History of India, c. 150 A.D. to 350 A.D.: Naga–Vakataka Imperial Period c14.s5.24

c14.s5.24

44. The main blow to the Kushan power came from the Nāga emperors, but it is almost certain that on account of the confederate sovereignty enjoyed by these large republics the Nāgas must have been helped in their campaign by these republican communities. The Nāga empire was, what we may call, a Democratic Empire. In Magadha, the Kota dynasty seems to have arisen under them (Part III). The Gupta dynasty takes its root in the Nāga period, which the Purāṇas expressly mention (Part III, § 110). It should be noted here that the Guptas were also northern emigrants domiciled in the east (Part III, § 112). The Kotas of Magadha and the Guptas of Prayāga were evidently subordinate members of the Nāga Empire. In Bihar, Champāvatī is noted by the Vāyu and the Brahmāṇḍa, as a capital of the Nava Nāgas. The Nāgas extended their sway into the Central Provinces, a fact borne out by the subsequent Vākāṭaka history and the place-names like Nāgavardhana, Nandi-vardhana, and Nāgapura. At Purikā, they had a capital in the heart of the Vindhyan mountains, as a gateway to Malwā. We may take it that, speaking roughly, the empire of the Bhāraśivas included Bihar, the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh, Bundelkhand, the Central Provinces, Malwa, Rajputana and the Madra republics in the E. Punjab. The Kushans accepted the suzerainty of Ardashir just in the middle of the Bhāraśiva period, 226-241 A.D., and they adopted Shapur's effigy on their coins between 238 and 269 A.D. This was the result of the Bhāraśiva pressure. Thus the ten aśvamedhas of the Bhāraśivas were not an empty rite.