South Asia · The regional kingdoms
Khadga Dynasty
Regional kingdom (no imperial titles assumed) · late 7th – early 8th c.
The Buddhist Khadga dynasty emerged in the second half of the 7th century, when the Later Guptas held Gauda and Magadha, filling the vacuum in south-eastern Bengal between the fall of the Gauda kingdom and the rise of the Pala empire; its ascendancy may have followed the overthrow of an obscure Bhadra dynasty.
- Type
- Regional kingdom (no imperial titles assumed)
- Existed
- late 7th – early 8th c.
- Shown on the map
- AD 656–704
- Heartland
- Vanga and Samatata — central and south-eastern Bengal (modern Bangladesh and adjacent West Bengal)
- Peak area
- approx. 91,000 km² (estimate)
- Region
- South Asia
Origins and founding
The Buddhist Khadga dynasty emerged in the second half of the 7th century, when the Later Guptas held Gauda and Magadha, filling the vacuum in south-eastern Bengal between the fall of the Gauda kingdom and the rise of the Pala empire; its ascendancy may have followed the overthrow of an obscure Bhadra dynasty. R. C. Majumdar tentatively suggested the Khadgas came to eastern Bengal in the train of Tibetans and Nepalese amid the turmoil after Harshavardhana's death, while R. G. Basak held "Khadga" to be an indigenous Kshatriya family name of East Bengal. The founder was Khadgodyama (r. c. 625/641–640/656), titled Nripadhiraja ("overlord of rulers") in the Sarvani image inscription; the Ashrafpur plates credit him with successful conquests achieved through devotion to the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha.
Capitals and territory
The royal camp and effective capital was Karmantavasaka (Jayakarmantavasaka), identified with Badkamta/Barkamta in the Comilla (Tippera) district. The Ashrafpur plates mention Talapataka and Dattakataka, plausibly villages in Narsingdi, and the kingdom is thought to have included the Bakarganj region; the Khadgas ruled Vanga and, under Devakhadga, conquered Samatata — the Deulbadi inscription of Queen Prabhavati suggests he extended power by overthrowing the Rata king Sridharana Rata.
Major rulers and key events
The line ran Khadgodyama; his son Jatakhadga (c. 640/656–658/671), praised for annihilating his enemies "as wind destroys straw"; Devakhadga (c. 658/671–673/695), described as benevolent, munificent (danapati) and victorious, whose consort was Queen Prabhavati; their son Rajaraja or Rajarajabhatta (c. 673/695–707/710); Balabhatta (c. 707–716), known from a copper plate and gold coins found at Mainamati; and Udirnakhadga, mentioned in the Ashrafpur grant but of uncertain date. The Chinese pilgrim Sheng-chi (Seng-chi), who visited Samatata in the 7th century, describes a Buddhist king Rajabhata who "greatly reverenced the three objects of worship" — identified with Rajarajabhatta — while Yijing's "Devavarma" has been equated with Devakhadga.
Government, economy and culture
The Khadgas were devout Buddhists and local sovereigns who did not assume paramount titles like Parameshvara. Both Ashrafpur plates, drafted by the Buddhist writer Pradasa and issued from Karmantavasaka, open with invocations of the Buddha and record land grants to the teacher Sanghamitra and his monastery — the first made by Devakhadga for the longevity of his son — and mention a group of four monastic institutions, showing organised Buddhism in East Bengal; Queen Prabhavati also dedicated a golden eight-armed image of the Brahmanical goddess Sarvani at Deulbadi, evidence of religious tolerance. Gold coins of Balabhatta from Mainamati attest monetary economy.
Decline and end
The dynasty disappears after Balabhatta (c. 716); it was succeeded in south-eastern Bengal by the Buddhist Deva dynasty (Viradeva, Anandadeva, Bhavadeva, Santideva) in the 8th century, and the region was ultimately absorbed into the Pala empire.
Legacy and significance
The Khadgas preserved political independence and Buddhist patronage in Vanga and Samatata during Bengal's fragmented interregnum between Gauda and the Palas; Xuanzang's and Seng-chi's accounts of flourishing Buddhism in Samatata belong to their era.
Common questions
- What was the Khadga Dynasty?
- The Buddhist Khadga dynasty emerged in the second half of the 7th century, when the Later Guptas held Gauda and Magadha, filling the vacuum in south-eastern Bengal between the fall of the Gauda kingdom and the rise of the Pala empire; its ascendancy may have followed the overthrow of an obscure Bhadra dynasty.
- When did the Khadga Dynasty exist?
- The Khadga Dynasty existed late 7th – early 8th c.. On this map it is drawn AD 656–704.
- How large was the Khadga Dynasty?
- At its greatest extent drawn on this map, the Khadga Dynasty covered about 91,000 km². That is the largest area the border data gives it across the years it is drawn, not necessarily its greatest extent in history.
- Where was the Khadga Dynasty?
- The royal camp and effective capital was Karmantavasaka (Jayakarmantavasaka), identified with Badkamta/Barkamta in the Comilla (Tippera) district.
- Who ruled the Khadga Dynasty?
- The line ran Khadgodyama; his son Jatakhadga (c. 640/656–658/671), praised for annihilating his enemies "as wind destroys straw"; Devakhadga (c. 658/671–673/695), described as benevolent, munificent (danapati) and victorious, whose consort was Queen Prabhavati; their son Rajaraja or Rajarajabhatta (c. 673/695–707/710); Balabhatta (c. 707–716), known from a copper plate and gold coins found at Mainamati; and Udirnakhadga, mentioned in the Ashrafpur grant but of uncertain date.
- How did the Khadga Dynasty end?
- The dynasty disappears after Balabhatta (c. 716); it was succeeded in south-eastern Bengal by the Buddhist Deva dynasty (Viradeva, Anandadeva, Bhavadeva, Santideva) in the 8th century, and the region was ultimately absorbed into the Pala empire.
- How was the Khadga Dynasty governed?
- The Khadgas were devout Buddhists and local sovereigns who did not assume paramount titles like Parameshvara. Both Ashrafpur plates, drafted by the Buddhist writer Pradasa and issued from Karmantavasaka, open with invocations of the Buddha and record land grants to the teacher Sanghamitra and his monastery — the first made by Devakhadga for the longevity of his son — and mention a group of four monastic institutions, showing organised Buddhism in East Bengal; Queen Prabhavati also dedicated a golden eight-armed image of the Brahmanical goddess Sarvani at Deulbadi, evidence of religious tolerance.
- Why does the Khadga Dynasty still matter?
- The Khadgas preserved political independence and Buddhist patronage in Vanga and Samatata during Bengal's fragmented interregnum between Gauda and the Palas; Xuanzang's and Seng-chi's accounts of flourishing Buddhism in Samatata belong to their era.
Sources
Every source below was consulted while writing this entry.
- Wikipedia: Khadga Dynasty en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khadga_Dynasty
- North Bengal University institutional repository, thesis section on the Khadga dynasty ir.nbu.ac.in/server/api/core/bitstreams/557e866e-0446-4da4-86f6-69dd4b6b5162/content
- Hazra, history of the rise and decline of Buddhism, section on the Khadga rulers peachv.org/images/Dharmic/BudHistRiseDeclineBuddhismHazra.pdf
This entry was written from the sources above and last updated .
This entry was researched and drafted with AI from the sources above, and has not been reviewed by a historian. How entries are made
Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0: reuse it with a credit to The World Through Time and a link to this page. Passages drawing on the Wikipedia articles listed above are also licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 by their contributors.
Border geometry for the map itself comes from Cliopatria v0.12 (Seshat Global History Databank, CC-BY-4.0).
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