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The Naga dynasty ruled parts of north-central
India during the 3rd and the 4th centuries, after the decline of the Kushan
Empire and before the rise of the Gupta
Empire. Its capital was located at Padmavati, which
is identified with modern Pawaya in Madhya
Pradesh. Modern historians identify it with the family that is
called Bharashiva (IAST: Bhāraśiva) in the records of the Vakataka dynasty. According to the Puranic texts as well
as numismatic evidence, dynasties known as the Nagas also ruled at Vidisha, Kantipuri, and Mathura. All
these Naga dynasties may have been different branches of a single family or
may have been a single family that ruled from different capitals at different
times. No concrete conclusions can be drawn regarding this based on the
available historical evidence. In Madhya Pradesh, Naga coins have been discovered at Pawaya, Narwar, Gohad, Vidisha, Kutwar (Kotwal), and Ujjain. In Uttar
Pradesh, they have been discovered at Mathura, and
in the Jhansi district.[1] Based on the provenance of these coins, H. V. Trivedi
theorizes that the core Naga territory extended from Morena and
Jhansi districts in north to Vidisha in south. The Naga kingdom eventually
expanded to include Mathura in north and Ujjain in
south.[3] Chronology
The Naga dynasty is known mainly from the coins issued by its
rulers, and from brief mentions in literary texts and inscriptions of the
other dynasties. According to the Vayu and
the Brahmanda Puranas,
nine Naga kings ruled Padmavati (or Champavati),
and seven Naga kings ruled Mathura, before the Guptas.
According to the Vishnu Purana, nine Naga kings ruled
at Padmavati, Kantipuri, and Mathura. The Puranas state that only nine Naga
kings ruled at Padmavati, but coins of twelve kings believed to be Naga kings
by modern historians have been discovered.[7] The
coins of eleven of these rulers have been discovered at Padmavati (modern Pawaya): the only exception is Vyaghra,
who is known from a single coin discovered at the nearby Narwar. |
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