The Dynastic History of Northern India (Early Mediaeval Period) v1.c16.53

Language: English

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Gopāla was succeeded by Dharmapāla, his son by Dedda-devī.¹ The Khalimpur grant of this king refers to his extensive conquest in Northern India. We are told that "with a sign of his gracefully moved eyebrows he installed the illustrious king of Kānyakubja, who readily was accepted by the Bhoja, Matsya, Madra, Kuru, Yadu, Yavana, Avanti, Gandhāra and Kīra kings, bowing down respectfully with their diadems trembling, and for whom his own golden coronation jar was lifted by the delighted elders of Pañcāla." (V. 12.) In connection with this statement, there is in the preceding verse (V. 11), a veiled reference to Mahendra being terrified at the movements of his armies. The political events hinted at in these two verses are partly indicated by verse 3 of the Bhagalpur grant of Nārāyaṇapāla, which runs as follows: "This mighty one (*i.e.* Dharmapāla) again gave the sovereignty which he had acquired by defeating Indrarāja and other enemies, to the begging Cakrāyudha, who resembled a dwarf in bowing; just as formerly Bali had given the sovereignty (of the three worlds) which he had acquired by defeating Indra and his other enemies (the gods) to the begging Cakrāyudha (Viṣṇu), who had descended to the earth as a dwarf."² The three verses when read together seem to imply that Dharmapāla, after having extended his power over a large portion of Northern India, dethroned one Indrarāja of Kanauj and installed in his place a feudatory of his named Cakrāyudha.

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If this Indrarāja is identified with the Indrāyudha of the Jaina *Harivaṁśa*, the ruler of the north (calculated from Vordhamāna-Wadhwan in Kathiawar), who was ruling contemporaneously with Vatsarāja of Avanti, the ruler of the east, evidently the Gurjara-Pratīhāra king of that name then, it would appear that Dharmapāla achieved considerable military and diplomatic success in Northern India sometime after 783-84 A.D. To Kielhorn, when editing the Khalimpur grant in 1896-97, the name of Cakrāyudha, king of Kanauj was a mystery. But since then the discovery of other inscriptions of contemporary reigning families of India has solved the difficulty.

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These are in brief as follows: verse 80 of the Radhanpur grant of the Rāṣṭrakūṭa Govinda III (*Śaka* 730 = 808 A.D.) tells us that Dhora (Dhruva) drove into the trackless forest Vatsarāja 'who boasted of having with ease appropriated the fortune of Gauḍa,' and 'took away from him, not merely the two Gauḍa umbrellas of state but also his fame.'¹ As the Wani grant of the same king (*Śaka* 730 = 807 A.D.), which contains the same verses as the Radhanpur grant, does not contain verse 15 of the latter, which refers to defeat of the 'Gurjara' by Govinda,—a victory so decisive that the Gurjara king's whereabouts were not known to any—it is possible that the final defeat of the Gurjara may have occurred between the two dates of the grants (807-808 A.D.).² The identity of this Gurjara king is probably revealed by the Sanjan grant of Amoghavarṣa (*Śaka* 793 = 871 A.D.), which, besides referring to the victory of (Dhruva) Dhārāvarṣa over the Gauḍa king, tells us that Govinda III defeated in battle Nāgabhaṭa, and as the former advanced to the springs of the Himalayas "those (kings) Dharma and Cakrāyudha surrendered of themselves."³ Line 12 of the Baroda grant of Karka II (*Śaka* 734 = 812-13 A.D.) seems to refer to a conflict of Dhruva and the Gauḍa king between the Ganges and the Jumna.⁴ Verse 9 of the Sagartal (Gwalior) inscription of Bhoja tells us that his grandfather Nāgabhaṭa (*c.* 815-33 A.D.)⁵ defeated 'Cakrāyudha whose lowly demeanour was manifest from his dependence on others,'⁶ while the next verse of the same inscription refers to the defeat of the lord of Vaṅga (*Vaṅgapati*) at the hands of the Gurjara king.

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Without going into details we may say that the statements of the Pāla records are substantially borne out by the Gurjara and Rāṣṭrakūta inscriptions. It seems likely that after the fall of Yaśovarman (*c.* 731-36 A.D.) there was no effective government in the Gaṅgā-Yamunā valley. Taking advantage of the weakness of the Kanauj prince Indrāyudha (*c.* 783-84 A.D.), Dharmapāla invaded Northern India and placed his own nominee on the throne of Kanauj. But he had soon to meet other rivals in the persons of the Gurjara Vatsarāja and Nāgabhaṭa II, and the Rāṣṭrakūṭas Dhruva and Govinda III. The struggle for the possession of the rich lands of the upper Ganges was thus trilateral and may be represented by the following table:—