Durlabharaja II (r. c. 998-1012 CE ) was an Indian king belonging to the Shakambhari Chahamana dynasty. He ruled the Sapadalaksha country, which included 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. Durlabha-raja was a son of the Chahamana king

Simharaja Simharaja ( IAST: Siṃharāja, r. c. 944-971 CE ) was an Indian king belonging to the Shakambhari Chahamana dynasty. He ruled the Sapadalaksha country, which included parts of present-day Rajasthan in north-western India. He was the first Chaha ...

. He succeeded his brother

Vigraharaja II Vigraharāja II (r. c. 971-998 CE ) was a king belonging to the Shakambhari Chahamana dynasty. He ruled the Sapadalaksha country, which included parts of present-day Rajasthan in north-western India. Early life Vigrahraja was born to the Cha ...

on the Chahamana throne. The Harsha inscription of Vigraharaja compares the two brothers to

Rama Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular ''avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Being ...

Lakshmana Lakshmana ( sa, लक्ष्मण, lit=the fortunate one, translit=Lakṣmaṇa), also spelled as Laxmana, is the younger brother of Rama and his loyalist in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He bears the epithets of Saumitra () and Ramanuja () ...

and

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is on ...

Balarama Balarama ( Sanskrit: बलराम, IAST: ''Balarāma'') is a Hindu god and the elder brother of Krishna. He is particularly significant in the Jagannath tradition, as one of the triad deities. He is also known as Haladhara, Halayudha, Ba ...

. He had two other brothers, named Chandraraja and Govindaraja (not to be confused with the Chahamana kings bearing same names). Two 999 CE inscriptions from Durlabha's reigns have been discovered at Kinsariya (

Parbatsar Parbatsar is a town and a municipality in Nagaur district in the Indian state of Rajasthan. As of the 2001 India census, Parbatsar had a population of 80,000. Males constitute 54% of the population and females 46%. Parbatsar has an average ...

tehsil A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...

) and Sakrai in Rajasthan. According to the Sakrai inscription, he assumed the title

Maharajadhiraja Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king". A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, ...

("king of kings"). The Kinsariya inscription states that he was known as ''Durllanghya-Meru'', which implies that his enemies obeyed his orders. The inscription also states that he conquered the Asosittana or Rasoshittana

mandala A mandala ( sa, मण्डल, maṇḍala, circle, ) is a geometric configuration of symbols. In various spiritual traditions, mandalas may be employed for focusing attention of practitioners and adepts, as a spiritual guidance tool, for e ...

. Historian R. B. Singh speculates that this might be present-day Rohtak district, which Durlabha probably captured from a

Tomara Tomara may refer to: * Tomara dynasty of Delhi region in northern India * Tomaras of Gwalior The Tomaras of Gwalior (also called Tomar in modern vernaculars because of schwa deletion) were a Rajput dynasty who ruled the Gwalior Fort and its s ...

king. Durlabha also finds a mention in a 996 CE inscription of Dhavala, a chief of the Hastikundi Rashtrakuta branch. According to this inscription, Dhavala came to aid of a king named Mahendra, who had been overpowered by Durlabha. This Mahendra can be identified with the contemporary Naddula Chahamana king, who was a feudatory of Durlabha's rivals, the

Chaulukya 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 (modern Patan). At times, their rule extended ...

s. The inscription states that Dhavala used both diplomacy and force to relieve Mahendra. According to

D. R. Bhandarkar Devadatta Ramakrishna Bhandarkar ( mr, देवदत्त रामकृष्ण भांडारकर; 19 November 1875 – 13 May 1950) was an Indian archaeologist and epigraphist who worked with the Archaeological Survey of India (A ...

, the Durlabharaja mentioned in Dhavala's inscription was a different king: the Durlabharaja Chaulukya. The early medieval Muslim historians state that the ruler of

Ajmer Ajmer is one of the major and oldest cities in the Indian state of Rajasthan and the centre of the eponymous Ajmer District. It is located at the centre of Rajasthan. It is also known as heart of Rajasthan. The city was established as "''Aj ...

joined a confederacy of Hindu kings to support

Anandapala The Hindu Shahis (also known as Odi Shahis, Uḍi Śāhis, or Brahman Shahis, 822–1026 CE) were a dynasty that held sway over the Kabul Valley, Gandhara and western Punjab during the early medieval period in the Indian subcontinent. Details r ...

against

Mahmud of Ghazni Yamīn-ud-Dawla Abul-Qāṣim Maḥmūd ibn Sebüktegīn ( fa, ; 2 November 971 – 30 April 1030), usually known as Mahmud of Ghazni or Mahmud Ghaznavi ( fa, ), was the founder of the Turkic Ghaznavid dynasty, ruling from 998 to 1030. At th ...

in 1008 CE. R. B. Singh identifies this ruler as Durlabharaja. The confederacy failed to stop Mahmud from repeatedly plundering the Hindu territories. Among Durlabha's subordinates, a minister named Madhava and a feudatory named Dadhichika Chachcha are known. He was succeeded by his brother Govindaraja III.

References

Bibliography

* * {{Chahamanas of Shakambhari Chahamanas of Shakambhari 10th-century Indian monarchs 11th-century Indian monarchs