The Chindaka Nagas were a dynasty that ruled over parts of modern-day

Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...

and

Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh (; ) is a landlocked States and union territories of India, state in Central India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the List ...

. Their kingdom was known as Chakrakota mandala and included the present-day districts of Bastar,

Koraput Koraput is a town and a Municipality in Koraput district in the Indian state of Odisha. Koraput town is the district headquarter of Koraput district. History The district of Koraput derives its name from its headquarters in the present town o ...

and Kalahandi. They were constantly at war with their neighbours- the

Somavamshi dynasty The Somavamshi (IAST: Somavaṃśī, "Lunar dynasty") or Keshari (IAST: Keśarī) dynasty ruled parts of present-day Odisha in eastern India between the 9th and the 12th centuries. Their capitals included Yayatinagara (modern Binika, Binka) and ...

, the

Kalachuris of Ratnapura The Kalachuris of Ratnapura, also known as the Haihayas of Ratanpur, were a dynasty that ruled in Central India during the 12th and 13th centuries. They ruled parts of present-day Chhattisgarh from their capital at Ratnapura (modern Ratanpur in B ...

, the

Mana dynasty The Mana dynasty was a dynasty who ruled the present-day area of the Chandrapur district for about 200 years before being overthrown by Kol Bhil, leader of the Gonds. They ruled from the fort of '' Wairagarh''. History The Mana dynasty began s ...

and the

Western Chalukya Empire The Western Chalukya Empire ( ) ruled most of the Deccan Plateau, western Deccan, South India, between the 10th and 12th centuries. This Kannada dynasty is sometimes called the ''Kalyani Chalukya'' after its regal capital at Kalyani, today's ...

Origin

The Chindaka Nagas belonged to

Kashyapa Kashyapa (, ) is a revered Vedic sage of Hinduism., Quote: "Kasyapa (Rudra),(Vedic Seer)..." He is one of the Saptarishis, the seven ancient sages of the ''Rigveda''. Kashyapa is the most ancient and venerated rishi, along with the other Sa ...

gotra In Hindu culture, the term gotra (Sanskrit: गोत्र) is considered to be equivalent to lineage. It broadly refers to people who are descendants in an unbroken male line from a common male ancestor or patriline. Generally, the gotr ...

and were of Kannada origin, hailing from the Sindavadi country in present-day

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

. They were a branch of the Sinda family of

Gulbarga Kalaburagi, formerly known as Gulbarga, is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka, It is headquarters of eponymous Kalaburagi district and Kalaburagi division, Kalaburagi city is governed by a Municipal Corporation, It is called a Sufi c ...

. Several historians agree with this theory of the Nagas having

Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...

ancestry. The Nagas are believed by certain historians to have arrived in the Chakrakota Mandala region ( Bastar-

Koraput district Koraput district is a districts of India, district of India in southern Odisha, with its headquarters at the town of Koraput. The district is located in the Eastern Ghats and is known for its hilly terrain, rich and diverse mineral deposits and ...

- Kalahandi) in 1022 with the expedition of the Chola emperor

Rajendra Chola Rajendra I (26 July 971 – 1044), often referred to as Rajendra the Great, was a Chola Empire, Chola Emperor who reigned from 1014 to 1044. He was born in Thanjavur to Rajaraja I. His queen was Vanavan Mahadevi and he assumed royal power as ...

. Historian Hira Lal Shukla is of the opinion that the Somavamshi kings Uddyotakeśarī and Janmejaya II might have helped the Nagas establish a kingdom in Chakrakota. Jitāmitra Prasāda Siṃhadeba has hypothesized that the Nagas of Kalahandi were related to the Chindaka Nagas due to the proximity of Kalahandi and Bastar, both the states having Manikyadevi as their patron goddess and because around the time the Naga rule in Chakrakota ended, the Kalahandi kingdom was founded. However, historian Shiv Kumar Tiwari believes that the Nagas ruled in the Bastar region of

since as early as 760 A.D. His take of historical events from the '' Nava-sahasanka-charita'' epic poem is as follows- the Naga ruler of Bastar, Sankhapala, sought help from the

Shilahara Shilahara was a royal dynasty that established itself in northern and southern Konkan in 8th century CE, present-day Mumbai and Southern Maharashtra ( Kolhapur) during the Rashtrakuta period. The founder of the Shilahara dynasty, Sanaphulla, ...

ruler

Aparajita Aparajita was an able Shilahara ruler of north Konkan branch from 975 CE – 1010 CE. Chhadvaideva was followed by his nephew Aparajita, the son of Vajjada. Aparajita was an ambitious king. He sought to extend his sphere of influence by ...

when the ruler of the Mana tribe invaded his kingdom.

History

The Chindaka Nagas ruled over parts of the modern-day

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 state of

and the historical region of Dakshina Kosala. Their kingdom was known as Chakrakota mandala and included the present-day districts of Bastar,

and Kalahandi. Manikyadevi was the patron goddess of these Nagavansi rulers. The

Telugu Chodas The Telugu Chodas or Telugu Cholas were rulers who ruled parts of present-day Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and southern Odissa as samantas (vassals) of the Pallavas, and later as vassals of the Imperial Cholas. There are many branches like Re ...

who migrated to the region, settled as their feudal rulers. Chandraditya Maharaja, a Telugu Choda chieftain, was a mahamandalashwara (an Indian feudal title) and ruler of Ammagama (modern Ambogam village in Kotapad) was a feudatory of Jagadeka Bhushana. The Bhanjas of Boudh branch came into conflict with the Chindaka Nagas. In 1060 AD, the Bhanja king Yasobhanja defeated and killed Jagadeka Bhushana. Taking advantage of the power vacuum, Madhurantaka, a close relative of the dead king usurped the throne. However, Somesvara the son of Jagadeka Bhushana claimed the throne as well, leading to a civil war in Chakrakota lasting for 5 years.

Kulottunga I Kulottunga Chola I ('; Middle Tamil: Kulōttuṅka Cōḻaṉ; Classical Sanskrit: Kulottuṅgā Cōḷa; 1025–1122) also spelt Kulothunga (), born Rajendra Chalukya (Telugu language, Telugu: Rājēndra Cāḷukyuḍu), was a Chola empire, C ...

, the Chola emperor supported Madhurantaka while the

Chola The Chola Empire, which is often referred to as the Imperial Cholas, was a medieval thalassocratic empire based in southern India that was ruled by the Chola dynasty, and comprised overseas dominions, protectorates and spheres of influence ...

's archrivals, the Chalukyas of Kalyana, supported Somesvara in the struggle. Subsequently, Madhurantaka was killed and Somesvara assumed kingship of Chakrakota. According to N.K. Sahu, Somesvara was the most powerful ruler of the Chindaka Nagas. Somasvera warred with the declining

who were ruling in Utkala and Kosala at the time. Yosoraja I , the father of Chandraditya Maharaja and Telugucoda lieutenant of Chindaka Naga king Somesvara conquered the eastern parts of

Kosala Kosala, sometimes referred to as Uttara Kosala () was one of the Mahajanapadas of ancient India. It emerged as a small state during the Late Vedic period and became (along with Magadha) one of the earliest states to transition from a lineage ...

which were under the

in 1069 AD. Yosoraja I then served as the governor of

for Somesvara. In his Kuruspal inscription, Somesvara claimed to have raided the Vengi Kingdom, subjugated the Mana tribe, and declared to have defeated the Udra chief ( Somavamshi king) and captured six lakh and ninety-six villages of Dakshina Kosala (central

) from him. Historian Shiv Kumar Tiwari believes that the conquest of Dakshina Kosala by Somesvara is likely an exaggeration and that he only held a small part of that territory for a short period. The Somavamsis, who had declined, began serving Eastern Gangas, Kalachuri and Chindaka Nagas as chieftains. The Chindaka Naga rulers called themselves as ''Nagavamsi'' and the ''lords of Bhogavati''. Bhogavati was the capital of the mythical snake-demons called Nagas. The Chindaka Nagas were defeated by the Kakatiya vassal of

Someshvara I Someshvara I (; ) was a king of the Western Chalukyas. Also known as "Ahavamalla" or "Trilokamalla", Someshvara succeeded his father Jayasimha II (Western Chalukya dynasty), Jayasimha II to the throne. His several military successes in Cent ...

, the Chalukya emperor.Chopra, Ravindran and Subrahmanian (2003), p.138 This dynasty continued to rule the region till the thirteenth century with not many details known about their rulers excepting a few.

Decline

The Kalachuri king of Ratanpur, Jajalla-deva I (1090-1120 CE), invaded the Chindaka Naga territory in 1114 AD annexing

which was under Telugu Choda governorship. Jajalla-Deva I defeated Somesvara and took him prisoner, only releasing him at the intervention of his mother. During the struggle between the Gangas of Orissa and

for the Kalahandi region, the Chindaka Nagas allied themselves with the Gangas. The Kalachuri king Prithvi-deva II retaliated by devastating Chakrakota and destroying the Chindaka Naga capital, in an attempt to terrorise the

Ganga The Ganges ( ; in India: Ganga, ; in Bangladesh: Padma, ). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary riv ...

king Anantavarman. The Bilaigarh copper plates inscription of Prithvideva reads- "His son Prithvîdëva (II) of well-known fame, who has planted his lotus-like foot on the rows of hostile princes' heads, has become the lord of kings — (he) who, by devastating Chakrakota, overwhelmed the illustrious Ganga king with anxiety in regard to the crossing of the ocean which was the sole means (of saving his life)." During the first half of 13th century, Chakrakota was invaded by Kholeshvara, the general of

Yadava The Yadava (), not to be confused with Yadav, were an ancient Indian people who believed to have descended from Yadu (legendary king), Yadu, a legendary king of Chandravamsha lineage. The community was formed of various clans, being the #T ...

ruler Singhanadeva of Deogiri. Kakatiya ruler Ganapatideva also invaded bastar during 13th century. The last known ruler of this dynasty was Harishchandradeva, known from a Sati inscription dated 1324 AD.

Branches

A branch of the Chindakas/Chindas led by a Vallabharaja formed a dynasty that ruled from

Bodh Gaya Bodh Gayā is a religious site and place of pilgrimage associated with the Mahabodhi Temple complex, situated in the Gaya district in the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Bihar. It is famous for being the place where Gautam ...

from the 11th to 13th centuries. This branch of the Chindakas were patrons of Buddhism and held the title of ''magadhādipati'' referring to the

Magadha Magadha was a region and kingdom in ancient India, based in the eastern Ganges Plain. It was one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas during the Second Urbanization period. The region was ruled by several dynasties, which overshadowed, conquered, and ...

region.

Coat of arms

The Naga kings' coat of arms included a snake banner and the "tiger-with-cub" crest.

List of rulers

The Chindaka Naga rulers known from inscriptions (dated to regnal years) are- * Nrupati Bhushana ( 1023 – ?) * Jagadeka Bhushana or Dharavarsha * Madhurantaka (1060-1069) * Somesvara ( 1069 - ?) * Kanhara I * Raja Bhushana * Kanhara II * Jagadeka Bhushana Narasimhadeva * Somesvara II * Harishchandradeva ( 1324 - ?)

References

{{reflist Dynasties of India