Kokalla II (

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 ...

: , r. c. 990–1015 CE) was a ruler of the Kalachuri dynasty of Tripuri in central India. His kingdom was centered around the Chedi or Dahala region in 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 ...

. His Gurgi inscription suggests that he raided the territories 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 vi ...

s, the

Palas A ''palas'' () is a German term for the imposing or prestigious building of a medieval '' Pfalz'' or castle that contained the great hall. Such buildings appeared during the Romanesque period (11th to 13th century) and, according to Thompson ...

and the Chalukyas of Kalyani.

Early life

Kokalla was a son of the Kalachuri king Yuvarajadeva II. He was placed on the throne by the ministers of the state after his father's death.

Reign

The

Gurgi Gurgi is a fictional character in ''The Chronicles of Prydain'', the series of fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, im ...

inscription of Kokalla boasts that the other kings were afraid of him: the Gurjara king hid in the Himalayas, the Gauda king hid in the watery fort, and the Kuntala king lived in forest. These claims indicate that Kokalla probably raided these territories: * The Gurjara king was probably a

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, either

Mularaja Mularaja () was the king of Gujarat and the founder of the Chaulukya dynasty. Also known as the Chaulukyas of Gujarat or Solanki, this dynasty ruled parts of present-day Gujarat. Mularaja supplanted the last Chavda dynasty, Chavda king, and foun ...

or Chamundaraja. However, as the Kalachuri inscription suggests that the Himalayan region was part of his kingdom, he can also be identified with a weak

ruler, probably Rajyapala. * The Gauda king can be identified with the Pala ruler

Mahipala Mahipala (or Mahipala I; ) was a notable king of the Pala dynasty, which ruled over much of the eastern regions of the Indian subcontinent between the 8th and 12th centuries. He was the son and successor of Vigrahapala II. Mahipala's reign mar ...

. * The Kuntala king can be identified with the Kalayani Chalukya king Vikramaditya V. Kokalla's paternal aunt had married the Chalukya king

Tailapa II Tailapa II (r. c. 973-997) also known as Taila II and by his title ''Ahavamalla'', was the founder of the Western Chalukyas, Western Chalukya Empire in peninsular India. Tailapa claimed descent from the earlier imperial Chalukyas of Vatapi (Bad ...

. It is possible that the Chalukya-Kalachuri relations deteriorated after Tailapa's death. The Jabalpur and Khaira inscriptions of Kokalla's descendant Yashahkarna boast that Kokalla raided countries in four directions until he reached the four oceans. This seems to be mere conventional praise. When the Turkic ruler

Mahmud of Ghazni Abu al-Qasim Mahmud ibn Sabuktigin (; 2 November 971 – 30 April 1030), usually known as Mahmud of Ghazni or Mahmud Ghaznavi (), was Sultan of the Ghaznavid Empire, ruling from 998 to 1030. During his reign and in medieval sources, he is usuall ...

invaded India in 1015, he was opposed near the pilgrim city of

Mathura Mathura () is a city and the administrative headquarters of Mathura district in the states and union territories of India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located south-east of Delhi; and about from the town of Vrindavan. In ancient ti ...

by Kokalla II, whose army consisted of a large number of

war elephant A war elephant is an elephant that is Animal training, trained and guided by humans for combat purposes. Historically, the war elephant's main use was to charge (warfare), charge the enemy, break their ranks, and instill terror and fear. Elep ...

s. The battle was hotly contested, but Kokalla II was eventually defeated due to the mobility and speed of the Turkic

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

. Mahmud then proeeded to plunder

and the nearby city of

Vrindavan Vrindavan (; ), also spelt Vrindaban and Brindaban, is a historical city in the Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is located in the Braj, Braj Bhoomi region and holds religious importance for Hindus who believe that Krishna, one of ...

. 50,000

Hindus Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

were killed by drowning or by using swords and 1,000 temples were demolished in the district. The ''

Udaipur Udaipur (Hindi: , ) (ISO 15919: ''Udayapura'') is a city in the north-western Indian state of Rajasthan, about south of the state capital Jaipur. It serves as the administrative headquarters of Udaipur district. It is the historic capital of t ...

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 of the Paramaras claims that their king

Bhoja Bhoja was the Paramara dynasty, Paramara king of Malwa from 1010 until his death in 1055. He ruled from Dhara (city), Dhara (modern Dhar), and Military career of Bhoja, fought wars with nearly all his neighbours in attempts to extend his king ...

defeated one Togglala. S. K. Bose identifies Togglala with Kokalla II. Kokalla was succeeded by his son

Gangeyadeva Gangeyadeva ( IAST:, r. c. 1015–1041 CE) was a ruler of the Kalachuri dynasty of Tripuri in central India. His kingdom was centered around the Chedi or Dahala region in present-day Madhya Pradesh. During the early part of his reign, Gangeyad ...

, who appears to have served as Bhoja's vassal during the first few years of his reign.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * {{Kalachuris of Tripuri Kalachuris of Tripuri 10th-century Indian monarchs 11th-century Indian monarchs