The following table shows a list of Licchavi Kings and some of their dates, as culled from three sources: 1) Licchavi Inscriptions from AD 185 to 879 (as found in n Dhanavajra Vajracarya's Licchavikālakā Abhilekha [1] and as tabulated in Mary Slusser's Nepal Mandala [2], with the addition of items found since these sources were published); 2) Jayadeva (II)'s Chronology of AD 733 (as found in Dhanavajra Vajracarya's Licchavikālakā Abhilekha. inscription no. 148, p. 548 ff.); and the Gopālarāja Vaṃśāvalī (GV) of ca. AD 1389 (from Dhanavajra Vajracarya and Kamal P. Malla, The Gopālarājavaṃśāvalī [3]).
Please note that the list from GV is not in the order found in the text of the Gopālarāja Vaṃśāvalī, and is nothing more than an attempt to correlate names found in inscriptions with those found in the often-chaotic GV list.
Clearly, the left column, listing kings as found in contemporary inscriptions, is the most reliable source. (MS = Mānadeva saṃvat: ŚS = Śaka saṃvat)
| No. | Approx CE dates | Licchavi Inscriptions (AD 185-879) | Jayadeva (II)'s Chronology (AD 733) | Gopālarāja Vaṃśāvalī (ca. AD 1389) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 185 | Jaya varmā ŚS 107 | Jayadeva | Jaya varmā |
| 2. | - | - | - | Varṣa Varmā |
| 3. | - | - | - | Kubera Varmā |
| 4. | - | - | - | Hari Varmā |
| 5. | - | - | - | Siddhi Varmā |
| 6. | - | - | - | Haridatta Varmā; established the four Narayanas of the Kathmandu Valley [3a] |
| 7. | - | Vasurāja [4] | - | Vasudatta Varmā |
| 8. | - | - | - | Śrīpati Varmā |
| 9. | - | - | - | Śivavṛdhi Varmā |
| 10. | - | - | - | Vasanta Varmā |
| 11. | - | - | - | Supuṣpa Varmā |
| 12. | c. 400 | Vṛṣadeva | Vṛṣadeva | Viśvadeva [5] |
| 13. | c. 425 | Śaṅkaradeva I | Śaṅkaradeva | Śaṅkaradeva |
| 14. | c. 450 | Dharmadeva | Dharmadeva | Dharmadeva |
| 15. | 464-505 | Mānadeva (I) ŚS 386-427 | Mānadeva (I) | Mānadeva |
| 16. | - | - | Mahīdeva (Rule of a few months but no available inscriptions; cited as Mānadeva's successor in Jayadeva II stele) | Mahīdeva |
| 17. | 506-532 | Vasantadeva ŚS 428-454 | Vasantadeva (From Vasanatadeva to Udayadeva (no. 13 below), Jayadeva II's stele has 13 generations, confirmed by inscriptions and GV) | Vasantadeva |
| 18. | - | Manudeva [one undated inscription; probable chronolgy] | - | - |
| 19. | 538 | Vāmanadeva ŚS 460 | - | [Vardhamānadeva] |
| 20. | 545 | Rāmadeva ŚS 467 | - | - |
| 21. | - | Amaradeva [Brick] | - | - |
| 22. | - | [Guṇakāmadeva] | - | Guṇakāmadeva |
| 23. | 560-565 | Gaṇadeva ŚS 479-487 | - | Gaṇadeva |
| 24. | had influence 567-590(?) | [Bhaumagupta] (Bhaumagupta was probably not a king, although he is listed in GV and in several inscriptions) [6] | - | Bhūmigupta |
| 25. | 567-573 | Gaṅgādeva ŚS 489 - 495 | - | - |
| 26. | 575/576 | [Mānadeva II] [no inscriptions; name recorded in post-facto sources as founder of new era beginning 575/576] | - | - |
| 27. | 590-604 | Śivadeva (I) ŚS 512-526 | - | Śivadeva |
| 28. | 605-621 | Aṃśuvarmā MS 29-45 | - | Aṃśuvarmā |
| 29. | 621 | Udayadeva MS 45 | Udayadeva (mentioned in the Jayadeva II stele as the 13th king after Vasantadeva) | Udayadeva |
| 30. | 624-625 | Dhruvadeva | - | - |
| 31. | 631-633 | Bhīmārjunadeva, Jiṣṇugupta MS 55-57 | - | Bhīmārjunadeva |
| 32. | 633 | Viṣṇugupta - Jiṣṇugupta MS 57 | - | Viṣṇugupta |
| 33. | 640-641 | Bhīmārjunadeva / Viṣṇugupta MS 64-65 | - | - |
| 34. | 643-679 | Narendradeva MS 67-103 | Narendradeva | Narendradeva |
| 35. | 694-705 | Śivadeva (II) MS 118-129 | Śivadeva (II) | Śivadeva |
| 36. | 713-733 | Jayadeva (II) MS 137-157 | Jayadeva (II) | Jayadeva |
| - | 748-749 | Śaṅkaradeva II MS 172-173 | - | Śaṅkaradeva (GV: 23a.2) |
| - | 756 | Mānadeva (III) MS 180 | - | - |
| - | 826 | Balirāja MS 250 | - | Bālārjunadeva ? |
| - | 847 | Baladeva MS 271 | - | Baladeva |
| - | 877 | Mānadeva (IV) MS 301 | - | Mānadeva |
1. Vajracarya, Dhanavajra 1973. Licchavikālakā Abhilekha. Kathmandu : Institute for Nepal and Asian Studies.
2. Slusser, Mary, 1982 Nepal Mandala, Princeton, Princeton University Press, Table III-1, p. 397.
3. Vajracarya, Dhanavajra and Kamal P. Malla 1985. The Gopālarājavaṃśāvalī Wiesbaden : Franz Steiner Verlag Gmbh., pp. 122 ff (translation).
3a. GV: 20a:5. He is also mentioned in an inscription of NS 320 in Icangu Nārāyaṇa (DV:416-417), also Tewari, et al. 1963, Abhilekha Saṃgraha vol. 9 Kathmandu: Saṃśodhana Maṇḍala, V.S. 2020 vaiśākha "Icaṃguko abhilekha" p. 26-27 "Śrīharidatta bhūpati kṛtannārāya(ṇa)" (p.26).
4. Vasurājā is mentioned as a royal ancestor in an inscription of Dhruvadeva and Jiṣṇugupta of ca. A.D. 624-625: Vajracarya, Dhanavajra 1973. Licchavikālakā Abhilekha. Kathmandu : Institute for Nepal and Asian Studies, p. 415.
5. The GV's order of kings diverges from that of other sources from this point, showing Mānadeva as Viśvadeva's (sic) son, and placing Śaṅkaradeva and Dharmadeva after Mānadeva. See Vajracarya, Dhanavajra and Kamal P. Malla 1985. The Gopālarājavaṃśāvalī Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner Verlag Gmbh., pp. 123 (translation).
6. Bhaumagupta appears in an inscription of Svāmivārta, where he is called "paramadaivata"; it appears he may have been a "power behind the throne" during the reign of Gaṇadeva. Vajracarya, Dhanavajra 1973. Licchavikālakā Abhilekha. Kathmandu: Institute for Nepal and Asian Studies, p. 201-202. He also appears later in an inscription of Dhruvadeva and Jiṣṇugupta of ca. A.D. 624-625, where he is listed as a royal ancestor, presumably of Jiṣṇugupta: Vajracarya, Dhanavajra 1973. Licchavikālakā Abhilekha. Kathmandu: Institute for Nepal and Asian Studies, p. 415.