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THE NAGAS AND THE NAGALOKA
Sindhuraja alias Navasahasanka, king of Ujjain, once went to the Vindhya forest for sport. He was attracted very far into the forest till he came to th bank of Narmada where he saw a Naga princess named Sasiprabha daughter of Sankhapäla king of Bhogavati, with whom he fell in love. But the princess was soon snatched away from his company. The king, in his attempt to follow her, entered the Narmada and through a subterranean passage emerged on the borders of the Nagaloka. Narmada then appeared before him in the guise of a woman and informed him that the father of the Naga princess had taken a vow to give his daughter in marriage to one who could bring the golden lotus from a well in Ratnapuri, the city of Asuras who used to enrich themselves by raiding the territories of the Nagas. She also told him that Ratnapuri was situated at a distance of 50 gavyutis from there. The prince launched himself upon the venture. After a long journey he reached the hermitage of sage Vanku where he formed friendship with a Vidyadhara chief who brought armies of Vidyadharas to aid him. They reached Ratnapur which was on the way to Phanipur, and fought with the Asura king Vajränkusa who was slain in the battle. A Naga prince was crowned king in his place. Sindhuraja then pushed on his way to Phanipur where he was accorded a warm welcome by the king. The marriage then took place and Sindhuraja returned triumphantly to his capital.
This story has generally been dismissed by critics as mere legend. But it appears to me to furnish clear evidence of the existence of a ruling dynasty of Nāgas south of the Narmada with Bhogavati as their capital and at war with another ruling dynasty at Ratnapur against whom Sindhuraja helped them and thus won the hand of their princess. Little doubt is left in the matter when we remember that the work was written at the court, and at the instance, of king Sindhuraja himself who could not have tolerated a false account of his marital relationship with the Nagas.
Epigraphical evidence:-The evidence of Padmagupta does not stand alone. A large number of stone inscriptions discovered in the Bastar and Kawardha States of the Central Provinces bear ample and irrefutable testimony to the existence of Naga dynasties ruling in those parts at the time of Sindhuraja and later. The inscriptions belong to different dates between 1023 and 1349 A. D. and make mention of no less than thirty-two Naga kings who had their capital at Bhogavati, belonged to the Visvamitra gotra, had a tiger with a calf as their crest and snake as their banner ensign, and worshipped the goddess Vindhyavāsini (C. P. Ins.). The tiger-ensign is also mentioned in the present work (IX, 23, 7). The Ratnapur of Padmagupta appears to be no other than the Kalacuri capital Ratnapur which finds mention as an enemy's capital of the Naga king Someśvara. The latter is said to have subjugated Vajra which is identified with Wairagadha in the Chanda district. This name reminds us of the Asura king Vajränkusa mentioned by Padmagupta. The Ratnapur stone inscription of Jajalladeva mentions Ratnesa or Ratnaraja who founded Ratnapur and married the daughter of Vajjuka, the prince of Komomandala. This inscription is dated 1114 A. D. Ratnaraja is
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