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Ancient Ratanpur Inscription Reveals Bhandara’s Early Name in Vidarbha

Ancient Ratanpur Inscription Reveals Bhandara’s Early Name in Vidarbha
Ancient Ratanpur Inscription Reveals Bhandara’s Early Name in Vidarbha

A stone slab from the early 12th century, discovered at Ratanpur in modern Chhattisgarh, sheds new light on the history of Bhandara in Maharashtra’s Vidarbha region. Carved around 1114 CE in Sanskrit and Nagari script, the inscription commemorates the reign of King Jajalladeva I of the Kalachuri dynasty.


Among the lands listed as paying tribute to the king is “Bhanara”, the ancient name for today’s Bhandara. This rare reference is the earliest known textual mention of Bhandara’s name and confirms that the term ‘Bhannara’ was in use over nine centuries ago.


Medieval Ratanpur and the Kalachuri Dynasty


Ratanpur (ancient Ratnapura) was a chief city of the Kalachuri (Haihaya) kings in what was then Dakshina Kosala. By the 12th century, it served as the capital of their branch of the family. Inscriptions from the site record the deeds and genealogy of its rulers.


King Jajalladeva I (also called Jajalladeva), who reigned in this period, is one of the best-known monarchs of the Ratanpur Kalachuris. Historical evidence, including inscriptions, shows that he traced his lineage to the legendary Haihaya king Kartavirya Arjuna.


These royal records are typically composed as prashastis (panegyrics) praising the king. They describe temples he built and battles he won. Archaeologists have found that during Jajalladeva’s rule (roughly 1114 CE), Ratanpur was embellished with temples and waterworks under his direction.


A British-era gazetteer notes that Jajalladeva was powerful enough that chiefs from many neighbouring regions paid him tribute. Such accounts place Ratanpur as a significant political and cultural centre of its day.


The 12th-Century Stone Inscription


One important artefact from this time is the Ratanpur stone inscription of Jajalladeva I, dated to the Kalachuri year 866 (8 November 1114 CE).


The inscribed slab is now preserved in the Nagpur Museum. Written in Sanskrit with Nagari letters over some 30 lines, the text begins with the king’s genealogy and mythic origins.

It then recites his achievements and finally records grants of land to a temple in a town called Jajallapura, which he founded. Crucially, the inscription also lists the territories whose rulers paid annual tribute. It names the chiefs of Dakshina Kosala, Andhra, Khimidi (in modern Odisha), Vairagara (Wairagarh), Lanjika (Lanji), Bhanara, Talahari, Dandakapura, Nandavali and Kukkuta as paying homage to Jajalladeva.


In this roll call of places, “Bhanara” clearly corresponds to the district now known as Bhandara in Vidarbha. Inscriptions were a formal way of recording such political ties, and here the Ratanpur inscription is explicit. The chief of Bhanara (Bhandara) was a vassal of the Ratanpur king.


This is confirmed by a colonial-era gazetteer which states that around 1100 AD, the Ratanpur king counted the chief of “Bhanara” among his feudatories. In other words, the ruler at Bhandara paid tribute to Kalachuri Jajalladeva, and his domain was already called Bhanara.


The appearance of “Bhanara” in the Ratanpur inscription links the district’s name directly to medieval history. Bhandara district authorities note that its ancient name ‘Bhannara’ is recorded in this very inscription. Similarly, official Maharashtra tourism materials explain that the modern name Bhandara derives from “Bhannara” as mentioned in an 11th-century stone inscription from Ratanpur.


Even the British gazetteer for Bhandara remarked that the old name was Bhanara, still used locally, and that a Ratanpur record from about 1100 AD mentions it.


These sources all agree on the basic facts: the Ratanpur inscription uses “Bhanara,” that this term refers to today’s Bhandara, and that it dates back to the early 1100s.


They also imply something about Bhandara’s status: in 1114 CE, it was governed by a local chief under the Kalachuri king.


Modern historians observe that Bhandara was then on the periphery of major kingdoms, often passing between powers, but the inscription shows it acknowledged Ratanpur’s overlordship.


In any case, the stone proof of the name ‘Bhannara/Bhanara’ cements the connection between the ancient past and the modern Vidarbha district of Bhandara.


This one fragment of carved stone thus confirms that the town of Bhandara was already called Bhanara at least a millennium ago.

For people in Vidarbha today, the inscription is a powerful reminder that the identity of their district is not merely a modern convention but a historical reality.


It shows that Bhandara’s name has deep roots, recorded as part of a king’s official chronicle. Inscriptions like the one at Ratanpur bring the distant past into focus and allow a district’s long story to be told through its very name.


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