Early Medieval
c. 600 – 1200 CE
Cōḻa, Rāṣṭrakūṭa, Pāla and Pratihāra; bhakti, Advaita and the great stone temples.
348 entries
- Adi LakshmiThe primeval Lakṣmī;
- Adi ParashaktiThe primordial supreme power;
- Adi ShaktiIn Shakta Hindu theology, the primordial feminine power held to be the source, sustaining for…
- Adi ShankaraAn early medieval philosopher-monk from Kerala who systematized Advaita Vedanta, the Hindu sc…
- AdipaththarThe fisherman who cast his best catch into the sea for Shiva.
- Aiyadigal KadavarkonA Pallava king who renounced his throne and sang Shiva’s praise.
- Alchon HunsThe Alchon Huns were a Central Asian people who invaded northwestern India from the late four…
- AlupasThe Alupas ruled the Tulu-speaking coast of Karnataka for a thousand years as feudatories of…
- AmaraneediThe merchant tested by Shiva as a young ascetic.
- AmbikaThe Mother;
- AnayaThe cowherd whose flute drew all creation to Shiva.
- Ancient universities of IndiaAncient India's centers of higher learning ranged from large residential monastic universitie…
- AndalThe only woman among the Ālvārs;
- Angkor WatAngkor Wat is a 12th-century temple complex near Siem Reap, Cambodia, built by the Khmer king…
- AnnapurnaGoddess of food and nourishment, who fed even Shiva.
- ApparTirunāvukkarasar;
- Apputhi AdigalWho named everything he owned for Appar out of love.
- ArdhanarishvaraHalf Shiva, half Parvati;
- ArivattayaThe devotee whose offering was never refused.
- Āy dynastyThe Āys were a dynasty of the far south of Kerala, beginning as Sangam-age hill chieftains an…
- Āyudha dynastyThe Āyudhas held Kannauj in the late eighth century CE, and their weakness made the city the…
- BagalamukhiThe paralysing goddess who stills speech and enemies.
- BalaramaKrishna’s elder brother;
- Bāṇa kingdomThe Bāṇas were a long-lived feudatory dynasty of the country where Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and…
- Bappa RawalBappa Rawal, also known as Kalbhoj, is the semi-legendary eighth-century founder of the Guhil…
- Battle of ArorThe Battle of Aror, fought around 712 CE near the Sindhi capital of Aror between the Umayyad…
- Beginnings of Islamic rule in IndiaThis entry covers the establishment of Islamic political rule on the Indian subcontinent, fro…
- BhairavaThe terrifying guardian of sacred sites;
- BhairaviThe fierce goddess of decay and transformative power.
- Bhakti movementThe Bhakti movement was a devotional current in Hinduism, emerging in Tamil Nadu by the 6th c…
- Bhañja dynastiesThe Bhañjas were a family of dynasties in the interior uplands of Odisha, ruling from the eig…
- Bhauma-Kara dynastyThe Bhauma-Karas ruled coastal Odisha for two centuries from about 736 CE, a Buddhist dynasty…
- BhavaniThe life-giving goddess;
- BhikshatanaThe naked wandering mendicant form.
- Bhutham AlvarOne of the first three;
- BhuvaneshwariQueen and mother of the manifest universe.
- Brahman dynasty of SindhThe Brahman dynasty ruled Sindh for eighty years until the Umayyad general Muhammad bin Qasim…
- BrihaspatiPreceptor of the gods;
- BuddhaCounted as an avatar in many lists (Balarāma replaces him in others).
- Buddhist and Hindu kingdoms of AfghanistanThe Buddhist and Hindu kingdoms of Afghanistan were a succession of polities in Gandhara, Bac…
- BudhaMercury;
- Chāhamānas of NaḍḍūlaThe Chāhamānas of Naḍḍūla were a branch of the Śākambharī house that ruled part of Marwar fro…
- Chāhamānas of ŚākambharīThe Chāhamānas of Śākambharī were the leading Rajput dynasty of eastern Rajasthan, and their…
- Chalukya-Pallava rivalryThe Chalukya-Pallava rivalry was a roughly two-century contest for dominance in the Deccan an…
- Chalukyas of BādāmiThe Chalukyas of Bādāmi ruled the Deccan for two centuries from 543 CE, checked Harṣa at the…
- Chalukyas of LāṭaThe Chalukyas of Lāṭa were a branch of the Bādāmi house governing southern Gujarat, whose rul…
- ChambaChamba was a Himalayan kingdom of the Ravi valley from the sixth century to 1948, whose unbro…
- ChamundaChamunda is a fierce form of the Hindu goddess Durga, described in the Devi Mahatmya as emerg…
- Chandela dynastyThe Chandelas ruled Bundelkhand from the ninth to the fourteenth century and built the temple…
- ChandeshvaraThe boy who struck his own father to protect the liṅga;
- ChandiThe fierce goddess of the Devī Māhātmya.
- ChandraThe Moon;
- Char DhamChar Dham refers to a set of four major Hindu pilgrimage sites — Badrinath, Dwarka, Puri, and…
- Chaulukya dynasty of GujaratThe Chaulukyas ruled Gujarat from Patan for three centuries from 942 CE, the period in which…
- Chāvḍā dynastyThe Chāvḍās ruled northern Gujarat before the Chaulukyas, and their king Vanarāja founded Aṇa…
- Cheraman PerumalThe Chera king and poet, friend of Sundarar.
- Chindaka Nāgas of BastarThe Chindaka Nāgas ruled the Bastar country of southern Chhattisgarh from about 1000 to 1324…
- ChinnamastaThe self-decapitated goddess;
- Chola EmpireThe Chola Empire ruled the Tamil country from 848 to 1279, at its height controlling southern…
- Chudasamas of SaurashtraThe Chudasamas ruled Sorath in southern Saurashtra from Junagadh for six centuries, until the…
- DakshinamurtiThe silent guru facing south;
- Dandi AdigalThe blind saint who dug the temple tank at Tiruvarur.
- DashavataraDashavatara ("ten avatars") is the standard Vaishnava list of Vishnu's ten principal incarnat…
- DattatreyaCombined avatar of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva;
- Denominations of HinduismShaivism, Vaishnavism, Shaktism, and Smartism are the four major devotional traditions (sampr…
- Dhana LakshmiGoddess of monetary wealth.
- DhanvantariPhysician of the gods;
- Dhanya LakshmiGoddess of grain and the harvest.
- DhumavatiThe widow-goddess of smoke, void and the unmanifest.
- DurgaThe invincible warrior-goddess, lion-riding, wielder of every divine weapon.
- DwarkadhishKrishna as king of Dwārka.
- Eastern Chalukyas of VengiThe Eastern Chalukyas ruled coastal Andhra for five and a half centuries from 624 CE, and und…
- Eastern Ganga dynastyThe Eastern Gangas ruled Kalinga for nearly a thousand years, and under them the Jagannātha t…
- EripathaThe devotee of fierce temper in Shiva’s service.
- Eyarkon KalikamaThe saint who repented doubting Sundarar.
- Gaja LakshmiLakṣmī flanked by elephants;
- GananathaThe brahmin saint devoted to Shiva’s service.
- GangadharaBearer of the river Gaṅgā in his matted locks.
- Gauḍa kingdomGauḍa was the kingdom of Śaśāṅka, the first ruler to unify Bengal as an independent power in…
- GauriThe radiant, golden form of Parvati.
- GopalaKrishna the cowherd;
- Guhilas of ChatsuThe Guhilas of Chatsu were a branch of the Guhila family that held territory south of modern…
- Guhilas of MedapāṭaThe Guhilas ruled Medapāṭa — Mewar — from about the seventh century, holding Chittor until Al…
- Gurjara-Pratihāra EmpireThe Gurjara-Pratihāras ruled northern India from Kannauj for two centuries from the mid-eight…
- Gurjaras of NandipurīThe Gurjaras of Nandipurī ruled the Lāṭa country of southern Gujarat from the late sixth cent…
- GuruvayurappaThe child-Krishna form enshrined at Guruvayur.
- Guttas of GuttavolalThe Guttas were a feudatory family of the Dharwad country in northern Karnataka, claiming des…
- HamsaThe swan avatar who imparted supreme knowledge to the sages.
- HarshaHarsha Vardhana (r.
- Hatkoti TempleHatkoti is a temple complex on the Pabbar River in Himachal Pradesh's Shimla district, center…
- HayagrivaHorse-headed restorer of the stolen Vedas;
- Hindu civilization in IndonesiaThe Hindu–Buddhist civilization that shaped the Indonesian archipelago from roughly the 4th t…
- Hindu Shahi dynastyA Hindu dynasty that ruled Kabul, Gandhara, and the Punjab from the mid-9th to the early 11th…
- Hindu temple architectureThe architectural tradition of Hindu temple building on the Indian subcontinent, spanning the…
- The house of Yaśovarman of KannaujYaśovarman ruled at Kannauj in the first half of the eighth century CE, briefly restoring an…
- Hoysala dynastyThe Hoysalas ruled southern Karnataka from the eleventh to the fourteenth century and built a…
- IdangazhiA king who opened his granaries for Shiva’s servants.
- Ilayankudi MaranarThe farmer who fed a devotee in famine.
- IndosphereThe Indosphere is the vast zone of cultural, religious, linguistic, and artistic influence ra…
- IrāmāvatāramThe Irāmāvatāram is Kamban's Tamil retelling of the Rāmāyaṇa, a poem of some ten thousand ver…
- IsaignaniyaarMother of Sundarar;
- Iyarpagai“Contrary to nature”;
- Jagannath“Lord of the Universe”;
- JayachandraJayachandra (r.
- JayapalaJayapala (r.
- Jethwa dynastyThe Jethwas ruled the Barda hills and the Porbandar coast of Saurashtra from the medieval per…
- Kacchapaghāta dynastyThe Kacchapaghātas ruled the Gwalior region between the tenth and twelfth centuries, and buil…
- Kadamba dynastyThe Kadambas of Banavāsi were the first indigenous dynasty of Karnataka, founded in the fourt…
- Kadambas of GoaThe Kadambas of Goa ruled the Konkan coast from the tenth to the fourteenth century, and thei…
- Kadambas of HangalThe Kadambas of Hangal ruled northern Karnataka as Western Chalukya feudatories from the tent…
- Kailasa TempleThe Kailasa Temple (Cave 16) at Ellora is a monolithic rock-cut Hindu temple dedicated to Shi…
- Kākatīya dynastyThe Kākatīyas ruled the Telugu country from Warangal for a century and a half, were governed…
- Kakawin RāmāyaṇaThe Kakawin Rāmāyaṇa is the Old Javanese version of the epic, composed in central Java in abo…
- Kalachuris of KalyāṇiThe Kalachuris of Kalyāṇi held the Deccan for twenty-five years in the twelfth century, and i…
- Kalachuris of MāhiṣmatīThe early Kalachuris ruled the Narmada valley and the northern Deccan in the sixth and early…
- Kalachuris of RatnapuraThe Kalachuris of Ratnapura were a branch of the Tripurī house that ruled Chhattisgarh from a…
- Kalachuris of SarayūpāraThe Kalachuris of Sarayūpāra were a minor branch of the family that ruled the country north o…
- Kalachuris of TripurīThe Kalachuris of Tripurī ruled the Chedi country of central India for four centuries, reachi…
- KaliThe dark, fierce goddess of time;
- KaliaWho set out to end his life when he could no longer light the temple lamp.
- KalikambaThe merchant who cut off his wife’s hand for hesitating before a devotee.
- KalkiThe future avatar on a white horse, to end the Kali age.
- KamakshiThe goddess of Kanchipuram, eyes full of desire and grace.
- KamalaThe lotus goddess;
- KambanKamban was the Tamil poet who composed the Irāmāvatāram, and is counted among the greatest wr…
- Kamboja-Pāla dynastyThe Kamboja-Pālas were a dynasty that seized part of Bengal from the Pālas in the tenth centu…
- KanampullaWho burnt his own hair as a wick when the lamp-grass ran out.
- KannappaThe hunter who offered his own eyes to Shiva;
- KannaujKannauj, ancient Kanyakubja, is a city on the Ganga in present-day Uttar Pradesh that served…
- Kannauj TriangleThe Kannauj Triangle, also called the Tripartite Struggle, was a roughly 150-year contest fro…
- KanyakumariThe virgin goddess at India’s southern tip.
- KapilaSage-avatar;
- Karaikkal AmmaiyarThe skeletal woman-saint of Karaikkal;
- KariThe poet-saint and chieftain devoted to Shiva.
- Karkoṭa dynastyThe Karkoṭas ruled Kashmir from the seventh to the ninth century CE, and under Lalitāditya th…
- KartikeyaKartikeya, also known as Skanda, Murugan, and Subrahmanya, is the Hindu god of war and comman…
- KashmirKashmir is a Himalayan valley in the northwestern subcontinent whose early history encompasse…
- Katyūrī dynastyThe Katyūrīs ruled the central Himalayan country of what is now Uttarakhand from about 700 to…
- KazharsingaA Pallava king zealous for the devotees’ honour.
- KetuThe severed tail;
- KhajurahoKhajuraho is a group of Hindu and Jain temples in present-day Madhya Pradesh, built by the Ch…
- Khmer EmpireThe Khmer Empire was a Southeast Asian state centered on Angkor in present-day Cambodia that…
- Kochengat CholaThe Chola king who built many shrines to Shiva.
- KolathunāḍuKolathunāḍu was the north Malabar kingdom that succeeded the Mūṣikas, ruling from Chirakkal,…
- KootruvaA chieftain who won a crown by his devotion.
- Koṭas of DharaṇikoṭaThe Koṭas ruled Dharaṇikoṭa on the Krishna from the eleventh to the fourteenth century, the s…
- KotpuliThe officer who guarded the temple grain even against his own kin.
- KrishnaKrishna is a central deity of Hinduism, worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and, in man…
- KulachiraiMinister of the Pandya king;
- Kulasekhara AlvarA Chera king who renounced his throne for Vishnu.
- Kungiliya KalayaWho burned incense for Shiva though it beggared him.
- KurmaThe tortoise;
- Lalita TripurasundariThe beautiful supreme goddess of Śrī Vidyā and the Śrī Yantra.
- LalitadityaLalitaditya Muktapida (r.
- Later CherasThe Later Cheras ruled Kerala from Mahodayapuram between about 800 and 1124 CE, and their cha…
- Later GuptasThe Later Guptas were a dynasty that ruled Magadha and at times Malwa from the late fifth to…
- Licchavi dynasty of NepalThe Licchavis ruled the Kathmandu valley from about 400 to 750 CE, the first historically doc…
- LingamThe aniconic pillar;
- LingodbhavaThe infinite pillar of fire whose ends the gods could not find.
- Lohara dynastyThe Loharas ruled Kashmir from 1003 to 1320, a period of increasing disorder that Kalhaṇa rec…
- Madhurakavi AlvarDevoted disciple of Nammālvar, whose praise he sang above all.
- MahabalipuramMahabalipuram, also known as Mamallapuram, is a 7th–8th century port town and rock-cut monume…
- MahadevaThe Great God;
- MahakalaGreat Time and Death;
- MahasthangarhMahasthangarh is the earliest known city in Bengal, a fortified site on the Karatoya in north…
- Mahasu DevtaMahasu Devta is a group of four brother deities worshipped as ruling gods (devtas) across the…
- MahishasuramardiniDurga as slayer of the buffalo-demon Mahiṣāsura.
- Maitraka dynastyThe Maitrakas ruled Saurashtra and Gujarat for three centuries from Vallabhī, a city whose Bu…
- Malla dynasty of BishnupurThe Malla kings of Bishnupur ruled the Bankura country of western Bengal for over a thousand…
- ManakancharaThe general who gave his daughter’s hair for a devotee’s garland.
- MangalaMars;
- MangayarkkarasiyarPandya queen who kept the faith at court;
- ManipurManipur was ruled by the Ningthouja dynasty from the Kangla at Imphal, and its court chronicl…
- MatangiThe outcaste goddess of speech, music and forbidden knowledge.
- MatsyaThe fish;
- Maukhari dynastyThe Maukharis ruled from Kannauj in the sixth century CE, made it the leading city of norther…
- MeenakshiThe fish-eyed warrior-queen goddess of Madurai.
- Meenakshi TempleThe Meenakshi Amman Temple in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, is a major Hindu temple complex dedicated…
- MeiporulThe king slain by a false ascetic, whom he spared for the holy garb.
- MohiniVishnu’s female form;
- MoirangMoirang was one of the principalities of the Manipur valley before Ningthouja unification, th…
- MunaiyaduvarThe soldier who gave his war-spoils to Shiva’s devotees.
- MurkhaThe gambler-saint who fed Shiva’s devotees with his winnings.
- MurthiyarWho ground sandal for Shiva with his own arm when tools failed.
- MurugaThe saint of Tiruppugalur, gatherer of flowers for worship.
- Mūṣika dynastyThe Mūṣikas ruled north Malabar from Ezhimala from the Sangam age onward, and are the subject…
- Nāgavaṃśī of ChotanagpurThe Nāgavaṃśīs ruled the Chotanagpur plateau, claiming descent from a serpent ancestor, and s…
- Nala dynastyThe Nalas ruled the forested country of Bastar and Koraput in the fifth and sixth centuries C…
- Nami Nandi AdigalWho lit the temple lamps with water when oil was denied.
- NammalvarThe foremost Ālvār;
- NandanarThe labourer-saint of humble birth who entered the Chidambaram shrine.
- Nara-NarayanaThe twin sages;
- NarasimhaThe man-lion;
- Narasinga MuniyaraiyarThe chieftain who fostered the young saint Sundarar.
- NarayanaThe cosmic Vishnu reclining on the causal waters, source of all.
- NatarajaLord of the cosmic dance (tāṇḍava), dancing creation and destruction.
- NavadurgaNavadurga are the nine forms of the goddess Durga worshipped across the nine nights of Navara…
- Nesa NayanarThe weaver who clothed Shiva’s devotees.
- Nikumbha dynastyThe Nikumbhas were a minor dynasty attested in the Alwar country of Rajasthan and later in Kh…
- NilakanthaThe blue-throated one, who held the world-poison in his throat.
- Ninra Seer NedumaaraThe Pandya king restored to Śaivism by Sambandar.
- NolambasThe Nolambas ruled Nolambavāḍi, the dry country on the Karnataka–Andhra border, from the eigh…
- PadmanabhaThe lotus-naveled reclining Vishnu of Thiruvananthapuram.
- Pala dynastyThe Pala dynasty was a Buddhist-patronizing dynasty that ruled Bengal and Bihar from the mid-…
- Pāla dynasty of KāmarūpaThe Pālas of Kāmarūpa ruled Assam from about 900 to 1100 CE, the last dynasty of the old Kāma…
- Pallava dynastyThe Pallavas ruled the northern Tamil country from Kāñcīpuram for six centuries, fought the C…
- Pāṇḍuvaṃśins of Dakṣiṇa KosalaThe Pāṇḍuvaṃśins ruled Dakṣiṇa Kosala from Sirpur between the sixth and eighth centuries CE,…
- Pandya dynastyThe Pandya dynasty was an ancient Tamil dynasty centered on Madurai in southern Tamil Nadu, w…
- Paramāra dynasty of MalwaThe Paramāras ruled Malwa from Dhārā for five centuries, and their king Bhoja was the most ce…
- Paramāras of ArbudaThe Paramāras of Arbuda ruled the Mount Abu country from Chandrāvatī, and it was under their…
- Paramāras of Bhīnmāl and JālorThe Paramāras of Bhīnmāl and Jālor were a minor branch of the family holding southwestern Raj…
- Paramāras of VāgaḍaThe Paramāras of Vāgaḍa were a branch of the Malwa house that ruled the hill country between…
- ParashuramaThe axe-wielding warrior-sage who humbled the unrighteous kings.
- Partha-sarathiKrishna as Arjuna’s charioteer at Kurukṣetra.
- PashupatiLord of animals and all souls;
- PeriyalvarThe “great Ālvār”;
- Perumizhalai KurumbaSaint of Perumizhalai, devoted to Shiva’s servants.
- Pey AlvarThe third of the earliest three;
- Poigai AlvarFirst of the three earliest Ālvārs;
- Pottapi CholasThe Pottapi Cholas were a Telugu Choda branch ruling from Pottapi in the Cuddapah country bet…
- Preah VihearPreah Vihear is an early-medieval Khmer temple dedicated to Shiva, built along a cliff edge o…
- PrithuThe first sovereign king, who “milked” the earth to abundance.
- Pugal CholaA Chola king and Nāyanār.
- Pugazh ThunaiThe saint who clung to Shiva through utter poverty.
- PunditPandit, from the Sanskrit paṇḍita meaning "learned," is a title for a scholar or expert that…
- PuranasThe Puranas are a body of Sanskrit smriti literature — eighteen major texts and numerous mino…
- PusalarWho built a temple to Shiva entirely in his mind.
- Puṣyabhūti dynastyThe Puṣyabhūtis were the dynasty of Thanesar whose king Harṣa ruled most of northern India fr…
- Radha-KrishnaThe united divine couple;
- RahuThe severed head;
- Rai dynasty of SindhThe Rai dynasty ruled Sindh from Alor for some hundred and forty years until 632 CE, a Buddhi…
- Raja DahirRaja Dahir (r.
- The Rāmāyaṇa in temple reliefThe Rāmāyaṇa is carved on temple walls from the Gupta period onward, and the great relief cyc…
- RanganathaThe reclining Vishnu of Srirangam;
- Raṅganātha RāmāyaṇaThe Raṅganātha Rāmāyaṇa is the earliest full Telugu retelling of the epic, composed in the dv…
- Rani ki VavRani ki Vav is an 11th-century stepwell at Patan, Gujarat, built by Queen Udayamati of the Ch…
- Rashtrakuta dynastyThe Rashtrakuta dynasty was an imperial power that dominated the Deccan and much of central I…
- Rattas of SaundattiThe Rattas ruled the Belgaum country of northern Karnataka from the ninth to the thirteenth c…
- Recensions of the RāmāyaṇaThe Rāmāyaṇa survives in three broad regional recensions whose manuscripts differ substantial…
- Renāṭi CholasThe Renāṭi Cholas ruled the Cuddapah country from the sixth to the eighth century, and their…
- RishabhaAscetic king-avatar;
- RudraThe fierce, howling Vedic storm-god from whom Shiva emerges.
- Rudra PasupathiWho stood neck-deep in water reciting the sacred hymns.
- SadaiyaFather of Sundarar, honoured among the saints.
- SadashivaThe five-faced supreme Shiva of the Āgamas.
- Śailodbhava dynastyThe Śailodbhavas ruled the Koṅgoda country around Chilika lake in coastal Odisha between the…
- Saindhava dynastyThe Saindhavas ruled western Saurashtra from the eighth to the tenth century, styling themsel…
- SakkiyaA former Buddhist who worshipped Shiva by casting a stone each day.
- Śālastambha dynastyThe Śālastambhas ruled Kāmarūpa for two and a half centuries after the Varmans, a dynasty the…
- SambandarChild prodigy poet-saint who lived only sixteen years.
- Santana LakshmiGoddess of progeny and family.
- Śarabhapurīya dynastyThe Śarabhapurīyas ruled Dakṣiṇa Kosala, the upper Mahanadi basin of modern Chhattisgarh, in…
- SatiShiva’s first consort, who immolated herself at Dakṣa’s sacrifice.
- SattiThe saint who silenced slander of Shiva’s devotees.
- SatyanarayanaThe “true lord”;
- Schools of Hindu philosophyThe six orthodox schools of Hindu philosophy - Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Samkhya, Yoga, Mimamsa and…
- Sena dynastyThe Senas were the last Hindu dynasty to rule Bengal, displacing the Pālas in the twelfth cen…
- SendrakasThe Sendrakas were a feudatory family of the Deccan in the sixth to eighth centuries, holding…
- SeruthunaiWho punished an insult to a devotee without hesitation.
- Seuṇa Yādavas of DevagiriThe Seuṇa Yādavas ruled the Marathi-speaking Deccan from the hill fortress of Devagiri for ov…
- Shakti PithasThe Shakti Pithas are a network of Hindu pilgrimage sites, numbered variously at 51 or 108, e…
- ShaniShani is the Hindu deity of the planet Saturn and one of the Navagrahas, revered as an impart…
- SharabhaThe part-lion, part-bird form that subdued Narasiṃha’s fury.
- ShashankaShashanka (r.
- ShivaShiva is one of the principal deities of Hinduism, worshipped as the destroyer within the Tri…
- ShukraVenus;
- ŚilāhārasThe Śilāhāras ruled the Konkan coast and the Kolhapur country in three branches for five cent…
- Sindas of YelburgaThe Sindas were a feudatory family of northern Karnataka under the Western Chalukyas, ruling…
- SirappuliThe brahmin saint of Tiruvakkarai.
- SiruthondarThe general of Narasiṃhavarman who cooked his own son at Shiva’s test.
- Somasi MaraThe brahmin who performed the soma sacrifices for Shiva.
- Somavaṃśī dynastyThe Somavaṃśīs moved from Dakṣiṇa Kosala into coastal Odisha in the tenth century and unified…
- Spiti and Lahaul chiefshipsSpiti and Lahaul were trans-Himalayan valleys governed by local chiefs under Ladakhi and then…
- SrinathjiKrishna lifting Govardhana;
- SuketSuket was one of the older hill states of Himachal, ruled by a Sen dynasty from which Mandi s…
- Sun templesSun temples (sūrya mandirs) are Hindu shrines dedicated to the solar deity Sūrya, built acros…
- SundararThe last of the three foremost;
- TandavaTandava is the cosmic dance of the Hindu god Shiva, performed in both fierce, destructive for…
- TaraThe star;
- Telugu CholasThe Telugu Cholas were a group of related dynasties in the Andhra country claiming Chola desc…
- Thakuri periodThe Thakuri period covers the four and a half centuries between the Licchavis and the Mallas…
- Thondaradippodi Alvar“Dust of the devotees’ feet”;
- Tiru Kurippu ThondaThe washerman ready to serve Shiva’s devotees at any cost.
- Tiru NeelakantaThe potter-saint, second in the traditional list.
- Tiru Nilakanta YazhpanarThe lute-player (yāḻ) who accompanied Sambandar’s hymns.
- Tirumangai AlvarA chieftain and reformed brigand turned prolific poet-saint.
- Tirumazhisai AlvarPoet-saint of Tirumazhisai;
- TirumularThe yogi-saint, author of the Tirumantiram.
- TiruneelanakkaThe brahmin saint of Tirumarugal.
- Tiruppaan AlvarOf the lowest caste, carried into the sanctum on a priest’s shoulders;
- Tomaras of DelhiThe Tomaras ruled the Delhi region before the Chauhans, and are credited with founding the se…
- TrigartaTrigarta was a polity of the Jalandhar Doab and the Kangra hills, named as a corporation in P…
- TripurantakaDestroyer of the three demon-cities with a single arrow.
- Turk Shahi dynastyThe Turk Shahis ruled the Kabul valley and Gandhāra from the seventh to the ninth century CE,…
- Utpala dynastyThe Utpalas ruled Kashmir from 855 to 1003 CE, a period that produced the valley's great hydr…
- VaidumbasThe Vaidumbas were a dynasty of the Rayalaseema uplands between the ninth and twelfth centuri…
- Vaishno DeviThe mountain goddess of the Trikūṭa hills, worshipped as three piṇḍis.
- VamanaThe dwarf brahmin;
- VarahaThe boar;
- Varman dynasty of BengalThe Varmans ruled eastern Bengal from Vikramapura in the eleventh and twelfth centuries CE, b…
- Varman dynasty of KāmarūpaThe Varmans were the first historically documented dynasty of Assam, ruling Kāmarūpa from abo…
- VasudevaThe supreme indwelling Vishnu;
- VayilarWho worshipped Shiva in the temple of his own heart.
- Veera LakshmiGoddess of valour and courage.
- Velanāṭi CholasThe Velanāṭi Cholas governed coastal Andhra for the Chola empire from the late eleventh centu…
- VenāḍVenāḍ was the southern Kerala principality that emerged from the Chera collapse and grew into…
- VenkateshwaraLord of the Seven Hills at Tirupati;
- Vidya LakshmiGoddess of knowledge and learning.
- Vijaya LakshmiGoddess of victory.
- VirabhadraThe towering warrior born of Shiva’s wrath at Dakṣa’s sacrifice.
- ViralmindaThe devotee zealous for the honour of Shiva’s servants.
- VishvaksenaCommander of Vishnu’s forces;
- Viṣṇukuṇḍin dynastyThe Viṣṇukuṇḍins ruled coastal Andhra and Telangana for two centuries from about 420 CE, the…
- VithobaThe arms-akimbo Krishna of Pandharpur;
- VyasaCompiler of the Vedas and author of the Mahābhārata.
- Western Chalukyas of KalyāṇiThe Western Chalukyas ruled the Deccan from Kalyāṇi between 973 and 1189 CE, fought the Chola…
- Western Ganga dynastyThe Western Gangas ruled southern Karnataka for some six centuries from about 350 CE, and the…
- YenathinatharA swordsman who laid down his guard before Shiva’s mark.
Vedic6 here · all Vedic →
- BrihaspatiPreceptor of the gods;
- DhanvantariPhysician of the gods;
- Schools of Hindu philosophyThe six orthodox schools of Hindu philosophy - Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Samkhya, Yoga, Mimamsa and…
- ShivaShiva is one of the principal deities of Hinduism, worshipped as the destroyer within the Tri…
- ShukraVenus;
- VyasaCompiler of the Vedas and author of the Mahābhārata.
Buddhist48 here · all Buddhist →
- Alchon HunsThe Alchon Huns were a Central Asian people who invaded northwestern India from the late four…
- Ancient universities of IndiaAncient India's centers of higher learning ranged from large residential monastic universitie…
- Angkor WatAngkor Wat is a 12th-century temple complex near Siem Reap, Cambodia, built by the Khmer king…
- AnuradhapuraAnuradhapura was the capital and namesake of Sri Lanka's first major kingdom, a Buddhist stat…
- Āyudha dynastyThe Āyudhas held Kannauj in the late eighth century CE, and their weakness made the city the…
- Bhauma-Kara dynastyThe Bhauma-Karas ruled coastal Odisha for two centuries from about 736 CE, a Buddhist dynasty…
- BodhisattvaA bodhisattva is a being on the path to full buddhahood, and in Mahayana Buddhism one who vow…
- Brahman dynasty of SindhThe Brahman dynasty ruled Sindh for eighty years until the Umayyad general Muhammad bin Qasim…
- Buddhist and Hindu kingdoms of AfghanistanThe Buddhist and Hindu kingdoms of Afghanistan were a succession of polities in Gandhara, Bac…
- Candra dynastyThe Candras ruled eastern Bengal from Vikramapura between about 900 and 1050 CE, a Buddhist d…
- Destruction of NalandaThe sack of Nalanda Mahavihara in Bihar, conventionally dated to 1193 CE and attributed to th…
- Deva dynastyThe Devas ruled Samataṭa in southeastern Bengal in the eighth and ninth centuries CE, Buddhis…
- Gauḍa kingdomGauḍa was the kingdom of Śaśāṅka, the first ruler to unify Bengal as an independent power in…
- Gurjaras of NandipurīThe Gurjaras of Nandipurī ruled the Lāṭa country of southern Gujarat from the late sixth cent…
- HarshaHarsha Vardhana (r.
- Hindu civilization in IndonesiaThe Hindu–Buddhist civilization that shaped the Indonesian archipelago from roughly the 4th t…
- The house of Yaśovarman of KannaujYaśovarman ruled at Kannauj in the first half of the eighth century CE, briefly restoring an…
- IndosphereThe Indosphere is the vast zone of cultural, religious, linguistic, and artistic influence ra…
- Kamboja-Pāla dynastyThe Kamboja-Pālas were a dynasty that seized part of Bengal from the Pālas in the tenth centu…
- Karkoṭa dynastyThe Karkoṭas ruled Kashmir from the seventh to the ninth century CE, and under Lalitāditya th…
- KashmirKashmir is a Himalayan valley in the northwestern subcontinent whose early history encompasse…
- Khaḍga dynastyThe Khaḍgas ruled eastern Bengal in the seventh and eighth centuries CE, a Buddhist dynasty a…
- Khmer EmpireThe Khmer Empire was a Southeast Asian state centered on Angkor in present-day Cambodia that…
- Koṭas of DharaṇikoṭaThe Koṭas ruled Dharaṇikoṭa on the Krishna from the eleventh to the fourteenth century, the s…
- Later GuptasThe Later Guptas were a dynasty that ruled Magadha and at times Malwa from the late fifth to…
- Licchavi dynasty of NepalThe Licchavis ruled the Kathmandu valley from about 400 to 750 CE, the first historically doc…
- MahasthangarhMahasthangarh is the earliest known city in Bengal, a fortified site on the Karatoya in north…
- MahayanaMahayana is the branch of Buddhism that took the bodhisattva's vow to liberate all beings as…
- MainamatiMainamati is the ridge in south-eastern Bangladesh, ancient India, carrying more than fifty B…
- Maitraka dynastyThe Maitrakas ruled Saurashtra and Gujarat for three centuries from Vallabhī, a city whose Bu…
- MaryulMaryul was the first kingdom of Ladakh, founded around 930 by a descendant of the Tibetan imp…
- NalandaNalanda was a major Buddhist monastic university in ancient Magadha, in present-day Bihar, ac…
- Pala dynastyThe Pala dynasty was a Buddhist-patronizing dynasty that ruled Bengal and Bihar from the mid-…
- Pallava dynastyThe Pallavas ruled the northern Tamil country from Kāñcīpuram for six centuries, fought the C…
- Pāṇḍuvaṃśins of Dakṣiṇa KosalaThe Pāṇḍuvaṃśins ruled Dakṣiṇa Kosala from Sirpur between the sixth and eighth centuries CE,…
- Puṣyabhūti dynastyThe Puṣyabhūtis were the dynasty of Thanesar whose king Harṣa ruled most of northern India fr…
- Rai dynasty of SindhThe Rai dynasty ruled Sindh from Alor for some hundred and forty years until 632 CE, a Buddhi…
- Somapura MahaviharaSomapura Mahavihara is the Pala Buddhist monastery at Paharpur in northern Bangladesh, ancien…
- Spiti and Lahaul chiefshipsSpiti and Lahaul were trans-Himalayan valleys governed by local chiefs under Ladakhi and then…
- Thakuri periodThe Thakuri period covers the four and a half centuries between the Licchavis and the Mallas…
- TibetTibet is a high-plateau region of Inner Asia, home to the seventh-to-ninth-century Tibetan Em…
- Turk Shahi dynastyThe Turk Shahis ruled the Kabul valley and Gandhāra from the seventh to the ninth century CE,…
- VajrayanaVajrayana is the tantric development of Mahayana Buddhism, using mantra, visualisation, ritua…
- Varman dynasty of BengalThe Varmans ruled eastern Bengal from Vikramapura in the eleventh and twelfth centuries CE, b…
- ViharaA vihara is a Buddhist monastery, originating as shelter for the rainy-season retreat and dev…
- VikramashilaVikramashila was a Buddhist monastic university in Bihar founded under the Palas, a major cen…
- Viṣṇukuṇḍin dynastyThe Viṣṇukuṇḍins ruled coastal Andhra and Telangana for two centuries from about 420 CE, the…
- Zanskar, Guge and PurangZanskar, Guge and Purang were the western Tibetan kingdoms founded by the surviving Tibetan r…
- AlupasThe Alupas ruled the Tulu-speaking coast of Karnataka for a thousand years as feudatories of…
- AnekantavadaAnekantavada is the Jain doctrine that reality has many aspects, that any single statement ab…
- Āy dynastyThe Āys were a dynasty of the far south of Kerala, beginning as Sangam-age hill chieftains an…
- Bāṇa kingdomThe Bāṇas were a long-lived feudatory dynasty of the country where Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and…
- Bhañja dynastiesThe Bhañjas were a family of dynasties in the interior uplands of Odisha, ruling from the eig…
- Chāhamānas of NaḍḍūlaThe Chāhamānas of Naḍḍūla were a branch of the Śākambharī house that ruled part of Marwar fro…
- Chāhamānas of ŚākambharīThe Chāhamānas of Śākambharī were the leading Rajput dynasty of eastern Rajasthan, and their…
- Chalukyas of BādāmiThe Chalukyas of Bādāmi ruled the Deccan for two centuries from 543 CE, checked Harṣa at the…
- Chandela dynastyThe Chandelas ruled Bundelkhand from the ninth to the fourteenth century and built the temple…
- Chaulukya dynasty of GujaratThe Chaulukyas ruled Gujarat from Patan for three centuries from 942 CE, the period in which…
- Chāvḍā dynastyThe Chāvḍās ruled northern Gujarat before the Chaulukyas, and their king Vanarāja founded Aṇa…
- Chudasamas of SaurashtraThe Chudasamas ruled Sorath in southern Saurashtra from Junagadh for six centuries, until the…
- DigambaraThe Digambara are one of the two principal Jain orders, holding that a fully advanced mendica…
- Dilwara TemplesThe Dilwara temples are a group of Jain temples on Mount Abu in Rajasthan, built between the…
- Eastern Chalukyas of VengiThe Eastern Chalukyas ruled coastal Andhra for five and a half centuries from 624 CE, and und…
- Ellora Jain cavesThe Jain caves at Ellora, numbered 30 to 34, are rock-cut temples of the ninth and tenth cent…
- GommateshwaraThe Gommateshwara is the monolithic granite image of Bahubali at Shravanabelagola, raised in…
- Guhilas of MedapāṭaThe Guhilas ruled Medapāṭa — Mewar — from about the seventh century, holding Chittor until Al…
- Gurjara-Pratihāra EmpireThe Gurjara-Pratihāras ruled northern India from Kannauj for two centuries from the mid-eight…
- Guttas of GuttavolalThe Guttas were a feudatory family of the Dharwad country in northern Karnataka, claiming des…
- HemachandraHemachandra was a Jain scholar-monk of twelfth-century Gujarat, adviser to the Chaulukya king…
- Hoysala dynastyThe Hoysalas ruled southern Karnataka from the eleventh to the fourteenth century and built a…
- JainismJainism is an Indian religion holding that every living thing possesses an eternal soul bound…
- Kacchapaghāta dynastyThe Kacchapaghātas ruled the Gwalior region between the tenth and twelfth centuries, and buil…
- Kadamba dynastyThe Kadambas of Banavāsi were the first indigenous dynasty of Karnataka, founded in the fourt…
- Kadambas of GoaThe Kadambas of Goa ruled the Konkan coast from the tenth to the fourteenth century, and thei…
- Kadambas of HangalThe Kadambas of Hangal ruled northern Karnataka as Western Chalukya feudatories from the tent…
- Kākatīya dynastyThe Kākatīyas ruled the Telugu country from Warangal for a century and a half, were governed…
- KhajurahoKhajuraho is a group of Hindu and Jain temples in present-day Madhya Pradesh, built by the Ch…
- MahamastakabhishekaThe Mahamastakabhisheka is the anointing of the colossal Jain image of Bahubali at Shravanabe…
- Maitraka dynastyThe Maitrakas ruled Saurashtra and Gujarat for three centuries from Vallabhī, a city whose Bu…
- Mūṣika dynastyThe Mūṣikas ruled north Malabar from Ezhimala from the Sangam age onward, and are the subject…
- Nikumbha dynastyThe Nikumbhas were a minor dynasty attested in the Alwar country of Rajasthan and later in Kh…
- NolambasThe Nolambas ruled Nolambavāḍi, the dry country on the Karnataka–Andhra border, from the eigh…
- Pallava dynastyThe Pallavas ruled the northern Tamil country from Kāñcīpuram for six centuries, fought the C…
- Pandya dynastyThe Pandya dynasty was an ancient Tamil dynasty centered on Madurai in southern Tamil Nadu, w…
- Paramāra dynasty of MalwaThe Paramāras ruled Malwa from Dhārā for five centuries, and their king Bhoja was the most ce…
- Paramāras of ArbudaThe Paramāras of Arbuda ruled the Mount Abu country from Chandrāvatī, and it was under their…
- Paramāras of Bhīnmāl and JālorThe Paramāras of Bhīnmāl and Jālor were a minor branch of the family holding southwestern Raj…
- Paramāras of VāgaḍaThe Paramāras of Vāgaḍa were a branch of the Malwa house that ruled the hill country between…
- Rashtrakuta dynastyThe Rashtrakuta dynasty was an imperial power that dominated the Deccan and much of central I…
- Rattas of SaundattiThe Rattas ruled the Belgaum country of northern Karnataka from the ninth to the thirteenth c…
- Seuṇa Yādavas of DevagiriThe Seuṇa Yādavas ruled the Marathi-speaking Deccan from the hill fortress of Devagiri for ov…
- ShravanabelagolaShravanabelagola is a Jain pilgrimage centre in Karnataka, dominated by the colossal image of…
- ŚilāhārasThe Śilāhāras ruled the Konkan coast and the Kolhapur country in three branches for five cent…
- Sindas of YelburgaThe Sindas were a feudatory family of northern Karnataka under the Western Chalukyas, ruling…
- SvetambaraThe Svetambara are one of the two principal Jain orders, whose mendicants wear white cloth, w…
- Tomaras of DelhiThe Tomaras ruled the Delhi region before the Chauhans, and are credited with founding the se…
- Western Chalukyas of KalyāṇiThe Western Chalukyas ruled the Deccan from Kalyāṇi between 973 and 1189 CE, fought the Chola…
- Western Ganga dynastyThe Western Gangas ruled southern Karnataka for some six centuries from about 350 CE, and the…
Islamic7 here · all Islamic →
- Arab rule in SindhArab rule in Sindh refers to the Umayyad and later Abbasid governance of the lower Indus vall…
- Battle of ArorThe Battle of Aror, fought around 712 CE near the Sindhi capital of Aror between the Umayyad…
- Beginnings of Islamic rule in IndiaThis entry covers the establishment of Islamic political rule on the Indian subcontinent, fro…
- Destruction of NalandaThe sack of Nalanda Mahavihara in Bihar, conventionally dated to 1193 CE and attributed to th…
- Habbari dynastyThe Habbaris ruled Sindh from Mansura for some hundred and seventy years from 854 CE, the fir…
- KashmirKashmir is a Himalayan valley in the northwestern subcontinent whose early history encompasse…
- Mahmud of GhazniMahmud of Ghazni (971–1030 CE) was the ruler of the Ghaznavid empire, centered in present-day…
Folk & Regional8 here · all Folk & Regional →
- BhavaniThe life-giving goddess;
- Chindaka Nāgas of BastarThe Chindaka Nāgas ruled the Bastar country of southern Chhattisgarh from about 1000 to 1324…
- Hatkoti TempleHatkoti is a temple complex on the Pabbar River in Himachal Pradesh's Shimla district, center…
- Mahasu DevtaMahasu Devta is a group of four brother deities worshipped as ruling gods (devtas) across the…
- ManipurManipur was ruled by the Ningthouja dynasty from the Kangla at Imphal, and its court chronicl…
- MoirangMoirang was one of the principalities of the Manipur valley before Ningthouja unification, th…
- Nāgavaṃśī of ChotanagpurThe Nāgavaṃśīs ruled the Chotanagpur plateau, claiming descent from a serpent ancestor, and s…
- Śālastambha dynastyThe Śālastambhas ruled Kāmarūpa for two and a half centuries after the Varmans, a dynasty the…
Other Faiths1 here · all Other Faiths →
Political & Secular115 here · all Political & Secular →
- Alchon HunsThe Alchon Huns were a Central Asian people who invaded northwestern India from the late four…
- AlupasThe Alupas ruled the Tulu-speaking coast of Karnataka for a thousand years as feudatories of…
- Āy dynastyThe Āys were a dynasty of the far south of Kerala, beginning as Sangam-age hill chieftains an…
- Āyudha dynastyThe Āyudhas held Kannauj in the late eighth century CE, and their weakness made the city the…
- Bāṇa kingdomThe Bāṇas were a long-lived feudatory dynasty of the country where Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and…
- Bappa RawalBappa Rawal, also known as Kalbhoj, is the semi-legendary eighth-century founder of the Guhil…
- Bhañja dynastiesThe Bhañjas were a family of dynasties in the interior uplands of Odisha, ruling from the eig…
- Bhauma-Kara dynastyThe Bhauma-Karas ruled coastal Odisha for two centuries from about 736 CE, a Buddhist dynasty…
- Brahman dynasty of SindhThe Brahman dynasty ruled Sindh for eighty years until the Umayyad general Muhammad bin Qasim…
- Candra dynastyThe Candras ruled eastern Bengal from Vikramapura between about 900 and 1050 CE, a Buddhist d…
- Chāhamānas of NaḍḍūlaThe Chāhamānas of Naḍḍūla were a branch of the Śākambharī house that ruled part of Marwar fro…
- Chāhamānas of ŚākambharīThe Chāhamānas of Śākambharī were the leading Rajput dynasty of eastern Rajasthan, and their…
- Chalukyas of BādāmiThe Chalukyas of Bādāmi ruled the Deccan for two centuries from 543 CE, checked Harṣa at the…
- Chalukyas of LāṭaThe Chalukyas of Lāṭa were a branch of the Bādāmi house governing southern Gujarat, whose rul…
- ChambaChamba was a Himalayan kingdom of the Ravi valley from the sixth century to 1948, whose unbro…
- Chandela dynastyThe Chandelas ruled Bundelkhand from the ninth to the fourteenth century and built the temple…
- Chaulukya dynasty of GujaratThe Chaulukyas ruled Gujarat from Patan for three centuries from 942 CE, the period in which…
- Chāvḍā dynastyThe Chāvḍās ruled northern Gujarat before the Chaulukyas, and their king Vanarāja founded Aṇa…
- Chindaka Nāgas of BastarThe Chindaka Nāgas ruled the Bastar country of southern Chhattisgarh from about 1000 to 1324…
- Chola EmpireThe Chola Empire ruled the Tamil country from 848 to 1279, at its height controlling southern…
- Chudasamas of SaurashtraThe Chudasamas ruled Sorath in southern Saurashtra from Junagadh for six centuries, until the…
- Deva dynastyThe Devas ruled Samataṭa in southeastern Bengal in the eighth and ninth centuries CE, Buddhis…
- Eastern Chalukyas of VengiThe Eastern Chalukyas ruled coastal Andhra for five and a half centuries from 624 CE, and und…
- Eastern Ganga dynastyThe Eastern Gangas ruled Kalinga for nearly a thousand years, and under them the Jagannātha t…
- Gauḍa kingdomGauḍa was the kingdom of Śaśāṅka, the first ruler to unify Bengal as an independent power in…
- Guhilas of ChatsuThe Guhilas of Chatsu were a branch of the Guhila family that held territory south of modern…
- Guhilas of MedapāṭaThe Guhilas ruled Medapāṭa — Mewar — from about the seventh century, holding Chittor until Al…
- Gurjara-Pratihāra EmpireThe Gurjara-Pratihāras ruled northern India from Kannauj for two centuries from the mid-eight…
- Gurjaras of NandipurīThe Gurjaras of Nandipurī ruled the Lāṭa country of southern Gujarat from the late sixth cent…
- Guttas of GuttavolalThe Guttas were a feudatory family of the Dharwad country in northern Karnataka, claiming des…
- Habbari dynastyThe Habbaris ruled Sindh from Mansura for some hundred and seventy years from 854 CE, the fir…
- HarshaHarsha Vardhana (r.
- Hindu Shahi dynastyA Hindu dynasty that ruled Kabul, Gandhara, and the Punjab from the mid-9th to the early 11th…
- The house of Yaśovarman of KannaujYaśovarman ruled at Kannauj in the first half of the eighth century CE, briefly restoring an…
- Hoysala dynastyThe Hoysalas ruled southern Karnataka from the eleventh to the fourteenth century and built a…
- Indian Ocean trade in medieval IndiaIndian Ocean trade in medieval India refers to the maritime commercial networks, dominated on…
- JayachandraJayachandra (r.
- JayapalaJayapala (r.
- Jethwa dynastyThe Jethwas ruled the Barda hills and the Porbandar coast of Saurashtra from the medieval per…
- Kacchapaghāta dynastyThe Kacchapaghātas ruled the Gwalior region between the tenth and twelfth centuries, and buil…
- Kadamba dynastyThe Kadambas of Banavāsi were the first indigenous dynasty of Karnataka, founded in the fourt…
- Kadambas of GoaThe Kadambas of Goa ruled the Konkan coast from the tenth to the fourteenth century, and thei…
- Kadambas of HangalThe Kadambas of Hangal ruled northern Karnataka as Western Chalukya feudatories from the tent…
- Kākatīya dynastyThe Kākatīyas ruled the Telugu country from Warangal for a century and a half, were governed…
- Kalachuris of KalyāṇiThe Kalachuris of Kalyāṇi held the Deccan for twenty-five years in the twelfth century, and i…
- Kalachuris of MāhiṣmatīThe early Kalachuris ruled the Narmada valley and the northern Deccan in the sixth and early…
- Kalachuris of RatnapuraThe Kalachuris of Ratnapura were a branch of the Tripurī house that ruled Chhattisgarh from a…
- Kalachuris of SarayūpāraThe Kalachuris of Sarayūpāra were a minor branch of the family that ruled the country north o…
- Kalachuris of TripurīThe Kalachuris of Tripurī ruled the Chedi country of central India for four centuries, reachi…
- Kamboja-Pāla dynastyThe Kamboja-Pālas were a dynasty that seized part of Bengal from the Pālas in the tenth centu…
- KannaujKannauj, ancient Kanyakubja, is a city on the Ganga in present-day Uttar Pradesh that served…
- Kannauj TriangleThe Kannauj Triangle, also called the Tripartite Struggle, was a roughly 150-year contest fro…
- Karkoṭa dynastyThe Karkoṭas ruled Kashmir from the seventh to the ninth century CE, and under Lalitāditya th…
- Katyūrī dynastyThe Katyūrīs ruled the central Himalayan country of what is now Uttarakhand from about 700 to…
- Khaḍga dynastyThe Khaḍgas ruled eastern Bengal in the seventh and eighth centuries CE, a Buddhist dynasty a…
- KolathunāḍuKolathunāḍu was the north Malabar kingdom that succeeded the Mūṣikas, ruling from Chirakkal,…
- Koṭas of DharaṇikoṭaThe Koṭas ruled Dharaṇikoṭa on the Krishna from the eleventh to the fourteenth century, the s…
- LalitadityaLalitaditya Muktapida (r.
- Later CherasThe Later Cheras ruled Kerala from Mahodayapuram between about 800 and 1124 CE, and their cha…
- Later GuptasThe Later Guptas were a dynasty that ruled Magadha and at times Malwa from the late fifth to…
- Licchavi dynasty of NepalThe Licchavis ruled the Kathmandu valley from about 400 to 750 CE, the first historically doc…
- Lohara dynastyThe Loharas ruled Kashmir from 1003 to 1320, a period of increasing disorder that Kalhaṇa rec…
- Mahmud of GhazniMahmud of Ghazni (971–1030 CE) was the ruler of the Ghaznavid empire, centered in present-day…
- Maitraka dynastyThe Maitrakas ruled Saurashtra and Gujarat for three centuries from Vallabhī, a city whose Bu…
- Malla dynasty of BishnupurThe Malla kings of Bishnupur ruled the Bankura country of western Bengal for over a thousand…
- ManipurManipur was ruled by the Ningthouja dynasty from the Kangla at Imphal, and its court chronicl…
- MaryulMaryul was the first kingdom of Ladakh, founded around 930 by a descendant of the Tibetan imp…
- Maukhari dynastyThe Maukharis ruled from Kannauj in the sixth century CE, made it the leading city of norther…
- MoirangMoirang was one of the principalities of the Manipur valley before Ningthouja unification, th…
- Mūṣika dynastyThe Mūṣikas ruled north Malabar from Ezhimala from the Sangam age onward, and are the subject…
- Nāgavaṃśī of ChotanagpurThe Nāgavaṃśīs ruled the Chotanagpur plateau, claiming descent from a serpent ancestor, and s…
- Nala dynastyThe Nalas ruled the forested country of Bastar and Koraput in the fifth and sixth centuries C…
- Nikumbha dynastyThe Nikumbhas were a minor dynasty attested in the Alwar country of Rajasthan and later in Kh…
- NolambasThe Nolambas ruled Nolambavāḍi, the dry country on the Karnataka–Andhra border, from the eigh…
- Pāla dynasty of KāmarūpaThe Pālas of Kāmarūpa ruled Assam from about 900 to 1100 CE, the last dynasty of the old Kāma…
- Pallava dynastyThe Pallavas ruled the northern Tamil country from Kāñcīpuram for six centuries, fought the C…
- Pāṇḍuvaṃśins of Dakṣiṇa KosalaThe Pāṇḍuvaṃśins ruled Dakṣiṇa Kosala from Sirpur between the sixth and eighth centuries CE,…
- Paramāra dynasty of MalwaThe Paramāras ruled Malwa from Dhārā for five centuries, and their king Bhoja was the most ce…
- Paramāras of ArbudaThe Paramāras of Arbuda ruled the Mount Abu country from Chandrāvatī, and it was under their…
- Paramāras of Bhīnmāl and JālorThe Paramāras of Bhīnmāl and Jālor were a minor branch of the family holding southwestern Raj…
- Paramāras of VāgaḍaThe Paramāras of Vāgaḍa were a branch of the Malwa house that ruled the hill country between…
- Pottapi CholasThe Pottapi Cholas were a Telugu Choda branch ruling from Pottapi in the Cuddapah country bet…
- Puṣyabhūti dynastyThe Puṣyabhūtis were the dynasty of Thanesar whose king Harṣa ruled most of northern India fr…
- Rai dynasty of SindhThe Rai dynasty ruled Sindh from Alor for some hundred and forty years until 632 CE, a Buddhi…
- Raja DahirRaja Dahir (r.
- Rattas of SaundattiThe Rattas ruled the Belgaum country of northern Karnataka from the ninth to the thirteenth c…
- Renāṭi CholasThe Renāṭi Cholas ruled the Cuddapah country from the sixth to the eighth century, and their…
- Śailodbhava dynastyThe Śailodbhavas ruled the Koṅgoda country around Chilika lake in coastal Odisha between the…
- Saindhava dynastyThe Saindhavas ruled western Saurashtra from the eighth to the tenth century, styling themsel…
- Śālastambha dynastyThe Śālastambhas ruled Kāmarūpa for two and a half centuries after the Varmans, a dynasty the…
- Śarabhapurīya dynastyThe Śarabhapurīyas ruled Dakṣiṇa Kosala, the upper Mahanadi basin of modern Chhattisgarh, in…
- Sena dynastyThe Senas were the last Hindu dynasty to rule Bengal, displacing the Pālas in the twelfth cen…
- SendrakasThe Sendrakas were a feudatory family of the Deccan in the sixth to eighth centuries, holding…
- Seuṇa Yādavas of DevagiriThe Seuṇa Yādavas ruled the Marathi-speaking Deccan from the hill fortress of Devagiri for ov…
- ShashankaShashanka (r.
- ŚilāhārasThe Śilāhāras ruled the Konkan coast and the Kolhapur country in three branches for five cent…
- Sindas of YelburgaThe Sindas were a feudatory family of northern Karnataka under the Western Chalukyas, ruling…
- Somavaṃśī dynastyThe Somavaṃśīs moved from Dakṣiṇa Kosala into coastal Odisha in the tenth century and unified…
- Spiti and Lahaul chiefshipsSpiti and Lahaul were trans-Himalayan valleys governed by local chiefs under Ladakhi and then…
- SuketSuket was one of the older hill states of Himachal, ruled by a Sen dynasty from which Mandi s…
- Telugu CholasThe Telugu Cholas were a group of related dynasties in the Andhra country claiming Chola desc…
- Thakuri periodThe Thakuri period covers the four and a half centuries between the Licchavis and the Mallas…
- Tomaras of DelhiThe Tomaras ruled the Delhi region before the Chauhans, and are credited with founding the se…
- TrigartaTrigarta was a polity of the Jalandhar Doab and the Kangra hills, named as a corporation in P…
- Turk Shahi dynastyThe Turk Shahis ruled the Kabul valley and Gandhāra from the seventh to the ninth century CE,…
- Utpala dynastyThe Utpalas ruled Kashmir from 855 to 1003 CE, a period that produced the valley's great hydr…
- VaidumbasThe Vaidumbas were a dynasty of the Rayalaseema uplands between the ninth and twelfth centuri…
- Varman dynasty of BengalThe Varmans ruled eastern Bengal from Vikramapura in the eleventh and twelfth centuries CE, b…
- Varman dynasty of KāmarūpaThe Varmans were the first historically documented dynasty of Assam, ruling Kāmarūpa from abo…
- Velanāṭi CholasThe Velanāṭi Cholas governed coastal Andhra for the Chola empire from the late eleventh centu…
- VenāḍVenāḍ was the southern Kerala principality that emerged from the Chera collapse and grew into…
- Viṣṇukuṇḍin dynastyThe Viṣṇukuṇḍins ruled coastal Andhra and Telangana for two centuries from about 420 CE, the…
- Western Chalukyas of KalyāṇiThe Western Chalukyas ruled the Deccan from Kalyāṇi between 973 and 1189 CE, fought the Chola…
- Western Ganga dynastyThe Western Gangas ruled southern Karnataka for some six centuries from about 350 CE, and the…
- Zanskar, Guge and PurangZanskar, Guge and Purang were the western Tibetan kingdoms founded by the surviving Tibetan r…