Kachchhapaghata

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Find spot Provenance () is the chronology of the ownership, custody or location of a historical object. The term was originally mostly used in relation to works of art, but is now used in similar senses in a wide range of fields, including archaeology, p ...

s of the Kachchhapaghata inscriptions" width="300" height="300" zoom="7" longitude="78.14" latitude="25.92"> The Kachchhapaghatas (

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 ...

: Kacchapaghāta) were a Rajput dynasty that ruled between 10th and 12th centuries. Their territory included north-western parts of Central India (present-day

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (; ; ) is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and the largest city is Indore, Indore. Other major cities includes Gwalior, Jabalpur, and Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, Sagar. Madhya Pradesh is the List of states and union te ...

). The

Kachhwaha The Kachhwaha is a Rajput clan found primarily in India. They claim descent from the Suryavanshi (Solar) dynasty. Etymology According to Cynthia Talbot, the meaning of word ''Kachhwaha'' is tortoise. Origin There are numerous theories on ...

Rajputs of

Amber Amber is fossilized tree resin. Examples of it have been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since the Neolithic times, and worked as a gemstone since antiquity."Amber" (2004). In Maxine N. Lurie and Marc Mappen (eds.) ''Encyclopedia ...

were from the same family.

History

The Sanskrit word ''Kachchhapa-ghata'' (कच्छपघात) literally means 'tortoise killer'. The Kachchhapaghatas were originally the vassals of the

Gurjara Pratihara The Pratihara dynasty, also called the Gurjara-Pratiharas, the Pratiharas of Kannauj or the Imperial Pratiharas, was a prominent medieval Indian dynasty which ruled over the Kingdom of Kannauj. It initially ruled the Gurjaradesa until its vict ...

s and the

Chandela The Chandelas of Jejakabhukti was an Indian dynasty in Central India. The Chandelas ruled much of the Bundelkhand region (then called ''Jejakabhukti'') between the 9th and the 13th centuries. They belonged to the Chandel clan of the Rajputs. T ...

s. They became powerful towards the end of the 10th century. After the death of the Chandela king

Vidyadhara Vidyadhara(s) (Sanskrit , meaning "wisdom-holders") are a group of supernatural beings in Indian religions who possess magical powers. In Hinduism, they also attend Shiva, who lives in the Himalayas. They are considered ''Upadeva''s, or demi-g ...

in 1035 CE, the Chandela kingdom was weakened by repeated Muslim

Ghaznavid The Ghaznavid dynasty ( ''Ġaznaviyān'') was a Persianate Muslim dynasty of 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 to the Indus Va ...

( Yamini) invasions. Taking advantage of this situation, the Kachchhapaghatas gave up their allegiance to the Chandelas. A Sasbahu temple inscription suggests that Lakshmana was the first prominent member of the dynasty. This inscription, as well as a 977 Sihoniya inscription state that his successor Vajradaman captured Gopadri (Gwalior) from the king of Gadhinagara, that is the

Pratihara The Pratihara dynasty, also called the Gurjara-Pratiharas, the Pratiharas of Kannauj or the Imperial Pratiharas, was a prominent medieval Indian dynasty which ruled over the Kingdom of Kannauj. It initially ruled the Gurjaradesa until its vic ...

ruler of

Kannauj Kannauj (Hindustani language, Hindustani pronunciation: ) is an ancient city, administrative headquarters and a municipal board or Nagar palika, Nagar Palika Parishad in Kannauj district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Ut ...

. Vajradaman, described as the ''

tilaka In Hinduism, the tilaka (), colloquially known as a tika, is a mark worn usually on the forehead, at the point of the Ajna, ''ajna chakra'' (third eye or spiritual eye) and sometimes other parts of the body such as the neck, hand, chest, or the ...

'' of the dynasty in Gwalior inscriptions dated 1093-94 and 1104, was probably the first powerful ruler of the dynasty. He served as a feudatory to the Chandela kings

Dhanga Dhanga (r. c. 950-999 CE), also known as Dhaṇgadeva in inscriptions, was a king of the Chandela dynasty of India. He ruled in the Jejakabhukti region (Bundelkhand in present-day Madhya Pradesh). Dhanga established the sovereignty of the Chande ...

and Vidyadhara. The dynasty was divided into three branches, which ruled from

Gwalior Gwalior (Hindi: , ) is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; It is known as the Music City of India having oldest Gwalior gharana, musical gharana in existence. It is a major sports, cultural, industrial, and political c ...

(Gopādri-giri), Dubkunda (Chaṇdobha), and

Narwar Narwar is a town and a nagar panchayat in Shivpuri district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Narwar is a historic town and the Narwar Fort is just east of the Sindh River and is situated at a distance of 42 km from Shivpuri. Narwar w ...

(Nalapur). Virasimha (also Virasimharama or Virasimhadeva), a Kachchhapaghata ruler of Nalapura, issued a copper plate grant in 1120-21. This record describes him using the high-status royal title ''

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 ...

''. Gold coins issued by him have also been discovered.

Downfall

According to bardic tradition, the last ruler of the dynasty was Tejaskarana (alias Dulha Rai or Dhola Rai), the hero of the romantic tale ''

Dhola Maru The Dhola Maru, also known as Dhola Marvani, is the romantic tale of Dhola and Maru in Rajasthan. The Rajasthani version is entirely different from a version found in Chhattisgarh. The folktale can also be found in Punjab. Literature The '' ...

''. This account states that he left Gwalior in 1128 to marry the daughter of a neighbouring ruler, after leaving Paramal-dev (or Paramardi-dev) in-charge of the Gwalior Fort. When he returned to Gwalior, Paramal refused to hand over the fort to him, and founded the Parihara dynasty which ruled Gwalior for 103 years. The Parihara ruler over Gwalior is also attested the 1150 inscription of Ramdeo and 1194 inscription of Lohanga-Deva. However, other inscriptions suggest that the Kachchhapaghatas ruled the area at least until 1155 CE. In addition, 1192 and 1194 inscriptions found at Gwalior show that the Kachchhapaghata ruler Ajayapala controlled Gwalior in the later years as well. Thus, the bardic account is not completely reliable, and the Parihara chiefs probably ruled Gwalior as feudatories of the Kachchhapaghatas. Sulakshanapala, the last ruler of the dynasty, appears to have lost his kingdom to a

Ghurid The Ghurid dynasty (also spelled Ghorids; ; self-designation: , ''Šansabānī'') was a Persianate dynasty of eastern Iranian peoples, Iranian Tajik people, Tajik origin, which ruled from the 8th-century in the region of Ghor, and became an Emp ...

invasion. The ''

Tajul-Ma'asir Hasan Nizami was a Persian language poet and historian, who lived in the 12th and 13th centuries. He migrated from Nishapur to Delhi in India, where he wrote ''Tajul-Ma'asir'', the first official history of the Delhi Sultanate. Early life Lit ...

'' suggests the Ghurid general

Qutb al-Din Aibak Qutb ud-Din Aibak (; 1150 – 4 November 1210) was a Turkic general of the Ghurid emperor Muhammad Ghori. He was in charge of the Ghurid territories in northern India, and after Muhammad Ghori's assassination in 1206, he established his ow ...

invaded Gwalior in 1196, and extracted tribute from Sulakshanapala (whom ''Tajul-Ma'asir'' labels Solankhapala of Parihar family). The invaders took over

Gwalior fort The Fort of Gwalior or the Gwalior Fort is a 6th century defence hill fort in Gwalior, India. Mughal Emperor Babur called it the "pearl amongst the fortresses of Hind" because of its impregnability and magnificence and it has also been nickna ...

in the same year. The Kachchhapaghatas are the ancestors of

. Although the Kachwaha inscriptions claim a different origin for their dynasty i.e. from Kachhapa family which is likely the shortened form of Kachhapaghata itself. Strong traditions of bardic accounts such as ''Dhola Maru'' suggest that the Kachwaha dynasty of Amber originated from the Tejaskarana, the last ruler of the Narwar branch of the Kachchhapaghata dynasty.

Rulers

The following is a list of known Kachchhapaghata rulers, with estimate of their reigns: Simhapaniya (Sihoniya) and Gopadri (Gwalior) branch * Lakshmana (r. c. 950–975) * Vajradaman (r. c. 975–1000) * Mangalaraja (r. c. 1000–1015) * Kirtiraja (r. c. 1015–1035) * Muladeva (r. c. 1035–1055) * Devapala (r. c. 1055–1085) * Padmapala (r. c. 1085–1090) * Mahipala (r. c. 1090–1105) * Ratnapala (r. c. 1105–1130) * Ajayapala (r. c. 1192–1194) * Sulakshanapala (r. c. 1196) Dubkund (Dobha) branch * Yuvaraja (r. c. 1000) * Arjuna (r. c. 1015–1035) * Abhimanyu (r. c. 1035–1045) * Vijayapala (r. c. 1045–1070) * Vikramasimha (r. c. 1070–1100) Nalapura (Narwar) branch * Gaganasimha (r. c. 1075–1090) * Sharadasimha (r. c. 1090–1105) * Virasimha (r. c. 1105–1125) * Tejaskarana

Art and architecture

The dynasty patronized

Shaivism Shaivism (, , ) is one of the major Hindu denominations, Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Para Brahman, supreme being. It is the Hinduism#Demographics, second-largest Hindu sect after Vaishnavism, constituting about 385 million H ...

and

Vaishnavism Vaishnavism () ), also called Vishnuism, is one of the major Hindu denominations, Hindu traditions, that considers Vishnu as the sole Para Brahman, supreme being leading all other Hindu deities, that is, ''Mahavishnu''. It is one of the majo ...

, but were tolerant towards

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

and

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 ...

. Several temples were constructed during their reign in Kadwaha. Matha or Monastery at Kadwaha.tif ,

Matha A ''matha'' (; , ), also written as ''math'', ''muth'', ''mutth'', ''mutt'', or ''mut'', is a Sanskrit word that means 'institute or college', and it also refers to a monastery in Hinduism.

(monastery), Kadwaha Kakan Math.jpg , Kakanmath,

Sihoniya Sihoniya is a town in Morena district, in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Madhya Pradesh. The town is sometimes referred to as Suhania; in medieval times it was called Siṃhapānīya. The settlement has a long history and a ...

Mythological statue guarding Gujari Mahal.JPG, One of the lion figures from the

Kakanmaṭh temple, now at the Archaeological Museum, Gwalior The Kachchhapaghatas of Gwalior are especially noted for their art and architecture. Kachchhapaghata ruler Mahipala commissioned the Sas-Bahu Temple at Gwalior. Records of two grants issued by him at Gwalior, dated 1093 and 1104 CE, have been found. Several silver and gold coins issued by him have also been discovered. Ajayapala (r. c. 1192–1194) had the Gangola tank of Gwalior desilted, as attested by an 1194 inscription. Other temples constructed by the Gwalior branch include the ones located at:

References

Bibliography