Nahapana
Topic: Post-Mauryan India: Shungas to Kushanas · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Nahapana was a Shaka ruler of western India, from the Kshaharata family. He ruled c. late 1st or early 2nd century CE. He held parts of Gujarat, Malwa and Maharashtra, which brought him into conflict with the Satavahanas of the Deccan. He matters because his defeat marks a Satavahana comeback.
Example
The Satavahana king Gautamiputra Satakarni defeated Nahapana. A large hoard of coins found at Jogalthembi near Nashik shows Nahapana's silver coins restruck with Gautamiputra's own marks. Nahapana's son-in-law Ushavadata left inscriptions in the Nashik and Karla caves recording his gifts to Buddhist monks.
Don't confuse with
- Rudradaman: also a Western Kshatrapa ruler, but from a different family (the Kardamakas) and later in time. He is famous for the Junagadh inscription and the repair of the Sudarshana lake. Nahapana was a Kshaharata.