Phani Mukut Rai was a legendary Nagvanshi king. According to the

Nagvanshi Nagavanshi (IAST: Nāgavaṃśī) refers to any of the several Indian Kshatriya dynasties or ruling groups claiming descent from the mythical Nāgas. Along with Suryavanshi, Chandravanshi and Agnivanshi, the Nagavanshi clans form a part of the Ks ...

tradition, he was first Nagvanshi king and founder of Nagvanshi dynasty in 1st century CE. However the story of Phani Mukut Rai is considered a myth by histrorian and scholar date the establishment of the Nagvanshi dynasty around 4th century CE.

Early life

According to ''Nagvanshavali'' (1876), Phani Mukut Rai was son of Pundarika Naga a

Naga Naga or NAGA may refer to: Mythology * Nāga, a serpentine deity or race in Hindu, Buddhist and Jain traditions * Naga Kingdom, in the epic ''Mahabharata'' * Phaya Naga, mythical creatures believed to live in the Laotian stretch of the Mekong Riv ...

and Parvati, a

Sakaldwipiya Brahmin Sakaldwipiya Brahmins (also known as Bhojaka Brahmins or Maga Brahmins) are a class of Brahmin priests primarily concentrated in northern India. History According to the Samba Purana (c.500 - c.800 CE), Samba, the son of Krishna, the king of Sam ...

girl from

Varanasi Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world. * * * * The city has a syncretic t ...

. Pundarika Naga the son of

Takshaka Takshaka (Sanskrit: तक्षक, IAST: Takṣaka) is a Nagaraja in Hinduism and Buddhism. He is mentioned in the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. He is described to be a king of the Nagas. He is one of the sons of Kadru. Takshaka also known in ...

settled in Varanasi after

Janamejaya Janamejaya ( sa, जनमेजय) was a Kuru king who reigned during the Middle Vedic period. Along with his father and predecessor Parikshit, he played a decisive role in the consolidation of the Kuru state, the arrangement of Vedic hymns i ...

the Kuru king expelled Naga from

Taxila Taxila or Takshashila (; sa, तक्षशिला; pi, ; , ; , ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan. Located in the Taxila Tehsil of Rawalpindi District, it lies approximately northwest of the Islamabad–Rawalpindi metropolitan area and ...

. He studied scriptures in house of a Sakaldwipiya Brahmin by pretending to be a Brahmin and married his daughter. Due to his forked tongue, he always slept with his back to his wife. The poisonous breath regularly came out from his mouth. Wife becomes curious to know about the secret but Pundrika Naga never told the secret. They traveled to

Jagannath temple The Jagannath Temple is an important Hindu temple dedicated to Jagannath, a form of Vishnu - one of the trinity of supreme divinity in Hinduism. Puri is in the state of Odisha, on the eastern coast of India. The present temple was rebuilt f ...

Puri Puri () is a coastal city and a Nagar Palika, municipality in the state of Odisha in eastern India. It is the district headquarters of Puri district and is situated on the Bay of Bengal, south of the state capital of Bhubaneswar. It is als ...

for pilgrimage. During return from pilgrimage, his wife felt birth pain and about to die. She wish to know his secret. Then Pundrika Naga turned into a cobra, told his secret and plung into pond. His wife Parvati committed Sati out of grief after giving birth to a child. Pundrika Naga gave shed to child with his hood. Woodcutter saw it and informed a Sakaldwipiya Brahmin name Janardan who was holding sun idol. Brahmin saw the incident. Pundrika Naga told his story to Brahmin and told Brahmin that the boy will become king of Nagpur and Brahmin will become his priest. Brahmin named the child Phani Mukut Rai as he was protected by hood of Cobra and brought up him. Brahmin was holding Sun idol which became tutelary deity of Nagvanshi as suggested by Pundrika Naga. Brahmin was priest of Madura Munda, the chief of Sutiambe village. Later Madra Munda and other king such as King of Suguja and Aditya king of Patkum elected Phani Mukut Rai as King due to his qualities. According to Nagvanshi tradition it happened in 104 CE. However the story is mostly considered a myth and a story of Brahminacal origin of dynasty invented in later period. According to report by Webster, the Kanyabuja Brahmin raised the Phani Mukut Rai. But According to story collected by Sarat Chandra Roy, the child was adopted by Madra Munda, the parha chief of Sutiambe village.

Chieftaincy

According to Nagvanshi tradition, Phani Mukut Rai was elected as Raja by Parha chief and other Rajas of Suguja and Phatkum due to his qualities around 94 AD and He ruled for 68 years. His capital was at Sutiambe which is now located in

Ranchi district Ranchi district is the most populous district of Jharkhand state in eastern India. Ranchi, the capital of Jharkhand, is the district headquarters. It was established as a district in 1899. History Iron slag, potsherds and iron tools have been ...

. He resided in mud fort. During his reign, he defeated Rakshel of Korambe and invaders from

Kendujhar Kendujhar is a town with municipality in Kendujhar District in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the administrative headquarters of the Kendujhar district, and it is one of the fifth scheduled areas of Odisha. Climate Politics Mohan char ...

with the help of king of

Panchet Panchet is a census town in Nirsa CD block in Dhanbad Sadar subdivision of Dhanbad district in the Indian state of Jharkhand. History During construction of dam several ruin of Tilakampa kingdom were submerged in the dam. Telkupi was capital of ...

. His rule was extended to Badin of

Kharsawan Kharsawan garh is a town and a notified area in the Seraikela Sadar subdivision of the Seraikela Kharsawan district in the Indian state of Jharkhand. History Kharsawan (also spelt as Kharsuan) was founded around 1650. It was one of the Oriya P ...

Ramgarh Ramgarh may refer to: Bangladesh * Ramgarh Upazila, a sub-district of Khagrachari District India * Ramgarh, Bihar, a village near Munger, Bihar * Ramgarh, Kaimur, a town in Kaimur district, Bihar * Ramgarh, Uttarakhand, a hill station in Nainital ...

, Gola, Tori and Gharwe. He built sun temple in Suitabe. He invited Panda from Puri and established idols in thakurbadi. He established Brahmin by giving them village of Sornda and Mahugaon. During his reign several people came from different parts of country. His Diwan was Srivastav Kayasth, Pandey Bhav Rai a resident of Belkupi village. According to writer of book "Nagvansh", Lal Praduman Singh, during the reign of Phani Mukut Rai, there were 66 pargana in Nagvanshi kingdom of which 22 were in Ghatwa, 18 in

Khukhragarh Khukhragarh was one of the capitals of Nagvanshi dynasty, who once ruled in parts of the Indian state of Jharkhand. It is located in the Bero block in the Ranchi Sadar subdivision of Ranchi district. Geography History Nagvanshi ruler Bhim Karn s ...

, 18 in Doisagarh and 8 in Jarichgarh. However the remains of the idol of the Sun temple near

Pithoria Pithoria is a village in the Kanke CD block in the Ranchi Sadar subdivision of the Ranchi district in the Indian state of Jharkhand. History According to legend, Phani Mukut Rai, the first Nagvanshi king established sun idol near Pithoria. In ...

have been dated to the 12th Century CE. There is no archeological remains discovered to validate the story of Phani Mukut Rai. Many scholar put the date of establishment of Nagvanshi dynasty in 4th century CE taking into account of average ruling period of 25 years for each king. According to genology given by Dripnath Shah to governor general of India in 1787, Phani Mukut Rai was first Nagvanshi king who was son of Pundarik Naga and

girl Parvati. The story of Phani Mukut Rai is considered to be a myth by scholars.

Personal life

According to Nagvanshavali, there was arises difficulties when Phani Mukut Rai wanted to marry princess of Panchet. The priest of Panchet arrived to check certificate of birth and not found. Then the Phani Mukut Rai prayed his serpent father that if the priest not satisfied, then the Munda or Oraon girl should be queen of Nagpur. Then Once again Pundrika Naga appeared and told the story and Brahmin satisfied. Then he married the daughter of Govanshi Raja of

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rai, Phani Mukut Asian kings Nagpuria people