republic · South Asia

Arjunayanas

100 BCE – 350 CE (approx.)

A small republic of north-eastern Rajasthan, known from its coins, which claimed descent from the epic hero Arjuna.

Origins

The Arjunayanas are known mainly from coins and from one inscription. They took their name from Arjuna, the Pandava hero of the Mahabharata, and appear to have emerged as an independent gana in the Bharatpur and Alwar region after the fall of the Maurya Empire.

Rule and society

Their copper coins, dated to around the 1st century BCE, bear the legend Arjunayananam jayah, victory of the Arjunayanas, which shows they were governed as a republic rather than by a king. Nothing more is known of their society.

Decline and legacy

In the 4th century the Arjunayanas were among the peoples that submitted to Samudragupta of the Gupta Empire, according to his Allahabad pillar inscription, after which they disappear from the record.

Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.

Connections (1)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Arjunayanas. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/arjunayanas
MLA
“Arjunayanas.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/arjunayanas. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Arjunayanas.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/arjunayanas.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Arjunayanas’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/arjunayanas (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻