The Geopolitical Orbits of Ancient India: The Geographical Frames of the Ancient Indian Dynasties by Dilip K. Chakrabarty

Author:Dilip K. Chakrabarty
Language: eng
Format: azw3
ISBN: 9780199088324
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2010-10-18T06:00:00+00:00

The North Indian Dynasties, c. Eighth–Tenth Centuries: The Chandellas, Kalachuris, Paramaras, Hindu Shahis, and Others

The Chandella or Chandatreya kings of Bundelkhand were originally vassals of the Pratiharas and based at Kharjuravahaka or Khajuraho. The founder of the line was Nannuka in the beginning of the ninth century. He was followed by Vakpati who possibly fought battles within the periphery of the Vindhyan range. He had two sons, Jayasakti and Vijayasakti, both of whom took their turns to be kings. Jayasakti also bore the names Jejjaka and Jeja, and thus the territory ruled by the Chandellas came to be known as Jejakabhukti. In a Khajuraho inscription, Vijayasakti is supposed to have carried expeditions to the southernmost point of India; such claims had apparently no basis. He was followed by Rahilya, and as a tank near Mahoba or Mahotsavanagara bears the name Rahilyasagara, it is possible that the Chandellas had by then extended their power up to the Hamirpur area, which would mean that they had extended their kingdom considerably by then. Rahilya was followed by his son Harsha (c. AD 900–25) who seems to have helped his overlord Pratihara king of Kanauj to re-possess his capital after it was lost to the Rashtrakuta Indra III. Harsha’s son Yasovarman, also known as Lakshmanavarman, took advantage of the weakness of the Pratiharas of the period and conquered Kalanjar fort, which gave him access to the Ganga-Yamuna valley. He then fought with the Kalachuris of the Chedi country near Jubbulpore and the Paramaras of Malwa and pushed his boundary in that direction. This brought him into conflict with the Somavamsi kings of south Kosala. According to his inscriptional record, he also invaded the Pala kingdom in the east, conquering Gauda and Mithila. This record also takes him to battle with the kings of Kashmir and Kuru. A battle with the Tomars who were then ruling the Kuru area is not an improbability but no credence can be given to the claim that he advanced as far north as the territory of the Kashmir kings.

During the time of Yasovarman’s son and successor Dhanga (c. AD 954–1002), the Chandella kingdom extended up to Kalanjar in Banda, the Kalindi or the Yamuna, Bhilsa or Vidisa, the border of the Chedi territory of Jubbulpore, and Gwalior or Gopagiri. This seems to be a perfectly sensible boundary for a kingdom based in Bundelkhand. However, he lost Gwalior to the Kacchhapaghata king Vajradaman around AD 977. By this time, the Pratihara power of Kanauj got very weak, and Dhanga, after defeating the Pratiharas, began to rule up to the Yamuna. He advanced up to Banaras, and launched from there military campaigns against Anga and Radha. The Somavamsi kings of south Kosala are said to have come in conflict with him, but perhaps there is no truth in the claim that he fought the Andhras and Kuntalas as well. He is also known to have joined the confederacy of kings under Jayapala of Panjab against Sabuktagin of Ghazni in AD 989.8

The

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