Durlabha-rāja I (r. c. 784-809 CE ) was an Indian ruler belonging to the Chahamana dynasty. He ruled parts of present-day

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern s ...

in north-western India as a vassal of the

Gurjara-Pratihara The Gurjara-Pratihara was a dynasty that ruled much of Northern India from the mid-8th to the 11th century. They ruled first at Ujjain and later at Kannauj. The Gurjara-Pratiharas were instrumental in containing Arab armies moving east of the ...

king Vatsaraja.

Early life

Durlabha was the son of the Chahamana king Chandraraja I, and succeeded his uncle (Chandraraja's brother) Gopendraraja.

Gauda campaign

Historical evidence suggests that Durlabha achieved military success against the

Pala Empire The Pāla Empire (r. 750-1161 CE) was an imperial power during the post-classical period in the Indian subcontinent, which originated in the region of Bengal. It is named after its ruling dynasty, whose rulers bore names ending with the suffi ...

of present-day Bengal, as a vassal of the

king Vatsaraja. The ''

Prithviraja Vijaya ''Prithviraja Vijaya'' ( IAST: Pṛthvīrāja Vijaya, "Prithviraja's Victory") is an eulogistic Sanskrit epic poem on the life of the Indian Chahamana king Prithviraja III (better known as Prithviraj Chauhan in the vernacular folk legends). It i ...

'' states that Durlabha's sword bathed in ''Ganga-sagara'' (presumably the confluence of the

Ganga The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...

river and the ocean), and tasted the sweet juice of Gauda. This refers to Durlabha's military achievements in the Gauda region. Durlabha's son Guvaka is known to have been a vassal of the Gurjara-Pratihara king

Nagabhata II Nagabhata II (reign 795–833) was an Indian Emperor from Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty. He ascended the throne of Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty after his father Vatsraja. His mother was queen Sundari-Devi. He was designated with imperial titles - ''Par ...

. This suggests that Durlabha was also a feudatory of the Pratiharas, most probably that of Nagabhata's father Vatsaraja. This theory is supported by the Radhanpur Plate Inscription, which refers to Vatsaraja's successful military campaign in the Gauda region. Durlabha appears to have achieved his victories in Gauda during Vatsaraja's campaign against the Pala king

Dharmapala A ''dharmapāla'' (, , ja, 達磨波羅, 護法善神, 護法神, 諸天善神, 諸天鬼神, 諸天善神諸大眷屬) is a type of wrathful god in Buddhism. The name means "''dharma'' protector" in Sanskrit, and the ''dharmapālas'' are als ...

. The Palas came into conflict from time to time with the Pratiharas. The 812 CE

Baroda Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district and is situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River, from the state capi ...

Inscription also refers to Nagabhata's victory over the Gauda king

. Historian

R. C. Majumdar Ramesh Chandra Majumdar (known as R. C. Majumdar; 4 December 1888 – 11 February 1980) was a historian and professor of Indian history. Majumdar is a noted historian of modern India. He was a former Sheriff of Kolkata. Early life and educati ...

theorizes that "Gauda" here refers to the

Ganga-Yamuna Doab ''Doab'' () is a term used in South Asia Quote: "Originally and chiefly in South Asia: (the name of) a strip or narrow tract of land between two rivers; spec. (with) the area between the rivers Ganges and Jumna in northern India." for the tract ...

in present-day

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

. Other historians, such as

Dasharatha Sharma Dasharatha Sharma (1903–1976) was an Indologist with 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 degrees ...

and Rima Hooja, identify it with the Gauda region in

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

, which was the core Pala territory. According to the Radhanpur inscription Dharamapala, was deprived of his two white

royal umbrella Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

s, and fled, pursued by the Pratihara forces. The inscription suggests that through vigorous campaigning, Vatsraja extended his dominions to include a large part of northern India, from the

Thar Desert The Thar Desert, also known as the Great Indian Desert, is an arid region in the north-western part of the Subcontinent that covers an area of and forms a natural boundary between India and Pakistan. It is the world's 20th-largest desert, a ...

in the west up to the frontiers of

bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

in the east.A History of Rajasthan Rima Hooja Rupa & Company, 2006 - Rajasthan pg - 274-278 Both Vatsaraja and Dharmapala were later subdued by the

Rashtrakuta Rashtrakuta ( IAST: ') (r. 753-982 CE) was a royal Indian dynasty ruling large parts of the Indian subcontinent between the sixth and 10th centuries. The earliest known Rashtrakuta inscription is a 7th-century copper plate grant detailing their ...

king

Dhruva Dhruva (Sanskrit: ध्रुव, , lit. "''unshakeable, immovable, or fixed"'') was an ascetic devotee of Vishnu mentioned in the Vishnu Purana and the Bhagavata Purana. The Sanskrit term ''dhruva nakshatra'' (ध्रुव नक्ष� ...

. As Dhruva died in 793 CE, Durlabha's military successes in Gauda can be dated before this year. Durlabharaja's daughter, Mahata Devi, was married to Dharmapala's son Devapala, the emperor of Pala dynasty. She was mother to two subsequent Pala emperors, Mahendrapala and Shurapala I.Bhattacharya, Suresh Chandra, ''Pāla Kings in the Badal Praśasti — A Stock-Taking'', Journal of Ancient Indian History, University of Calcutta
Vol. XXIV
2007-08, pp. 73-82.

Successor

Durlabha was succeeded by his son Govindaraja I alias Guvaka.

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{Chahamanas of Shakambhari Chahamanas of Shakambhari 8th-century Indian monarchs 9th-century Indian monarchs