Chachiga-deva (

IAST The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows the lossless romanisation of Brahmic family, Indic scripts as employed by Sanskrit and related Indic languages. It is based on a scheme that ...

: Cācigadeva, r. c. 1257-1282 CE) was a king belonging to the

Chahamana dynasty Chauhan, a name derived from the historical Chahamanas, a clan name associated with various ruling Rajput families in the present-day Indian state of Rajasthan from seventh century onwards. Subclans Khichi, Hada, Songara, Bhadauria, De ...

, who ruled the area around Javalipura (present-day

Jalore Jalore () (ISO 15919 : ''Jālora'' ), also known as Granite City, is a city in the western Indian state of Rajasthan. It is the administrative headquarters of Jalore District. It has a river known as Jawai Nadi. Jalore lies to south of Sukri ...

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

). He maintained the borders of his ancestral kingdom intact, and achieved military successes against some neighbouring princes. He is most notable for issuing the Sundha Hill ''

prashasti ''Prashasti'' (IAST: Praśasti, Sanskrit for "praise") is an Indian genre of inscriptions composed by poets in praise of their rulers. Most date from the 6th century CE onwards. Written in the form of poetry or ornate prose, the ''prashastis'' s ...

'' inscription, which provides historically valuable information about his ancestors.

Background

Chachigadeva was the eldest son of his predecessor Udayasimha and queen Prahaladava-devi. According to the 1284 CE Budhatra (Jodhpur) inscription of his daughter Rupadevi, he was also known as "Chacha". Several inscriptions from Chachigadeva's reign have been discovered. These include: * 1262 CE Sundha Hill inscription: notable for containing an account of the Chahamana rulers of Javalipura and their ancestors in

Naddula Nadol is a census town in Desuri tehsil of Pali district, India. Ashapura Mataji temple and Shri Nadol Tirth attract pilgrims. History Nadol was originally called Naddula. The Chahamanas of Naddula (called Chauhans of Nadol in vernacular le ...

* 1266 CE Jalore inscription * 1269 CE Sewari inscription (issued at Kareda) * 1276 CE Ratanpur inscription * Four

Bhinmal Bhinmal (previously Shrimal Nagar) is an ancient town in the Jalore District of Rajasthan, India. It is south of Jalore. Bhinmal was the early capital of Gurjaradesa, comprising modern-day southern Rajasthan and northern Gujarat. The town was ...

inscriptions: 1271 CE, 1274 CE, 1277 CE, and 1278 CE The inscriptions usually give his title as ''

Maharajadhiraja Maharaja (also spelled Maharajah or Maharaj; ; feminine: Maharani) is a royal title in Indian subcontinent of Sanskrit origin. In modern India and medieval northern India, the title was equivalent to a prince. However, in late ancient India ...

'' ("king of great kings") or ''Maharajakula''. The Ratanpur inscription describes him as a ''Mahamandeshvara-raja''. According to the 1274 CE Bhinmal inscription, his title was "Rajadhiraja" (king of kings); the 1277 CE inscription gives his title as "Maharajakula". Jakha or Jakahadeva was the prime minister of Chachigadeva, as attested by the 1266 CE Jalore and the 1276 CE Ratanpur inscriptions.

Military career

Chachigadeva appears to have maintain a sovereign status and the territory inherited from his father. The Sundha Hill inscription poetically describes him as "destroying the roaring Gurjara lord Virama, hating the enemy Salya, taking exquisite delight in felling the shaking (or leaping) Pātaka, depriving of his colour Sanga, and a thunderbolt to the mountain - the furious Nahara". Virama can be identified with the Vaghela prince Virama-deva, who was married to Chachigadeva's sister. Virama and his brother Visala-deva both wanted the Vaghela throne after the death of their father. The Vaghela minister

Vastupala Vastupāla (died 1240 CE) was a prime minister of the Vaghela dynasty, Vāghelā king Vīradhavala and his successor Vīsaladeva, who ruled in what is now the Gujarat region of India, in the early 13th century. Although he served in an administra ...

supported Visala, because of which Virama was forced to flee the Vaghela kingdom. Virama took shelter with his in-laws, but the Chahamanas wanted to maintain good relations with the Vaghelas. Therefore, Chachigadeva treacherously murdered Virama. This event probably happened while Chachigadeva was still a prince. Salya was probably Salha, a ruler of the Chahamana branch of

Sanchore Sanchore is a city, which is located, about 135 km from Jalore, Jalore City in Jalore district in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Rajasthan. It serves as headquarters of Sanchore Tehsil, Tehshil. The town is located o ...

and a distant cousin of Chachigadeva. Their fourth-generation ancestors -

Kirtipala Kirti-pala ( IAST: Kīrtipāla, r. c. 1160-1182 CE), also known as Kitu in vernacular legends, was an Indian king belonging to the Chahamana dynasty of Javalipura (modern Jalore). A member of the Naddula Chahamana family, he carved out a prin ...

and Vijayasimha - were brothers. Sanchore is known to have been controlled by Chachigadeva's father Udayasimha. It is possible that Salha tried to assert his sovereignty, because of which he and Chachigadeva became enemies. Patuka has been identified as Pratapa-simha of Abu by

Dasharatha Sharma Dasharatha Sharma (1903–1976) was an Indologist with a particular interest in the history of the Rajasthan region of India. Born in the Rajasthani city of Churu, he studied in the city of Bikaner and at the University of Delhi. He had degree ...

. D. R. Bhandarkar, on the other hand, identified him as a cousin of Chachigadeva (a son of Udayasimha's brother Manavasimha). Bhandarkar identified Sanga Sangana, a ruler of Vanthali, by Bhandarkar. Dasharatha Sharma opposes this theory, arguing that Chachigadeva was a child at the time of Sangana's death. Nahara, according to Sharma, might have been a Muslim general.

Personal life

According to the 1284 CE inscription, Chachigadeva's wife was Lakshmi-devi. The couple had a daughter named Rupa-devi, who married the king Teja-simha (possibly a

Guhila Guhila, also called Guhil and Guhadatt, was the ruler of Idar and Mewar from 566-568 AD. He is known as the founder of the Guhila dynasty The Guhilas of Medapata colloquially known as Guhilas of Mewar were a Rajput dynasty that ruled the Ki ...

ruler, according to G. H. Ojha). According to the 17th century chronicle ''

Nainsi ri Khyat Nainsi ri Khyat (or 'Khyat of Nainsi') is a late 17th-century Marwari & Dingal text chronicling the history of Marwar. Its author Muhnot Nainsi, an official of Marwar State, based the Khyat (or chronicle) on the Charan accounts and the traditi ...

'', Chachigadeva had three sons: Samantasimha (his successor), Chahadadeva, and Chandra. Chachigadeva's successor was Samantasimha, who was probably his son, although the relationship between these two persons is not certain.

Cultural activities

The Sundha Hill inscription states that Chachigadeva waived some taxes at Shrimala (

). At Ramasainya (modern Ramseen), he donated funds for the temple of the deity Vigrahaditya. For the temple of the gold Aparajitesha, he commissioned a golden cupola, a silver girdle, a hall, a

ratha Ratha (Proto-Indo-Iranian: ''*Hrátʰas'', Vedic Sanskrit: रथ, ; Avestan: ''raθa'') is the Indo-Iranian term for a spoked-wheel chariot. The term has been used since antiquity for both fast chariots and other wheeled vehicles pulled by an ...

studded with precious stones, and a flag staff. He worshipped the goddess Aghateshvari (

Chamunda Chamunda (, ), also known as Chamundeshwari, Chamundi or Charchika, is a fearsome form of Chandi, the Hindu mother goddess, Mahadevi and is one of the seven Matrikas.Wangu p.72 She is also one of the chief Yoginis, a group of sixty-four or ...

) at Sugandhadri (modern Sundha Hill), and commissioned a

mandapa A ''mandapa'' or ''mantapa'' () is a pillared hall or pavilion for public rituals in Indian architecture, especially featured in Hindu temple architecture and Jain temple architecture. ''Mandapas'' are described as "open" or "closed" dependin ...

at her temple. He also patronized

Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion whose three main pillars are nonviolence (), asceticism (), and a rejection of all simplistic and one-sided views of truth and reality (). Jainism traces its s ...

: he granted a village to a Parshvanatha shrine at Karaheda. The Sundha Hill ''

'' (eulogy) of his family was composed by a Jain ''

yati Yati, historically was the general term for a monk or pontiff in Jainism. Jainism In the late medieval period, yati came to represent a stationary monk, who lived in one place rather than wandering as required for a Jain monk. The term was mo ...

'' (monk).

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chachigadeva Chahamana kings of Jalor 13th-century Indian monarchs