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Vadnagar
Vadnagar is a town and municipality in the Mehsana district of the state of Gujarat in India. It is located from Mehsana. Its ancient names include ''Anartapura'' (the capital of Anarta) and ''Anandapura.'' It was a location visited by Xuanz ...
(marked here in modern day
Gujarat
Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, 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 List of states and union territories ...
state)." width="250" height="250" zoom="6" longitude="71.697" latitude="22.350" align="right">
Anarta (, ) was an ancient
India
India, officially the Republic of India, 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 by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
n region which corresponded to the present-day North
Saurashtra
Saurashtra, Sourashtra, or variants may refer to:
** Kathiawar, also called Saurashtra Peninsula, a peninsula in western India
** Saurashtra (state), alias United State of Kathiawar, a former Indian state, merged into Bombay State and since its d ...
to
North Gujarat
North Gujarat, the Northern part of Indian state of Gujarat includes the districts of Gandhinagar, Banaskantha, Patan, Aravalli, Mehsana Sabarkantha and Vav-Tharad district. Patan city is the administrative headquarters of North Gujarat. ...
regions in
Gujarat
Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, 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 List of states and union territories ...
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 is located from Mehsana. Its ancient names include ''Anartapura'' (the capital of Anarta) and ''Anandapura.'' It was a location visited by Xuanz ...
.
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. He is the seventh of the 14 Manus of the current kalpa (aeon) of Hindu cosmology. In the Jain religion he is also kno ...
. The kingdom was named after Anarta, the son of Sharyati. The capital of this kingdom was Kushasthali (the ancient name of
Dwaraka). The last ruler of this dynasty was
Kakudmi
Kakudmi (), also called Raivata ( meaning ''son of Revata''), is a king featured in Hindu literature. Kakudmi is described to be the king of Kushasthali. He is the son of Revata, and the father of Revati, the consort of the deity Balarama. Hi ...
. After him, it was occupied by the Punyajana Rakshasas. Later, the Yadavas migrated to this region under the leadership of
Lord Krishna
Krishna (; Sanskrit: 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 wi ...
.
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 (ayurvedic jam) or tonic known as '' chyavanaprasham'', which ...
was also connected with Sharyati and Anarta. He married
Sukanya
Sukanya () 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 the narrative found in the Vana Parva of the Mahabharata, Sage Chya ...
, daughter of Sharyati and sacrificed for him. His descendants were associated with the
Haihayas
In the Mahabharata epic, the Haihaya kingdom (also spelled Heheya, Haihaya, Haiheya, Heiheya, etc.) is one of the kingdoms ruled by Chandravanshi (Yadava) kings in central and western India. It was ruled by Kartavirya Arjuna, who defeated Rav ...
, 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 Chinese, old , Pinyin, mod. , ), Shaka (Sanskrit (Brāhmī): , , ; Sanskrit (Devanāgarī): , ), or Sacae (Ancient Greek: ; Latin: were a group of nomadic Iranian peoples, Eastern Iranian peoples who lived in the Eurasian ...
ruler
Rudradaman I
Rudradāman I (r. 130–150) was a Śaka ruler from the Western Kshatrapas dynasty. He was the grandson of the king Caṣṭana. Rudradāman I was instrumental in the decline of the Sātavāhana Empire. Rudradāman I took up the title of '' ...
mentions Anarta as a part of his kingdom. He placed Anarta under his ''Pahlava'' (
Parthia
Parthia ( ''Parθava''; ''Parθaw''; ''Pahlaw'') is a historical region located in northeastern Greater Iran. It was conquered and subjugated by the empire of the Medes during the 7th century BC, was incorporated into the subsequent Achaemeni ...
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
Vadnagar