Pramāṇa · Search · About · API

The Dynastic History of Northern India (Early Mediaeval Period) v2.c32.s4: (4) Cāhamānas of Śākambharī

The Dynastic History of Northern India (Early Mediaeval Period) v2.c32.s4

Language
English

(4) Cāhamānas of Śākambharī

v2.c32.s4.1

The earliest inscription of this branch is still the Harṣa stone inscription² of the time of Vigraharāja II dated in V. S. 1030 (A.D. 973). It carries back the genealogy of the Cāhamānas for six generations up to Gūvaka I, who, as we shall presently see, was a contemporary and feudatory of the Pratīhāra emperor Nāgabhaṭa II (*c.* 815 A.D.). The much later Bijolia rock-inscription, dated in V. S. 1226 (*c.* 1169 A. D.), in the reign of Someśvara, however, gives the names of 27 predecessors of Someśvara. Morison in 1893, first published a list of Cāhamāna princes from a Sanskrit work named *Pṛthvīrāja-vijaya*,³ which on comparison was found to agree closely with the list supplied by the two inscriptions mentioned above. To these lists and that given in *Hammīra-mahākāvya* of Nayacandra¹ H. B. Sarda² has added two more pedigrees contained in the *Prabandhakośa*³ and the *Surjan-carita*.⁴ The last scholar has contributed a critical and comparative chart of all these genealogies, and drawn the reasonable conclusion that, in the present state of our knowledge, the lists supplied by the *Pṛthvīrāja-vijaya* and tested by the evidence of the Bijholi inscription may be accepted as reliable.

v2.c32.s4.2

² Sometimes called *Haras Inscription*, see *EI*, Vol. XIX, *Appendix*, p. 14, No. 82.

v2.c32.s4.3

³ *WZKM*, Vol. VII, pp. 187-92. *PV*, now edited with Jonarāja's commentary, by S. K. Belvelkar, *Bibliotheca Indica*, New Series, No. 1400, Calcutta. The author of the work is unknown. Sarda has suggested that it may be Jayanāka, the Kashmirian poet, whose entry in Pṛthvīrāja's court is recorded in Sarga XII. As it mentions the defeat of Muḥammad Ghūrī by Bhīma I, which took place in 1178 A.D., it is suggested that the work was composed between that date and about 1200 A.D. The work is incomplete.

v2.c32.s4.4

¹ *IA*, Vol. VIII, pp. 55-73.

v2.c32.s4.5

² *JRAS*, 1913, pp. 259-81.

v2.c32.s4.6

³ Of Rājaśekhara. See *Gaüḍavaho*, Bombay Sanskrit Series, No. XXXIV, Introduction, p. cxxxv, Note 11, footnote. Stated to be 4 or 5 centuries old, *JRAS*, 1913, p. 265.

v2.c32.s4.7

⁴ Composed at Benares by Candraśekhara, a Bengali Vaidya (Gauḍa Ambaṣṭha) poet in the court of Surjan Siṁha of Bundi, Akbar's Cāhamāna general. I am at present engaged in editing this *Mahākāvya* (No. 1135 of the Govt. Collection of MSS. in the library of the Asiatic Society of Bengal.)

v2.c32.s4.8

According to the *Pṛthvīrāja-vijaya* and all the other literary traditions noticed above, the first historical person on the Cāhamāna genealogy is Vāsudeva. The 3rd and 4th Sargas of the *Pṛthvīrāja-vijaya* describe the mythical origin of the lake Śākambharī, which through the favour of the two goddesses Śākambharī and Āśāpuri was ever after to remain in the possession of Vāsudeva and his descendants, who thus became known as *Śākambharīśvara*.⁵ In his lineage was born Sāmantarāja, the first name on the Bijolia list. He was a feudatory prince (*Sāmanta*) and was possibly also known as Ananta. As I have already noticed, this inscription records that he was a *vipra* and born in the Vatsa-*gotra* at Ahicchatrapura. If there is any historical basis for the statement of the *Pṛthvīrāja-vijaya* that Vāsudeva was already connected with the Sambhar region, then Ahicchatra must be located near the borders of the Jaipur and Jodhpur States. As Sāmanta is the 12th king, counting backwards from Vigraharāja II (A. D. 973), we may perhaps assign him roughly to about the middle of the 7th century A. D.¹ Since the succession between Sāmanta and Vāsudeva does not appear to have been immediate, it is difficult to decide the exact time when Vāsudeva carved out his principality round Sambhar. The succession from Sāmanta to Durlabharāja I is given as follows :

v2.c32.s4.9

⁵ Vs. 1-5. The country round the lake was known as *Śākambharī-pradeśa*; *ibid*, V. 3. Also *infra*, p. 1099, fn. 3.

v2.c32.s4.10

¹ *Prabandha-kośa* however gives V. S. 608 (A.D. 551) as the date of Vāsudeva, see *Reports on Sanskrit MSS. in Southern India*, by Hultzsch, Vol. III, Madras, 1905, No. 1966, p. 112. The MS. was found in the private library of a Maratha Brāhman of Tarjore; also *JRAS*, 1913, p. 266, fn. 1.

v2.c32.s4.11

1. Sāmantarāja (also known as Ananta?) : after him,

v2.c32.s4.12

2. Pūrṇatalla ²

v2.c32.s4.13

² Sarda omits this name from his list of names given from Bijolia inscription, see *JRAS*, 1913, p. 270. The fact that *PB* (Vs. 7-8) seems to omit this name makes me a little doubtful about the reading of the transcript in *EI*, Vol. XX, *Appendix*, p. 51, No. 344.

v2.c32.s4.14

3. Jayarāja ³

v2.c32.s4.15

³ Sometimes Jayantarāja, or Ajayapāla.

v2.c32.s4.16

4. Vigraharāja I _____|_____

v2.c32.s4.17

5. Candrarāja 6. Gopendrarāja

v2.c32.s4.18

7. Durlabharāja (I)

v2.c32.s4.19

Practically nothing but vague praise is assigned to these princes, and they were apparently insignificant. According to the *Pṛthvīrāja-vijaya* Durlabharāja I was succeeded by his son Govindarāja. But the Bijolia inscription places Gūvaka after Durlabha. Sarda has accepted Gūvaka as an *alias* of Govindarāja. The Harṣa stone inscription of Vigraharāja traces his descent to prince Gūvaka. Scholars agree in identifying the Gūvaka of the Bijolia inscription with the Gūvaka of the Harṣa record.⁴ They also agree that 'Nāgāvaloka the foremost of kings,' in whose court Gūvaka is stated to have 'attained pre-eminence,' is the Pratīhāra Nāgabhaṭa II (*c.* 815 A. D.).⁵

v2.c32.s4.20

⁴ D. R. Bhandarkar is of opinion that the Saive temple referred to in the Harṣa inscription of Vigraharāja (V. S. 1030) was originally constructed by Gūvaka I, *IA*, 1913, p. 58.

v2.c32.s4.21

⁵ *IA*, 1911, pp. 239-40; *ibid*, 1913, p. 58.

v2.c32.s4.22

The implication of this statement of the Harṣa stone inscription is no doubt that Gūvaka I was a feudatory of the powerful Pratīhāra monarch.

v2.c32.s4.23

According to the *Pṛthvīrāja-vijaya*, the next prince was Govindarāja's son Candrarāja II. This agrees with the Harṣa inscription; but the Bijolia epigraph gives the variant Śaśinṛpa.¹ His son was Gūvaka II.² According to the *Pṛthvīrāja-vijaya*, his sister Kalāvatī chose for her husband the king of Kanauj.³ Gūvaka's son was Candanarāja. According to the Harṣa inscription, he defeated and slew in battle a Tomara prince (*Tomareśa*) named Rudrena,⁴ who has not yet been identified. There is reason to believe that the Tomaras were settled in the region round modern Delhi in the 9th century A. D.⁵ The north of the present Jaipur State is reported to be divided into two divisions viz., Taṁvrāvāṭī and Sekhāvāṭī. The former name is said to be derived from the Rajput tribe Taṁvar, who are the same as the Tomaras of the inscriptions. As Taṁvrāvāṭī is not very far from the Sambhar region, Rudrena may have been a prince of this locality.⁶ This conflict and the death of Rudrena may then be regarded as the opening act of that grim struggle which in the middle of the 12th century was to extend the arms of the Cāhamānas to the foot-hills of the Himalayas. According to the *Pṛthvīrāja-vijaya*, Candana's queen Rudrāṇī, also called Ātmaprabhā, set up 1,000 *liṅgas* on the banks of Puṣkara, 'which shone like lights in darkness.'⁷ Candana's son by this queen was Vākpatirāja, called Vappayarāja and Vindhyanṛpati (?) in the Bijolia inscription. The Harṣa inscription gives him the epithet *Mahārāja*, and states that he put to flight one Tantrapāla, who was ‘coming haughtily towards the Ananta country’ to deliver a message of his overlord.¹ The identity of the defeated prince is unknown; but it may be assumed that the kingdom of the Cāhamānas was called *Ananta-gocara*, after the name of its second prince. According to the *Pṛthvīrāja-vijaya*, Vākpati I was a great warrior and won 188 victories. He was also a devotee of Śiva, and built at Puṣkar a temple (*prāsāda*) for Vyomakeśa (Śiva), ‘which looked like Kailāsa.’² He was succeeded by his son Siṁharāja. The Harṣa inscription gives him the epithet *Mahārājādhirāja*, and states that he subdued the Tomara chief (*nāyaka*) Salavaṇa³ and put to flight and captured the hosts that had gathered under his command. The princes who were captured in this struggle were kept in prison till his overlord, who belonged to the ‘family of Raghu,’ came in person to his house to liberate them.⁴ The *Raghu-kula-cakravartin*⁵ referred to in this passage is most probably one of the successors of the Pratīhāra monarch Nāgabhaṭa II, to whom, as we have seen, Gūvaka I owed allegiance. It is difficult to identify the Pratīhāra prince; but as we have the date 973 A.D. for the successor of Siṁharāja, he must be either Mahendrapāla II (A.D. 946) or one of his weak successors. The fact that the overlord had to come personally to the house of his feudatory to effect the release of prisoners is sufficient evidence of the increasing importance of the Cāhamānas of Śākambharī and of the decline of the imperial power of Kanauj.

v2.c32.s4.24

¹ The meaning of both the names is the same, 'moon-king.'

v2.c32.s4.25

² The Bijolia inscription seems to spell the name ‘Gūvāka.’ See *EI*, Vol. XX, *Appendix*, p. 51, No. 344. *JASB*, LV, I, 41 has ‘Gavāka.’ *JRAS*, 1913, table on p. 270.

v2.c32.s4.26

³ Vs. 30-31. She had 12 other suitors, but they were all defeated by her brother.

v2.c32.s4.27

⁴ Kielhorn read the name as ‘Rudrena.’ *EI*, Vol. II, p. 121, V. 14. But D. R. Bhandarkar proposes to read it as ‘Rudra,’ *IA*, 1913, p. 58, and fn. 2.

v2.c32.s4.28

⁵ See *infra*, *DHNI*, Vol. II, chapter on the *Tomaras*.

v2.c32.s4.29

⁶ *IA*, 1913, p. 59.

v2.c32.s4.30

⁷ Vs. 37-38. She was also probably known a Yoginī; see *JRAS*, 1913, p. 268.

v2.c32.s4.31

¹ *IA*, 1913, pp. 58 and 62, V. 16. The overlord may have been either the Pratīhāra emperor Mahīpāla I (*c.* 914-31 A.D.) or one of his immediate successors. According to some ‘Tantrapāla’ may denote the designation of an individual; see *EI*, XIX, *Appendix*, p 14, fn. 4. For ‘Ananta,’ see also V. 28.

v2.c32.s4.32

² Vs. 41-43. It was probably from Vākpati's son Lakṣmaṇa that the Cāhamānas of Naḍḍūla took their rise, see *infra*, pp. 1104 ff. Vākpati had another son, named Vatsarāja see *EI*, Vol. II, p. 129.

v2.c32.s4.33

³ The passage may also mean ‘subdued the *Tomara nāyaka*…together with Lavaṇa’ see Bhandarkar, *IA*, 1912, pp. 57 ff., and Kielhorn, *EI*, Vol. II, pp. 116 ff.

v2.c32.s4.34

⁴ *IA*, 1913, pp. 58 and 62, V. 19.

v2.c32.s4.35

⁵ Rājaśekhara tells us that the Pratīhāra princes of Kanauj claimed descent from the *Raghu-kula*: see *supra*, *DHNI*, Vol. I, p. 576.

v2.c32.s4.36

Siṁharāja was succeeded by his son Vigraharāja II, for whose reign we have the *Harṣa stone-inscription*: This was found 'engraved on a large slab of black stone which lies in the porch of the temple of what is known as *Purāṇa* Mahādeva on a hill near the village Haras, situated in the Sikar principality of the Shekhawati province, Jaipur State,' Rajputana. It contains 40 lines of writing, and is somewhat damaged. It seems to open with *Oṁ oṁ namaḥ Śivāya*. The first verse pays obeisance to Gajānana; the next 10 verses eulogise Śiva, who appears to have been given the name Harṣa. Verse 12 praises the 'mansion of the divine Harṣadeva.'¹ Verses 13-27 trace the genealogy of the Cāhamānas from Gūvaka I to Vigraharāja II. The inscription then gives an account of 'a line of ascetics who were in charge of the temple of Harṣanātha,' relating that in the country of Ananta (*Ananta-gocara*) there lived Viśvarūpa, 'who was a teacher of the Lākula doctrine² expounding *pañcārtha*.' His disciple was the Brāhman Bhāvirakta, *alias* Allaṭa, of Rāṇapallikā.³ Allaṭa, who was like Nandin, began the building⁴ of the temple of Harṣanātha with the wealth received from pious people. The temple was completed in (V.) S. 1013 (c. 956 A.D.); but Allaṭa died in (V.) S. 1027 (A.D. 970), before he could accomplish all his designs. The works were completed by Allaṭa's disciple Bhāvadyota⁵ at the request of his preceptor. The architect of the temple was Caṇḍaśiva, 'omniscient like Viśakarman in the art of building houses.' The record was composed by Dhīranāga, the pious son of the *Karanika* Thīruka. Then is given a list of endowments received by the temple up to (V.) S. 1030 (*c.* 973 A.D.) The *M-Siṁharāja*, after having bathed at Puṣkara-tīrtha¹ had given the villages Siṁhagoṣṭha² in the Tūnakūpaka³-*dvādaśaka* in the Paṭṭabaddhaka⁴-*Viṣaya*, and Kaṇhapallikā in the Sarahkoṭṭa⁵-*Viṣaya*; his brother Vatsarāja, the village of Kardamakhāta in the Jayapura-*Viṣaya*; king Vigraharāja, the villages of Chatradhārā and Saṅkarāṇaka; Siṁharāja's other sons, Candrarāja and Govindarāja, two hamlets in the Paṭṭabaddhaka and Darbhakakṣa⁶-*Viṣayas*; Dandhuka, an official (*Duḥsādhya*) of Siṁharāja, the village Mayurapadra in the Khaṭṭakūpa⁷-*Viṣaya*; and a certain Jayanarāja, the village Kolikūpaka. Besides these fields had been given by various pious people at Madrāpurikā, Nimbadikā,⁸ Marupallikā, Harṣa and . . . . . (Ka)lāvanapadra; and taxes on salt and horses had been assigned for the benefit of the temple by traders (?) at Sākambharī and horsedealers of Uttarāpatha.⁹

v2.c32.s4.37

¹ D. R. Bhandarkar has tried to show that the description fits in well with the ruined temple where the inscription was found: *IA*, 1913, pp. 57-58.

v2.c32.s4.38

² '*Lākulāmnāya*, a term technical to the philosophy (*darśana*) of the *Lākulīśa-Pāśupata* sect: *ibid*, p. 59.

v2.c32.s4.39

³ Identified by Kielhorn with Ranoli, 7 miles east of Harasnath, and one mile west of Shishu: *EI*, Vol. II, p. 119.

v2.c32.s4.40

⁴ D. R. Bhandarkar thinks that he simply repaired the temple, which was built long ago by Gūvāka I; *IA*, 1913, p. 58.

v2.c32.s4.41

⁵ D. R. Bhandarkar points out that Allaṭa and Bhāvadyota are given the epithets *digamala-vasana* and *digambara* respectively. This may indicate that the sect, like their deity Lakulīśa, who is represented as *Urdha-medhra*, was naked. *IA*, 1913, p. 39.

v2.c32.s4.42

¹ Mod. Puskar near Ajmer.

v2.c32.s4.43

² Modern Simhot, *ibid.*

v2.c32.s4.44

³ Mod. Tunu in the Sikar principality, *IA*, 1913, p. 60.

v2.c32.s4.45

⁴ Mod. Patoda in the Sikar principality, *ibid.*

v2.c32.s4.46

⁵ Mod. Sargot in Marot, Jodhpur, *ibid.*

v2.c32.s4.47

⁶ Mod. Dhakas in the Sikar principality, *ibid.*

v2.c32.s4.48

⁷ Mod. Khatu in Sambhar Nizamat, Jaipur State, *ibid.*

v2.c32.s4.49

⁸ Mod. Nimra, 4½ miles south of Harasnath, near a salt lake, *EI*, Vol. II, p. 119. D. R. Bhandarkar locates most of the villages mentioned in the Sikar chiefship of Jaipur State: see *IA*, 1913, p. 60.

v2.c32.s4.50

⁹ Edited by Kielhorn, *EI*, Vol. II, pp. 116-30. Re-edited by D. R. Bhandarkar, *IA* 1913, pp. 57-64. The record is sometimes called *Haras Inscription*, see *EI*, Vol. XIX, *Appendix*, p. 14, No. 82. The *Sakrai stone-inscription* is referred by some to the reign of Vigraharāja. It is engraved on a slab 'in the principal niche of the exterior of the shrine' of Sākambharī at Sakrai, some 20 miles distant from Raghunathgarh, Jaipur State, Rajputana. The record has not been properly read but it seems to refer itself to the reign of the Cāhavāna prince Vigraharāja. It records that Dayikā, wife of Vatsarāja (no doubt, the paternal uncle of Vigraharāja referred to in the Harṣa inscription) repaired the temple of Saṅkarādevī. It is dated in *Saṁvatsara* 55 *Māgha Sudi* 5. The date is taken to be a case of omitted hundreds and equivalent to V. S. 1055. *ASI, WC*, 1909-10, p. 57; in *EI*, Vol XIX, *Appendix*, p. 17, No. 97 the inscription is referred 'apparently' to the time of king Vatsarāja, successor (?) of Vigraharāja.

v2.c32.s4.51

This inscription gives the date (V.) S. 1030 (*c.* 973 A.D.) for Vigraharāja. The donatory position of the record also shows that he had two brothers Candrarāja and Govindarāja, and an uncle, named Vatsarāja, brother of Siṁharāja. It appears certain that sometime before this date the Cāhamānas had completely freed themselves from the control of the princes of ‘*Raghu-kula*’ (Gurjara-Pratīhāras). The *Pṛthvīrāja-vijaya* tells us that Vigraharāja extended his conquests as far south as the Narmadā and defeated the Gurjara king Mūlarāja, who fled to Kaṇṭhādurga.¹ He is also reported to have built a temple (*dhāma*) for the goddess Āśāpurī on the banks of the Revā at Bhṛgukaccha.² The statement of the conflict between Mūlarāja and the king of Śākambharī is remarkably borne out by Merutuṅga's *Prabandha-cintāmaṇi* according to which the ‘king of Sapādalakṣa,’ who ruled from his capital at Śākambharī, invaded Gujarat, and the distressed Caulukya was forced to take shelter in the fort of Kaṇṭhā.³ The identification of this invader with Vigraharāja is generally accepted. According to the *Hammīra-mahākāvya*, the struggle ended with fatal results for Mūlarāja.⁴ I have shown elsewhere⁵ that, though it may well be doubted whether Nayacandra is correct in his statement that Mūlarāja was killed by Vigraharāja, there is sufficient reason to believe that he was really defeated by him.

v2.c32.s4.52

¹ V8. 50-51.

v2.c32.s4.53

² V. 53.

v2.c32.s4.54

³ *PC*, pp. 23 ff. See *supra*, *DHNI*, Vol. II, chapter on the Caulukyas, pp. 937 ff.

v2.c32.s4.55

⁴ *IA*, Vol. VII, p. 7. See *supra*, *DHNI*, Vol. II, p. 939.

v2.c32.s4.56

⁵ *Ibid.*

v2.c32.s4.57

Vigraharāja was succeeded by his younger brother Durlabharāja of whom nothing more was known than the name of his minister, Mādhava, which is supplied by the *Pṛthvīrāja-vijaya*, until the discovery of the *Kinsariya stone-inscription of Cacca* threw some welcome light on his reign. This was found ‘in a temple dedicated to the goddess Kevāy mātā and situated on the summit of a hill in the vicinity of a village named Kinsariyā, 4 miles north of Parbatsar, the principal town of the district of the same name in the Jodhpur State. It is incised on a stone fixed in the wall of the *Sabhāmaṇḍapa.*' It contains 23 lines of somewhat damaged writing. The first verse has peeled off. In the next four verses it invokes Kātyāyaṇī, Kālī, and another deity (name lost). Verse 6 praises the Cāhamāna race. Then it gives the names of Vākpātirāja, Siṁharāja, and Durlabharāja. The latter, we are told, earned the epithet *Durlanghya-meru*, as none could transgress his orders. Verse 12 'represents him as having conquered the country called Āsośittana.'¹ Next is given the following genealogy of a line of feudatory princes who traced their descent to the sage Dadhīci and were hence known as Dadhīcika (also Dahiyaka).²

v2.c32.s4.58

¹ Perhaps 'Rāsośittana,' *EI*, Vol. XII, p. 56.

v2.c32.s4.59

² The editor identifies them with the Dahiya Rajputs: See *ibid*, pp. 57 ff. According to *Muhanota Naiṇsī*, they originally migrated from Thalner, on the Godavari, near Nasik, into Marwar.

v2.c32.s4.60

[Figure: In this race: Meghanāda [=Māsaṭā Vairisiṁha

v2.c32.s4.61

|=Dundā

v2.c32.s4.62

Cacca

v2.c32.s4.63

┌──────────────┴──────────────┐ Yaśaḥpuṣṭa Uddharaṇa]

v2.c32.s4.64

Cacca built 'this' temple of Bhavānī, no doubt the temple where this inscription was found. The *praśasti* was composed by the *Gauḍa-Kāyastha* Mahādeva, son of Kalya, a poet. The date (V.) *Saṁvat* 1056 (*c.* 999) is given in line 22.³

v2.c32.s4.65

³ Edited by Ramakarna, *EI*, Vol. XII, pp. 56-61.

v2.c32.s4.66

Durlabharāja was succeeded by his son Govindarāja, whom the *Prabandha-kośa* credits with a victory over Sulṭān Maḥmūd.⁴ If the latter is the prince of Ghazni of that name, we must suppose that the Cāhamāna king won some minor success when Maḥmūd was on his way to Somnath through Jaisalmer and Mallani. But I am disposed to doubt the reliability of this statement, as it is omitted in the much more reliable *Pṛthvīrāja-vijaya*.

v2.c32.s4.67

⁴ *JRAS*, 1913, p. 269, fn. 2. See also *Bombay Sanskrit Series*, No. XXXIV, Introduction, p. cxxxvi.

v2.c32.s4.68

Govindarāja was succeeded by his son Vākpatirāja who according to the *Pṛthvīrāja-vijaya* sent Ambāprasāda the lord (*pati*) of Āghāṭa, with his army to the abode of Yama and rent his mouth with a dagger (*churikā*).¹ Āghāṭa is modern Ahar, near Udaipur station, and was the ancient capital of the Guhilas. It is therefore certain that this Ambāprasāda is to be identified with Ambāprasād or Āmraprasād who is placed in the Guhila list of princes after Śaktikumāra (V.S. 1034 = A.D. 977).²

v2.c32.s4.69

¹ V, Vs. 59-60.

v2.c32.s4.70

² *JRAS*, 1913, p. 268 and fn. 3; also *HR*, I, pp. 438-39; *ibid*, II, p. 438. See also *infra*, DHNI, Vol. II, chapter on the *Guhila-putras*.

v2.c32.s4.71

Vākpati II was succeeded by his son Vīryārāma who is stated by the *Pṛthvīrāja-vijaya* to have been killed by the (Paramāra) Bhoja lord of Avanti (c. 1010-1055 A.D.).³ He was succeeded by his younger brother Cāmuṇḍarāja, who built at Narapura⁴ a temple of Viṣṇu.⁵ The next king, according to the *Pṛthvīrāja-vijaya*, was Vīryārāma's son Durlabharāja III, also called Vīrasiṁha, who is said to have been killed in battle by the *Mātaṅgas*. The commentator Jonarāja explains *Mātaṅga* by the word *Mleccha*.⁶ If this interpretation is correct, he may have lost his life in a struggle against an unrecorded invasion of the Yamīnīs from the Lahore region. Durlabha is probably the same as Dūsala of the Bijolia rock inscription; but the latter's father's name is given in the inscription as Siṁhaṭa. Durlabha III was succeeded by his brother Vigraharāja III, who is probably identical with Vīsala of the Bijolia inscription and Viśvala of the *Hammīra-mahākāvya*. According to the Bijolia inscription Vīsala's queen was named Rājadevī. The *Pṛthvīrāja-vijaya* states that Vigraharāja gave to Udayāditya of Mālava (*c.* 1059-87 A.D.) a horse named Sāraṅga, with which Udayāditya vanquished the Gurjara Karṇa¹ (*c.* 1064-94 A.D.). If this statement is based on fact, we must reject the statement of Nayacandra, that Karṇa was killed by Viśvala's predecessor Duśala.²

v2.c32.s4.72

³ V. 67.

v2.c32.s4.73

⁴ Narwar, 'situated' in Kishengarh territory at a distance of about 15 miles from Ajmer, *JRAS*, 1913, p. 272.

v2.c32.s4.74

⁵ V. 68.

v2.c32.s4.75

⁶ *Mātaṅga-saṁgare = Mleccha saṁgrāme*. The commentator also adds that it may mean *hasti-samare*, which seems to be more probable.

v2.c32.s4.76

¹ V5. 76-78.

v2.c32.s4.77

² *IA*, Vol. VIII, p. 59. Though the author does not actually state the dynasty to which Karṇa belonged, the inference is obvious that the Caulakya prince is meant. See *supra*, *DHNI*, Vol. II, pp. 872, fn. 2, and 964.

v2.c32.s4.78

Vigraharāja was succeeded by his son Pṛthvīrāja I. The *Pṛthvīrāja-vijaya* states that this prince defeated and killed a body of 700 'Caulukyas' who had come to Puṣkara to rob the Brāhmans. He is also reported to have built an *anna-satra* on the road to Somanātha. The Bijolia inscription gives Rasalladevī as the name of his queen. Only one inscription has so far been noticed for the reign of Pṛthvīrāja I. This is his *Revasa stone-inscription* found in the temple of Jīṇ-mātā (*Jayantī-mātā*) situated about six miles to the south of Revasa. The latter place is nearly 16 miles NW of Khatu, in the Sambhar Nizamat in Shekhawati, Jaipur State. The goddess inside the temple is 'an eight-handed Mahiṣamardinī'; the *Sabhāmaṇḍapa* of the temple is 'doubtless old,' and is stated to be not later than the 10th century A. D. The present inscription is incised on the lower part of a pillar of this *Sabhāmaṇḍapa*. It is dated in V.S. 1162 (*c.* 1105 A D.) in the reign of Pṛthvīdeva³ and records the building of the temple by one Haṭhada, son of Mohila.⁴

v2.c32.s4.79

³ 'Pṛthvīdeva' is the same as 'Pṛthvīrāja.' Another variant of the name is 'Pṛthvībhaṭa,' which we find in the case of the second prince of that name. See *infra*.

v2.c32.s4.80

⁴ Noticed in *ASI, WC*, 1909-10, p. 52.

v2.c32.s4.81

Pṛthvīrāja I was succeeded by his son Ajayarāja⁵ *alias* Salhaṇa. According to the *Pṛthvīrāja-vijaya*, he defeated the *Mātaṅgas* (*mlecchas*?) and also Sulhaṇa the king of Mālava. The last statement is confirmed by the Bijolia inscription, which states that Ajayadeva captured in battle Sulhaṇa, the commander-in-chief of the army, tied him to the back of his camel, and brought him to Ajmer.¹ As there was no prince ruling in Mālava during this period who bore the name Sulhaṇa, he must be a general of one of the Paramāra kings, possibly Yaśovarman (*c.* 1134-42 A.D.) These were not the only victories of Ajayadeva. The Bijolia inscription states that he killed three kings, *viz.*, Cāciga, Sindhula, and Yaśorāja, while another stone inscription found in the *Adhai dinkā Jhonprā*, Ajmer,² says that he conquered the country up to Ujjain.³ Besides these conquests, the most important achievement of his reign was the foundation of the city of Ajaya-meru, now known as Ajmer.⁴ The author of the *Pṛthvī-rāja-vijaya* eloquently describes the many temples and palaces with which the king beautified this city. No inscription of Ajayapāla has yet been published, but certain silver and copper coins of a prince of the same name bearing the figure of a ‘seated goddess on the obverse’ which are frequently met with in Rajputana and Mathura, have been referred to him.⁵ It is interesting in this connection to note that the *Pṛthvīrāja-vijaya* actually states that he filled this world with his *rūpakas*, made of *Durvarṇa* (silver).⁶ It also states that the king’s wife (*priyā*) Somalekhā used to coin fresh (*nava*) *rūpakas* every day.⁷ In corroboration of this last statement certain silver and copper coins bearing on the obverse⁸ the legend *Śrī-Somaladevī* have been referred to this queen. The silver coins bear on the reverse¹ ‘a degraded representation’ of a king’s head, while the copper coins bear the effigy of a horseman. As the Bijolia inscription actually gives Somalladevī as a variant of the name of Ajayapāla’s queen, it seems probable that the coins in question belonged to her.

v2.c32.s4.82

⁵ Also known as Ajayadeva.

v2.c32.s4.83

¹ *JRAS*, 1913, p. 272, fn. 5.

v2.c32.s4.84

² Now in the Rajputana Museum.

v2.c32.s4.85

³ *JRAS*, 1913, p. 272, fn. 5. Ajayadeva was also sometimes called Jayadeva (*JASB*, Vol. LV, Part I, p. 41, V. 14) or Jayarāja (PB, V, V. 83).

v2.c32.s4.86

⁴ PB, p. 164; *JRAS*, 1913, pp. 272-73; *IA*, 1897, pp. 162-64.

v2.c32.s4.87

⁵ Ojha, *IA*, 1912, pp. 209-11.

v2.c32.s4.88

⁶ V. 88. See *infra*, inscription No. 2 of Someśvara which refers to the *Drammas* of Ajayapāla.

v2.c32.s4.89

⁷ V, vs. 90.

v2.c32.s4.90

⁸ Ojha calls this side of the coin ‘reverse’ but Mr. Allan, Keeper of Coins in the British Museum, told me that it is better to accept Cunningham’s practice of calling that side of the coin ‘obverse’ which bears the royal legend.

v2.c32.s4.91

¹ Ojha calls this side ‘obverse’ but see above.

v2.c32.s4.92

Ajayarāja was succeeded by his son Arṇorāja. Of his reign only two inscriptions have so far been noticed, *viz.*, his *Revasa* (Jaipur State, Rajputana) *stone-inscriptions*. These are incised on the lower part of a pillar of the *Sabhā-maṇḍapa* of the same temple which bears the inscription of his grand-father Pṛthvīrāja I.² They are dated in (V.)S. 1196 (*c.* 1139 A.D.) in the reign of Arṇṇarāja (Arṇorāja).³ The *Dvyāśraya* of Hemacandra states that Āna of Sapādalakṣa bent his head before the Caulukya Jayasiṁha (*c.* 1094-1144 A.D.).⁴ Someśvara’s *Kīrti-kaumudī* confirms this statement, and adds that, though Jayasiṁha defeated the Śākambharī prince, he gave his daughter as a bride to him.⁵ The marriage was no doubt intended to end an era of hostility between the two neighbouring dynasties. The *Pṛthvīrāja-vijaya* mentions two queens of Arṇorāja, of whom one came from Gurjara, and the other named Sudhavā from the desert country named *Avīci*.⁶ The commentator Jonarāja tells us that the Gurjara queen was named Kāñcanadevī and that she was given away by Jayasiṁha.⁷ Hostilities with the Caulukyas seems to have broken out afresh with the accession of Kumārapāla (*c.* 1144-73 A.D.) to the throne of Anhilvada. The Jain chronicles record many incidents in connection with this new war. I have, elsewhere,⁸ discussed in detail the facts mentioned by them. We shall here mention only two incidents. The first is Arṇorāja's invasion of Kumārapāla's territory, before the latter had consolidated his position on the throne, in support of the cause of Bāhaḍa, the adopted son of Jayasiṁha ; and the second is Arṇorāja's ill-treatment of his wife Devalladevī, who, we are told, was a sister of Kumārapāla. Both these incidents are given by different authorities as causes of war between Arṇorāja and Kumārapāla. Recently Rai Bahadur H. B. Sarda has offered the plausible conjecture that the Jain chroniclers mention only one war while the facts suggest two distinct struggles. He supposes that the first war ended with a marriage-alliance at the beginning of Kumārapāla's career. The *Dvyāśraya* mentions that Arṇorāja brought peace by giving his daughter Jalhaṇā to Kumārapāla. The next war may have been occasioned by the treatment of Devalladevī some time before V.S. 1207 (*c.* 1150 A.D.), the date of Kumārapāla's Chitorgadh stone-inscription.¹

v2.c32.s4.93

² See *ante*, *DHNI*, Vol. II, p. 1070.

v2.c32.s4.94

³ Noticed in *ASI, WC*, 1909-10, p. 52.

v2.c32.s4.95

⁴ *IA*, Vol. IV, p. 268.

v2.c32.s4.96

⁵ *JRAS*, 1913, p. 274.

v2.c32.s4.97

⁶ *Avīcibhāgo marubhūmi-nāma*, *PB*, p. 197. According to Sarda it means Marwar, see *JRAS*, 1913 p. 274.

v2.c32.s4.98

⁷ *PB*, p. 198.

v2.c32.s4.99

⁸ See *ante*, *DHNI*, Vol. II, chapter on the Caulukyas, pp. 986 ff.

v2.c32.s4.100

¹ *IA*, 1912, pp. 195-96.

v2.c32.s4.101

Besides these struggles, Arṇorāja is reported to have engaged in other conflicts. The *Pṛthvīrāja-vijaya*² states that he defeated the *Mātaṅgas* and once made a great massacre of the Turuṣkas. The latter, we are told, came across the desert (*Marusthalī*). By the time they reached the Cāhamāna dominions, they were so thirsty that according to Jonarāja they had to drink the blood of their horses by striking their shoulders with their weapons. Arṇorāja, it is said, made a great slaughter of them, and afterwards purified the place, by constructing a lake on the battle-field by diverting the waters of the river Candra,³ which rises in *Puṣkarāraṇya*. It is evident from these statements that these Muslims must have raided the temples of the sacred Puṣkara-tīrtha. This appears to be another unrecorded instance of Muslim invasion of India. Possibly the Turuṣkas were troops of the Yamīnīs of Lahore.

v2.c32.s4.102

² *Sarga* VI.

v2.c32.s4.103

³ Acc. to Sarda mod. Bandi river, which is in its lower course known as Luni, *JRAS*, 1913, p. 274, fn. 2. In the *IGI*, Vol. XXVI (Atlas), 1931, two rivers are shown with the name Bandi, one is a tributary of the Luni, the other of the river Banas. None of these rises from near Pushkar or flows by the *tīrtha*; the Luni, however takes its rise in the Sambhar lake and flows by Pushkar. Under the circumstances I prefer to identify Candra with the Luni.

v2.c32.s4.104

It appears from the *Pṛthvīrāja-vijaya* that the reign of Arṇorāja had a violent ending. We read that queen Sudhavā had three sons, who differed from each other as the three *guṇas* (*sattva*, *rajas* and *tamas*). Of these Vigraharāja was like the *sattva-guṇa*, while the eldest son is reported to have ‘rendered the same services to his father as Bhṛgu’s son Paraśu Rāma had rendered to his mother.’¹ This certainly indicated that this eldest son murdered his father. But unfortunately neither the *Pṛthvīrāja-vijaya* nor the Bijolia inscription mention his name. The *Hammīra-mahākāvya*, the *Prabandhakośa* and the *Surjan-carita* however give the name of the successor of Aṇāladeva² (Arṇorāja?), and the predecessor of Visaladeva (Vigraharāja IV) as Jugadeva. It is therefore likely that the eldest prince was named Jugadeva, and that he succeeded in occupying the throne for at least some time. The *Pṛthvīrāja-vijaya* however seems to indicate Vigraharāja IV, one of the sons of Sudhavā, as his father’s immediate successor. It is not improbable that before Jugadeva had time to consolidate his position on the throne, he was ousted by his younger brother, Vigraharāja. The following records are known for the latter’s reign.

v2.c32.s4.105

¹ *PB*, VI, pp. 197 ff. *JRAS*, 1913, p. 274.

v2.c32.s4.106

² In the *Surjan-carita* Analadeva.

v2.c32.s4.107

(1) *Ajmer stone-inscription* (i).—Found in the mosque known as *Aḍhai dinkā Jhonpṝā*, on the lower slope of the Taragadh hill at Ajmer, Rajputana. It consists of 75 lines of writing. It contains a large portion of the 1st act, the beginning of the 2nd act, the end of the 3rd act and a large portion of the 4th act of *Lalita-Vigraharāja*, a drama (*nāṭaka*) composed by the *Mahākavi* Somadeva in honour of king Vigraharāja of Sākambharī. The preserved portion of the drama deals with the king's love for Desaladevi, the daughter of prince Vasantapāla,¹ who appears to have lived near or at the town of Indrapura (?). The end of the 3rd act contains a conversation between the king and Śaśiprabhā, a confidante of Desaladevī. Reference is then made to the king's impending 'march against the king of the Turuṣkas.' Two Turuṣka prisoners appear in the 4th act, and spies of the two hostile kings enter their enemies' camps to ascertain their strength and position. The Turuṣka spy announces that the Cāhamāna army 'consists of a thousand elephants, a hundred thousand horses, and a million men,' while the Cāhamāna spy states that 'the Hammīra's army consists of countless elephants, chariots, horses and men.' We are also told that the camp of the Hammīra, which was a Yojana distant from 'Vavveraa,'² the place where Vigraharāja was then encamped, was 'well guarded.' The Cāhamāna king consults Rāja Siṁhabala, his maternal uncle, and the *Mantri* Śrīdhara as to the course of conduct on the impending struggle. The preserved portion ends with the arrival of a *dūta* from the Hammīra. The record was written and engraved by the learned Bhāskara.³

v2.c32.s4.108

¹ Kielhorn suggests that he may be a Tomara chief, *IA*, Vol. XX, p. 202, fn. 1.

v2.c32.s4.109

² Kielhorn was not sure about the Sanskrit equivalent of this Prakrit form. He however suggested that this may possibly be Vyāghreraka which is mod. Bāghera about 47 miles S. E. of Ajmer: *ibid*, fn. 3. To Barnett Vavveraa looks like Varvaraka (> Vavveraa).

v2.c32.s4.110

³ Partially edited by Kielhorn in *IA*, Vol. XX, pp. 201 ff. Edited by the same in *Göttinger Festschrift*, 1901, pp. 1-15.

v2.c32.s4.111

(2) *Ajmer stone-inscription (ii).*—Found as No. 1 above. It consists of 81 lines of writing, containing portions of the 2nd and 3rd acts and the concluding portions of the 5th act of the *Harakeli-nāṭaka*, a drama composed by the *M.-P.* Vigraharājadeva of Śākambharī. The drama in certain portions seems to have been imitated from the *Kirātārjunīya* of Bhāravi. It seems to be intended as a *praśasti* to the god Śiva and his consort Gaurī. In the end the god expresses great pleasure with the composition of the drama, and tells the author that ‘his fame as a poet is to last for ever.’ The inscription was written by the same as No. 1. He is described here as the grandson of the learned Govinda, ‘who was born in the family of Hūṇa princes and was, on account of his manifold excellences, a favourite of king Bhoja.’ It is dated in (V.) *Saṁvat* 1210 (A.D. 1153).¹

v2.c32.s4.112

¹ Partially edited by Kielhorn in *IA*, Vol. XX, pp. 201 ff. Edited by the same in *Göttinger Festschrift*, 1901, pp. 16-30.

v2.c32.s4.113

(3) *Lohari stone-inscription.*—Engraved on a pillar in the temple of Bhūteśvara near the village of Lohari in the Jahazpur district of the Udaipur State. It records that during the reign of the illustrious Vīsaladeva, in V. (S.) 1211 (*c.* 1155 A.D.), the great Pāśupata priest Viśveśvaraprajña adorned the temple of Siddheśvara,² with a *maṇḍapa*.³

v2.c32.s4.114

² Now known as Bhūteśvara.

v2.c32.s4.115

³ Noticed in *RMR*, 1923, p. 2.

v2.c32.s4.116

(4) *Delhi Siwalik Pillar-inscriptions.*—Incised on the pillar which is known as Fīrūz Shāh's Lāṭ or the Siwalik Pillar, which contains the inscriptions of Aśoka. It is reported that the original site of the pillar was near Khizrabad, immediately west of the Jumna, at the foot of Siwalik mountains, whence it was removed to Delhi by Fīrūz Shāh (A.D. 1351-88). There are three short inscriptions on the pillar The first consists of only 3 lines, giving the date (V.) *Saṁvat* 1220 (A.D. 1164) in the reign of the Śākambharī king Vīsaladeva, the son of Ānnalladeva.⁴ The second inscription, of four lines, contains a short *praśasti* of king Vigraha or Vigraharāja. The third inscription, in six lines, also contains a *praśasti* of the ‘ornament of the Cāhamānas,’ Vīsala also called Vigraharāja of Śākambharī, who is said to have conquered the whole region from the Vindhyas to the Himalayas and repeatedly exterminated the Mlecchas. It is dated in (V.) *Saṁvat* 1220 (A.D. 1164), and was written at the king’s command in the presence of the astrologer Tilakarāja by the *Gauḍa Kāyastha* Śrīpati, when the *Rājaputra* Saliakṣaṇa was serving as the *Mahā-mantrī*.¹

v2.c32.s4.117

⁴ A variant of Arṇōrāja, see *EI*, Vol. XIX, p. 48, fn. 2. Kielhorn read the name as Avelladeva.

v2.c32.s4.118

¹ Edited by Kielhorn, *IA*, Vol. XIX, pp. 215-19. First noticed in the *Asiatic Researches*, 1788, Vol. I, pp. 379-82, and then in 1801, *ibid*, Vol. VII, pp. 179-81. Lines 1-4 of the 3rd inscription are quoted in Sāraṅgadhara’s *Paddhati*, Peterson’s Ed., Nos. 1255 and 1256. See *IA*, Vol. XIX, p. 216, fn. 5.

v2.c32.s4.119

These inscriptions range from V. S. 1210 to 1220 corresponding to *c.* 1153 to 1164 A.D. The last of them shows that by 1164 A.D. the Cāhamāna dominions had spread northwards to the foot-hills of the Himalayas, and perhaps may have included a substantial portion of the Punjab lying between the Sutlej and the Jumna. This extension of power in the Punjab must have brought Vigraharāja IV, into repeated conflict with the Yamīnīs of Ghaznī and Lahore. It is therefore natural that the inscriptions should refer to repeated victories over the *Turuṣkas* and *Mlecchas*. The success of his arms was no doubt largely due to the rapid decline of the Yamīnī power² during the administration of Khusrau Shāh Mu‘izz ud-Daulah (A.D. 1152-60) and Khusrau Malik Tāj ud-Daulah (A.D. 1160-86). The Bijolia inscription of Someśvara refers to the conquest of Ḍhillikā and Āśikā by Vigraharāja,³ while the Siwalik pillar inscription claims that the Cāhamāna prince made Āryāvarta ‘once more the abode of the Āryas’ by exterminating the Mlecchas. According to some inscriptions of the 14th century, the town of Delhi and the neighbouring region, then known as the ‘land of Hariyānaka,’ were conquered by the Cāhamānas from the Tomaras.⁴ In the S. W. Vigraharāja’s arms appear to have reached the valley of the river Sukri. The Bijolia inscription seems to state that he reduced Pallikā and Naddūla⁵ and burnt the town of Jāvālipura, which is to be identified with modern Jalor in Jodhpur State.¹ Whether his power really extended so far south as the Vindhyas is more than doubtful. For though the Paramāras during this period could offer no effective resistance to his arms, his reign synchronised with that of the powerful Caulukya monarch Kumārapāla (*c.* 1141-73 A.D.) for whom we have epigraphic records in Kirādu, Ratanpur and Bhatund in Marwar, Chitor in Mewar, and Udayapur in the Gwalior State. It rather seems that, seeing on his southern frontier such a formidable rival, he turned his whole attention to the northern region, where the fortunate decline of the Yamīnīs assured him of success. The capture of Delhi and the land between the Jumna and the Sutlej made his dynasty the guardian of the gates to the Ganges-Jumna Valley,² and, as subsequent history shows, the Cāhamānas had to bear the first shock of the revived Muslim power that was gradually issuing out from the hills of Ghūr.³

v2.c32.s4.120

² TN, Vol. I, pp. 111-115; *TA*, Trans., pp. 37-38. *TF* (Briggs' Trans.), Vol. I, pp. 155-59. *CHI*, Vol. III, pp. 37 ff. and 688.

v2.c32.s4.121

³ V. 22; see *JRAS*, 1913, p. 276, fn. 1. *JASB*, 1886, Part I, pp. 31 and 42. *Aśikā* is sometimes spelt Asikā, see *infra*, p. 1078.

v2.c32.s4.122

⁴ See *EI*, Vol. I, p. 98; *JASB*, Vol. XLIII, Part I, pp. 104-10; and *EI*, Vol. XIII, pp. 17-27. Also *infra*, *DHNI*, Vol. II, chapter on the *Tomaras*.

v2.c32.s4.123

⁵ See *EI*, Vol. IX, p. 62, fn. 4.

v2.c32.s4.124

¹ V. 21. *JASB*, 1886, Part I, pp. 81 and 42.

v2.c32.s4.125

² *JL*, 1927, Vol. XIV, pp. 8-9.

v2.c32.s4.126

³ The Shansabānīah dynasty of Ghūr is now regarded by some as of Iranian origin, see *CHI*, Vol. III, p. 38. Though this may possibly be so, there is little doubt that the most important officers and the bulk of the men who entered India with the Ghūrids were of Turkish origin.

v2.c32.s4.127

By his combination of military gifts with literary merit Vigraharāja seems to have revived the memory of such rulers as Muñja and Bhoja. But, unlike them, he seems to have escaped a tragic end. The *Pṛthvīrāja-vijaya* declares that with his death the name of 'the friend of the poets' disappeared.⁴ He was succeeded by his son Apara-Gāṅgeya⁵ and the latter by Pṛthvībhata, the son of the eldest son of Sudhavā (*i.e.*, Jugadeva?). The following inscriptions are known for this prince's reign :

v2.c32.s4.128

⁴ *JRAS*, 1913, p. 276.

v2.c32.s4.129

⁵ See *JRAS*, 1913, p. 276. Abu'l-Fazl (*AAk*, Vol. II, p. 298) possibly gives a variant of this name as Amr Gangū. The *Prabandha-kośa* also gives the name as Amara-Gāṅgeya. *Reports on Sanskrit MSS. in S. India* by Hultzsch, No. III, 1905, p. 114.

v2.c32.s4.130

(1) *Hansi stone-inscription.*—Originally found on the wall of a building at Hansi, in the Hissar district of the Punjab. It contains 22 lines, opening with salutation to an unspecified goddess.

v2.c32.s4.131

Then follows a verse invoking Murāri. V. 2 refers to the Cāhamāna king Pṛthvīrāja and his maternal uncle, Kilhaṇa; V. 3 informs us that the latter belonged to the Gūhilaüta tribe. The verse following tells us that thinking of Hammīra who had become the cause of the anxiety of the world, the king put Kilhaṇa in charge of the fort of Āsikā.¹ The proper object of the inscription was probably to record that Kilhaṇa erected a *pratolī* (or gateway) and near it two *koṣṭhakas* or granaries. The flag on the *pratolī*, we are told, 'set Hammīra as it were at defiance.' The rest of the inscription is devoted to a *praśasti* of Kilhaṇa, comparing him to Hanumān and Pṛthvīrāja to Rāma. V. 11 'refers to his having burnt Paṁcapura² and captured but not killed its lord.' The record was composed by Lakṣmaṇa of the Doḍa³ race, a servant of Kilhaṇa. The date (V.) *Saṁvat* 1224 (*c.* 1168 A.D.) comes at the end.⁴

v2.c32.s4.132

¹ According to D. R. Bhandarkar it is doubtless Hansi. *IA*, 1912, p. 17.

v2.c32.s4.133

² Identified with 'Pāchapattana' on the Sutlej, *ibid*, p. 18.

v2.c32.s4.134

³ One of the recognised 36 royal races of Rajasthan. Bhandarkar thinks that they are the Ḍoḍs or the Ḍoḍias, a clan of the Paramāras, *ibid*.

v2.c32.s4.135

⁴ Edited by D. R. Bhandarkar, *IA*, 1912, pp. 17-19. First published in the *Asiatic Researches*, by Captain E. Fell, Vol. XV, pp. 443-46.

v2.c32.s4.136

(2) *Menal stone-inscription.*—Found at Menal in Udaipur State, Rajputana. 7 lines, opening with *Svasti*, followed by the date, (V.) *Saṁvat* 1225 (*c.* 1168 A.D.). It refers to some endowments made by *Mahārājñī* Suhavadevī, queen of Pṛthvīrāja II, to the god Suhaveśvara.⁵

v2.c32.s4.137

⁵ Noticed in *ASI, WC*, 1906, pp. 59-60, No. 2191.

v2.c32.s4.138

(3) *Dhod stone-inscription.*—Engraved on a pillar in the temple of Rūṭhī Rānī at Dhod, in the Jahazpur district of Mewar. It is dated in (V.) *Saṁvat* 1225 (*c.* 1169 A.D.) and records that during the reign of *P.-Pb.* Pṛthīṁvīdeva (Pṛthvīdeva), the lord of Sākambharī, his feudatory *Adhirāja* Kumārapāla, son of *Ṭha(kkura)* Maṅgalarāja erected the temple of Nityapramoditadeva,⁶ at Dhavagarttā.⁷ Kumārapāla is said to be the chief of Uparamvāla Antarī.⁸ The record mentions *Rājñī* Suhavadevī, apparently a queen of the Cāhamāna prince.¹

v2.c32.s4.139

⁶ Now known as Ruthi Rānī's temple.

v2.c32.s4.140

⁷ Mod. Dhod.

v2.c32.s4.141

⁸ *Uparamāla Antarī* ?

v2.c32.s4.142

¹ *RMR*, 1923, p. 2.

v2.c32.s4.143

(4) *Menalgarh pillar-inscription.*—Found on a pillar over the northern gateway of a palace in Menalgarh in Mewar. It records the erection of a monastery (*maṭha*) by Bhāva Brahma, while the Cāhamāna Pṛthvīrāja was reigning in V.S. 1226 (A.D. 1170).²

v2.c32.s4.144

² Noticed by Shyamal Das, *JASB*, 1886, Vol. LV, Part I, pp. 15-16 and 46.

v2.c32.s4.145

These inscriptions range from 1224 to 1226 V.S., corresponding to *c.* 1167-1170 A.D. As the last recorded date of his predecessors is A. D. 1164 and the first of his successors A.D. 1170, Pṛthvībhaṭa's reign appears to have been short. It has been assumed that his succession to the throne was not peaceful. The Dhod stone-inscription mentioned above is reported to contain a statement that he won a victory over the king of Sākambharī by the strength of his arms.³ This seems to indicate that Apara-Gāṅgeya, who according to the *Pṛthvīrāja-vijaya* died unmarried, was forcibly removed from his throne by him. The only important point in Pṛthvīrāja's reign is his conflict with the Muslims, which is revealed by the Hansi stone-inscription. If the identification of ‘Pamcapura’ with ‘Pāchapattana’ on the Sutlej is accepted, he must have had some success in these conflicts against the Yamīnī prince Khusrau Malik Tāj ud-Daulah (1160-86), who is described by Minhāj as ‘of excessive mildness and beneficence……but addicted to pleasure.’⁴

v2.c32.s4.146

³ *JRAS*, 1913, p. 276, fn. 2.

v2.c32.s4.147

⁴ *TN*, Vol. I, p. 114.

v2.c32.s4.148

Pṛthvīrāja was succeeded in 1170 A.D. by his uncle Someśvara, son of Kāñcanadevī, the daughter of the Caulukya Jayasiṁha Siddharāja. According to the *Pṛthvīrāja-vijaya*, the interval between his father's death and his own accession to the throne was spent by Someśvara in the court of the Caulukyas Jayasiṁha and Kumārapāla. We are told that the former, hearing that Someśvara's son would be an incarnation of Rāma, took away his grandson to his own capital.¹ After his death his successor Kumārapāla continued to favour the Cāhamāna prince, so much so that his name ‘protector of Kumāra’ became a significant one.² In the course of Kumārapāla's campaign against Konkan, Someśvara is said to have cut off the head of the prince of that country.³ While living in the court of Kumārapāla he appears to have married the daughter of a Kalacuri prince of Tripurī.⁴ According to Jonarāja, the commentor, the name of the princess was Karpūradevī.⁵ By her he had two sons, Pṛthvīrāja and Harirāja. The former was born at the end of Vaiśākha, when Mars was in Capricorn, Saturn in Aquarius, Jupiter in Pisces, the Sun in Aries, the Moon in Taurus, and Mercury in Gemini.⁶ Harirāja was born in Māgha, Śudi, 3. It is said that these sons were born when Vigraharāja IV was still on the throne. After the death of Pṛthvīrāja II the ministers brought him to the Sapādalakṣa country and placed him on the throne. It is therefore likely that on his accession he was already a man of mature years. The following inscriptions are known for his reign :

v2.c32.s4.149

¹ *PB*, p. 198; *JRAS*, 1913, p. 274.

v2.c32.s4.150

² *PB*, p. 235; *JRAS*, 1913, p. 275.

v2.c32.s4.151

³ But see *ante*, *DHNI*, Vol. II, chapter on the Caulukyas, p. 991, where the credit is given to Āmbaḍa.

v2.c32.s4.152

⁴ Tripurī-puraṃ(da)ra. The tribal name is given as Kalicurya. The name of the father is Acalarāja, see *JRAS*, 1913, p. 277. I am unable to identify this prince of Tripurī. See *DHNI*, Vol. II, chapter on the *Haihayas*, pp. 751 ff. I fear it was an exaggeration of the poet to represent him as a ruler of Tripurī. He may have been a petty chief in the Caulukya court who claimed Haihaya lineage and ralationship with the Tripurī branch.

v2.c32.s4.153

⁵ *PB*, Fasc. III, p. 237. Sarda wrongly gives the name as Kārpuradevī. The marriage and the correct name of the queen are also mentioned in *Hammīra-mahākāvya*; see Text, p. 16.

v2.c32.s4.154

⁶ The position of Venus, the ascending and descending nodes, are lost through damage to the MSS. *JRAS*, 1913, p. 275.

v2.c32.s4.155

(1) *Bijolia*⁷ *rock-inscription.*—Found in the village of Bijolia in Mewar about 100 miles from the capital (Udaipur). It appears to be a Jain record, and opens with salutations to Pārśvanātha and other Jain divinities. Vs. 10 to 26 are devoted to the Cāhamāna genealogy which is traced from Sāmanta to Someśvara. V. 27 seems to state that the last ruler had the *biruda Pratāpa-Laṅkeśvara*. V. 28 states that he gave the village of Rewna to the 'self-existent Pārśvanātha.' Vs. 29-30 apparently give the genealogy of the person who built a temple to house the deity. It is dated towards the end in (V.) *Saṁvat* 1226 (A D. 1170).¹

v2.c32.s4.156

⁷ Sarda calls it ‘Bijolian,’ Kielhorn spells ‘Bijholi’ and D. R. Bhandarkar ‘Bijolia.’

v2.c32.s4.157

¹ Badly edited by Kaviraj Shyamal Das in *JASB*, 1886, Vol. XL, Part I, pp. 14-15, 28-32 and 40-46. The record ought to be re-edited. For the date, see *IA*, 1891, p. 133, No. 114 and fn. 21.

v2.c32.s4.158

(2) *Dhod stone-inscription (i).*—Engraved on a pillar in the Rūṭhī Rānī temple at Dhod in Jahazpur, Mewar. It records that in (V.) *Saṁvat* 1228 (*c.* 1171 A.D.), during the reign of *Pb.-M.-P.* Someśvara, the *Karanika* Brāhman *Mahantama* Cāhaḍa, son of Vijai, sold his house to the temple of Nityapramoditadeva for 16 *drammas* (coins) of Ajayadeva.²

v2.c32.s4.159

² Noticed in *RMR*, 1923, p. 2.

v2.c32.s4.160

(3) *Dhod stone-inscription (ii).*—Found as No. 2 above. It records that in (V.) *Saṁvat* 1229 (*c.* 1172 A.D.), when *Pb.-M.-P.* Someśvara, was ruling at Ajayameru-durga in the county of Sapādalakṣa, *Bhaṭṭāraka* Prabhāsarāśi built a monastery near the temple of Nityapramoditadeva for the residence of Kāpālika ascetics from foreign countries.³

v2.c32.s4.161

³ *Ibid.*

v2.c32.s4.162

(4) *Revasa stone-inscription.*—Incised on a pillar in the *Sabhā-maṇḍapa* of the temple of Jīṇ-Mātā, about 16 miles N. W. of Khatu, in the Sambhar Nizamat of Shekhawati, Jaipur State. It records that in (V.) *Saṁvat* 1230 (*c.* 1174 A.D.), in the reign of Someśvara, one Ālhṇa, son of Udaïrā, rebuilt the *maṇḍapa* of the temple.⁴

v2.c32.s4.163

⁴ Noticed in *ASI, WC*, 1910, p. 52.

v2.c32.s4.164

(5) *Anvaldā stone-inscription.*—Engraved on a *Satī*-pillar. It is dated in (V.) *Saṁvat* 1234 (*c.* 1177 A.D.) and records that during the reign of *M.* Someśvara the memorial stone was erected in honour of Sindarā(ja), son of Ḍoḍa Rā(o) Siṁgharā(ja).⁵

v2.c32.s4.165

⁵ Noticed in *RMR*, 1923, p. 2.

v2.c32.s4.166

These five inscriptions noticed above range from V.S. 1226 to 1234, corresponding roughly to *c.* 1169-1177 A.D. As we have an inscription of his successor, dated in V.S. 1233 (A.D.

v2.c32.s4.167

1180), Someśvara's reign must have ended sometime before that date. Besides these inscriptions, coins of billion or copper of the 'Bull and horseman type' of Someśvara are known.¹ The obverse bears the figure of a horseman with the legend *Śrī-Someśvara-deva*, and the reverse the figure of a humped bull and the legend *Āśāvarī śrī Sāma(ntadeva)*. It seems from the *Pṛthvīrāja-vijaya* that when Someśvara died his eldest son Pṛthvīrāja III was still a minor. 'So before leaving this world he had appointed the *Devī* or the queen (Karpūradevī) to protect his son in his childhood.'² The author of the *Pṛthvīrāja-vijaya* gives eloquent description of the prosperity of the Cāhamāna kingdom during the Queen's regency. It appears that she was ably assisted in her administration by the minister Kādamba Vāsa.³ On his reaching the age of discretion Pṛthvīrāja seems to have been assisted by another officer named Bhuvanaikamalla, who is reported to have come to the Cāhamāna court to find out how 'the son of his elder brother's daughter' was protecting this earth. While Kādamba Vāsa is compared with Hanumān, Bhuvanaikamalla is described as a veritable Garuḍa, who served Pṛthvīrāja and his brother Harirāja, the two incarnations of Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa. 'Just as Rāma, with the help of Garuḍa and Hunumān crossed the sea and did other things, so Pṛthvīrāja, with the help of Hanumān-like Kādamba Vāsa and Garuḍa-like Bhuvanaikamalla, did many things for the welfare of the people.'⁴ The following records are so far known for the reign of this prince:

First 167 of 218 passages. Read on

Linked texts (17)