Devika Rangachari’s five profiles point to a fuller picture of women’s power in early Indian history: Nayanika/Nagarnika, Sugandha, Didda, Vilasadevi and Prabhavatigupta appear in accounts of regency, sovereignty, political influence, donation and ritual. The evidence is not identical for each woman, and the details below follow Rangachari’s account rather than claiming an independent examination of the historical records.
Five women, different kinds of power
Rangachari’s article, published by Scroll.in on April 19, 2015, spans several regions and centuries. Its central argument is interpretive: women who exercised authority can be sidelined in accounts of early Indian history. The article offers no statistic measuring that marginalization, so it is best understood as a call to examine the surviving evidence rather than a quantified claim.
| Name | Region and period in Rangachari’s account | Roles described | Evidence named |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nayanika/Nagarnika | Satavahana Deccan; around 180–170 BCE | Queen, regent, performer of Vedic sacrifices | Naneghat inscription and coinage |
| Sugandha | Kashmir; 904–906 CE | Regent and ruler | Kalhana’s Rajatarangini and coinage |
| Didda | Kashmir; 980/981–1003 CE | Regent and sovereign | Rajatarangini and coinage |
| Vilasadevi | Bengal and Bihar under the Sena dynasty; around 1095–1158 | Political and economic figure, donor and organizer of religious ceremonies | Sena inscriptions |
| Prabhavatigupta | Vakataka state of western India; after Rudrasena II’s death | Regent for about 20 years | Copperplate inscriptions and coinage |
These source types do not provide interchangeable or necessarily equally extensive evidence. Rangachari’s article is the basis for the profiles below; claims about chronology and interpretation should be read with that attribution in mind.
Nayanika/Nagarnika: regent and ritual participant
Rangachari identifies Nayanika, also called Nagarnika, as the wife of Satakarni I, dated in the article to around 180–170 BCE. She says Nayanika acted as regent for their son Vedashri, performed Vedic sacrifices and appeared on coinage. The article points to the Naneghat inscription and coins as evidence relevant to her political role; it does not establish that those records have been independently examined here.
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Sugandha: a ruler of Kashmir
Rangachari places Sugandha’s rule in 904–906 CE and connects her to Kashmir’s Utpala dynasty through her marriage to Shankaravarman. Her account describes Sugandha first acting as regent for her son Gopalavarman and later ruling in her own right. It names Kalhana’s Rajatarangini and coins bearing the epithet sri sugandha deva among the sources for her story.
Didda: regent, then sovereign
Rangachari gives Didda’s reign as 980/981–1003 CE, following an earlier regency, and describes her as Kashmir’s formal sovereign. The article draws on the Rajatarangini and coins bearing the name sri didda deva. Its account includes difficult court politics: Didda’s grandsons stood between her and the throne, and the narrative describes their removal. That episode complicates any uncomplicated portrait of her as a heroic ruler; the article’s account should not be mistaken for a complete or independently verified reconstruction of the political events.
Vilasadevi: political influence and religious giving
Vilasadevi is identified by Rangachari as the wife of Vijayasena of the Sena dynasty, whose dates the article gives as around 1095–1158. Sena inscriptions, in the article’s account, record her land grants. Rangachari also describes her as having the resources to make donations and organize religious ceremonies, including tulapurusha mahadana. The article interprets her participation in a ceremony usually associated with dynastic founders as crossing a gender convention.
Prabhavatigupta: a long regency in the Vakataka state
Rangachari identifies Prabhavatigupta as the daughter of Gupta ruler Chandragupta II and wife of Vakataka ruler Rudrasena II. After his death, she served as regent for about 20 years, according to the article. Copperplate inscriptions and coins are named as evidence. Rangachari also describes her rule as aligned with Gupta political interests; the suggestion that she supported Chandragupta II’s campaign against the Shakas is presented in the article as something she is supposed to have done, not as a settled fact.
How to follow the evidence
The five accounts rest on distinct kinds of records: an inscription and coins for Nayanika; a chronicle and coins for Sugandha and Didda; Sena inscriptions for Vilasadevi; and copperplates and coins for Prabhavatigupta. A reader pursuing the underlying records can start with the National Archives of India’s description of Abhilekh Patal, a portal for accessing historical records and primary-source material. The portal is a research gateway, not a substitute for checking the particular record or for specialist interpretation.
Abbakka Rani is not one of Rangachari’s five subjects. An article by the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts discusses her association with Ullal and notes that historical sources confirm three Abbakkas, while folklore treats them as one figure. That example is a reminder to keep similarly prominent women distinct and to attend to uncertainty in historical traditions.
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