| With
the dawn of history, the Shiva-worshipping Nagas emerged as a confederacy of
powerful tribes. When the Shunga empire was broken,
the Scythians, the Bactrian Greeks and the Kushanas entered India and imposed their
rule on the people. They were 'irascible, contemptible and irreligious'; then arose the
great Naga power to fight the foreigners. Linking up the hiatus in the imperial tradition
between the Shunga emperors of the pre-Christian era and the Gupta emperors of the
fourth century of Christ, the Nagas included the Bharashivas and Vakatakas, who
practically dominated the North, and the Satavahanas who dominated the South. |
