Chaulukya dynasty
The Chaulukya dynasty, also Solanki dynasty, was a dynasty that ruled parts of what are now Gujarat and Rajasthan in north-western India, between and. Their capital was located at Anahilavada. At times, their rule extended to the Malwa region in present-day Madhya Pradesh. The family is also known as the "Solanki dynasty" in the vernacular literature. They belonged to the Solanki clan of Rajputs.
Mularaja, the founder of the dynasty, supplanted the last ruler of the Chavda dynasty around 940 CE. His successors fought several battles with the neighbouring rulers such as the Chudasamas, the Paramaras and the Chahamanas of Shakambhari. During the reign of Bhima I, the Ghaznavid ruler Mahmud invaded the kingdom and raided the Somnath temple during 1024–1025 CE. The Chaulukyas soon recovered, and the kingdom reached its zenith under the rule of Jayasimha Siddharaja and Kumarapala in the 12th century. Several minor dynasties, such as the Chahamanas of Jalor and the Chahamanas of Naddula, served as Chaulukya vassals during this period. After Kumarapala's death, the kingdom was gradually weakened by internal rebellions; uprisings by feudatories; and invasions by the Paramaras, the Ghurids, the Yadavas and others. Taking advantage of this, the Vaghelas, who had earlier served as Chaulukya generals, usurped the power and established a new dynasty in the 1240s.
Several princely state rulers of the Solanki clan claimed descent from the Chaulukyas.
Name
The dynasty used the self-designation "Chaulukya" in all but four of its records. The four exceptions are:- "Chaulukika" in the Kadi grant of Mularaja
- "Saulkika" in a grant of Chamundaraja
- "Chaulakya" in the Sambhar inscription of Jayasimha
- "Chaullakya" in the Jalor inscription of Kumarapala
"Solanki" or "Solankhi" is a vernacular form of the term.
Origins
The word "Chaulukya" is thought to be a variant of the word "Chalukya". Several other dynasties were known by the name "Chalukya", including the Chalukyas of Vatapi, Navasarika, Vemulavada, Kalyani, Vengi and Lata. These dynasties are sometimes thought to be branches of the same family, but the relationship between all of them is not certain. Unlike the Chalukyas of Kalyani and Vengi, the Chaulukyas of Gujarat never claimed a shared descent or any other association with the earliest Chalukya dynasty—the Chalukyas of Vatapi. Moreover, they never used the term "Chalukya" to describe themselves.
However, the Chaulukyas of Gujarat shared a myth of origin with the Chalukyas of Kalyani and Vengi. According to this legend, the progenitor of the dynasty was created by Brahma. The version of the legend mentioned in the Vadnagar prashasti inscription of Kumarapala is as follows: the deities once asked the creator god Brahma to protect them from the danavas. Brahma then created a hero from his chuluka, which was filled with Ganges water. This hero was named "Chulukya", and became the progenitor of the dynasty. A variation of this legend is mentioned by Abhayatilaka Gani in his commentary on Hemachandra's Dvyashraya-Kavya. According to this version, Brahma produced the hero to support the earth, after his other creations disappointed him. These stories are of no historical value, as it was customary for contemporary royal houses to claim mythical and heroic origins. The Kumarapala-Bhupala-Charita of Jayasimha Suri presents Chulukya as a historical warrior, whose capital was Madhupadma. Mularaja was his descendant, with nearly a hundred generations separating the two. This account may be partly historical: Madhupadma has been identified variously as a location outside Gujarat, including present-day Mathura.
C. V. Vaidya theorized that the Chaulukyas were different from the Chalukyas. G. H. Ojha opposed this theory, pointing out that an inscription of the Lata Chalukya ruler Kirtiraja describes his family as "Chalukya", while an inscription of his grandson Trilochanapala describes the family as "Chaulukya". According to Asoke Majumdar, while these similar-sounding names suggest a common origin for all these dynasties, there is no concrete evidence to draw any definitive conclusion. Majumdar theorized that the Chaulukyas were connected to the Sulikas or the Chulikas, a tribe mentioned in several ancient records. This tribe is described as living on the northern frontier of ancient India. However, Majumdar admitted that there is not enough evidence to regard this theory as conclusive. According to the Agnikula myth mentioned in a 16th-century recension of the legendary epic poem Prithviraj Raso, four Rajput clans including the Chaulukyas were born from a fire-pit on Mount Abu. A section of colonial-era historians interpreted this mythical account to suggest that these clans were foreigners who came to India after the decline of the Gupta Empire around the 5th century CE, and were admitted in the Hindu caste system after performing a fire ritual.
The Chaulukya rulers have been called "Gurjararāja" and "Gurjareśvara". Based on this legend, D. R. Bhandarkar and others theorized that the Chaulukyas were a branch of Gurjaras, whom they believed to be a tribe of foreign origin. Bhandarkar and Augustus Hoernle also believed that the name of the "Lata" region changed to "Gurjaratra" during the Chaulukya reign, presumably because they were Gurjaras.
However, this foreign-origin theory is weakened by a number of factors. The Chaulukyas did not claim an Agnikula origin for themselves: it was the neighbouring Paramara rulers who used the legend to explain their own origin. The inscriptions from the reign of Bhima II prove that the Chaulukyas knew about the Agnikula legend, but associated it with the Paramaras, not themselves. The earliest copies of Prithviraj Raso do not mention this legend either. The legend that includes the Chaulukyas among the fire-born clans is first mentioned by the 16th century poets, who may have extended the Paramara legend to include other dynasties, in order to foster Rajput unity against the Mughals. Moreover, there is no evidence that the Chaulukya territory area came to be known as "Gurjaratra" during the Chaulukya reign. "Gurjara" and "Lata" were two distinct historical regions in northern and southern parts of present-day Gujarat respectively, and the term "Lata" was never used to describe the whole of Gujarat. The Chaulukya kings were called "Gurjararāja" and "Gurjareśvara" because they ruled the territory which was already called Gurjara by their time. Several other kings who held similar epithets had earlier ruled this territory: these include the Gurjara-Pratiharas and the Gurjaras of Nandipuri. Historian Asoke Kumar Majumdar points out that even the southern Ganga chief Marasimha II assumed the title "king of Gurjaras" after defeating a northern king on behalf of the Rashtrakutas.
History
Early rulers
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 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; 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 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 the Lata region, and defeated the Lata Chalukya ruler Kirtiraja, 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.
Neighbouring rivalries
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 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 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 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 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 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 a city called Karnavati after defeating a Bhil chief named Asha. Karnavati is identified with modern Ahmedabad by some, but this is not certain.