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The Licchavi Kings

The following table shows a list of Licchavi Kings and some of their dates, as culled from three sources: 1) Licchavi Inscriptions from AD 185 to 879 (as found in n Dhanavajra Vajracarya's Licchavikālakā Abhilekha [1] and as tabulated in Mary Slusser's Nepal Mandala [2], with the addition of items found since these sources were published); 2) Jayadeva (II)'s Chronology of AD 733 (as found in Dhanavajra Vajracarya's Licchavikālakā Abhilekha. inscription no. 148, p. 548 ff.); and the Gopālarāja Vaṃśāvalī (GV) of ca. AD 1389 (from Dhanavajra Vajracarya and Kamal P. Malla, The Gopālarājavaṃśāvalī [3]).

Please note that the list from GV is not in the order found in the text of the Gopālarāja Vaṃśāvalī, and is nothing more than an attempt to correlate names found in inscriptions with those found in the often-chaotic GV list.

Clearly, the left column, listing kings as found in contemporary inscriptions, is the most reliable source. (MS = Mānadeva saṃvat: ŚS = Śaka saṃvat)



LICCHAVI KINGS ACCORDING TO THREE SOURCES

No. Approx CE dates Licchavi Inscriptions (AD 185-879) Jayadeva (II)'s Chronology (AD 733) Gopālarāja Vaṃśāvalī (ca. AD 1389)
1. 185 Jaya varmā ŚS 107 Jayadeva Jaya varmā
2. - - - Varṣa Varmā
3. - - - Kubera Varmā
4. - - - Hari Varmā
5. - - - Siddhi Varmā
6. - - - Haridatta Varmā;
established the four Narayanas of the Kathmandu Valley [3a]
7. - Vasurāja [4] - Vasudatta Varmā
8. - - - Śrīpati Varmā
9. - - - Śivavṛdhi Varmā
10. - - - Vasanta Varmā
11. - - - Supuṣpa Varmā
12. c. 400 Vṛṣadeva Vṛṣadeva Viśvadeva [5]
13. c. 425 Śaṅkaradeva I Śaṅkaradeva Śaṅkaradeva
14. c. 450 Dharmadeva Dharmadeva Dharmadeva
15. 464-505 Mānadeva (I) ŚS 386-427 Mānadeva (I) Mānadeva
16. - - Mahīdeva (Rule of a few months but no available inscriptions; cited as Mānadeva's successor in Jayadeva II stele) Mahīdeva
17. 506-532 Vasantadeva ŚS 428-454 Vasantadeva (From Vasanatadeva to Udayadeva (no. 13 below), Jayadeva II's stele has 13 generations, confirmed by inscriptions and GV) Vasantadeva
18. - Manudeva [one undated inscription; probable chronolgy] - -
19. 538 Vāmanadeva ŚS 460 - [Vardhamānadeva]
20. 545 Rāmadeva ŚS 467 - -
21. - Amaradeva [Brick] - -
22. - [Guṇakāmadeva] - Guṇakāmadeva
23. 560-565 Gaṇadeva ŚS 479-487 - Gaṇadeva
24. had influence 567-590(?) [Bhaumagupta] (Bhaumagupta was probably not a king, although he is listed in GV and in several inscriptions) [6] - Bhūmigupta
25. 567-573 Gaṅgādeva ŚS 489 - 495 - -
26. 575/576 [Mānadeva II] [no inscriptions; name recorded in post-facto sources as founder of new era beginning 575/576] - -
27. 590-604 Śivadeva (I) ŚS 512-526 - Śivadeva
28. 605-621 Aṃśuvarmā MS 29-45 - Aṃśuvarmā
29. 621 Udayadeva MS 45 Udayadeva (mentioned in the Jayadeva II stele as the 13th king after Vasantadeva) Udayadeva
30. 624-625 Dhruvadeva - -
31. 631-633 Bhīmārjunadeva, Jiṣṇugupta MS 55-57 - Bhīmārjunadeva
32. 633 Viṣṇugupta - Jiṣṇugupta MS 57 - Viṣṇugupta
33. 640-641 Bhīmārjunadeva / Viṣṇugupta MS 64-65 - -
34. 643-679 Narendradeva MS 67-103 Narendradeva Narendradeva
35. 694-705 Śivadeva (II) MS 118-129 Śivadeva (II) Śivadeva
36. 713-733 Jayadeva (II) MS 137-157 Jayadeva (II) Jayadeva
- 748-749 Śaṅkaradeva II MS 172-173 - Śaṅkaradeva (GV: 23a.2)
- 756 Mānadeva (III) MS 180 - -
- 826 Balirāja MS 250 - Bālārjunadeva ?
- 847 Baladeva MS 271 - Baladeva
- 877 Mānadeva (IV) MS 301 - Mānadeva


Footnotes:

1. Vajracarya, Dhanavajra 1973. Licchavikālakā Abhilekha. Kathmandu : Institute for Nepal and Asian Studies.

2. Slusser, Mary, 1982 Nepal Mandala, Princeton, Princeton University Press, Table III-1, p. 397.

3. Vajracarya, Dhanavajra and Kamal P. Malla 1985. The Gopālarājavaṃśāvalī Wiesbaden : Franz Steiner Verlag Gmbh., pp. 122 ff (translation).

3a. GV: 20a:5. He is also mentioned in an inscription of NS 320 in Icangu Nārāyaṇa (DV:416-417), also Tewari, et al. 1963, Abhilekha Saṃgraha vol. 9 Kathmandu: Saṃśodhana Maṇḍala, V.S. 2020 vaiśākha "Icaṃguko abhilekha" p. 26-27 "Śrīharidatta bhūpati kṛtannārāya(ṇa)" (p.26).

4. Vasurājā is mentioned as a royal ancestor in an inscription of Dhruvadeva and Jiṣṇugupta of ca. A.D. 624-625: Vajracarya, Dhanavajra 1973. Licchavikālakā Abhilekha. Kathmandu : Institute for Nepal and Asian Studies, p. 415.

5. The GV's order of kings diverges from that of other sources from this point, showing Mānadeva as Viśvadeva's (sic) son, and placing Śaṅkaradeva and Dharmadeva after Mānadeva. See Vajracarya, Dhanavajra and Kamal P. Malla 1985. The Gopālarājavaṃśāvalī Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner Verlag Gmbh., pp. 123 (translation).

6. Bhaumagupta appears in an inscription of Svāmivārta, where he is called "paramadaivata"; it appears he may have been a "power behind the throne" during the reign of Gaṇadeva. Vajracarya, Dhanavajra 1973. Licchavikālakā Abhilekha. Kathmandu: Institute for Nepal and Asian Studies, p. 201-202. He also appears later in an inscription of Dhruvadeva and Jiṣṇugupta of ca. A.D. 624-625, where he is listed as a royal ancestor, presumably of Jiṣṇugupta: Vajracarya, Dhanavajra 1973. Licchavikālakā Abhilekha. Kathmandu: Institute for Nepal and Asian Studies, p. 415.



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