News: Recent excavations at Nagardhan near Nagpur, have provided concrete evidence on the life, religious affiliations and trade practices of the Vakataka dynasty.
Facts:
About Nagardhan
- It is a large village in Nagpur district and hosts the Nagardhan fort.
- The Nagardhan fort was constructed during the Gond Raja period and later renovated and re-used by the Bhosales of Nagpur during the late 18th and 19th centuries.
Recent Excavation:
First-time clay sealings have been excavated:
- It belongs to the period when Prabhavatigupta was the queen of the Vakataka dynasty.
- It bears her name in the Brahmi script, along with the depiction of a conch- a sign of the Vaishnava affiliation
- These sealings could have been used as an official royal permission issued for trade with Iran and beyond through the Mediterranean Sea.
Additional Information:
Vakataka dynasty
- a Brahminical dynasty
- Reign: c. 250 CE – c. 500 CE
- Territorial Extent: southern edges of Malwa and Gujarat in the north to the Tungabhadra River in the south, the Arabian Sea in the west to the edges of Chhattisgarh in the east.
- Founder: Vindhyashakti
- The rock-cut Buddhist viharas and chaityas of Ajanta Caves (were built under the patronage of Vakataka emperor, Harishena.
