kingdom · South Asia
Karnat dynasty
Origins
Nanyadeva, a chief of Karnata descent who probably came north with the armies of the Chalukyas of Kalyani, established himself in the Tirhut plain around 1097. He made Simraungadh, near the modern India and Nepal border, his capital and ruled the region of Mithila between the Ganges and the Himalayan foothills.
Rule and society
The Karnat court was a centre of Sanskrit and Maithili learning. Harisimhadeva, the last king, sponsored the codification of Maithil Brahmin genealogies (the panji system) and his minister Jyotirishvara wrote the Varna Ratnakara, one of the earliest prose works in Maithili. The kings also intervened in the politics of the Kathmandu Valley, where some Karnat rulers were recognised as overlords.
Decline and legacy
In 1324 Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq of the Delhi Sultanate invaded Tirhut and took Simraungadh. Harisimhadeva fled into the hills of Nepal. Mithila soon passed to the Oiniwar dynasty, ruling as vassals of Delhi, while Karnat traditions persisted in Nepalese court culture.
Lineage
On the connections map
Open the full map →Connections (1)
- Karnat dynasty was conquered by Delhi Sultanate1324 CE
Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Karnat dynasty. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/karnat-dynasty
- MLA
- “Karnat dynasty.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/karnat-dynasty. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Karnat dynasty.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/karnat-dynasty.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Karnat dynasty’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/karnat-dynasty (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻