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{{use dmy dates|date=March 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=March 2018}}
{{Infobox royalty
|name=Satrubhanja
|title=Ranaslaghin
|reign=Between 261 A.D to 340 A.D
|successor=Disabhanja|house=[[Nagas of Vindhyatabi|Naga Clan of Vindhyatabi]]
|father=Maharaja Manabhanja
|mother=Mahadevi Damayanti
}}
'''Satrubhanja''' ([[Odia language|Odia]] : '''ଶତ୍ରୁଭଞ୍ଜ''') was a warrior and emperor who belonged to the Vindhyatabi branch of [[Nagas of Padmavati|Nagavanshi]] rulers that ruled from [[Keonjhar]] district of [[Odisha]] in the early 4th century A.D (possibly between 261 A.D to 340 A.D).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/191656/12/12_chapter%203.pdf|title=ORIGIN, GENEALOGY AND CHRONOLOGY OF THE BHANJAS|website=www.shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in|pages=74, 75|access-date=7 May 2018}}</ref> The era of Satrubhanja belongs to the pre [[Gupta Empire|Gupta]] rise as an imperial power in India when the other ruling Bharasiva Nagas of India joined hands to overthrow the ruling [[Kushan Dynasty|Devaputras]] of [[Pataliputra]], also otherwise known as Kushan rulers to the modern historians.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Rise and Fall of the Imperial Guptas|last=|first=|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited|year=1989|isbn=81-208-0592-5|location=Delhi|pages=60–61}}</ref> The Asanapat village dancing [[Nataraja]] Shiva inscription in [[Sanskrit]] Language with Post Brahmi or early [[Kalinga script]] of Satrubhanja provides a great deal of details about his achievements as a conqueror and spiritual man.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XUiYu3XByNgC&q=Satrubhanja+Asanpat&pg=PA171|title=Inscriptions of Orissa: Circa 5th-8th centuries A.D, Volume 1|last=|first=|publisher=Motila Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited|year=1997|isbn=81-208-1077-5|location=Delhi|pages=171–172}}</ref> The inscription is of thirteen lines which is written partly in verse and partly in prose.

== Naga rule in Odisha ==
[[File:Asanpat Inscription of Satrubhanja.jpg|alt=Asanpat Inscription|thumb|402x402px|The Sketch of the Thirteen line Inscription of Satrubhanja from Asanpat in Odisha]]
The [[Nagas of Padmavati|Naga]] clan ruled most of central and northern India during the 2nd Century A.D to 4th Century A.D. From the Asanpat inscription we know that Satrubhanja belonged to the part of this clan which ruled northern and western Odisha from Vindhyatabi which is identified as Keonjhar. The Nagas were a prevalent force in this part of Odisha while the Murundas ruled as a prevailing power of the complete Tri-[[Kalinga (historical kingdom)|Kalinga]] region. Successively the Murundas were overthrown by the Nagas in the same era as the Kushan power was also brought down. There are many later references of the emergence of the Naga clan in the history of Odisha. Particularly the later [[Bhauma-Kara dynasty|Bhaumakara]] queen of Odisha, [[Tribhuvana Mahadevi I]] is also believed to be the daughter of a Naga ruler.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.harekrsna.com/sun/features/07-13/features2879.htm|title=Nagas in the Sculptural Decorations of Early West Orissan Temples, Part Three|website=www.harekrsna.com|access-date=7 May 2018}}</ref>

== Asanpat inscription ==
The Asanpat inscription which is now kept in the Odisha state museum gives a detailed overview of Satrubhanja's life as ruler and warrior. He is described as born like moon among kings in the Naga clan and as the distinguished Ranaslaghin (one who boasts of battle), an epithet given to Bhishma in the Mahabharata.<ref>{{cite book |last1=McGrath |first1=Kevin |title=The Sanskrit Hero: Karṇa in Epic Mahābhārata |date=1 January 2004 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-13729-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YkmXk3-1j7UC&pg=PA106 |language=en}}</ref> He is also described as a divine child born to a family the fame of which would last till the end of the [[Kali Yuga|Kali yuga]]. Probably he belonged to a very high class Naga clan family and according to the inscription was expected to win battles with the enemies in the future. Satrubhanja is described as the ruler of Vindhyatabi (Keonjhar and adjoining modern [[Mayurbhanj district|Mayurbhanj]] - [[Singhbhum district|Singhbhum]] districts). He was the son of Maharaja Manabhanja and the queen Mahadevi Damayanti. He was a successful warrior who is defined by the statement that his heroism remains unchallenged even after hundreds of battles with the Murundas and Kushans. He is described as the Kalpavriksha who possessed the quality of good wealth on earth similar to the sun having mass splendor on earth.

=== Satrubhanja's personality ===
The inscription describes Satrubhanja’s knowledge in the Puranas and Mahabharata. He is mentioned to have mastered the knowledge of Itihasa, Vyakarana, Samiksa, Nyaya, Mimamsa, Chandas, Vedas, Buddhist Scriptures and Samkhya and also described as the expert in all arts. Satrubhanja had built monasteries and residences for spiritual men from different religious communities in his empire. The religious communities patronized by him included Brahmacharis, Parivrajakas or [[Jainism|Jains]], Bhikshus and Nirgranthakas of [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] religion. Towards the end of the inscription it also notes down that he had built a large temple for the Hindu deity, Shiva.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Iconography of the Buddhist Sculpture of Orissa : Volume 1 (Text)|last=|first=|publisher=Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, Abhunav Publications|year=2001|isbn=81-7017-406-6|location=Delhi|pages=3}}</ref> Broken burnt bricks and rubble of an ancient structure are found in the Asanpat area believed by many scholars to be the remnants of this temple.

== The extent of Satrubhanja's empire ==

The struggle of the combined Naga forces (Kausambi, Ahichhatra, Padmavati and Vindhyatavi) under the leadership of Satrubhanja caused the downfall of the Kushan and Murunda power in India leading to the rise of the Gupta supremacy.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://files.cluster2.hostgator.co.in/hostgator57735/file/decpdf.pdf|title=Puri Kushna Coins|last=|first=|date=|website=|publisher=|access-date=}}</ref> Satrubhanja had gifted lakhs of cows at places like Pataliputra, Gaya, Krimila, Dalavardhana, Pundrvardhana, Gokkhati, Khadranga, Tamaralipti and both North and South Toshali with the purpose of his spiritual attainment. He had donated gold coins to various monasteries such as the Sankhara Matha at Ahichatra ([[Ramnagar, Nainital|Ramnagar]] in [[Uttarakhand]]) and Manibhadra matha at Yaksheswara.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1AA9W9_4Z9gC&q=Satrubhanja+Asanpat&pg=PA29|title=Economic History of Orissa|last=|first=|publisher=M.L.Gidwani, Indus Publishing Company, New Delhi|year=1997|isbn=81-7387-075-6|location=New Delhi|pages=29}}</ref> These mention of the areas in a period of conflict between the rising Gupta and prevailing Naga dynasties, clearly indicates that they were controlled by Satrubhanja and he dictated authority over them.<ref name="Odishara">{{Cite book|title=Odishara Aithiya|last=|first=|publisher=Vidya Prakashan|year=2011|isbn=978-81-7703-101-0|location=Cuttack|pages=166–185}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hRjC5IaJ2zcC&q=Satrubhanja+Asanpat&pg=PA60|title=Rise and Fall of the Imperial Guptas|last=|first=|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Pvt.Ltd|year=1989|isbn=81-208-0592-5|location=New Delhi|pages=60, 61}}</ref> The lines 5,6 and 7 of the Asanapat Stone inscription clearly points to the fact that for some time Satrubhanja was a hegemonic ruler in [[Bihar]], [[Bengal]] and Odisha. The [[Mathara dynasty|Mathara]] rulers in the Toshali region in coastal Odisha and parts of Andhra today are assumed to have contributed to the process of elimination of the Kushans in the region completely while Satrubhanja was directly confronting them over a larger extent.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/187385/7/07_chapter%201.pdf|title=ORISSA IN THE PRE-GUPTA AGE|website=www.shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in|access-date=16 October 2018}}</ref>

He distributed a huge amount of wealth around a large part of northern, central and eastern India which provides an image of his territorial expanse. After the downfall of the Kushans, the Naga and Guptas locked in conflict to become the supreme power in the subcontinent. [[Samudragupta]] completely subjugated the Naga forces in the Aryavrat wars which confirms that the Nagas and Guptas were competing powers in India after the defeat of the Kushan rulers. Though the Naga clan was defeated after its short lived rise to supremacy, they were instrumental in overthrowing the rule of foreign origin Kushans in India. Sitabhinji in Keonjhar district of Odisha has revealed that it was an ancient holy place of [[Shaivism]] promoted by the Naga - Bhanja rulers as the cave arts found there provide a glimpse of a possible descendant of Satrubhanja who went by the name Disabhanja.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/Call-to-Save-Fading-Sitabhinji-Cave-Art/2016/02/15/article3277958.ece|title=Call to Save Fading Sitabhinji Cave Art|last=|first=|date=|website=|publisher=|access-date=}}</ref> Nagas survived the wars with the Guptas and surfaced scarcely on many occasions throughout the history of Odisha and rest of eastern India.<ref name="Odishara" />

==References==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:People from Odisha]]
[[Category:Indian history articles by importance]]
[[Category:4th-century Indian monarchs]]
[[Category:Hindu monarchs]]
[[Category:Indian military leaders]]
[[Category:History of Odisha]]

Satrubhanja - Revision history

Bot at 11:28, 22 February 2022