Nagabhata I (r. c. 730 – 760 CE) was a king who founded the imperial
Gurjara Pratihara dynasty of northern India. He ruled the
Avanti (or
Malava) region in present-day
Madhya Pradesh, from his capital at
Ujjain. He may have extended his control over
the Gurjara country, which includes parts of present-day
Gujarat and
Rajasthan. He repulsed an Arab invasion from
Sindh, probably led by
Junayd ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Murri
In the first half of the 8th century CE, a series of battles took place between the Umayyad Caliphate and kingdoms to the east of the Indus river, in the Indian subcontinent.
Subsequent to the Arab conquest of Sindh in present-day Pakistan in ...
or
Al Hakam ibn Awana.
Early life
Nagabhata has been named as the founder of the imperial
Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty in the
Gwalior inscription of his descendant
Mihira Bhoja. The exact date of Nagabhata's accession is not known. His grand-nephew
Vatsaraja is known to have been ruling in Avanti in 783–784 CE. Assuming a period of 25 years for each generation, Nagabhata can be presumed to have ascended the throne around 730 CE.
The Gwalior inscription traces the dynasty's origin to the legendary hero
Lakshmana
Lakshmana ( sa, लक्ष्मण, lit=the fortunate one, translit=Lakṣmaṇa), also spelled as Laxmana, is the younger brother of Rama and his loyalist in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He bears the epithets of Saumitra () and Ramanuja (). ...
. Nagabhata's historical antecedents are not fully known, but he ruled from
Ujjain in the
Avanti region. The Jain text ''
Harivamsa'' (783–784 CE) states that his grand-nephew
Vatsaraja was the king and a "son of Avanti soil" (''Avanti-bhūbriti''). It also describes the other neighbouring kingdoms leaving one in no doubt about its location. The 871 CE
Sanjan copper-plate inscription of the
Rashtrakuta ruler
Amoghavarsha
Amoghavarsha I (also known as Amoghavarsha Nrupathunga I) (r.814–878 CE) was the greatest emperor of the Rashtrakuta dynasty, and one of the most notable rulers of Ancient India. His reign of 64 years is one of the longest precisely dated mo ...
also suggests the association of the Gurjara-Pratiharas with Ujjain. Based on this, a number of historians, including
R. C. Majumdar
Ramesh Chandra Majumdar (known as R. C. Majumdar; 4 December 1888 – 11 February 1980) was a historian and professor of Indian history. Majumdar is a noted historian of modern India. He was a former Sheriff of Kolkata.
Early life and educatio ...
and
Baij Nath Puri
Prof. Baij Nath Puri (B. N. Puri) (born 26 January 1916, died 1996) was a historian from India. He completed M. Lit. and D.Phil. from Oxford University. He was vice-president and member of the International Board of Editors for the history of Ci ...
, hold the view that Ujjain, the capital of
Avanti, was the original home of Nagabhata's dynasty.
Dasharatha Sharma
Dasharatha Sharma (1903–1976) was an Indologist with particular interest in the history of the Rajasthan region of India. Born in the Rajasthani city of Churu, he studied in the city of Bikaner and at the University of Delhi. He had degrees ...
, on the other hand, theorized that Nagabhata originated from present-day
Rajasthan. His theory is based on the identification of Nagabhata with Nāhada, who is mentioned in a medieval
Jain
Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...
''
prabandha
Prabandha is a literary genre of medieval Indian Sanskrit literature. The ''prabandha''s contain semi-historical anecdotes about the lives of famous persons. They were written primarily by Jain scholars of western India (Gujarat and Malwa) from 1 ...
'' (legendary chronicle) as a "soldier of fortune" and the first ruler of his family. The text states that Nāhada made Jābālipura (identified with
Jalor
Jalore () (ISO 15919 : ''Jālora'' ), also known as ''Granite City'', is a city in the western Indian state of Rajasthan. It is the administrative headquarters of Jalore District.
It has a river known as Jawai Nadi. Jalore lies to south of ...
) his capital and came into conflict with a Muslim ruler, whom he defeated. Sharma put forward the view that Jalor was the original home of the Gurjara-Pratiharas, from whence they might have emigrated.
Military career
Arab invasion
According to the Gwalior inscription of his descendant
Mihira Bhoja, Nagabhata repulsed a
mlechchha
Mleccha (from Vedic Sanskrit ', meaning "non-Vedic", "foreigner" or "barbarian") is a Sanskrit term, initially referring to those of an incomprehensible speech, later foreign or barbarous invaders as contra-distinguished from elite groups.
The ...
invasion. These mlechchhas are identified with the
Arab Muslim invaders. The 9th century Muslim historian
Al-Baladhuri
ʾAḥmad ibn Yaḥyā ibn Jābir al-Balādhurī ( ar, أحمد بن يحيى بن جابر البلاذري) was a 9th-century Muslim historian. One of the eminent Middle Eastern historians of his age, he spent most of his life in Baghdad and e ...
refers to Arab invasions of Uzain (
Ujjain); this appears to be a reference to their conflict with Nagabhata. The invasion was led by
Junayd ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Murri
In the first half of the 8th century CE, a series of battles took place between the Umayyad Caliphate and kingdoms to the east of the Indus river, in the Indian subcontinent.
Subsequent to the Arab conquest of Sindh in present-day Pakistan in ...
or by
Al Hakam ibn Awana , a general and
governor of Sindh
The governor of Sindh is the appointed head of the province of Sindh, Pakistan. The office of the governor as the head of the province is largely a ceremonial position; the executive powers lie with the chief minister and the chief secretary of Si ...
under the
Umayyad caliph
A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...
Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik
Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik ( ar, هشام بن عبد الملك, Hishām ibn ʿAbd al-Malik; 691 – 6 February 743) was the tenth Umayyad caliph, ruling from 724 until his death in 743.
Early life
Hisham was born in Damascus, the administrat ...
.
[ Rama Shankar Tripathi (1959). History of Kanauj: To the Moslem Conquest. Motilal Banarsidass. ] Al-Baladhuri mentions the conquests of several other places by these invaders, but about Ujjain, he only mentions that the city was invaded. This appears to be a tacit admission that the invasion was unsuccessful.
The semi-legendary
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.
Hist ...
ruler
Bappa Rawal
Bappa Rawal (c. 8th century) was a king of the Mewar kingdom in Rajasthan, India. The bardic chronicles describe him as a member of the Guhila Rajput Clan, and some of them consider him to be the founder of the Guhila dynasty. He is credited ...
is also said to have repulsed an Arab invasion. Historian R. V. Somani theorizes that he was a part of an anti-Arab confederacy formed by Nagabhata.
Rashtrakuta invasion
Nagabhata appears to have been defeated by the
Rashtrakuta ruler
Dantidurga. According to the Rashtrakuta records, the ruler of
Malava was among the kings defeated by Dantidurga. The
Sanjan inscription of Dantidurga's descendant
Amoghavarsha
Amoghavarsha I (also known as Amoghavarsha Nrupathunga I) (r.814–878 CE) was the greatest emperor of the Rashtrakuta dynasty, and one of the most notable rulers of Ancient India. His reign of 64 years is one of the longest precisely dated mo ...
states that Dantidurga performed a religious ceremony at
Ujjayini
Ujjain (, Hindustani pronunciation: �d͡ːʒɛːn is a city in Ujjain district of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the fifth-largest city in Madhya Pradesh by population and is the administrative centre of Ujjain district and Ujjai ...
(Ujjain, the capital of Nagabhata). During this ceremony, the Lord of
Gurjara
Gurjaradesa ("Gurjara country") or Gurjaratra is a historical region in India comprising the eastern Rajasthan and northern Gujarat during the period of 6th -12th century CE. The predominant power of the region, the Gurjara-Pratiharas eventual ...
(''Gurjaresha'') acted as a ''pratihara'' (door-keeper) of Dantidurga. The usage of the word ''pratihara'' seems to be a
word play, suggesting that the Rashtrakuta king subdued the Gurjara-Pratihara king who was ruling Avanti at that time.
Identification with Nagavaloka
The 756 CE
Hansot
’Hansanagari’ but well known as Hansot is a village in Bharuch district, Southern Gujarat, India. It is about southwest of the city of Bharuch, and south of the Narmada River. The village and its surrounding ''taluka'' were acquired by the ...
inscription of a
Chahamana
Chauhan, historically ''Chahamana'', is a clan name historically associated with the various ruling Rajput families during the Medieval India in Rajasthan.
Subclans
Khichi, Hada, Songara, Bhadauria, Devda etc. are the branches or subcla ...
ruler Bhartrvaddha records the grant of a village during the reign of his overlord Nagavaloka.
D. R. Bhandarkar
Devadatta Ramakrishna Bhandarkar ( mr, देवदत्त रामकृष्ण भांडारकर; 19 November 1875 – 13 May 1950) was an Indian archaeologist and epigraphist who worked with the Archaeological Survey of India (AS ...
and other historians have identified Nagavolka with Nagabhata. If this assumption is true, it is possible that after the Rashtrakutas left, Nagabhata regained his power, and conquered the area around Bhrigukachchha (
Bharuch
Bharuch (), formerly known as Broach, is a city at the mouth of the river Narmada in Gujarat in western India. Bharuch is the administrative headquarters of Bharuch District.
The city of Bharuch and surroundings have been settled since tim ...
), where a Chahamana branch ruled under his suzerainty. According to historian B. N. Puri, Nagabhata may have conquered this region from
Chalukya
The Chalukya dynasty () was a Classical Indian dynasty that ruled large parts of southern and central India between the 6th and the 12th centuries. During this period, they ruled as three related yet individual dynasties. The earliest dynast ...
feudatory
Avanijanashraya Pulakeshin
The Chalukyas (IAST: Cālukya) of Navasarika (modern Navsari) were an Indian dynasty that ruled parts of present-day Gujarat and Maharashtra during 7th and 8th centuries, as vassals of the Chalukyas of Vatapi. They are also known as the "Ear ...
. Thus, besides Malwa, Nagabhata's kingdom may have comprised parts of present-day Gujarat and Rajasthan.
Other
The Ragholi copper-plate inscription of the Shaila dynasty ruler Jayavardhana states that his ancestor Prithuvardhana defeated a
Gurjara
Gurjaradesa ("Gurjara country") or Gurjaratra is a historical region in India comprising the eastern Rajasthan and northern Gujarat during the period of 6th -12th century CE. The predominant power of the region, the Gurjara-Pratiharas eventual ...
ruler.
R. C. Majumdar
Ramesh Chandra Majumdar (known as R. C. Majumdar; 4 December 1888 – 11 February 1980) was a historian and professor of Indian history. Majumdar is a noted historian of modern India. He was a former Sheriff of Kolkata.
Early life and educatio ...
believed that the defeated ruler might have been Nagabhata. However, B. N. Puri disagrees with this theory, and believes that Prithuvardhana ruled around 694 CE, several years before Nagabhata's ascension.
An inscription of Gallaka, a subordinate of Vatsaraja, in the year 795 regards Nagabhata I as the one who had acquired victory over the "invincible Gurjaras" and obtained fame. Thus, even though the dynasty is called Gurjara-Pratiharas, it is certain that the kings themselves were not from Gurjara tribe.
Successors
Based on the identification of Nagabhata with Nagavaloka mentioned in the 756 CE
Hansot
’Hansanagari’ but well known as Hansot is a village in Bharuch district, Southern Gujarat, India. It is about southwest of the city of Bharuch, and south of the Narmada River. The village and its surrounding ''taluka'' were acquired by the ...
inscription, Nagabhata appears to have ruled until around 760 CE. The Gwalior inscription suggests that he was succeeded by
Kakustha and
Devaraja
"Devarāja" was the religious order of the "god-king," or deified monarch in medieval Southeast Asia. The devarāja order grew out of both Hinduism and separate local traditions depending on the area. It taught that the king was a divine u ...
, who were sons of his unnamed brother.
References
; Sources
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8th-century Indian monarchs
Pratihara empire
Hindu monarchs
Indian military leaders
Founding monarchs