Political History of Ancient India, from the Accession of Parikshit to the Extinction of the Gupta Dynasty c12.s2.14

c12.s2.14

The **Bhaggas** (Bhargas) are known to the *Aitareya Brāhmaṇa*⁴ and the *Ashṭādhyāyī* of Pāṇini.⁵ The former work refers to the Bhārgāyaṇa prince Kairiśi Sutvan. In the latter half of the sixth century B.C., the Bhagga state was a dependency of the Vatsa kingdom; for we learn from the preface to the *Dhonasākha Jātaka*,⁶ that prince Bodhi, the son of Udayana, king of the Vatsas, dwelt in Suṁsumāragiri and built a palace called *Kokanada*. The *Mahābhārata* and the *Harivaṁśa* also testify to the close connection between the Vatsas and the Bhargas (Bhaggas) and their proximity to the Nishādas. The testimony of the epic and the *Apadāna* seems to locate them in the Vindhyan region between the Jumna and the Śon.¹