About The Chakravarthy

According to the legend, the Ruler Nanda of Nandavaram also known as Nandana ‘Chakravarthi’ had gifted his capital city of ‘Anandavarapuram’ or ‘Nandavaram’ to the Brahmins who later came to be known as ‘Nandavariks’. Nanda or Nandana, according to the legend, ‘Chowdeswari Mahatmyam’ is known to have been a ‘kshatriya’ and belonged to the Lunar line of kings (Chandra Vamsa) of the Pandava race and his genealogy is acclaimed to be as follows:-

PANDU

KIRTI

ABHIMANYU

PARIKSHIT

JANAMEJAYA

SATANIKA

DHANVA

ASWAMEDHA DATTA

KSHEMENDRA

SOMENDRA

UTTUNGABHUJA

NANDA (NANDANA – 1059. A.D. (?)

To track down for ‘DWAPARA YUGA’ to ‘KALIYUGA’ with just nine generations, beginning from king Parikshit to Nanda – certainly any rate to 1059 A.D. (?) cannot be correct at all.

The genealogy as given above therefore seems to be only of important kings in the line. From the ‘Purnas’ however, it is seen that between ‘Aswamedhadatta’ and ‘Kshemendra’,, referred to in the genealogy given above, there were twenty three kings upto king’ kshemendra’. Among the twenty three kings was king ‘Udyana’ who is important for us as he is believed, according to Buddist accounts, to have born on the same day as Budda. This is interesting. Whether this is accepted or not, there are good grounds to believe that ‘Udayana’ was contempotaneous with the Buddha and also with ‘Prodyota Mahesena’ of ‘Avanti’ and ‘Ajantha Satru’ of Magadha. This surmise would probably help to determine the period of ‘Nandana’. Historically, this Nandana ‘Chakravarthi’ has not been mentioned in any of the books on India History and it is difficult to establish the details of his reign and his period of survival. However, Nanda is said to have died of a disease of the testes and had no progeny or successors to his kingdom around Nandyal to which place he had migrated and lived in a fort constructed by him after gifting away his original capital-city of ‘Anandavarapuram’ to the Brahmins (nandavariks). That Nanda was not totally a legendary or a fictitious personality, but one who did exist in flesh and blood. The recipients are there even to this day. Nandavaram is also there as a standing testimony. The giver therefore must have been there and he was a person in flesh and blood with the requisite status and authority.

Nanda ‘Chakravarthi’ does not, however, appear to have been a ‘Chakravarthi’ in the lord sense of the term. He was not a Chakravarthi of the caliber of the epic SIBI CHAKRAVARTHI, BALI CHAKRAVARTHI, NALA CHAKRAVARTHI, or the Historic ASOKA CHAKRAVARTHI or AKBAR CHAKRAVARTHI, because nowhere in History or in the epics mention has been made about a ‘Nandana Chakravarthi’. It is inconceivable that a ‘Chakravarthi of the epic or historic caliber had survived in the remote interior of the Deccan with his capital in a tiny, obscure place like Nandavaram and exercised his way through out the country. It must have just been an appellation as we find such appellations associated with the Hoyasala kings for example: the king ‘Someswara’ earned the appellation ‘Sarvagna Chakravarthi’ and his son ‘Pratapa Chakravarthi’ and so on. The appellation of Nandana ‘Chakravarthi’ was perhaps earned by king Nanda for the fascinating qualities he possessed and the great affection his subjects had for him. The appellation of ‘Chakravarthi’ appears to have been associated with the Hindu kings during the eleventh and fourteenth centuries. It would probably be not incorrect to state that Nandan ‘Chakravarthi’ survived between the 11th and 14th centuries, (i.e., between 1000 to 1399 A.D.) A deepers study with this view would probably enable us to throw more light on the period of regin of Nandana ‘Chakravarthi’. In modem days we have ‘Chakaravarthis’ in almost every field of fine-arts and faculties such as ‘Kavi Chakravaerthi’. Sangeeta Chakravarthi’’, ‘Abhinaya Chakravarthi’, ‘Nandaswara Chakravarthi’ and so on. ‘Nandana Chakravarthi’ seems to indicate the charming qualities of the king Nanda of Nandavaram. Even as recent as the advent of the Indian Independence, we have known that appellations such as ‘Rajadhi Raja’ ‘Raja Marthada’ Raja Gambheera’ were commonly in vongue in the courts and places of the Hindu Kings and Chieftains.

Source: A Treatise on Nandavariks by Rayasam Viswanatha Rao