The following table shows a list of Licchavi Kings and some of their dates, as culled from three sources: Jayadeva (II)'s Chronology of AD 733 (as found in Dhanavajra Vajracarya's Licchavika-laka- Abhilekha (1)), Licchavi Inscriptions from AD 185 to 879 (as found in the same source and as tabulated in Mary Slusser. Nepal Mandala (2), with the addition of items found since these sources were published), and the Gopa-lara-ja Vam*s'a-vali- (GV) of ca. AD 1389 (from Dhanavajra Vajracarya and Kamal P. Malla, The Gopa-lara-javam*s'a-vali- (3)). Please note that the list from GV is not in the order found in the GV, and is nothing more than an attempt to correlate names found in inscriptions with those found in the often-chaotic GV list. Clearly, the middle column, listing kings as found in contemporary inscriptions, is the most reliable source. (MS = Ma-nadeva sam*vat: S'S = S'aka sam*vat)
| No. | Approx CE dates | Jayadeva (II)'s Chronology (AD 733) | Licchavi Inscriptions (AD 185-879) | Gopa-lara-ja Vam*s'a-vali-(ca. AD 1389) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 185 | Jayadeva | Jaya varma- S'S 107 | Jaya varma- | |
| 2. | - | - | - | Vars*a Varma- | |
| 3. | - | - | - | Kubera Varma- | |
| 4. | - | - | - | Hari Varma- | |
| 5. | - | - | - | Siddhi Varma- | |
| 6. | - | - | - | Haridatta Varma- | |
| 7. | - | - | Vasura-ja (4) | Vasudatta Varma- | |
| 8. | - | - | - | S'ri-pati Varma- | |
| 9. | - | - | - | S'ivavr*dhi Varma- | |
| 10. | - | - | - | Vasanta Varma- | |
| 11. | - | - | - | Supus*pa Varma- | |
| 12. | c. 400 | Vr*s*adeva | Vr*s*adeva | Vis'vadeva (5) | |
| 13. | c. 425 | S'an^karadeva | S'an^karadeva I | S'an^karadeva | |
| 14. | c. 450 | Dharmadeva | Dharmadeva | Dharmadeva | |
| 15. | 464-505 | Ma-nadeva (I) | Ma-nadeva (I) S'S 386-427 | Ma-nadeva | |
| 16. | - | Mahi-deva (Rule of a few months but no available inscriptions; cited as Ma-nadeva's successor in Jayadeva II stele) | - | Mahi-deva | |
| 17. | 506-532 | Vasantadeva (From Vasanatadeva to Udayadeva (no. 13 below), Jayadeva II's stele has 13 generations, confirmed by inscriptions and GV) | Vasantadeva S'S 428-454 | Vasantadeva | |
| 18. | - | - | Manudeva [one undated inscription; probable chronolgy] | - | |
| 19. | 538 | - | Va-manadeva S'S 460 | [Vardhama-nadeva] | |
| 20. | 545 | - | Ra-madeva S'S 467 | - | |
| 21. | - | - | Amaradeva [Brick] | - | |
| 22. | - | - | [Gun*aka-madeva] | Gun*aka-madeva | |
| 23. | 560-565 | - | Gan*adeva S'S 479-487 | Gan*adeva | |
| 24. | had influence 567-590(?) | - | [Bhaumagupta] (Bhaumagupta was probably not a king, although he is listed in GV and in several inscriptions)(6) | Bhu-migupta | |
| 25. | 567-573 | - | Gan^ga-deva S'S 489 - 495 | - | |
| 26. | 575/576 | - | [Ma-nadeva II] [no inscriptions; name recorded in post-facto sources as founder of new era beginning 575/576] | - | |
| 27. | 590-604 | - | S'ivadeva (I) S'S 512-526 | S'ivadeva | |
| 28. | 605-621 | - | Am*s'uvarma- MS 29-45 | Am*s'uvarma- | |
| 29. | 621 | Udayadeva (mentioned in the Jayadeva II stele as the 13th king after Vasantadeva) | Udayadeva MS 45 | Udayadeva | |
| 30. | 624-625 | - | Dhruvadeva | - | |
| 31. | 631-633 | - | Bhi-ma-rjunadeva, Jis*n*ugupta MS 55-57 | Bhi-ma-rjunadeva | |
| 32. | 633 | - | Vis*n*ugupta - Jis*n*ugupta MS 57 | Vis*n*ugupta | |
| 33. | 640-641 | - | Bhi-ma-rjunadeva / Vis*n*ugupta MS 64-65 | - | |
| 34. | 643-679 | Narendradeva | Narendradeva MS 67-103 | Narendradeva | |
| 35. | 694-705 | S'ivadeva (II) | S'ivadeva (II) MS 118-129 | S'ivadeva | |
| 36. | 713-733 | Jayadeva (II) | Jayadeva (II) MS 137-157 | Jayadeva | |
| - | 748-749 | - | S'an^karadeva II MS 172-173 | - | |
| - | 756 | - | Ma-nadeva (III) MS 180 | - | |
| - | 826 | - | Balira-ja MS 250 | Ba-la-rjunadeva ? | |
| - | 847 | - | Baladeva MS 271 | Baladeva | |
| - | 877 | - | Ma-nadeva (IV) MS 301 | Ma-nadeva |
Footnotes
1. Vajracarya, Dhanavajra 1973. Licchavika-laka- Abhilekha. Kathmandu : Institute for Nepal and Asian Studies, inscription no. 148, p. 548 ff. Click here to return to text.
2. Slusser, Mary, 1982 Nepal Mandala, Princeton, Princeton University Press, Table III-1, p. 397. Click here to return to text.
3. Vajracarya, Dhanavajra and Kamal P. Malla 1985. The Gopa-lara-javam*s'a-vali- Wiesbaden : Franz Steiner Verlag Gmbh., pp. 122 ff (translation). Click here to return to text.
4. Vasura-ja- is mentioned as a royal ancestor in an inscription of Dhruvadeva and Jis*n*ugupta of ca. A.D. 624-625: Vajracarya, Dhanavajra 1973. Licchavika-laka- Abhilekha. Kathmandu : Institute for Nepal and Asian Studies, p. 415. Click here to return to text.
5. The GV's order of kings diverges from that of other sources from this point, showing Ma-nadeva as Vis'vadeva's (sic) son, and placing S'an^karadeva and Dharmadeva after Ma-nadeva. See Vajracarya, Dhanavajra and Kamal P. Malla 1985. The Gopa-lara-javam*s'a-vali- Wiesbaden : Franz Steiner Verlag Gmbh., pp. 123 (translation). Click here to return to text.6. Bhaumagupta appears in an inscription of Sva-miva-rta, where he is called "paramadaivata"; it appears he may have been a "power behind the throne" during the reign of Gan*adeva. Vajracarya, Dhanavajra 1973. Licchavika-laka- Abhilekha. Kathmandu : Institute for Nepal and Asian Studies, p. 201-202. He also appears later in an inscription of Dhruvadeva and Jis*n*ugupta of ca. A.D. 624-625, where he is listed as a royal ancestor, presumably of Jis*n*ugupta: Vajracarya, Dhanavajra 1973. Licchavika-laka- Abhilekha. Kathmandu : Institute for Nepal and Asian Studies, p. 415. Click here to return to text.