Nagavanshi (
IAST
The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows the lossless romanisation of Brahmic family, Indic scripts as employed by Sanskrit and related Indic languages. It is based on a scheme that ...
: Nāgavaṃśī) refers to several Indian
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 ...
dynasties or ruling groups claiming descent from the mythical
Nāga
In various Asian religious traditions, the Nāgas () are a divine, or semi-divine, race of half-human, half-serpent beings that reside in the netherworld (Patala), and can occasionally take human or part-human form, or are so depicted in art. ...
s. Along with
Suryavanshi,
Agnivanshi and
Chandravanshi
The Lunar dynasty (IAST: Candravaṃśa) is a legendary principal house of the Kshatriyas varna, or warrior–ruling varna (Social Class) mentioned in the ancient Indian texts. This legendary dynasty was said to be descended from moon-relate ...
, the Nagavanshi clans form a part of the Kshatriya class in the
Varna
Varna may refer to:
Places Europe
*Varna, Bulgaria, a city
** Varna Province
** Varna Municipality
** Gulf of Varna
** Lake Varna
**Varna Necropolis
* Vahrn, or Varna, a municipality in Italy
* Varna (Šabac), a village in Serbia
Asia
* Var ...
system
A system is a group of interacting or interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules to form a unified whole. A system, surrounded and influenced by its open system (systems theory), environment, is described by its boundaries, str ...
of India. The notable members of this class include:
*
Nair
The Nair (, ) also known as Nayar, are a group of Indian Hindu castes, described by anthropologist Kathleen Gough as "not a unitary group but a named category of castes". The Nair include several castes and many subdivisions, not all of whom hi ...
s, who ruled in Kerala
*
Nagas of Chotanagpur, who ruled in Chota Nagpur, Jharkhand
*
Nagas of Padmavati
The Naga (IAST: Nāga) 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 wit ...
, who ruled in Madhya Pradesh
*
Nagas of Vidisha
The Naga (IAST: Nāga) dynasty of Vidisha in central India is known from the Puranas, and probably ruled in the first century BCE. No inscriptions of the dynasty have been discovered. Historian K. P. Jayaswal attributed some coins issued by the ...
, who ruled in Madhya Pradesh
*
Nagas of Vindhyatabi, ancient dynasty of Odisha
*
Nagas of Panna State, who ruled in Madhya Pradesh
*
Nagas of Kalahandi, who ruled in Kalahandi, Odisha
*
Chindaka Naga, who ruled in Chhattisgarh and Odisha
*
Pithipatis of Bodh Gaya
The Pīṭhīpatis of Bodh Gaya (also known as the Pithipatis of Magadha or simply the Pithis) were the rulers of the area around Bodh Gaya from roughly the 11th to 13th centuries CE in the Magadha (region), Magadha region of what is now Bihar in ...
, medieval Buddhist dynasty formed in
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 ...
by a branch of the Chindaka Nagas
*
Alupas
The Alupa dynasty (ಅಳುಪೆರ್, ಆಳ್ವೆರ್) was an Indian Hindu dynasty that ruled from 200 to 1444 A.D. in Southern India. The kingdom they ruled was known as ''Alvakheda Arusasira'' and its territory spanned the coasta ...
(part of the
Bunt community), ancient dynasty of Karnataka
*
Bunts (
Shetty and
Chowtas), who ruled in Karnataka
References
{{reflist
Hindu snake worship
Ethnic groups in South Asia
Ethnic groups in India