The Dynastic History of Northern India (Early Mediaeval Period) v1.c18.14

Language: English

v1.c18.14.1

The origin of the Gāhaḍavālas, like that of many other dynasties of Northern India, is shrouded in mystery. The genealogical lists in their grants trace their pedigree to one Yaśovigraha, who is said to have come to this earth when the kings of the solar race had gone to heaven.¹ This statement may contain a hint that Yaśovigraha flourished after the downfall of the Gurjara-Pratīhāra kings, who traced their descent from the sun.² There is however nothing to indicate that Yaśovigraha was a royal personage. None of the numerous Gāhaḍavāla grants ever give him any royal titles. We are only told that he was 'a noble (personage) …(who) by his plentiful splendour (was) as it were the sun incarnate.'³ The next person who is mentioned in the genealogical lists is Mahīcandra.⁴ In some grants his name stands at the head of the pedigree with the additional information that he was born in the Gāhaḍavāla lineage.⁵ We are told that he ‘defeated the host of his enemies, and by entrusting to his arm the whole burden of the earth, Śeṣa enjoyed permanent comfort.’ Though Mahīcandra also is not given any royal titles, the above passage probably indicates that he became a petty chief by dint of his military prowess. But the person who really founded the fortunes of the family was Candradeva,⁶ the son of Mahīcandra. In most of the grants of the Gāhaḍavālas Candradeva is said to have acquired sovereignty over Kānyakubja⁷ or Gādhipura ‘by the prowess of his own arms’ (*nija-bhujopār-* *jita*).

v1.c18.14.2

The Basahi plate of Govindacandra supplies us with some details about Candradeva's rise. It tells us that when on the death of king Bhoja and king Karṇa, the world became troubled, he 'came to the rescue and became king and established his capital at Kanyākubja.'¹ It is generally accepted that the Karṇa of this passage is the great Kalacuri king Laṣmī-Karṇa, who died sometime before 1072 A. D.² The earliest known date of Candradeva is V. S. 1148, corresponding to A. D. 1090.³ It is therefore almost certain that he established himself as a sovereign ruler some time during the period 1072-1090 A. D. The claim that he made Kanauj his capital must however be accepted with some limitations. The Set Mahet inscription of Vidyādhara, dated in A. D. 1119-20, shows that the local rulers of Kanauj on that date and in the years immediately preceding it were not the Gāhaḍavālas but the Rāṣṭrakūṭas Gopāla and Madana.⁴ Gopāla is described in this record as *Gādhipurādhipa*. The fact that Madana is not given this epithet may possibly indicate that he was no longer a sovereign ruler, but a feudatory of the Gāhaḍavālas.⁵ But the fact remains that the local rulers of Kanauj from the time of Candradeva onwards were the Rāṣṭrakūṭas. It is therefore likely that, though by reason of its importance Kanauj was regarded as one of the capitals of the Gāhaḍavālas, they habitually resided in some other city.

v1.c18.14.3

I suggest that this city was Benares.⁶ It is significant that a very large number of the Gāhaḍavālas' inscriptions have been discovered near Benares, and these record grants of land near that sacred city. In the Muslim chronicles the Gāhaḍavālas were known as kings of Benares.¹ Candella inscriptions also seem to refer to them as rulers of Kāśī.² Under the circumstances, the assumption of the title ‘lord of Kānyakubja’ may be explained by the fact that the halo of imperialism probably still lingered on the battered turrets of the forts of Kanauj. The person who acquired its sovereignty could therefore flatter himself with the belief that he was the overlord of Northern India. The area under the control of Candradeva is possibly indicated by the claim, uniformly made in many Gāhaḍavāla grants³ that he protected the holy places (*tīrtha*) of Kāśī, Kuśika, Uttara-Kośala, and Indrasthāna.⁴ If the suggestion of Hall, that Indrasthāna is to be identified with Indraprastha or old Delhi, be accepted, this would show that Candradeva became practically the ruler of nearly the whole area now known as the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh. The expansion of the Gāhaḍavālas’ power, at least in the eastern portion of U.P., must have been largely at the expense of the Kalacuris.

v1.c18.14.4

I have suggested elsewhere that the Kalacuri contemporary of Candradeva was probably Yaśaḥ-Karṇa (*c.* 1073-1125 A.D.).⁵ Candradeva’s conflict with the Kalacuris may be indicated by the former’s claim to have defeated Narapati, Gajapati, Triśaṅkupati, Giripati, and Pañcāla rulers.⁶ The first two titles figure among the epithets assumed by Yaśaḥ-Karṇa.