The Dynastic History of Northern India (Early Mediaeval Period) v2.c30.s4.401

v2.c30.s4.401

The period that followed the reign of Arjunavarman (*c.* 1211-15 A.D.) appears to have been one of gradual decline in the history of the Paramāras of Malwa. By this time the Turks had consolidated their power in the valleys of the Indus, Ganges, and Jumna and were casting greedy eyes towards the wealth of the south. In the reign of Iltutmish (1211-36 A.D.) the greatest of the slave kings of Delhi, the Muslims first plundered and desecrated the temples and cities of Malwa. The *Ṭabaqāt-i-Nāṣirī* informs us that shortly after the capture of Gwalior, the Sulṭān in 632 A. H. (1234 A.D.) “led the hosts of Islam towards Mālwah and took the fortress and town of Bhīlsāṉ, and demolished the idol temple which took three hundred years in building, and which, in altitude, was about one hundred ells. From thence he advanced to Ujjain-Nagarī, and the temple of Mahā-kāl Dīw. The effigy of Bikramajīt who was sovereign of Ujjain-Nagarī, and from whose reign to the present time one thousand, one hundred, and sixteen years have elapsed, and from whose reign they date the Hindū-ī era, together with other effigies besides his, which were formed of molten brass, together with the stone [idol] of Mahā-kāl, were carried away to Dihlī, the capital."¹ Firishta repeats this, with the additional information that the temple of Mahākāla was 'formed upon the same plan with that of Somnat' and that the images conveyed to Delhi were 'broken at the door of the great mosque.'² This expedition must have taken place in the reign of Devapāla (*c.* 1218-36 A.D.). There appears to have been a period of calm for about fifty years. But at the end of it, in 1292 A.D. 'Alā ud-Dīn Khaljī, in the reign of his uncle Jalāl ud-Dīn Fīrūz (1290-96 A.D.) invaded Malwa, captured the town of Bhilsa, and brought much plunder to Delhi.'³ Firishta records that shortly before this expedition Sulṭān Fīrūz himself had "marched against the 'Hindoos' in the neighbourhood of Mandu, and returned to his capital after devastating the country." In his subsequent invasion of Deogir in A.D. 1294, 'Alā ud-Dīn probably followed the Chanderi-Bhilsa route up the Betwa valley, and did not penetrate into the valleys of the Sipra and upper Chambal. By this he probably avoided a conflict with the Paramāras on this occasion. But in A.D. 1305, 'Alā ud-Dīn sent his general "Ein-ool-Moolk Mooltany......with an army to effect the conquest of Malwa. He was opposed by Koka,⁵ the Raja of Malwa, with 40,000 Rajput horse, and 100,000 foot. In the engagement which ensued, Ein-ool-Moolk proved victorious, and reduced the cities of Oojein, Mando, Dharanuggury and Chundery. After these successes, he wrote an account of the same to the king, who, on receiving it, commanded illuminations to be made for seven days throughout the city of Dehly.’¹ This was probably the end of Paramāra sovereignty in Malwa. What relationship this ‘Koka’ had with Devapāla (*c.* 1218-36 A.D.) or with Bhoja II (?) remains uncertain. That he was a Paramāra ruler is also at present a mere guess. The Udayapur inscription of Jayasiṁha, dated in 1310 A.D., shows that Hindu chiefs probably still lingered in Malwa for some time after the defeat of ‘Koka.’