The Dynastic History of Northern India (Early Mediaeval Period) v2.c32.s4.92

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