Durlabharaja III (r. c. 1065–1070 CE) was an Indian king belonging to the Shakambhari Chahamana dynasty. He ruled the Sapadalaksha country, which included parts of present-day

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 ...

in north-western India.

Early life

Durlabha-raja III, also known as Duśala, succeeded his father Chamundaraja on the Chahamana throne. The

Bijolia Bijoliya is a census town in Bhilwara district in the state of Rajasthan, India and is surrounded by nature and waterfalls and is famous for Tapodaya Teerth Kshetra and Mandakini Temple. Geography Bijoliya Kalan is located at . It has an avera ...

inscription places one Simhata between the two. Historian

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 ...

theorizes that Simhata could have been an elder brother of Durlabharaja.

Conflict with the Gujarat Chaulukyas

Two relatively late texts suggest that Durlabharaja was involved in a conflict with

Karna Karna (Sanskrit: कर्ण, IAST: ''Karṇa''), also known as Vasusena, Anga-Raja, Sutaputra and Radheya, is one of the major characters in the Hindu epic ''Mahābhārata''. He is the son of Surya (the Sun deity) and princess Kunti (later ...

, 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 ...

king of

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

. The ''

Prabandha Kosha ''Prabandha-Kosha'' (IAST: Prabandhakośa) is an Indian Sanskrit-language collection of ''prabandha''s (legendary biographical narratives). It was compiled by the Jain scholar Rajashekhara Suri in 1349 CE. It describes the lives of 24 people, inclu ...

'' claims that Durlabha defeated the

Gurjara Gurjara, or Gurjar, may refer to; * Gurjar or Gurjara, an ethnic group of South Asia **Gujari language, spoken by the Gurjars * Gurjaras of Lata (500–738 CE), or Gurjara dynasty of Baruch, Gujarat *Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty, or Gurjara dynasty ...

king, brought him to Ajmer in chains and forced him to sell yogurt in a market. The ''

Hammira Mahakavya ''Hammira Mahakavya'' (IAST: ''Hammīra-Mahākāvya'') is a 15th-century Indian Sanskrit kavya, epic poem written by the Jain scholar Nayachandra Suri. It is a legendary biography of the 13th century Chahamanas of Ranastambhapura, Chahamana king H ...

'' claims that Karna died in a battle against Durlabha, and lost all his wealth to the Chahamana king. This is known to be historically incorrect, because Karna (died c. 1092 CE) continued to rule after Durlabha's death. Moreover, the earlier and more reliable texts such as ''

Prithviraja Vijaya ''Prithviraja Vijaya'' (IAST: Pṛthvīrāja Vijaya, "Prithviraja's Victory") is an eulogy, eulogistic Sanskrit kavya, epic poem on the life of the Indian Chahamanas of Shakambhari, Chahamana king Prithviraja III (better known as Prithviraj Chauhan ...

'' do not mention any such conflict. It is possible that Durlabha achieved a minor military success against Karna, which was magnified into a major victory by the later panegyrists.

Death

Durlabha seems to have faced Muslim invasions, most probably from the

Ghaznavids The Ghaznavid dynasty ( ''Ġaznaviyān'') was a Persianate Muslim dynasty of Turkic peoples, Turkic ''mamluk'' origin. It ruled the Ghaznavid Empire or the Empire of Ghazni from 977 to 1186, which at its greatest extent, extended from the Oxus ...

, whose king was

Ibrahim Ibrahim may refer to: * Ibrahim (name), including a list of people with the name ** Abraham in Islam * Ibrahim (surah), a surah of the Qur'an * ''Ibrahim'' (play) or ''Ibrahim The Illustrious Bassa'', a 1676 tragedy by Elkanah Settle, based on a ...

. The ''

'' states that he was killed in a battle with the Mātangas. According to

Jonaraja Jonaraja (died AD 1459) was a Kashmiri historian and Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northw ...

's commentary on the text, the word "Mātanga" refers to

mlechchha Mleccha () is a Sanskrit term referring to those of an incomprehensible speech, foreigners or invaders deemed distinct and separate from the List of ancient Indo-Aryan peoples and tribes, Vedic tribes. In Vedic Brahmanical discourse, the term i ...

s, that is, Muslims. ''Hammira Mahakavya'', written several years later, claims that Durlabha captured a Muslim ruler named Shahab-ud-Din, but this does not seem to be historically accurate. Durlabharaja III was succeeded by his brother

Vigraharaja III Vigraharāja III (r. c. 1079–1090 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. Early life Vigraharaja III, al ...

References

Bibliography

* * {{Chahamanas of Shakambhari Chahamana kings of Shakambhari 11th-century Indian monarchs