The Dynastic History of Northern India (Early Mediaeval Period) v2.c31.258

v2.c31.258

Jayasiṁha's next war was against his western neighbours, the rulers of Mālava. According to Merutuṅga Yaśovarman, king of Mālava, invaded and overran Gujarat, when Jayasiṁha was absent from his capital, on a pilgrimage to Someśvara. The minister Sāntu, who was left in charge, was compelled to wash the feet of the Paramāra king and throw 'into the hollow of his hand a handful of water' as a sign of the transference of the spiritual merit which his master had gained by his pilgrimage to Somnath. The angry Caulukya king, when he returned, waged incessant wars for 12 years and in the end stormed Dhārā, imprisoned Yaśovarman and led him in triumph to Pattana.¹ According to the *Dvyāśraya* Jayasiṁha advanced on Ujjain ‘by daily stages of eight *kos*,’ entered it, and ‘seizing Yaśovarman, imprisoned him and brought all Avantideśa with Dhārā under subjection to himself. Afterwards Jayasiṁha seized and imprisoned a raja of that country near to Ujjain named Sim and several other Rajas. Some of them he caged like birds, some he chained by the neck like cattle, or by legs like horses.’² The *Kumārapāla-carita* tells us that Jayasiṁha destroyed Dhārā and killed Naravarman.³ The *Vasanta-vilāsa* contains the statement that Jayasiṁha brought from Ujjayinī *Yoginī-pīṭha*⁴ and defeated and imprisoned the lord of Dhārā ‘like a *śuka* bird in a cage.’⁴ The substantial accuracy of these statements of the chroniclers seems to be proved by epigraphic evidence. The epithet *Avantinātha*, which first appears in the Gala inscription (A.D. 1137), seems to have been accepted as a regular title by Jayasiṁha. The Talwara inscription informs us that Jayasiṁha humbled the pride of Naravarman while the Dohad pillar inscription states that he threw into prison the ruler of Mālava. The statement of the Dohad inscription is supported by the Vadnagar *praśasti* of Kumārapāla which also states that Jayasiṁha “fettered the proud king of Mālava.”⁶ The Talwara, the Udaipur, and above all the fragmentary Ujjain inscriptions testify to the accuracy of the epigraphic and literary tradition. As both Naravarman (c. 1097-1111 A.D.) and Yaśovarman (c. 1134-42 A.D.) were contemporaries of Jayasiṁha (c. 1094-1143 A.D.) it seems quite probable that both of them lost their lives in the protracted struggle which lasted for about 12 years.¹ Bühler has already pointed out that in the 12th century, as now, one of the great routes from Gujarat into Malwa passed through the Panch Mahals. The appointment of *Senāpati* Keśava in Dohad shows that Jayasiṁha was well aware of the strategic importance of this route in his wars with the Paramāras, and was determined to hold this high-road to Dhārā and Mandu for the free movement of his own troops.² According to Sundha Hill inscription of Cāciga, Jayasiṁha was assisted in the campaigns in Mālava by the Naḍḍūla Cāhamāna Āśārāja.³