Cheti

The Cheti dynasty was one of the native successors of the Maurya dynasty. Before this dynasty, many other dynasties succeeded the Maurya dynasty. Namely, the Sunga. The Kanvas, the Satvahana, and then comes the Cheti dynasty. The Cheti dynasty was founded in the 1st century BC ( Before Christ). It is one of the most renowned dynasties in ancient history, but unfortunately, not much information about the dynasty is available. Most of the evidence/confirmation of the dynasty is either hidden or eradicated from history. The Cheti dynasty is also known as the Chedi dynasty.

Cheti Dynasty

• Cheti was one of the16 Monarchical mahajanapadas, which was situated near the river Yamuna, that is in the middle of the kingdom of vatsas and kurus. Sukirti of Mahabharat, named Cheti or chedi, comes from the group of Kshatriya people back in the ancient world
• This group of people was one of the most famous Kshatriya races in ancient history
• This race was repeatedly mentioned in Buddhist, Jaina, and Brehmic literature.
• The Chedi dynasty was one of the most famous dynasties after the kanva dynasty emerged in the 1st century BC (Before Christ)
• It was founded in Kalinga ( now Odisha, the capital of Bhubaneswar, also known as the north of Andhra Pradesh)
• Everything that we know about this dynasty is from the Hathigumpha inscription, situated near Bhubaneswar in Odisha
• These are very old inscriptions and the only information we have about the Cheti/chedi dynasty.
• There are some inscriptions/signs written on the walls of the Hathigumpha, which give us the sole information about the Chedi dynasty
• Other than this, there is no other information available to us about the Cheti/Chedi dynasty
• These inscriptions were written by the third king of the dynasty, namely, king kharavela
• King Kharavel is mostly known because of the inscriptions he has put on or written on the Hathigumpha. King Kharavel was a follower of Jainism ( Jainism is one of the most important religions of India, that teaches us or is all about following the right knowledge, the right path, having the right faith, and conducting it right)
• The hathigumpha is a Jainism architecture. This is also a reason why the information about the dynasty and the king was inscribed on it
• There were other names to the dynasty as well. Here are the names Cheta or Chetavamsa and Mahameghavahana
• The word Mahaghavahaa means the family of power or the power of the rulers. The identification also means the lord of the clouds, and it may seem that the king is more powerful than the clouds, and also the king is as powerful as Indra ( Indra is a Hindu god of rain and clouds)
• The dynasty was also one of the Sixteen Kingdoms of the  Monarchical Mahajanapadas in ancient history

Monarchical Mahajanapadas

• The term Mahajanapadas comes from the Sanskrit words “Maha,” which means “great,” and “janapadas,” which means footholes of the people. This existed in the second period of urbanisation
• This monarchical Mahajanapadas can also be called the turning point of the orthodoxy mindset of the society
• It was in the  6th-5th BCE, which was the capital of Chedi in the mediaeval period when the chedi extended to the banks of the river Narmada.

In the Rigveda, there is the mention of the chedi dynasty and the chedi race people who were Kshatriyas, with the name of their king Kashu chaidya.

Sahajati and Tripuri

• Sahajati and Tripuri are also one important mentioned in the topic of the Cheti dynasty
• Sahajati was located in Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh and was one of the villages there, located on the banks of Yamuna river, which was approximately 20 km south-west of Prayag

Currently, in today’s era or time, Sahajati is known as Bhita, which is its present name.

• As mentioned earlier, Sahajati was one of the important towns of the Chedi dynasty
• The ancient chedi cities or towns were located near Jumna, which was transmissible to kurus.
• It can also be said that it is equal to that of the modern named Bundelkhand. The towns that were important to the Chedi dynasty were the Sahajati and Tripuri, the mediaeval capital to the same as Tripura Vishaya
• The kalachuris of Chedi are one of the many names of the kalachuris of Tripuri, which was merely ruled during the 7th to 13th centuries

Conclusion

The Cheti/chedi dynasty was one of the most important parts of ancient history. It has been given different names, namely chedi, Chera, Mahameghavahana, and many others. The maximum information one could get about the dynasty is from the Hathigumpha. The capital city of the Cheti dynasty was Suktimati. The only information one could get about the Cheti dynasty is from the inscriptions on the Hathigumpha, which is situated in Bhubaneswar, Odisha ( then Kalinga). Inscribed by the 3rd ruler of the dynasty. This was all about the Chedi dynasty. Its origin, location, rulers, and the important points on the topic.

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