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TheBhadra dynasty (Bengali:ভদ্র রাজবংশ) was aBengali royal house which had reigned over the kingdom ofSamatata, locatedin what is present-dayBangladesh.
OfBrahmin origin, their rule flourished during the first half of the 7th century, though little is known about their history. The kings of the dynasty bore names with the suffix "Bhadra", leading to suggestions of familial links with the vassal chiefsSamanta Narayanabhadra and Jyeshthabhadra, who find mention in the Vappaghosavata grant ofJayanaga and theNidhanpur grant ofBhaskaravarman respectively.[1][2] Deddadevi, the wife of the firstPala emperorGopala I and mother to his successorDharmapala, is believed to have been the daughter of a Bhadra monarch.[3] Additionally, theChinese travellerXuanzang describedŚīlabhadra, a prominent scholar atNalanda Monastery, as being a scion of this family.[2]
In relation to the latter, the historian P. L. Paul suggests that the "Bhadra" name only became associated with the dynasty as a result of the fame of Śīlabhadra. Paul posits that the family were in fact identical to theKhadga dynasty, who ruled Samatata during the remainder of the 7th century.[4][5] Alternatively, it may be that the Bhadras were overthrown by the latter.[6]