The Dynastic History of Northern India (Early Mediaeval Period) v1.c20.135

v1.c20.135

These expeditions of Mahmūd nearly completed the destruction of the Gurjara-Pratīhāras. In 409 A.H. when Mahmūd first invaded the Ganges-Jumna valley, Rājyapāla was still described as "the chief of all the princes of India," to whom "all submitted their necks in obedience...and acknowledged his high rank, and great power and dignity."² The degradation suffered by them by their defeat at the hands of Mahmūd and the burning of Mathura and Kanauj is probably indicated by Ibn ul-Athīr, who when referring to the princes of India during the next expedition describes the Candella Vidyādhara as "the greatest of all rulers of India." The violent deaths of Rājyapāla and Barūjaybāl (?) only hastened the complete downfall of the Gurjara-Pratīhāras' claim to empire over the Ganges valley, real or nominal. But epigraphic evidence shows that the dynasty lingered on for some time. The existence of Trilocanapāla is revealed by his *Jhusi grant*. The inscription was discovered at Jhusi, a town on the left bank of the Ganges, opposite the city of Allahabad. It consists of 26 lines, incised on a single thick plate, and begins with the genealogy of the donor. *Pb.-M.-P.* Vijayapāladeva-*pādānudhyāta* *Pb.-M.-P.* Rājyapāladeva *pādānudhyāta* *Pb.-M.-P.* Trilocanapāladevaḥ, when in residence on the banks of the Ganges near Prayāga, having bathed in the Ganges and worshipped Śiva, granted '*Asurābhaka-Viṣaye Lebhuṇḍāka-grāma*' to 6,000 Brahmans belonging to Pratiṣṭh(ṭh)-āna¹ on the occasion of the *Dakṣiṇayana Saṁkrānti*. The donees belonged to various *pravaras* and were the followers of various Vedic schools. The date (V) Saṁ. 1084 (A.D. June, 1027) is given at the end.²