Nagnajit

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In several ancient Indian texts, Nagnajit appears as the name of a king or kings who ruled Gandhara and/or neighbouring areas. Some texts also refer to Nagnajit as an authority on temple architecture or medicine. According to one theory, all these references are to a single person; another theory identifies them as distinct persons.

Contents

Literary mentions

Some texts on Ayurveda mention Nagnajit as an authority on medicine: [8]

Historicity

J.C. Ghosh (1939) theorizes that the Nagnajit referred to in various texts was a single person. [9] According to Ghosh, he was a Vedic period king who was also an exponent of the Gandhara school of art. Ghosh identifies Nagnajit's instructors Parvata and Narada as the sages associated with the Rigveda hymns 8.12 and 8.13. [10]

Gustav Roth theorizes that Nagnajit was a king of Gandhara, an authority on shilpa shastra (arts and crafts), and possibly a wrestling champion as suggested by his name (Roth interprets the Sanskrit name nagna-jit as "an athlete beating a naked opponent"). [11]

Ajay Mitra Shastri (1991) disputes Ghosh's theory on various grounds. For example, different texts name different sons and teachers of Nagnajit. [3] Also, Varahamihira's Brhat Samhita does not describe him as a king, and suggests that Nagnajit was associated with the Dravida (South Indian) school of sculpture, not Gandhara school of art. [12]

According to Shastri, there were at least three distinct kings named Nagnajit (who ruled in Gandhara and/or neighbouring areas), plus a scholar with the same name: [13]

According to Shastri, the Ayurveda scholar named Nagnajit may be identified with one of the three kings of Gandhara. [8]

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References

  1. A.M. Shastri 1991, p. 91.
  2. A.M. Shastri 1991, pp. 91–92.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 A.M. Shastri 1991, p. 92.
  4. 1 2 A.M. Shastri 1991, p. 97.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 A.M. Shastri 1991, p. 93.
  6. 1 2 A.M. Shastri 1991, pp. 93–94.
  7. Vincent Lefèvre (2011). Portraiture in Early India. Brill. p. 121. ISBN   9789004207356.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 A.M. Shastri 1991, p. 96.
  9. A.M. Shastri 1991, p. 92,95.
  10. A.M. Shastri 1991, p. 94.
  11. Isabella Nardi (2007). The Theory of Citrasūtras in Indian Painting. Taylor & Francis. p. 171. doi:10.4324/9780203970102. ISBN   9781134165247.
  12. 1 2 A.M. Shastri 1991, p. 95.
  13. A.M. Shastri 1991, p. 93,95.

Bibliography