Nagabhata II (reign 795–833) was an Indian Emperor from Pratihara dynasty. He ascended the throne of Pratihara dynasty after his father Vatsraja. His mother was queen Sundari-Devi. He was designated with imperial titles - ''Paramabhattaraka'', ''Maharajadhiraja'', and ''Paramesvara'' after conquest of

Kannauj Kannauj (Hindustani language, Hindustani pronunciation: ) is an ancient city, administrative headquarters and a municipal board or Nagar palika, Nagar Palika Parishad in Kannauj district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Ut ...

Reign

Nagabhata II finds a mention in the Gwalior inscription. He defeated the rulers of Sindhu, Andhra, Vidarbha, Kalinga, Matsyas, Vatsas, Malavas, Kiratas, Anartas and the Arabs. He had defeated Saindhava ruler Ranaka I and conquered the western Saurashtra (now 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 ...

). He also defeated Chakrayudh at Kannauj.Sen, S.N., 2013, A Textbook of Medieval Indian History, Delhi: Primus Books, He was later defeated by the Rashtrakuta Emperor Govinda III (793–814) and lost Malwa and Gujarat. However, he recovered

Malwa Malwa () is a historical region, historical list of regions in India, region of west-central India occupying a plateau of volcanic origin. Geologically, the Malwa Plateau generally refers to the volcanic plateau, volcanic upland north of the ...

from the Rashtrakutas, conquered Kanauj and the

Indo-Gangetic Plain The Indo-Gangetic Plain, also known as the Northern Plain or North Indian River Plain, is a fertile plain spanning across the northern and north-eastern part of the Indian subcontinent. It encompasses North India, northern and East India, easte ...

as far as

Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...

from the

Palas A ''palas'' () is a German term for the imposing or prestigious building of a medieval '' Pfalz'' or castle that contained the great hall. Such buildings appeared during the Romanesque period (11th to 13th century) and, according to Thompson ...

, and again checked the

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

s in the west. Kanauj became the center of the Pratihara state, which covered much of northern

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 ...

during the peak of their power (836–910). An inscription of his descendant,

Mihira Bhoja Mihira Bhoja () or Bhoja I was the Pratiharan Emperor from 836 to 885 CE. He inherited a weakened realm in an adverse situation from his father, Ramabhadra. However, his capable reign transformed it into a large and prosperous empire. Bhoj ...

describes Nagabhata II as "who, desirous of the great growth of virtuous acts, enjoined in the Veda, performed a series of religious ceremonies according to the custom of

Kshatriya Kshatriya () (from Sanskrit ''kṣatra'', "rule, authority"; also called Rajanya) is one of the four varnas (social orders) of Hindu society and is associated with the warrior aristocracy. The Sanskrit term ''kṣatriyaḥ'' is used in the con ...

families." Nagabhata is said to have been a devotee of Bhagavati. Nagabhatta faced a large Pala army in his early career, which had an elephant force of 50,000, led by King Dharmapala himself at Mungar, Nagabhata emerged victorious. The Chatsu Inscription of his

Guhila Guhila, also called Guhil and Guhadatt, was the ruler of Idar and Mewar from 566-568 AD. He is known as the founder of the Guhila dynasty The Guhilas of Medapata colloquially known as Guhilas of Mewar were a Rajput dynasty that ruled the Ki ...

feudatory Baladitya (813 AD) states that Shankaragana Guhila, who fought on the behalf of Vatsaraja fulfilled his vow by Nagabhata II was succeeded by

Ramabhadra Ramabhadra (833–836) was an Indian king, of Pratihara dynasty. According to Jain '' Prabhavakacarita'', Nagabhata II was succeeded by Ramabhadra, sometimes also called ''Rama'' or ''Ramadeva''. His mother's name was Istadevi. Ramabhadra had ...

. Some earlier historians identified Nagabhata with

Āma Āma was a medieval Indian king who ruled the Kingdom of Kannauj and surrounding areas during the 8th and the 9th centuries. According to the Jain chronicles, he was the son and successor of Yashovarman. Jain account The Jain chronicle ''Bap ...

, who according to the Jain accounts, died in 832-833 CE (see Āma#Identification with Nagabhata II). Based on this identification, Nagabhata's reign is theorized to have ended around 833 CE. Historian Shyam Manohar Mishra, who disagrees with this identification, places Nagabhata's death around 825 CE.

References

Bibliography

* * 9th-century Indian monarchs 833 deaths Pratihara emperors People from Kannauj {{India-royal-stub