Śarabhapurīya dynasty

The kingdom

The dynasty takes its name from Śarabhapura, its capital, whose location has not been established — candidates in Chhattisgarh and Odisha have both been argued. Its kings, with names such as Narendra, Prasanna and Sudevarāja, issued copper-plate charters granting villages to brahmins, and these plates, found across the Mahanadi basin, define the kingdom's extent.

They also struck gold coins of a distinctive type, unusual for a regional dynasty of this scale and taken as a sign of Gupta influence in the region's monetary practice.

Sirpur

The later kings moved the seat to Śrīpura, modern Sirpur on the Mahanadi, which became one of the significant urban and religious centres of central India. Excavation there has revealed Śaiva and Vaiṣṇava temples, Buddhist monasteries and a substantial settlement; the brick Lakṣmaṇa temple, built under the succeeding Pāṇḍuvaṃśin dynasty, is among the finest early brick temples in India.

The Śarabhapurīyas were displaced by the Pāṇḍuvaṃśins in the sixth century, and the transition appears to have been gradual, with the two lines overlapping in the region.