Nagas of Padmavati | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| early 3rd century–mid-4th century | |||||||||
 The Nagas shown at their greatest extent, along with the rising Guptas. | |||||||||
| Status | Empire | ||||||||
| Capital | Padmavati | ||||||||
| Common languages | Sanskrit Prakrit | ||||||||
| Religion | Hinduism | ||||||||
| Government | Monarchy | ||||||||
| Maharaja | |||||||||
| History | |||||||||
• Established | early 3rd century | ||||||||
• Disestablished | mid-4th century | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Today part of | India | ||||||||
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 with modern Pawaya in Madhya Pradesh. Modern historians identify it with the family that is called Bharashiva (IAST: Bhāraśiva) in the records of the Vakataka dynasty.
According to the Puranic texts as well as numismatic evidence, dynasties known as the Nagas also ruled at Vidisha, Kantipuri, and Mathura. All these Naga dynasties may have been different branches of a single family, or may have been a single family that ruled from different capitals at different times. No concrete conclusions can be drawn regarding this based on the available historical evidence.
