Anarta was an ancient India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

n region which corresponded to the present-day North Kathiawar

Kathiawar

Kathiawar or Kathiawad is a peninsula in western India, which is part of the Saurashtra region on the Arabian Sea coast of Gujarat state. It is bounded on the north by the great wetland of the Rann of Kutch, on the northwest by the Gulf of Kutch, on the west and south by the Arabian Sea, and on...

 region of Gujarat state

Anarta in the Puranic literature

According to the Puranic accounts, this region was ruled by the Sharyata dynasty rulers, who claimed their descent from Sharyati, a son of Vaivasvata Manu

Manu (Hinduism)

In various Hindu traditions, Manu is a title accorded to the progenitor of mankind, and also the very first brahman king to rule this earth, who saved mankind from the universal flood. He was absolutely honest which was why he was initially known as "Satyavrata"...

. The kingdom was named after Anarta, the son of Sharyati. The capital of this kingdom was Kushasthali (the ancient name of Dwaraka). The last ruler of this dyansty was Kakudmi

Kakudmi

Kakudmi was the King of Kusasthali, a kingdom beneath the ocean. He was the father of Revati, who married Balarama...

. After him, it was occupied by the Punyajana Rakshasas. Later, the Yadavas migrated to this region under the leadership of Krishna

Krishna

Krishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...

.

Sage Chyavana

Chyavana

Chyavana was a maharshi in Hindu mythology. He was son of sage Bhrigu and known for his rejuvenation after penances for several years. According to the Mahabharata, he was powerful enough to oppose the Vajra of Indra and was responsible for the Ashvins getting their share of the sacrificial...

 was also connected with Sharyati and Anarta. He married Sukanya

Sukanya

In Hindu mythology, was the daughter of Shryayati, son of Vaivasvata Manu and the wife of the great sage Chyavana.The sage had spent so long in meditation that he was covered by a termite nest. The beautiful girl Sukanya came upon the nest and saw two shining objects inside...

, daughter of Sharyati and sacrificed for him. His descendants were associated with the Haihayas

Haihayas

The Haihayas were an ancient confederacy of five ganas , who claimed their common ancestry from Yadu. According to the Harivamsha Purana...

, which occupied the neighbouring region, apparently after the demise of the Sharyata kingdom.

Anarta under Saka rule

The Junagarh rock inscription of the Saka

Saka

The Saka were a Scythian tribe or group of tribes....

 ruler Rudradaman I

Rudradaman I

Rudradaman I was a Saka ruler from the Western Kshatrapas dynasty. He was the grandson of the celebrated Sah king Chastana. Rudradaman I was instrumental in the decline of the Satavahana Empire.- Mahakshatrapa :...

 mentions Anarta as a part of his kingdom. He placed Anarta under his Pahlava (Parthia

Parthia

Parthia is a region of north-eastern Iran, best known for having been the political and cultural base of the Arsacid dynasty, rulers of the Parthian Empire....

n) Amatya (minister) Suvishakha, who re-built a dam on the Sudarshana Lake there.

External links

• The Junagarh rock inscription of Rudradaman I