The Nagvanshis of Chotanagpur, also known as the Khokhra chieftaincy, was an Indian dynasty which ruled the parts of Chota Nagpur plateau region (modern-day Jharkhand) during the medieval and modern periods.

Lal Chintamani Sharan Nath Shahdeo (1931–2014) was last ruling king of the dynasty, until the estate was merged to the Republic of India.

The son of Pundarika Naga, Phani Mukut Rai, founded the Nagvanshi dynasty.

The Pundarika Naga turned Cobra after revealing his identity and his wife Parvati committed Sati.

[12][13][14][10] Many scholars put the date of establishment of Nagvanshi dynasty in the 4th century taking into account an average ruling period of 25 years for each king.

[12] According to Nagvanshavali, the third Nagvanshi king Pratap Rai shifted his capital from Sutiambe to the present day chutia.

It includes the Sankha dwip where Sankh River flows from the hill near the kingdom of the Naga King, where precious stones are found.

[23][verification needed] In 12th century, Raja Bhim Karn defeated Raksel of Surguja when they invaded the region.

[25][26] Shivdas Karn established Vishnu idol in the Hapamuni temple in Gumla district in Vikram Samvat 1458 (1401 CE)[clarification needed] according to an inscription in Sanskrit.

For this help Pratap Karn declared Baghdeo as King of Karnpura which gives rise to Ramgarh Raj.

Raja Durjan Shah, the son of Bairisal, was taken to prison in Agra for withdrawal of tribute to the Mughals; later he was released for identifying real diamonds.

During this period, Baraik, Rautia and Rajput held Jagirs from Nagvanshi kings and provided military services.

According to Lal Pradumn Singh, the writer of book Nagvansh, Mughal invaded Khukhra during reign of Raghunath Shah.

Thakur Ani Nath Shahdeo made Satranji the capital of Barkagarh estate near Subarnarekha river.

He faced considerable resistance from the Raja of Khokhra but both parties reached a compromise and he paid Rs.

When Fakhr-ud-daula was removed from the post of Subedar of Bihar Suba in 1733, the Khokhra chief discontinued payment of tribute to Mughals.

[4][32] After the Battle of Buxar in 1764, the East India Company were given the right to collect revenue from Bihar, Bengal and Odisha by the Mughal Empire.

In 1771, during the reign of Dripnath Shah, Nagvanshi became a vassal of the East India Company due to conflicts with neighbouring kings and tribes.

During the reign of Govind Nath Shah, due to the rebellion, refusal of payment of revenue by subordinate Jagirdar and Zamindar under Nagvanshi king due to excessive tax imposition by the East India Company, Chotanagpur was brought under direct control by the East India Company in 1817 and they reduced Nagvanshi rulers to Zamindars.

Then these activities spread to Ranchi district and tribal Munda, Hos and Oraon indulged in indiscriminate plunder and killings of Muslims and Sikhs as well as villages of Hindus.

[10] In 1855, during the reign of Jagannath Shah Deo, the king of Barkagarh estate, Vishwanath Shahdeo, stopped following the orders of the East India Company, defeated British forces in Hatia and ruled independently for two years.

[18] Following is the list of Nagvanshi rulers according to "Nag Vanshavali" (1876) written by Beniram Mehta during reign of Jagannath Shah Deo and book "Nagvansh" (1951) written by Lal Pradumn Singh during reign of Lal Chintamani Sharan Nath Shahdeo.