The Dynastic History of Northern India (Early Mediaeval Period) v2.c31.384

v2.c31.384

The war with the Cāhamānas of Sākambharī seems to have involved Kumārapāla in two other struggles on his eastern frontier. The *Dvyāśraya* says that after his victory over Ānna he was advised to win fame by subduing Ballāla. The reason why his ministers counselled him to attack Ballāla is given by Hemacandra in another passage, where he writes that before Ānna advanced upon the frontiers of Gujarat he formed an alliance with Ballāla, the king of Avanti, and it was arranged that both the powers should simultaneously attack the Caulukya kingdom from the north and the east.³ After the Caulukya king had returned to Pattana, "News was brought to Kumārapāla that Vijaya and Kṛṣṇa, the two Sāmantas whom he had sent to oppose Ballāla, when he himself advanced against Ānna, had gone over to the king of Ujjain, and that monarch was already in his territory and was advancing on Anahillapura. Kumārapāla, assembling his troops, went against Ballāla, who was defeated and struck from his elephant.’¹ The *Vasantavilāsa*² also refers to Kumārapāla’s victory over Ballāla while the *Kīrti-Kaumudī* informs us that the latter was beheaded by Kumārapāla.³ The authenticity of this literary tradition seems to be borne out by epigraphic evidence. The stone pillar at Dohad, which contains an inscription dated in the reign of Jayasiṁha in V. S. 1196 (A.D. 1140) also contains a postscript dated in V. S. 1202 (A.D. 1145-46). But, significantly enough, it fails to mention the name of the sovereign lord of the *Mahāmaṇḍaleśvara* Vāpanadeva. We have already noticed the strategic importance of the Dohad region. It is not unlikely that sometime between 1140 and 1146 A.D. the Caulukyas lost their hold over this region. But there is no doubt that whatever reason may have induced the composer of the inscription to omit the name of Kumārapāla, the Caulukyas had recovered their hold on Mālava some time before 1163 A.D. The two Udayapur inscriptions of Kumārapāla dated in V. S. 1220 (A. D. 1163) and 1222 (A. D. 1166), which were discovered not far from Bhilsa, show that, like his predecessor he was again the lord of Mālava. The Veraval inscription of Bhāva-Bṛhaspati (A.D. 1169) refers to Kumārapāla’s victory over Ballāla, the king of Dhārā, while the Vadnagar *praśasti* states that the Caulukya king charmed the goddess Caṇḍī, “when she was desirous of taking a toy-lotus with the lotus-head of the Mālava lord, that was suspended at his gate.”⁴ This last inscription indicates that Ballāla was killed sometime before *c.* 1151 A.D.¹ It is however difficult to identify the Mālava king Ballāla. The genealogical lists in the published records of the Paramāras do not contain this name: as Lüders has suggested, he may have been a usurper who seized the throne of Mālava some time between 1135 to 1144 A.D.² and taking advantage of Kumārapāla's difficulties when he first ascended the throne of Aṇahilapāṭaka, declared his independence, and allied himself with the Cāhamānas of Sākambharī, and advanced against Gujarat to try conclusions with the traditional enemies of his country.³