History of Mediaeval Hindu India (being a History of India from 600 to 1200 A.D.) v3.c34.s1.46.4

v3.c34.s1.46.4

Viewed in this light the praise bestowed upon Bhoja by the Udepur Praśasti that he was lord of the whole of India does not seem hyperbolical, supported as it is by this outside testimony of a Gāhadvāla inscription. Indeed the next verse in the Udepur Praśasti appears in another light from this standpoint and when it says that Bhoja conquered the king of Gurjaras, it refers not to Bhīma the king of what is now Gujarat, but to one of the Pratihāra kings of Kanauj who are styled in records of other states of that period as kings of Gurjaras (See Vol. II p. 98, 163). In fact modern Gujarat came to be called so probably at the end of the next century as we shall ourselves show later on and Gurjaras in this verse means very probably Pratihāra kings of Kanauj who had become effete and even dependents and allies of the Turks. It seems, therefore, probable that Bhoja had not only defeated Gāṅgeyadeva in the east but also the weak Pratihāra king and successor of Rājyapāl of Kanauj and also the Turks who assisted him. He thus freed the land of Northern India from the troubles of the foreign and irreligious rule of the Turks. The verse declares that mere contingents or generals sent by Bhoja defeated these kings and it seems very probable that Bhoja had sent forces as far north as the Panjab and Delhi.