Ranahastin or Ratnahastin (''also transliterated as Ratnabastin and Rahnahastin'') (Sanskrit: रत्नहस्तिन् and रणहस्तिन्) was one of the titles of

Pratihara 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 ...

emperor

Vatsaraja 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 r ...

along with

Maharajadhiraja Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king". A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, a ...

, and Parmeshwara. According to The Gwalior Prashasti 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 co ...

, the title Ranahastin is found on several coins of Vatsaraja after he 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 cl ...

from Bhandi Clan Bhandi was also the clan of the maternal family of King Harsha Vardhana of Kanauj and Vatsaraja reduced Indrayudha of Kanauj to the status of feudatory after his conquest of Kanuaj and beginning of Tripartite struggle. The coins bearing the titles were found in several parts of the

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 ...

Gangetic valley,

Gurjaratra 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 ...

and the Saurashtra region of

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 ...

. According to Alexander Cunningham the coin discovered in

weighs around 6.5 grains. The obverse of the coin has a Royal elephant facing right with its trunk hanging down, with legend ''Sri Rana Hasti'' arranged in two lines, it's also interesting to note that ''Rana Hasti'' also means elephant king. It is speculated that, title may have been used by several kings and chiefs. The title is known to have been used by unknown 10-11th century ruler of the Solanki Gurjars feudatory in Gujarat or Rajasthan.

References

{{Reflist Pratihara empire Royal titles Rajput era History of Rajasthan Rajput titles