History of Mediaeval Hindu India (being a History of India from 600 to 1200 A.D.) v3.c34.s3.27

v3.c34.s3.27

He was followed by his son Mūlarāja who was then a minor and who is, therefore, often called Bāla Mūlaraja. His mother Naikidevi was the daughter of a Permāḍi Kadamba king in Karṇāṭaka and acted as regent. It was during the reign of this king that Muhammad Ghori invaded Gujarat and was defeated. This defeat was certainly creditable to the Hindus and it is but natural that many Chālukya inscriptions should describe Mūlarāja as "the conqueror of the difficult to be conquered king of Gurjan (Ghazni)."* The credit belongs to the king no doubt but in one inscription the credit is given to his mother. Rajput ladies are certainly famous throughout history for their contempt of death and for their high regard for their honour and religion. It is a matter of pride further that this queen was a Rajput lady from the Karṇāṭaka. She must have been present at the battle and led the forces of Gujarat against the Ghazni king.† The battle is not described anywhere but seems to have been won by the valour of the Gujarat army composed, as it was, of cavalry and elephants, the latter being properly handled by Gujarat generals. It is said by Gujarat chroniclers that rain came to the help of the conquerors; but why rain should have helped them only is not obvious. It must also be conceded that Ghori must have had an insufficient force in comparison with the large army of Gujarat, as he is said to have come via Multan and across the desert. Whatever the reason of it, this defeat saved Gujarat from Mahomedan conquest for a hundred years more and established the reputation of the kingdom of Naharwala for valour. The battle was fought in 1178 A. D. and at Gadarar Ghatta (B. Gazetteer p. 195). Mahomedan writers do not generally mention this battle, but they mention one with the successor of Mūlarāja named Bhīma which is probably a mistake (Gaurishankar's Tod). Perhaps it may have been another attempt to retrieve his honour by Muhammed Ghori who tried to imitate Mahmud of Ghazni with less success in the beginning yet more complete success in the end.