The Karnata capital, founded by Nanyadeva on a date his pillar puts at 10 July 1097: not a rock but an engineered rectangle of earth, banked ramparts and infilled ditches about 7.5 km north to south and 4.5 km east to west, laid out so that the same works hold off a river flood, an army and the dry season.
The Tibetan pilgrim Dharmasvamin counted seven walls, a palace with eleven gates and twenty-one water-filled ditches planted with trees when he saw it in 1236 (Wikipedia; the campaign board says 'a generation later'). It sits on the road from the Ganges plain into Nepal. A second capital, Darbhanga, lies on the Indian side.
Who holds it
- Name
- Narasimhadeva on the usual reckoning; not pinned
- Title
- King of Mithila
- Since
- 1187 or 1188
- Born
- not known
- Family
- not known
- Confidence
- medium
See the Karnata king record: Vidyapati's Purusapariksa through Wikipedia.
What the town holds
- the great earthwork
- the palace
- the road into Nepal by the Rapti and Chandragiri
How things stand that morning
The king's seat; the Ghurids hold the Ganges plain to the south but have not reached Tirhut.
Wealth
Rice, timber, elephants, the toll on the Nepal road.
Military
No army is recorded and no number is known.
Council
Brahmin ministers; none named.
Communities
Brahmin, Karnata warrior and local households.
Militia
Warrior aristocracy; no number.
Walls and castle
The great earthwork with moats; seven walls, a palace with eleven gates and twenty-one water ditches (Dharmasvamin, 1236).
Trade and crafts
The road trade with Nepal; learning (Nyaya).
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: An excavated and surveyed site with a dated founding pillar and a pilgrim's account.
On the map: The seat of a king of the Northern India map's realm, on the Nepal border.
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.