Nagas of Vidisha
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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 Datta rulers of Mathura, to this dynasty, but later historians have disputed his theory.
The Nagas probably ruled at Vidisha during the first century BCE.[1]
According to the Puranas, the following Naga kings ruled Vaidisha (kingdom of Vidisha):[2][3]
- Bhogi alias Bhogin
- He is said to have conquered the cities of his enemies and exalted his family
- Sada-chandra alias Chandramsha (Candrāṃśa) or Vama-chandra (Rama-chandra in the Vishnu Purana[4])
- Dhana-dharma (also Dhana-dharman or Dhana-varma)
- Vangara
- Bhuti-nanda
The Puranas mention the Naga king Shesha ("Śeṣa Nāgarāja") as the father of Bhogi, but historian A. S. Altekar theorized that Shesha is a mythical figure (see Shesha and Nagaraja), because the Puranas explicitly describe Vangara as the dynasty's fourth king (if Shesha was a historical king, Vangara would become the fifth king).[2]
After mentioning these kings of Vidisha, the Puranas refer to the king Shishu-nandi (Śiśunandi) and his descendants, who ruled after the decline of the Shunga dynasty.[5] According to one interpretation, Shishunandi and his successors, which included Nandi-yashas (Nandiyaśas) and Shishuka (Śiśuka), were the Naga kings of Vidisha.[6]