Nagabhata I

Nagabhata I
Founder of Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty
Reign	c. 730 – c. 760
Successor	Kakustha
Dynasty	Gurjara-Pratihara

Nagabhata I (r. c. 730-760 CE) was an Indian king who founded the imperial Gurjara Pratihara dynasty. He ruled the Avanti (or Malava) region in present-day Madhya Pradesh, from his capital at Ujjain. He possibly extended his control over the Gurjara country, which includes parts of present-day Gujarat and Rajasthan. He repulsed an Arab invasion from Sindh, but was defeated by the Rashtrakuta king Dantidurga.

Nagabhata has been named as the founder of the imperial Pratihara dynasty in the Gwalior inscription of his descendant Mihira Bhoja. The exact date of Nagabhata's accession is not known. His grand-nephew Vatsaraja is known to have been ruling in Avanti in 783-784 CE. Assuming a period of 25 years for each generation, Nagabhata can be presumed to have ascended the throne around 730 CE.

The Gwalior inscription traces the dynasty's origin to the legendary hero Lakshmana Nagabhata's historical antecedents are not fully known, but he ruled from Ujjain in Avanti region. The Jain text Harivamsa (783-784 CE) states that his grand-nephew Vatsaraja was the king and son of Avanti soil (Avanti-bhūbriti). It also describes the other neighbouring kingdoms leaving one in no doubt about its location. The 871 CE Sanjan copper-plate inscription of the Rashtrakuta ruler Amoghavarsha also suggests the association of the Gurjara-Pratiharas with Ujjain. Based on this, a number of historians, including R. C. Majumdar and Baij Nath Puri, hold the view that Ujjain, the capital of Avanti, was the original home of Nagabhata's dynasty.

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