sindhu, Andhra, Vidarbha, Kalinga, Matsyas, Vatsas, Malavas, Kiratas, Anartas and the Arabs. He had defeated

Saindhava The Saindhavas, also known as Jayadrathas, was a Medieval Indian dynasty that ruled western Saurashtra (now in Gujarat, India) from c. 735 CE to c. 920 CE, probably in alliance with Maitrakas in its early years. Their capital was at Bhutamab ...

ruler Ranaka I and conquered the western Saurashtra (now in

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

). He also defeated Chakrayudh at Kannauj.Sen, S.N., 2013, A Textbook of Medieval Indian History, Delhi: Primus Books, He was later defeated by the

Rashtrakuta Rashtrakuta (IAST: ') (r. 753-982 CE) was a royal Indian dynasty ruling large parts of the Indian subcontinent between the sixth and 10th centuries. The earliest known Rashtrakuta inscription is a 7th-century copper plate grant detailing their ...

Emperor Govinda III (793–814) and lost Malwa and Gujarat. However, he recovered

Malwa Malwa is a historical region of west-central India occupying a plateau of volcanic origin. Geologically, the Malwa Plateau generally refers to the volcanic upland north of the Vindhya Range. Politically and administratively, it is also syno ...

from the

s, conquered

Kanauj Kannauj ( Hindustani pronunciation: ənːɔːd͡ʒ is a city, administrative headquarters and a municipal board or Nagar Palika Parishad in Kannauj district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The city's name is a corrupted form of the class ...

and the

Indo-Gangetic Plain The Indo-Gangetic Plain, also known as the North Indian River Plain, is a fertile plain encompassing northern regions of the Indian subcontinent, including most of northern and eastern India, around half of Pakistan, virtually all of Bangla ...

as far as

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 ...

from the

Palas A ''palas'' () is a German term for the imposing or prestigious building of a medieval ''Pfalz'' or castle that contained the great hall. Such buildings appeared during the Romanesque period (11th to 13th century) and, according to Thompson, ...

, and again checked the

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

s in the west.

became the center of the Pratihara state, which covered much of northern

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

during the peak of their power (836–910). An inscription of his descendant,

Mihira Bhoja Mihira Bhoja (c. 836–885 CE) or Bhoja I was a king belonging to the Gurjara-Pratihara Dynasty. He succeeded his father Ramabhadra. Bhoja was a devotee of Vishnu and adopted the title of ''Ādivarāha'' which is inscribed on some of his coi ...

describes Nagabhata II as "who, desirous of the great growth of virtuous acts, enjoined in the Veda, performed a series of religious ceremonies according to the custom of

Kshatriya Kshatriya ( hi, क्षत्रिय) (from Sanskrit ''kṣatra'', "rule, authority") is one of the four varna (social orders) of Hindu society, associated with warrior aristocracy. The Sanskrit term ''kṣatriyaḥ'' is used in the con ...

families." Nagabhata is said to have been a devotee of

Bhagavati Bhagavatī (Devanagari: भगवती, IAST: Bhagavatī), is a Hindus, Hindu epithet of Sanskrit origin, used as an honorific title for female deities in Hinduism. It is primarily used to address one of the Tridevi: Saraswati, Lakshmi, and P ...

. Nagabhatta faced a large Pala army in his early career, which had an elephant force of 50,000, led by King Dharmapala himself at

Mungar Mungar is a rural locality in the Fraser Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Mungar had a population of 309 people. Geography Mungar is north of the state capital Brisbane and south west of the regional centre of Maryborough. The ...

, Nagabhata emerged victorious. The Chatsu Inscription of his

Guhila Gahlot is a clan of Rajputs Guhilot Rajputs ruled number of Kingdom's including Mewar, Banswara, Dungarpur, Pratapgarh, Shahpura, Bhavnagar, Palitana, Lathi and Vala, The variations of the name include Gehlot, Guhila, Gohil or Guhilot. Hi ...

feudatory Baladitya (813 AD) states that Shankaragana Guhila, who fought on the behalf of Vatsaraja fulfilled his vow by Nagabhata II was succeeded by

Ramabhadra Ramabhadra (833–836) was an Indian king , of Gurjara Pratihara dynasty. According to Jain '' Prabhavakacarita'', Nagabhata II was succeeded by Ramabhadra, sometimes also called ''Rama'' or ''Ramadeva''. His mother's name was Istadevi. Ramabha ...

. Some earlier historians identified Nagabhata with

Āma Āma was a medieval Indian king who ruled Kannauj and surrounding areas during the 8th and the 9th centuries. According to the Jain chronicles, he was the son and successor of Yashovarman. Jain account The Jain chronicle ''Bappabhatti-Suri-C ...

, who according to the Jain accounts, died in 832-833 CE (see Āma#Identification with Nagabhata II). Based on this identification, Nagabhata's reign is theorized to have ended around 833 CE. Historian Shyam Manohar Mishra, who disagrees with this identification, places Nagabhata's death around 825 CE.

References

Bibliography

* * 9th-century Indian monarchs 833 deaths Pratihara empire {{India-royal-stub