Mahendrapala I (

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 ...

: Mahendrapāla; r. 885 – 910) was the Emperor of Aryavarta (ancient name for India, ) and King of Kannauj from 885 until his death in 910 and member of the Pratihara dynasty. He reigned over a vast empire in northern

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. He is also mentioned on various inscriptions found in present-day Kathiawar, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh by the names ''Mahindrapala'', ''Mahendrayudha'', ''Mahisapaladeva'', and also ''Nirbhayaraja'', ''Nirbhayanarendra'' and '' Raghukula-tilaka'' in the plays of his

guru Guru ( ; International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''guru'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian religions, Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: tr ...

Rajasekhara.

Reign

Rajasekhara called Mahendrapala as "

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 ...

of Aryavarta" () indicating his imperial status in northern India. Bhoja is thought to have died around A.D. 885, and his son Mahendrapala I succeeded him. The earliest record of Mahendrapala dates to A.D. 893. There is an unclear verse in a work called Rdjatarangvn, that hints he may have lost some land in the Punjab—a territory his father had gained—to a Kashmiri king named Sahkaravarman. Other than that uncertain detail, Mahendrapala kept the large empire he inherited and even pushed its borders further east. At least seven of his inscriptions have been found in South

Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...

and North

Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...

with dates from years 2' to 19, showing that soon after coming to power he conquered Magadha and part of Northern Bengal, which was traditionally the home of his long-time rivals, the Palas. His records also appear in the Kathiawar Peninsula, Eastern

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

, the

Jhansi Jhansi ( ) is a historic city in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. (Toshan) Balwant Nagar was the old name of Jhansi. It lies in the region of Bundelkhand, on the banks of the Pahuj River, in the extreme ...

District, and

Awadh Awadh (), known in British Raj historical texts as Avadh or Oudh, is a historical region in northern India and southern Nepal, now constituting the North-central portion of Uttar Pradesh. It is roughly synonymous with the ancient Kosala Regio ...

(Oudh). This spread suggests that his empire stretched from the Himalayan region in the north to the Vindhya range in the south, and from the eastern coast to the western sea. Mahendrapala’s name appears in several forms, including Mahindrapala and Mahendrayudha, and he was also known by titles such as Nirbhaya-narendra or Nirbhayaraja. His spiritual teacher, Rajaiekhara, was a well-known figure in Indian literature. Although Rajaiekhara's writings do not provide many details about Mahendrapala’s life or character, they clearly celebrate the magnificence of the imperial city of Kanauj.Sen, S.N., 2013, A Textbook of Medieval Indian History, Delhi: Primus Books,

References

9th-century Indian monarchs 910 deaths Pratihara emperors Kings of Kannauj People from Kannauj {{India-royal-stub