Introductory

• The Nalas played an important role in the early history of Dakṣiṇāpatha, but their origin and rise to power are still uncertain.

• Sir R. G. Bhandarkar noted that it is unclear over which province the Nalas ruled, especially the family defeated by Kīrtivarman I (c. 566–590 A.D.).

• Dr. Fleet, based on the Nalavādi viṣaya mentioned in the Kurnool grant of Vikramaditya II (c. 657 A.D.), suggested that the Nalas possibly ruled in the Bellary and Kurnool districts on the Tungabhadra River.

• A reference to the Nalas in the Aihole inscription of Pulikēsin II indicates that they were enemies of the Chāḷukyas in the east.

• This suggests that the Nalas were ruling along the Tungabhadra River around the middle of the sixth century.

• The Nalas likely existed as a ruling power from the middle of the sixth century to the middle or first quarter of the seventh century.

Sources: The records of the Nala Kings

• The Nalas are known from their own records, including the Rithapur copper-plates of Maharaja Bhavattavarman and the Podāgadh rock inscription of Skandavarman.

• A third inscription is on a stone tablet built into the wall of the mandapa of the Rājīvalōcana temple at Rajim, likely from the middle of the eighth century.

• The Rithapur plates come from Morsi taluk in the Amraoti (Amaravati) district of the Central Provinces.

• The records come from regions spanning Berar in the west, Bastar or Jeypore in the east, and show the territory of the Early Nala dynasty.

• The Nala dynasty’s territory seems to have been bounded by the Veni-Ganga (Wain Ganga) River to the west, the Indravati River to the south, the Malaya-giri (Eastern Ghats) to the east, and the Meikal (Mekala) range to the north.

• This area corresponds to modern regions like Chanda, eastern Bhandara, Balaghat, Bilaspur, Drug, Raipur, and feudatory states like Bastar, Kanker, and Nandagaon.

• The Vayu and Brahmanda Puranas mention that the descendants of the Nalas would rule in Kósala or Dakṣiṇa Kósala.

• The Rithapur grant is dated from the capital Nandivardhana, which may be identified with Nandor in the Yeotmal taluk of Berar.

• Y. R. Gupte suggested Nandivardhana could be Nandor, while Rai Bahadur Hiralal identified it with Nagavardhana (Nagardhan), near Nagpur, but this identification is debated.

• The Rithapur plates were discovered with a Prabhavati-Gupta copper-plate grant, indicating they had traveled far from their original location, suggesting migration.

• Nandivardhana was likely located above the identified region, possibly near Nandgaon on the Śivanāth River, capital of a feudatory state.

• The epic hero Nala ruled in Nisadha, located between the Vindhya and Satpura ranges, close to the territory of the Nalas.

• The Nalas seem to have moved east by south during the early centuries of the Christian era, acquiring rulership in the Vākāṭaka Empire and expanding their rule south, east, and west.