Mahālakadeva (died 24 November 1305), also known as Mahlak Deo or Mahlak Deva, was a king of the

Paramara dynasty The Paramara Dynasty (IAST: Paramāra) was an Indian dynasty that ruled Malwa and surrounding areas in west-central India between 9th and 14th centuries. They belonged to the Parmar (clan), Paramara clan of the Rajputs. The dynasty was establi ...

in central India. The last known ruler of the dynasty, he was defeated and killed by the forces of

Alauddin Khalji Alauddin Khalji (; ), born Ali Gurshasp, was a ruler from the Khalji dynasty that ruled the Delhi Sultanate in the Indian subcontinent. Alauddin instituted a number of significant administrative changes in the Delhi Sultanate, related to revenue ...

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

Political status

Mahalakadeva was the successor of Bhoja II. Gogadeva, also known as Haranand or simply Goga, was his powerful pradhan (prime minister). Goga was also the prime minister of Bhoja II's predecessor Arjuna II, and had turned against the king. The 16th century historian Firishta describes Goga as the "Raja of

Malwa Malwa () is a historical region, historical list of regions in India, region of west-central India occupying a plateau of volcanic origin. Geologically, the Malwa Plateau generally refers to the volcanic plateau, volcanic upland north of the ...

". According to historian Pratipal Bhatia, Goga might have become the ''de facto'' administrator of Malwa, with Bhoja II as a titular ruler.

Defeat against Alauddin Khalji

In 1305, the Muslim

Sultan of Delhi The Sultan of Delhi was the absolute monarch of the Delhi Sultanate which stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent during the period of medieval era, for 320 years (1206–1526).Alauddin Khalji Alauddin Khalji (; ), born Ali Gurshasp, was a ruler from the Khalji dynasty that ruled the Delhi Sultanate in the Indian subcontinent. Alauddin instituted a number of significant administrative changes in the Delhi Sultanate, related to revenue ...

sent his army to conquer Malwa, the Paramara territory. According to Amir Khusrow's ''Tarikh-i 'Alai'', "Rai Mahlak Deo" and ''pradhan'' "Koka" (Goga) commanded a force of 30-40 thousand cavalry, and an infantry of unknown size. Khusrow states that Delhi's "army of Islam" defeated this Paramara force, and "the earth was moistened with Hindu blood". Goga was killed in the battle, and his head was sent to the Sultan in Delhi. Ayn al-Mulk Multani, the newly appointed Governor of Malwa, was sent to expel Mahalakadeva from Mandu and cleanse that place from "the odour of infidelity". With help of a spy, Multani's forces found a way to enter the fort secretly. Mahalakadeva was killed while attempting to flee, on 24 November 1305. The Jain writer Kakka Suri, in his '' Nabhi-nandana-jinoddhara-prabandha'' (1336), describes the end of Mahalakadeva as follows: "Besieged by him lauddinin his own fort, the ruler of Mālwā passed there many days, living like a captive, and then died bereft of heroism." It is not known when exactly did the Delhi forces completed their conquest of Malwa. A 1310 CE

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 ...

inscription indicates that the Paramara dynasty survived until this time, at least in the north-eastern part of Malwa. A later 1338 CE inscription on a new mosque indicates that the area was under the control of the Delhi Sultan

Muhammad bin Tughluq Muhammad bin Tughluq (; ; 1290 – 20 March 1351), or Muhammad II, also named Jauna Khan as Crown Prince, further known by his epithets, The Eccentric Prince, or The Mad Sultan, was the eighteenth Sultan of Delhi. He reigned from 4 February 1 ...

by this time.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * {{Paramara dynasty Kings of Malwa 1305 deaths 14th-century Indian monarchs Monarchs killed in action Paramara dynasty