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Far East Kingdoms
South Asia
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 Anga
Anga was an early Iron Age kingdom covering parts
of Bengal
and modern central Bihar state in north-eastern
India, with
a capital at Champa (formerly known as Malini). Along with
Kalinga,
Pundra,
Suhma, and
Vanga, it was ruled by one of
five originally non-Vedic royal houses. They were all descended from King Vali, according to the
Mahabharata, who himself may have been the king of
Magadha.
His son, Anga, and his people were referred to as Mlechas or barbarians
(non-Indo-Europeans,
Aryans) in the Atharva Vedas, but they may later have been conquered by
Aryans because there is mention of the Kaurava prince, Duryodhana,
making his friend Karna king of Anga (in Mahabharata). Vali's descendants may have
existed prior to his accession, or perhaps as his contemporaries, as Anga
may have consisted of several sub-kingdoms.
The kingdom itself lay on the eastern border of Magadha, and relations between
the two were poor, resulting in some hostilities. The Ramayana mentions
Anga as the place in which Lord Shiva burned Kamadeva, the god of love, to
death. The Puranas mention the names of some of the kings of Anga, as
do other works, but the structure of the mentions is such that no dating can
be applied and no order of succession can be ascertained, at least until the
very last kings of Anga.
(Additional information by Abhijit Rajadhyaksha.) |
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Anga |
Son of King Vali. Eponymous founder of the kingdom. |
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Duryodhana, the eldest son of the blind king Dhritarashtra and one of the
one hundred Kaurava brothers, establishes Karna as the ruler of the Angas.
However, it seems likely that he is just one of several Anga rulers at this
time, all controlling their own regions. This could be a memory of the
Indo-European conquest of
what is probably a Mlecha (non-Vedic) kingdom.
Later, Jarasandha, king of
Magadha, gifts the city of Malinipuri to Karna, which he renames Champa. |
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Karna |
Half-brother of the Pandavas. Possible king of
Vanga too. |
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c.1300? BC |
One of the contemporaries of Jarasandha of the Brhadratha dynasty of
Magadha is Jayatsena
of Magadha. Jayatsena takes part in the Kurukshetra War in the
Mahabharata as one of the leaders on the side of Kauravas, along with
Srutayus of Kalinga, Paundraka
Vasudeva of Pundra, Malayadwaja
of the Pandyas, and Karna of
Anga. Bhagadatta of the Naraka
kings is also involved in the war.
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Griddhkut Hill, otherwise known as Vulture Peak, in Rajgir is
where Lord Buddha used to give sermons, and was also the
birthplace of Lord Mahavira
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Vrishasena |
Son. 'Chief of the Angas'. |
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Samudrasena |
Possibly also king of
Vanga. |
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Chandrasena |
Possibly also king of
Vanga. |
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Tamralipta |
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Lomapada |
A friend of Kosala King Dasaratha. |
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Chitraratha |
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Vrihadratha |
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Vasuhoma |
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Dhatarattha |
Mentioned in the Mahabharata. |
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fl early 500s BC |
Dhadivahana |
Mentioned in the Mahabharata. |
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fl mid-500s BC |
Bramhadatta |
Last king of Anga. |
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c.550 BC |
Said to be a wealthy centre of trade and commerce during its existence, Anga
now falls. The
Magadhan
crown prince, Bimbisara, slays Bramhadatta and annexes the state. While crown
prince, Bimbisara acts as viceroy for his father. When he himself becomes king,
it seems that Anga is absorbed into the increasingly powerful Magadhan state.
In the second century BC, a kingdom of
Champa emerges in
Vietnam.
It bears strong Indian influences but there is no evidence of a direct link
with Anga. |
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