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Vadnagar
Vadnagar is a town and municipality in the Mehsana district of the state of Gujarat in India. It just about 35 km from Mehsana city. Its ancient name was Anartapura, and was also known as Anandapura. It was a Buddhist location visited by X ...
(marked here in modern day
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 ...
state)." width="250" height="250" zoom="6" longitude="71.697" latitude="22.350" align="right">
Anarta ( sa, आनर्त, ) was an ancient
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
n region which corresponded to the present-day North
Saurashtra to
North Gujarat
North Gujarat (), the Northern part of Indian state of Gujarat includes the districts of Gandhinagar, Banaskantha, Sabarkantha, Aravalli, Mehsana, and Patan.
North Gujarat is dominant in the dairy industry.
Currently, the water table of th ...
regions 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 ...
state of India. Several ancient inscriptions and literary sources mention a town called Anartapura or Anandapura, which is identified as the area in and around the present-day
Vadnagar
Vadnagar is a town and municipality in the Mehsana district of the state of Gujarat in India. It just about 35 km from Mehsana city. Its ancient name was Anartapura, and was also known as Anandapura. It was a Buddhist location visited by X ...
.
Anarta in the Puranic literature
According to the Puranic accounts, this region was ruled by the Sharyata dynasty rulers, who claimed their descent from Sharyati, a son of
Vaivasvata Manu
Vaivasvata Manu (), also referred to as Shraddhadeva and Satyavrata, is the current Manu—the progenitor of the human race in Hindu mythology. He is the seventh of the 14 Manus of the current kalpa (aeon) of Hindu cosmology.
Forewarned about ...
. The kingdom was named after Anarta, the son of Sharyati. The capital of this kingdom was Kushasthali (the ancient name of
Dwaraka Dvaraka, Dwaraka, Dwarka may refer to:
Places India
* Dvārakā, ancient city in Gujarat, the capital of the Yadus in the Mahabharata
:* Dvārakā–Kamboja route, an ancient trade-route and a branch of the Silk Road
* Dwarka, Gujarat, also k ...
). The last ruler of this dynasty was
Kakudmi
Kakudmi (nominative case, stem Kakudmin), sometimes also called Raivata, is a character within Hindu Mythology. Kakudmi was the King of Kusasthali, son of Revata, and father of Revati, who married Balarama. Within Hinduism, his account is g ...
. After him, it was occupied by the Punyajana Rakshasas. Later, the
Yadavas migrated to this region under the leadership of
Lord Krishna
Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one of ...
.
Sage
Chyavana
Chyavana () was a sage (rishi) in Hinduism. He was a son of Bhrigu, also known as Bhrigu Varuni in the Upanishads, and is known for his rejuvenation through a special herbal paste or tonic known as '' chyavanaprasham'', which was prepared by t ...
was also connected with Sharyati and Anarta. He married
Sukanya
Sukanya ( sa, सुकन्या, lit=wonderful virgin, translit=Sukanyā) is a princess In Hindu mythology. She is the daughter of Sharyati, the son of Vaivasvata Manu, and the wife of the sage Chyavana.
Legend
Marriage
According to ...
, daughter of Sharyati and sacrificed for him. His descendants were associated with the
Haihayas
The Heheya Kingdom (also known as Haihaya, Haiheya, Heiheya _sa.html" ;"title="nowiki/> sa">हैहय was a kingdom ruled by the Yadava people, who claimed to be descended from Yadu, a legendary king of Chandravamsha lineage. One of the mo ...
, which occupied the neighbouring region, apparently after the demise of the Sharyata kingdom.
Anarta under Saka rule
The Junagarh rock inscription of the
Saka
The Saka ( Old Persian: ; Kharoṣṭhī: ; Ancient Egyptian: , ; , old , mod. , ), Shaka (Sanskrit ( Brāhmī): , , ; Sanskrit (Devanāgarī): , ), or Sacae (Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ) were a group of nomadic Iranian peoples who histo ...
ruler
Rudradaman I mentions Anarta as a part of his kingdom. He placed Anarta under his ''Pahlava'' (
Parthia
Parthia ( peo, 𐎱𐎼𐎰𐎺 ''Parθava''; xpr, 𐭐𐭓𐭕𐭅 ''Parθaw''; pal, 𐭯𐭫𐭮𐭥𐭡𐭥 ''Pahlaw'') is a historical region located in northeastern Greater Iran. It was conquered and subjugated by the empire of the Med ...
n) ''Amatya'' (minister) Suvishakha, who re-built a dam on the ''Sudarshana'' Lake there.
[Raychaudhuri, H.C. (1972). ''Political History of Ancient India'', Calcutta: University of Calcutta, pp.447, 449]
Notes
{{reflist
External links
The Junagarh rock inscription of Rudradaman I
Historical Indian regions
History of Gujarat