The Kingdom of Gujarat was an early medieval kingdom in Western India . The kingdom was ruled by two related dynasties, the Chaulukyas and the Vaghelas , for a period of nearly four centuries and was ultimately conquered by the Delhi Sultanate as the Gujarat Province .
87-590: Mularaja ( r. 941 – 996 CE ) was the king of Gujarat and the founder of the Chaulukya dynasty . Also known as the Chaulukyas of Gujarat or Solanki, this dynasty ruled parts of present-day Gujarat . Mularaja supplanted the last Chavda king , and founded an independent kingdom with his capital in Anahilapataka in 940-941 CE. The Kumarapala-Bhupala-Charita of Jayasimha Suri provides
174-529: A Buddhist monastery dating from the 7th century C.E., as well as two Jain derasars . Other places include Tana-Riri garden and shrine, Gauri kund, Pancham Mehta's Vav (stepwell), Janjanio well, Baithakji of Gusaiji , an ancient library and a directional stone from the Solanki period. The Gujarat State Highway 56 (SH-56) passes through Vadnagar, that connects it directly with Mehsana , Visnagar and Ambaji . The Vadnagar railway station lies on
261-402: A single combat and throw him down from his elephant, and had him tied up with ropes. Lakṣa, wearing white clothes, rushed in and abused Mūlarāja calling him Mula. He asked Mūlarāja to release Grāharipu, but Mūlarāja refused to comply, on the grounds that the captive was a beef-eater . This led to another single combat, in which Mūlarāja killed Lakṣa with a spear. The men of Sauraṣṭra then made
348-504: A Jain temple at Chandravati which was consecrated by Sarvadevasuri. The Mulavastika temple in Patan constructed by Mularaja is also mentioned in an Digambara Jain inscription dated Samvat 1250s of Bhima II rule. Merutunga's Prabandha-Chintamani mentions building of Muleshwara temple at Mandali (now Mandal ) which is the same as Mulanathadeva temple mentioned in Kadi copperplate grants. This
435-537: A city called Karnavati after defeating a Bhil chief named Asha (Āśā). Karnavati is identified with modern Ahmedabad by some, but this is not certain. Karna's son Jayasimha Siddharaja (r. c. 1092–1142 CE) greatly expanded the Chaulukya power. He defeated Khangara alias Navaghana, the Chudasama king of Saurashtra . The Naddula Chahamana ruler Asharaja , who had been dethroned by his rival Ratnapala , became
522-471: A disease during this invasion. Some Chaulukya chroniclers boast that Bhima annexed Bhoja's capital Dhara or that he captured Bhoja alive, but these claims are not corroborated by historical evidence. After Bhoja's death, a rivalry developed between the Bhima and Lakshmi-Karna over sharing the spoils of their victory. Bhima's son Karna succeeded him around 1064 CE. Bhoja's brother Udayaditya , supported by
609-548: A large number of soldiers from different parts of his kingdom, and led an army to the Cāhamāna camp. He managed to enter the royal pavallion of Vigraharāja, who, after a short conversation, was impressed with his bravery. Mūlarāja asked Vigraharāja not to attack him while he was engaged in a war with Bārapa, and the Cāhamāna agreed to the demand. Vigraharāja also promised to maintain friendly relations with Mūlarāja, who subsequently attacked and killed Bārapa. Pṛthvīrāja Vijaya , which
696-408: A legendary genealogy of Mularaja. It states that the mythical progenitor of the Chaulukya dynasty was Chulukya, a great warrior. He established his capital at Madhupadma, and the dynasty came to be known as the Chaulukyas after him. His successors included several kings including Simha-Vikrama and Hari-Vikrama. After 85 descendants of Hari-Vikrama came Rama. Bhata or Sahajarama, the son of Rama, defeated
783-533: A move against the Yadavas, he forged a matrimonial alliance with the Hoysalas , who were the southern neighbours of the Yadavas. Visaladeva's successor Arjunadeva ascended the throne around 1262 CE. Not much is known about the incidents of his reign, except that he suffered a defeat against the Yadavas. His elder son Rama succeeded him, and ruled for a few months. Subsequently, his younger son Sarangadeva ascended
870-632: A peace treaty with Prithviraja sometime before 1187 CE. By the mid-1190s CE, the Ghurids defeated the Prithviraja and the other major Hindu kings of northern India. On 4 February 1197 CE, the Ghurid general Qutb al-Din Aibak invaded Bhima's capital Anahilapataka , and inflicted a massive defeat on the Chaulukyas . Bhima's generals Lavanaprasada and Shridhara later forced the Ghurids to retreat, and
957-487: A pilgrimage to Varanasi . During this journey, he was insulted by a ruler whose kingdom lay on the way to Varanasi. He returned to the Chaulukya capital, and asked his son to avenge his insult. Vallabharaja died of smallpox during a march to the enemy kingdom, which is identified as the Paramara kingdom of Malwa by some chroniclers. Chamundaraja's other son Durlabharaja became the next king in c. 1008 CE. He invaded
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#17327720944171044-566: A regional style in Hindu temple architecture , it became especially popular in Jain temples and, mainly under Jain patronage, later spread across India and to diaspora communities around the world. A number of temples were built during their reign by wealthy merchants and ministers, Vastupala and Tejapala who also served as ministers and generals, including one of Dilwara Temples at Mount Abu and Girnar Jain temples . In fact, Kirtikaumudi ,
1131-403: A request by Karna's former wife Kamala Devi, who had been captured by Alauddin's forces during the first invasion. Eight years after being inducted into Alauddin's harem , Kamala Devi requested Alauddin to get her daughter Devala Devi from Gujarat. Although Karna agreed to the demand, Alauddin ordered his army to invade Gujarat for a second time. Ashiqa is not historically reliable, but some of
1218-833: A submission before Mūlarāja, dressed as women. The king then released the prisoners and visited the holy Prabhāsa city in Saurashtra. The fight between Mūlarāja and Lakṣa has also been mentioned by the 14th century writer Merutuṅga in Prabandha-Cintamaṇi . According to this version, Lakṣa (or Lākhā) was the son of Phulaḍa, who was a meat-herd . Phulada married Kāmalatā, a daughter of Paramāra king Kīrtirāja. Lakṣa repulsed Mularaja's attacks 11 times. However, in their 12th fight, Mularaja besieged his fort Kapilkot (now Kera, Kutch ), killed him, and trod him on his beard. Enraged by his insulting action, Laksha's mother cursed Mularaja's family to be afflicted with leprosy . A similar account
1305-527: A temple with 24 devkulika s at Wadhwan , a temple on Shatrunjaya hill and a temple with 52 devakulika at Sevadi. Pethada-rasu (1304 CE), Munisundarasuri's Gurvavali (c. 1459 CE), Ratnamandira Gani's Upadeshatarangini (c. 15th century) and Ratnamandana's Sukritasagara (c. 15th century) are important sources of life and works of Minister Pethada of Mandavagadh . He had built 84 Jain temples. His notable temples are at Shatrunjaya, Prabhasa, Dholka and Salakshanapura built around 1264 CE. Shravaka Jhalli built
1392-651: A vassal of Jayasimha sometime before 1143 CE. Jayasimha defeated the Shakambhari Chahamana ruler Arnoraja . Later, however, Jayasimha accepted Arnoraja as an ally, and the Chahamana ruler married Jayasimha's daughter Kanchanadevi. The couple's son (and thus Jayasimha's grandson) Someshvara , was brought up at the Chaulukya court. Someshvara's sons Prithviraja III (better known as Prithviraj Chauhan) and Hariraja were also born in Gujarat. During
1479-524: A vassal of the Kalyani Chalukya ruler Tailapa II . According to Merutuṅga, Mūlarāja's ministers advised him to take shelter in the Kanthā-durga fort until Navarātri , when Vigraharāja would depart to perform the traditional worship of his family deity, and then attack Bārapa. Mūlarāja agreed to this suggestion, but unexpectedly, Vigraharāja did not depart on Navaratri. Mūlarāja then collected
1566-516: A very strong king, and declared that only Mularaja was capable of defeating him. Both the ministers urged Mularaja to attack Graharipu. Mūlarāja launched a campaign against Graharipu on the day of Vijayādaśamī . When the Chalukya army reached the Jambumāli forest, Grāharipu attempted a peaceful resolution by sending his messenger, who asked Mūlarāja to retreat, stating that there was no enmity between
1653-521: A victory against Hammuka, a ruler of Sindh , although the accuracy of this claim is not certain. Semi-legendary accounts suggest that Bhima formed an alliance with the Kalachuri king Lakshmi-Karna , and the two played an important role in the downfall of the Paramara king Bhoja around 1055 CE. According to the 14th century chronicler Merutunga, Bhima and Lakshmi-Karna invaded Bhoja's kingdom of Malwa from two opposite directions, and Bhoja died of
1740-611: Is a temple built over a tank with seven wells ascribed to him. The Ra Khengar stepwell between Vanthali and Junagadh is stated to be constructed by Tejapala. The Madhavav in Wadhwan was built in 1294 AD (Vikram Samvat 1350) by Nagar Brahmin Madhav and Keshav, the ministers in court of the last Vaghela ruler Karna. The kunda at Kapadvanj was built about this period. The Batris Kotha stepwell in Kapadvanj may have belonged to
1827-428: Is about 670 mm. Relative humidity is generally high, especially in the monsoon and post–monsoon months, because of the interiorly location of the town. As of Census 2011 , Vadnagar's population was 27,790, including 14,097 males and 13,693 females. Its female sex ratio is 971 compared to the state average of 919. Moreover, Vadnagar's child sex ratio is around 937 compared to the 890 state average. In Vadnagar, 12.26% of
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#17327720944171914-595: Is also given in Kumarapalacharita . Historian Asoke Majumdar theorizes that Mularaja attacked Graharipu on "some flimsy pretext", as Mahadeva's-order-in-a-dream was a popular device used by Sanskrit authors to justify the otherwise inexcusable actions of their heroes. Mularaja's descendants fought against the kings of Kachchha and Saurashtra, so it appears that he managed to annex some parts of these kingdoms, but could not completely subjugate them. Merutuṅga states that Mūlarāja once faced simultaneous invasions at
2001-689: Is also the birthplace of Narendra Modi , the current Prime Minister of India . The archeological excavations presented sequence assigned from 4th-3rd century BCE to the present period. Recent excavations, in six trenches, consider the beginning of the site to be around 800 BCE, (ca. 2754 calibrated years before present). Archaeologists found seven cultural periods of continuous human presence: 1) Pre- Mauryan , (ca. 800-320 BCE), (contemporary to Late-Vedic / pre-Buddhist Mahajanapadas or oligarchic republics), 2) Mauryan (ca. 320-185 BCE), 3) Indo-Greek , 4) Indo-Scythian or Shaka-Kshatrapas (ca. 35-415 CE), (' Satraps ', descendants of provincial governors of
2088-546: Is an extant temple of this period. The older part of Adinath temple at Vadnagar and ruins of Khokhra-dera at Kanthkot were built during later period of his reign. The temple of Harishchandra-ni-Chori in Shamlaji also belongs to this period. King of Gujarat It was founded by Mularaja in 941 by who took over the Kingdom of Anahilavada after deposing the last king, and subdued the various chiefs of Gujarat to become
2175-503: Is ascribed to him traditionally. According to Kadi copperplate grant, Rudra Mahalaya was already there in 987 CE. He had constructed Munjaladevaswami and Tripurushaprasada temples in Anahilapataka (now Patan). He had also built Mulnarayana-prasada at Siddhpur. The Mulavasahika Jain temple is ascribed to him. Jinaprabha mentions the temple of Mulanathjinadeva which is probably same as Munjaladevaswami. In 954 CE, Minister Kunkana built
2262-500: Is last temple built before 987 CE. After defeating Graharipu, he had probably rebuilt large temple at Somnath . H. P. Shastri and M. A. Dhaky had concluded this based on paleographic and stylistic evidences. He had settled Brahmans in Vadnagar migrated from North India. He probably had built Hatakeshwara temple for them but the original temple is obscured following major renovation in 19th century. Muni Bawa Temple near Thangadh
2349-601: Is located at 23°47′N 72°38′E / 23.78°N 72.63°E / 23.78; 72.63 . It covers an area of about 7.08 km (2.73 sq mi) and has an average elevation of 143 m (469 ft) above the mean sea level . It lies in a relatively flat and dry region, as compared to the rest of Gujarat . The climate in Vadnagar is generally cold during winters and hot in summers, with temperatures varying from 14 °C (57 °F) to as high as 42 °C (108 °F). The average annual rainfall
2436-500: Is no doubt that Mularaja dethroned the Chapotkata king. One of Mularaja's own inscriptions states that he conquered the region watered by Sarasvati river with the strength of his arms. The Vadnagar prashasti inscription of his descendant Kumarapala states that he took the Chapotkata princes captive, took their fortune for his own enjoyment, and became popular among his subjects because of excessively light taxation. According to
2523-399: Is possible that they were small princes of a place called Madhupadma. V. V. Mirashi speculated that this place might have been situated on the banks of the river Madhuveni (present-day Mahuwar), which is a tributary of Betwa . Majumdar, on the other hand, identifies it with modern Mathura . The 14th century chronicler Merutunga states that Mularaja was so named, because he was born under
2610-1003: Is the Neminath Temple at Mount Abu. Of all these temples built by the brothers, only few survives such as Vastupala-vihara at Girnar (1231 CE), Neminath Temple at Abu and the temple at Prabhas. Other extant temples of this period is Sambhavanatha temple at Kumbhariya , Jain marble temple at Sarotra and Panch-Pandava Temple on Shatrunjaya. The Vaghela princes had patronised the construction of temples and civic architecture. Lavanaprasada built Analeshwara and Salakshaneshwara temples for merit of his parents. His son Viramdeva had built Viramaeshwara temple. The temples of Rupanarayana and Balanarayana are mentioned in Kadi grant of 1261 CE. Jain merchant Jadagusha , as mentioned in his biography Jagaducharita by Sarvanandasuri, built and renovated large number of Jain as well as Brahminical temples and civic constructions. His some notable constructions between 1250 and 1270 CE are Rishabha temple at Dhanka,
2697-490: The Delhi Sultan Alauddin Khalji sent an army to ransack Gujarat. According to multiple medieval chronicles, Karna had abducted the wife of his minister Madhava and killed Madhava's brother. In revenge, Madhava instigated Alauddin to invade Gujarat. In 1304, Karna lost his throne permanently after a second invasion from Delhi. According to Amir Khusrau 's poem Ashiqa , the invasion resulted from
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2784-590: The Gadhaiya coins were used in international trade from Afghanistan to Deccan. As its intrinsic value decreased, its circulation shrank to the area of modern Kheda district and its surroundings. These coins followed the tanka coins of Delhi. The coins of Visala-deva are mentioned as Visalamalla priya dra ( dra stands for dramma) or Visala priya dra or Visalapri dra in various literary sources and epigraphs. The coins of Saranga-deva and Karna-deva had an elephant facing left on obverses and legends on
2871-814: The Ghurid king Muhammad of Ghor invaded the Chaulukya kingdom in 1178 CE. In the ensuing battle at Kasahrada (or Kayadara), Muhammad was defeated by a large army, which included loyal Chaulukya feudatories such as the Naddula Chahamana ruler Kelhanadeva , the Jalor Chahamana ruler Kirtipala , and the Arbuda Paramara ruler Dharavarsha. Taking advantage of the young age of Bhima II, some provincial governors rebelled against him in order to establish independent states. His loyal Vaghela feudatory Arnoraja came to his rescue, and died fighting
2958-486: The Mehsana - Taranga line, that directly connects Vadnagar with the rest of the state and beyond through Mehsana Junction railway station . The Vadnagar bus station is located within the centre of the town. Buses are available from here to all major towns and cities in Gujarat and neighbouring states, that operate under Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation (GSRTC), private and tourism operators. The nearest airport
3045-551: The Mehsana district of the state of Gujarat in India . It is located 35 km (22 mi) from Mehsana . Its ancient names include Anartapura (the capital of Anarta ) and Anandapura. It was a location visited by Xuanzang in 640 C.E. The founder and the first Director-General of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Alexander Cunningham , had identified Anandapura with the town of Vadnagar. Vadnagar
3132-524: The Shakambhari Chahamana king Vigraharaja III , forced Karna to retreat from Malwa. Meanwhile, the Kalachuris managed to capture the Lata region . By 1074 CE, Karna evicted the Kalachuris from Lata, and annexed the region to the Chaulukya kingdom, before losing it to one Trivikramapala within three years. The Naddula Chahamana ruler Prithvipala defeated Karna, and his successor Jojalladeva occupied
3219-778: The Shakas . Bhata's son Dadakka defeated the Gaja kings of Pipasa. Dadakka's kingdom occupied by Kanchikavyala, who was succeeded by the king Raji. Mularaja was the son of Raji and his queen Liladevi. The Vadasma (Varunasarmaka) grant inscription of Mularaja's son Chamundaraja states that Mularaja was a descendant of one Vyalakanchi-Prabhu. This Vyalakanchi is probably same as the Kanchikavyala mentioned by Jayasimha Suri. Based on this, historian Asoke Majumdar believes that Suri's legendary account seems to be at least partially accurate: Rama and his successors appear to be historical figures. It
3306-524: The 1135-1136 CE, Jayasimha annexed the Paramara kingdom of Malwa , with support from Asharaja and Arnoraja. The Paramara kings defeated by him were Naravarman and his successor Yashovarman . Jayasimha continued his eastward march, and reached as far as the Chandela kingdom ruled by Madanavarman . The Chaulukya-Chandela conflict was inconclusive, with both the sides claiming victory. Jayasimha also defeated several minor rulers, including Sindhuraja, who
3393-1540: The 13th century due to its similarity with the Madha and Vikia stepwells. The building activities of Vastupala and Tejpala are mentioned in inscriptions as well as in works of contemporary writers. These works include Someshvara's Kirtikaumudi , Jayasimhasuri's Shakunika-vihara-prashasti , Udayaprabhasuri's Dharmabhyudaya-mahakavya and Sukrita-kirtikallolini , Arisimha's Sukritasamkirtanam , Narendraprabhasuri's prashashti, Vijayasenasuri's Revantagiri-rasu and Palhanaputra's Abu-rasa . Later works include Merutunga 's Prabandha-Chintamani (1309 CE), Jinaprabha's Vividh-tirtha-kalpa (early 14th century), Rajashekharasuri's Prabandha-kosha (1349 CE) and Jinaharshasuri's Vastupala-charitam (1441 CE). More than fifty temples were built by Vastupala and Tejapala apart from large number of renovations and image installations. The Idramandapa and six other temples were built by Vastupala on Shatrunjaya hill. He also built Vastupla-vihara and Parshwanatha temple on Girnar . He also built Adinatha temple at Dholka and Ashtapada-prasada at Prabhas . Tejapala built Asraja-vihara at Anahilapataka and Junagadh for merit of his father. He also built Neminath Temple at Dholka and Adinath Temple at Prabhas. In memory of his mother Kumaradevi, he built temples at Khambhat and Dabhoi . He also built temples at Tharad , Karnavati , Godhra , Shatrunjaya, Girnar, Pavagadh , Navsari and several other places. His greatest temple
3480-539: The 14th century chronicler Jayasimha Suri claims that Chamundaraja killed Sindhuraja in a battle, but this claim appears to be doubtful, as it does not appear in any earlier source. Sometime before 1007 CE, the Lata region was captured by the Chalukyas of Kalyani led by Satyashraya . Around 1008 CE, Chamundaraja retired after appointing his son Vallabharaja as the next king. Legendary accounts state that he set out for
3567-596: The Brahmins of Anarthapura or Anandapura . The Harsola copper plates (949 C.E.) of the Paramara king record the granting of two villages in Gujarat area to the Nagar Brahmins , who originated from Anandapura . which is also identified with Vadnagar, and is associated with the Nagar Brahmins. In 2009, archaeologists discovered a 4 km long fortification near Vadnagar, which they believe could be
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3654-455: The Chapotkata kingdom with an army, he would not have felt the need to resort to such appeasement. Therefore, Majumdar theorizes that Mularaja indeed murdered his uncle and then consolidated power with 'soft' measures such as reduced tax burden and sharing of wealth. At the time of his ascension, Mūlarāja's kingdom was probably limited to the territory called Sarasvata- mandala , which included present-day Mehsana , Radhanpur , and Palanpur . By
3741-403: The Chapotkata kings with his relatives, Brahmins, bards, and servants. Majumdar argues that if Mularaja had captured the Chapotkata kingdom with an army, he would not have felt the need to resort to such appeasement. Therefore, Majumdar theorizes that Mularaja indeed murdered his uncle and then consolidated power with 'soft' measures such as reduced tax burden and sharing of wealth. However, there
3828-407: The Chapotkata princes captive. Bühler theorized that Mularaja was an outsider who captured Samanta-simha's kingdom. However, Asoke Majumdar proposed that he was indeed a relative of the king, based on the following facts: The Vadnagar inscription as well as the writings of Hemachandra suggest that Mularaja reduced the tax burden on the citizens. The inscription also states that he shared the wealth of
3915-421: The Chaulukya capital Anahilapataka , possibly when Karna was busy at another place. The Shakambhari Chahamana king Durlabharaja III also appears to have achieved some military success against Karna, although the Chahamana descriptions of this victory are highly exaggerated. According to legendary chronicles, Karna also defeated Bhil and Koli tribals, who used to raid the Chaulukya territories. He established
4002-648: The Chaulukya territory unopposed and sacked the Somnath temple . After Mahmud's departure, Bhima restored the Chaulukya rule. He crushed revolts by the Paramara chiefs of Arbuda , who used to serve as Chaulukya vassals. Bhima also defeated and imprisoned Krishnadeva, a ruler of the Paramara branch of Bhinmal . He unsuccessfully fought against the Naddula Chahamana ruler Anahilla . Anahilla's sons Balaprasada and Jendraraja defeated Bhima and forced him to release Krishnadeva. Later legendary accounts credit Bhima with
4089-610: The Lata region, and defeated the Lata Chalukya ruler Kirtiraja (or Kirtipala), who was a vassal of the Kalyani Chalukyas. However, Kirtiraja regained control of the region within a short time, before being defeated by the Paramara king Bhoja . Durlabharaja was succeeded by his nephew Bhima I , who faced an invasion from the Ghaznavid ruler Mahmud during 1024-1025 CE. Bhima fled to Kanthkot , as Mahmud entered
4176-416: The Paramara king Jayavarman I regained control of Malwa, but he was soon dethroned by an usurper named Ballala. Kumarapala captured Malwa from Ballala, who was killed by Kumarapala's Arbuda Paramara feudatory Yashodhavala in a battle. Kumarapala subdued a rebellion by his vassal Vikramasimha, a Paramara chief of Arbuda. The Paramara branch at Kiradu continued to acknowledge Kumarapala's suzerainty. In
4263-464: The ancient Achaemenid Empire ), 5) Hindu-Solankis , 6) Sultanate - Mughal (Islamic) to Gaekwad-British colonial rule (ca. 318 years before present), and 7) Recent. Several ancient inscriptions and literary sources mention a town called Anartapura or Anandapura , identified as the area in and around the present-day Vadnagar. The epic tale Mahabharata mentions the Anarta Kingdom in
4350-518: The auspices of the Mula nakshatra . According to this legend, Raji (or Raja), Bija and Dandaka (or Dadakka) were three brothers. Raji's knowledge of horse-riding greatly impressed Samanta-simha, the Chapotkata (Chavda) king of Anahilapataka . He became a close friend of the king, and married Liladevi, the king's sister. Liladevi died while she was pregnant; her womb was cut open and the infant Mularaja
4437-410: The bardic chronicles variously date between 841 and 1144 CE. The battle took place on the river Jambumāli (identified as Bhogavo River in Saurashtra; a village named Jambu near Limbdi is located on the banks of this river). The battle continued for two days indecisively. On third day, Mūlarāja entered battle on an elephant and Grāharipu mounted on his elephant in rage. Mūlarāja overpowered Grāharipu in
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#17327720944174524-750: The biography of Vastupala, written by Someshvara , a royal priest, is also an important source of the history of the dynasty. Visala-deva constructed or restored the fort of Dharbhavati ( Dabhoi ) which is well known for its elaborate carvings and gates. He built pratolis , temples and vapis in Darbhavati (Dabhoi) completed by about 1255 CE. Of its four gates, Hira Bhagol (with its adjacent temples) may have been built during Visaladeva's reign while three other gates may have been built by Tejapala, as indicated in Jain prabandha s. The Satmukhi stepwell in Dabhoi
4611-443: The capital was back under the Chaulukya rule by 1201 CE. Subhatavarman , the Paramara king of Malwa, invaded the Lata region around 1204 CE, taking advantage of the turmoil caused by the Ghurid invasions. He probably also sacked the Chaulukya capital Anahilapataka. Once again, Lavanaprasada and Shridhara saved the kingdom by forcing Subhatavarman to retreat. During 1205-1210 CE, Bhima's relative Jayantasimha (or Jayasimha) usurped
4698-465: The conflict ended with some advantage for Vigraharāja, who allied with Bārapa and helped him achieve independence. Historian Asoke Kumar Majumdar theorizes that Mūlarāja may have paid Vigraharāja money to win him over, and the two kings may have then jointly marched up to Bhṛgukaccha against Bārapa. The Jain authors present Mularaja as fully involved in Vedic and Brahmanical notions of kingship, while at
4785-489: The early 1160s, Kumarapala sent an army against Mallikarjuna , the Shilahara king of northern Konkana . This campaign was probably triggered by a Shilahara raid in southern Gujarat, and ended with Mallikarjuna's death. Kumarapala's Naddula Chahamana feudatory Alhana put down disturbances in Saurashtra at Kumarapala's request. Historical evidence suggests that Kumarapala's empire extended from Chittor and Jaisalmer in
4872-450: The end of his reign, his kingdom extended from Mount Abu in the north to Lata region in the south. Hemacandra 's writings state that Mūlarāja defeated Grāharipu , the Chudasama king of Saurashtra . However, no other Chaulukya-era accounts mention this victory. According to Hemacandra, one night, the god Mahādeva appeared in Mūlarāja's dream, and ordered him to vanquish Grāharipu. In
4959-479: The first king of all Gujarat and founding the Chaulukya dynasty . The commander of the Gujarat army, Lavanaprasada, and his son Viradhavala, also members of the Chaulukya family, became very powerful during the reign of the last Chaulukya king. Viradhavala deposed the last king, and declared himself King of Gujarat in 1244. The kingdom was ultimately conquered by the Sultanate of Delhi between 1298 and 1304 and
5046-590: The historical Anartapura . Vadnagar has also yielded an image of Bodhisattva dated back to the 3rd or 4th century C.E. This image may have been brought from Mathura to install in one of the town's Buddhist monasteries. Vadnagar's old town is found inside the walls of a fort with six gates: Kirti, Arjun, Nadiol, Amarthol, Ghaskol and Pithori. The town was added to the tentative list of the UNESCO World Heritage sites in December 2022. Vadnagar
5133-459: The king of Saptakāśī and a number of Gujarati soldiers, joined him. Most of the allies named by Hemacandra appear to be fictional, but Lakṣa appears to be a historical personage, as he has been mentioned in several other chronicles including Kīrti-Kaumudī , Vasanta-Vilāsa , and Sukṛta-Saṅkīrtana . He may be same as Lākhā Phulāni, whom the Jāḍejā princes of Kutch count among their ancestors, and whom
5220-437: The king when drunk, and depose him when he became sober. Mularaja, who was an ambitious man, was regularly disappointed in this way. One day, when a drunk Samanta-simha appointed him as the king, Mularaja killed his uncle, and became the permanent king. However, Merutunga's legend doesn't seem to be chronologically consistent: it claims that Samanta-simha ruled for 7 years. If Samanta-simha's sister married Raji during his reign, as
5307-447: The later Chaulukya court poet Someshvara 's Surathotsava Mahakavya , Mularaja appointed Someshvara's ancestor Sola-sharman as the royal priest ( purohita ), and Sola-sharman performed several ritual sacrifices . According to Bühler, such changes to the royal household would have not happened, if Mularaja had ascended the throne by the right of succession after the death of the last Chapotkata king. Therefore, Bühler theorized that Mularaja
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#17327720944175394-500: The later medieval writers present its narrative as history. Other medieval chroniclers give different accounts of this incident, some of them omitting the bit about Kamala Devi's request. Māru-Gurjara architecture , or "Chaulukya style", is a style of north Indian temple architecture that originated in Gujarat and Rajasthan from the 11th to 13th centuries, under the Chaulukya dynasty (or Solaṅkī dynasty). Although originating as
5481-468: The legend states, Mularaja would have been less than 7 years old at the time of Samanta-simha's death. This absurdity, coupled with other evidence, has prompted some scholars such as Georg Bühler to dismiss Merutunga's legend as unhistorical. One of Mularaja's own inscriptions states that he conquered the region watered by Sarasvati river with the strength of his arms. The Vadnagar prashasti inscription of his descendant Kumarapala states that he took
5568-601: The morning, Mūlarāja consulted his ministers Jambaka and Jehula, as he was apprehensive of causing troubles to the pilgrims who visited Prabhasa in Saurashtra. According to Hemacandra's commentator Abhayatilaka Gaṇi, Jambaka was his Mahāmantrin (chief minister) while Jehula, the Rānaka of Khairalu (now Kheralu ), was his Mahāpradhāna (prime minister). Jehula told Mūlarāja that Graharipu was a tyrant who tortured pilgrims and indulged in vices such as eating flesh, drinking wine and hunting deer on Mt. Ujjayanta. Jambaka described Grāharipu as
5655-569: The north to the Vindhyas and the Tapti river in the south (ignoring his raid of the Shilahara kingdom of northern Konkana ). In the west, it included Kachchha and Saurashtra ; in the east, it extended up to at least Vidisha (Bhilsa). Kumarapala was succeeded by Ajayapala , who retained Kumarapala's territories, but died after a short reign. Ajayapala's young sons Mularaja II and Bhima II succeeded him one after other. During this period,
5742-526: The northern and southern frontiers of his kingdom. The northern invader was the king of Sapādalakṣa, who can be identified as the Śākambharī Cāhamāna ruler Vigraharāja II . This invasion finds a mention in the later Chahamana accounts, but is not mentioned in Vigraharaja's 973 CE inscription, so it must have happened sometime after 973 CE. The southern invader was the Lata Chalukya ruler Bārapa,
5829-775: The northern part of present-day Gujarat . The oldest Puranic legend about Gujarat is about a king named Anartha. The town is mentioned in the Tirtha Mahatmya section of the Nagara Khanda of the Skanda Purana , by the name of Chamatkarapura . The Junagadh rock inscription (dating from 150 C.E.) of the Western Kshatrapa King, Rudradaman I , mentions a region called "Anartha" (meaningless) in northern present-day Gujarat. The Maitraka rulers of Vallabhi (505-648 C.E.) issued land grants to
5916-580: The northern region of Marwar rebelled. Lavanaprasada and Viradhavala warded off the Yadava invasions, and also subdued the rebellions. The Guhilas of Medapata (Guhilots of Mewar ) also rebelled against Bhima sometime between 1207 and 1227 CE, and declared their independence. During the reign of Bhima II , the Vaghelas became the de facto rulers of the Chaulukya kingdom. Inscriptions at Girnar suggest that by 1231 CE (1288 VS ), Lavanaprasada had assumed
6003-527: The population is under 6 years of age. Vadnagar's average literacy rate is 80.53%, higher than the 78.03% national average: male literacy is 90.41%, and female literacy is 70.42%. Almost the entire population of Vadnagar is engaged in agriculture and primary sector , because it is relatively isolated from the rest of Gujarat , as compared to other towns and cities like Mehsana , and developmental stages related to secondary and tertiary sectors are yet to be done. The primary sector accounts for around 40% of
6090-510: The rebels. Arnoraja's descendants Lavanaprasada and Viradhavala became powerful during Bhima's reign. During Bhima's reign, the Hoysala ruler Veera Ballala II seems to have raided the Lata region . The Yadava ruler Bhillama V also invaded Gujarat, but was forced to retreat by Bhima's feudatory Kelhanadeva. The Shakambhari Chahamana king Prithviraja III also fought with the Chaulukyas, but Bhima's general Jagaddeva managed to conclude
6177-425: The reverses. The legends reads shri saranga-de .. and Shri karna/devasya or Shri karna/devasa . Another coins of Karna-deva has Kumbha (vase) on its obverse enclosed in border made of dots and lines while reverse has the same legend. Another type of his coins of copper depicted lion facing left on obverse and the same legend on reverse. Vadnagar Vadnagar is a town and municipality in
6264-667: The same time extensively supporting the Jains as a matter of royal policy. Although he was a Shaivaite , he built Mulavasatika (Mula's residence) temple for Digambaras and the Mulanatha-jinadeva (the Jina who is Mula's lord) temple for the Śvetāmbaras . Surathotsava of Someshvara , a thirteenth century Brahmana, describes Mularaja being consecrated as king through the performance of a Vedic Vajapeya sacrifice. The original Rudra Mahalaya Temple at Shristhala (now Siddhpur )
6351-756: The temples of Parshwanatha and Jhalasara lake during this period. The extant temples of this phase include the Kalika temple and Vaidyanatha Temple at Dabhoi , the old shrine at Motab, the Jain temple and Nilkantha temple at Miyani and the Jain temple of Kanthkot in Kutch . During Vaghela rule, the Gadhaiya coins increasingly lost its intrinsic value which was stayed unchanged for two centuries under Chaulukyas. The 4.4 g billon coin of Chaulukya had stable silver content of 2.02 g of which reduced to 1.83 g during Visala-deva's coins and its successive issues has less content, as low as 0.73 g. During stable net content of silver,
6438-456: The throne of Naddula. Katukaraja's younger brother and successor Alhanadeva continued to rule as Kumarapala's vassal. Arnoraja's son Vigraharaja IV subdued Kumarapala's Chahamana feudatories at Naddula. The Shakambhari Chahamana-Chaulukya relations seem to have become more cordial when Arnoraja's son (and Jayasimha's grandson) Someshvara became the Chahamana king in later years, possibly with support from Kumarapala. After Jayasimha's death,
6525-596: The throne. Sarangadeva defeated the Paramaras and the Yadavas. According to Vaghela records, sometime in or before 1285 CE, he repulsed an invasion by the Turushkas (Turkic people). Modern historians variously identify these Turushkas as Mongol raiders or Balban 's forces. Sarangadeva also sent an expedition against the Jethva chief Bhanu. Around 1296 CE, Sarangadeva was succeeded by Rama's son Karna . In 1299,
6612-399: The throne. In the early 1210s, Subhatavarman's successor Arjunavarman defeated Jayantasimha, and later established a matrimonial alliance with him. Bhima managed to regain control of the throne during 1223-1226 CE. Meanwhile, the Yadavas invaded the southern part of the Chaulukya kingdom, led by Bhillama's successors Jaitugi and Simhana. During these invasions, the Chaulukya feudatories in
6699-445: The title Maharajadhiraja ("king of great kings"), and his son Viradhavala had assumed the title Maharaja ("great king"). However, the Vaghelas continued to nominally acknowledge Bhima and his successor Tribhuvanapala as their overlords. Viradhavala's son Visaladeva ascended the throne of Gujarat sometime around 1244 CE. How he usurped the power is uncertain: it is possible the last Chaulukya king Tribhuvanapala died heirless or
6786-447: The total workforce. Another important industry on which the population is dependent is tourism , because in and around the town, there are many tourist attractions. Thus, it has a large potential yet to be tapped. Gujarati , being the state language of Gujarat , is spoken by most of the people in Vadnagar. Hindi and English are other common languages. There are many temples, dedicated to almost every god: There are remains of
6873-466: The two kings. However, Mūlarāja refused to do so, declaring that Mularaja was a despicable person whose vices could be attributed to he being the son of a mleccha woma. When Mularaja continued his march, Graharipu started his war preparations. His allies included Medas ( Bhillas according to Abhayatilaka-Gaṇi), his friend Lakṣa (who had freed Kaccha from the Turuṣkas ), and a king named Sindhurāja. After
6960-521: The war began, he was joined by a mlechchha chief (a Turuṣka, according to Abhayatilaka-Gaṇi). Mūlarāja was supported by the kings Mahitrāta, Śailaprastha, Revatimitra, Gaṅgamaha of Gaṅgadvāra and his brother Gaṅgāmahā. The Paramāra king of Abu , who lived at Śrīmāla , also joined him. In addition, Mularaja was supported by the Bhillas and the Kauravas. After the battle began, several others including
7047-449: Was a nephew of Samantasimha. According to the 12th century chronicler Hemachandra , Mularaja defeated Graharipu , the king of Saurashtra . He also defeated the Lata Chalukya chief Barapa, aided by his son Chamundaraja . Chamundaraja succeeded Mularaja around 996 CE. During his reign, the Paramara king Sindhuraja appears to have invaded the Lata region , which was under Chaulukya suzerainty. Mularaja forced Sindhuraja to retreat;
7134-472: Was an outsider who captured Samanta-simha's kingdom. However, historian Asoke Majumdar proposed that he was indeed a relative of the king, based on the following facts: The Vadnagar inscription as well as the writings of Hemachandra suggest that Mularaja reduced the tax burden on the citizens. The inscription also states that he shared the wealth of the Chapotkata kings with his relatives, Brahmins, bards, and servants. Majumdar argues that if Mularaja had captured
7221-665: Was annexed as the Gujarat Province . Gujarat became independent once again under the Muzaffarids as the Sultanate of Gujarat . The Chaulukyas were one of the several dynasties that rose to power amid the decline of the Gurjara-Pratihara and the Rashtrakuta empires. In the mid-tenth century CE, the dynasty's founder Mularaja supplanted Samantasimha, the last Chavda king. According to legends, he
7308-554: Was composed under Cāhamāna patronage, states that Vigraharāja forced Mūlarāja to take shelter in Kanthā-durga, and advanced as far as Bhṛgukaccha (modern Bharuch ), where he built a temple dedicated to the goddess Aśapuri . It is hard to determine the historical truth from these different accounts. Historian R. B. Singh theorizes that Mūlarāja ceded a part of his territory to the Cāhamānas. Historian Dasharatha Sharma also believes that
7395-675: Was defeated by Visaladeva. Visaladeva invaded Malwa , which had been weakened because of invasions from the Delhi Sultanate . He met with little resistance in Malwa, and defeated the Paramara king Jaitugideva . Visaladeva also defeated a ruler of Mewar , possibly the Guhila king Tejasimha . He repulsed some invasions from south, by the Yadavas of Devagiri . However, later, he suffered setbacks against successive Yadava kings. Possibly as
7482-484: Was probably a Soomra king of Sindh . Jayasimha was succeeded by his relative Kumarapala , who spent his early life in exile to avoid persecution by Jayasimha. After Jayasimha's death, Kumarapala came back to the Chaulukya capital and ascended the throne in 1043 CE, with help of his brother-in-law Kanhadadeva. Arnoraja opposed Kumarapala's ascension to the throne, but Kumarapala defeated him decisively. Kumarapala seems to have helped Asharaja's son Katukaraja capture
7569-436: Was taken out. Three other chroniclers — Arisimha, Udayaprabha and Krishnaji — also describe Mularaja as the son of sister of the last Chapotkata ruler. In the mid-tenth century CE, Mularaja supplanted the last Chavada (Chapotkata) king of Gujarat and established the Chaulukya or Chaulukya dynasty . According to Merutunga's legend, Mularaja gained reputation as a warrior. His uncle Samanta-simha would often appoint him as
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