The Brahman king of the flat silt country between the Gandak and the Kosi, third or fourth of a line that has held it for a century.
His power rests on endowed Brahman villages and on a road: the Nepal road comes down through his land to the Ganges at Hajipur. He is the one Hindu king in the east who is a patron of learning first: Maithili and Sanskrit, the Tirhuta hand, the schools of Mithila. He neither fights the Senas on the east nor shelters the Pala remnants on the south; he watches, and the first Turkish troops are a long way west.
Who he is
- Name
- Narasimhadeva
- Title
- Maharaja of Mithila (reconstructed)
- Since
- 1188, according to English Wikipedia ("succeeded his father in 1188"); its king list says 1187
- Born
- not known
- Family
- Karnata (Karnat) dynasty of Mithila: Nanyadeva (1097), Gangadeva (his successor, who invaded Gauda after 1147), then Narasimhadeva, who succeeds his father in 1188 in a reign described as turbulent; Ramasimhadeva, Saktisimhadeva and Harisimhadeva (1295 to 1324) follow. The order between Gangadeva and Narasimhadeva, and the father's name, are not in the sources we could open.
- Confidence
- low
English Wikipedia, Karnat dynasty. Vidyapati's Purushapariksha (about 1400, from the same page) says Narasimhadeva helped a sultan identified with Muhammad of Ghor, who took Delhi in 1193; the page finds no evidence that the Karnatas were subject to the Sultanate.
What it holds
- Tirhut, the plain between the Gandak and the Kosi
- Darbhanga (second capital) and Simraungarh (main capital, in Nepal)
- The Brahman villages (Mahishi and others) and the Mithila schools
How it was acquired
By succession in 1187 or 1188.
Allies and rivals
Rivals: the Senas (who likely took part of Purnia from the Karnatas in Lakshmanasena's time), the Pala-line king and Pithipati across the Ganges, the princes of Nepal who broke away. Possible ally: the Sultan in the Vidyapati story (1193).
How things stand that morning
On the throne by the usual reckoning; no inscription of 1199 or 1200 names him. The kingdom is at peace.
Wealth
Rice, oilseed and fish of the silt plain; the Nepal road's tolls; elephants from the tarai forest; Brahman grants.
Military
Retinues of his samantas, elephants, and the tarai fever belt as a wall. No numbers.
Threats
- The Ghurid captains of the west and of Lakhnauti after 1204 or 1205
- Sena claims in Purnia
- The shifting Kosi
What the year holds
What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.
- 1324The line ends at Simraungarh under Harisimhadeva.Depends on: Not applicable to 1200. Stopped by: Not applicable.
Places of note
- Darbhanga: Second capital.
Where the sources disagree
- See Karnatas of Mithila. The assignment asks if the king of 1200 is Narasimhadeva: that is the usual reckoning and we mark it low.
Evidence: Reconstructed list of kings; two dated points (1097, 1324).
On the map: The realm record draws the whole of Tirhut; this is the core only.
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.