Mahindu (r. c. 994–1015 CE), also known as Mahendra or Mahindra, was an Indian king belonging to the Naddula Chahamana dynasty. He ruled the area around

Naddula Nadol is a census town in Desuri tehsil of Pali district, India. Ashapura Mataji temple and Shri Nadol Tirth attract pilgrims. History Nadol was originally called Naddula. The Chahamanas of Naddula (called Chauhans of Nadol in vernacular le ...

(present-day Nadol in

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 ...

Reign

Mahindu succeeded his father Vigrahapala on the throne of Naddula. According to the Bijapur inscription of the Hastikundi Rashtrakuta prince Dhavala, a ruler named Mahendra helped him against Durlabharaja. F. Kielhorn identified this Mahendra with Mahindu, the king of Naddula.

D. R. Bhandarkar Devadatta Ramakrishna Bhandarkar (; 19 November 1875 – 13 May 1950) was an Indian archaeologist and epigraphist who worked with the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). Born in Marathi Gaud Saraswat Brahmin family, he was the son of emine ...

identified Durlabharaja as Durlabharaja Chaulukya. However, 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 ...

points out that Durlabharaja Chaulukya had not ascended the throne when this inscription was issued. Sharma, therefore, identified Durlabharaja as Durlabharaja Chahamana, Dhavala seems to have been a close ally of Mahindu, and helped him against the Paramara king Munja.

Hemachandra's legend

''Dvyashrya-Kavya'', a legendary text by the Chaulukya court scholar

Hemachandra Hemacandra was a 12th century () Śvetāmbara Jaina acharya, ācārya, scholar, poet, mathematician, philosopher, yogi, wikt:grammarian, grammarian, Law, law theorist, historian, Lexicography, lexicographer, rhetorician, logician, and Prosody ...

, states that Mahendra-raja organized a ''

swayamvara ''Svayaṃvara'' ( ) is a matrimonial tradition in ancient Indian society where a bride, usually from '' Kṣatriya'' (warrior) caste, selects her husband from a group of assembled suitors either by her own choice or a public contest between her ...

'' (husband-choosing ceremony) for his sister Durlabha-devi. Besides Durlabharaja, he invited the rulers of

Anga Anga was an ancient Indo-Aryan peoples, Indo-Aryan tribe of eastern South Asia whose existence is attested during the Iron Age in India, Iron Age. The members of the Aṅga tribe were called the Āṅgeyas. Counted among the "sixteen great na ...

Andhra Andhra Pradesh (ISO: , , AP) is a state on the east coast of southern India. It is the seventh-largest state and the tenth-most populous in the country. Telugu is the most widely spoken language in the state, as well as its official lang ...

Kashi Kashi or Kaashi most commonly refers to: * Varanasi (historically known as "Kashi"), a holy city in India Kashi may also refer to: Places **Kingdom of Kashi, an ancient kingdom in the same place, one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas **Kashi Vishwana ...

, Kuru,

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 ...

and

Ujjayini Ujjain (, , old name Avantika, ) or Ujjayinī is a city in Ujjain district of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the fifth-largest city in Madhya Pradesh by population and is the administrative as well as religious centre of Ujjain ...

to this ceremony. Durlabha-devi chose Durlabharaja as her husband. Out of jealousy, the other invitees formed a confederacy and attacked his contingent, while he was returning to his capital. Durlabharaja defeated their combined army. Mahindu's younger daughter Lakshmi-devi married Nagaraja, the younger brother of Durlabharaja. On basis of this legend, historian R. B. Singh theorizes that the Chahamana-Chaulukya rivalry concluded with a matrimonial alliance. He also concludes that Mahindu was a powerful ruler, because of which several distant kings responded to the ''swayamvara'' invitation. Other historians doubt the historicity of this legend. According to A. K. Majumdar, the king of Naddula was a relatively insignificant ruler, and it is hard to believe that so many major rulers left their kingdoms to attend his ceremony at a time when northern India was under attacks from

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 ...

. Moreover, it is unlikely that Durlabharaja would have been able to defeat a confederacy of all these powerful kings.

Successors

Mahindu had two sons:

Ashvapala Ashvapala (IAST: Aśvapāla, r. c. 1015–1019 CE) was an Indian king belonging to the Naddula Chahamana dynasty. He ruled the area around Naddula (present-day Nadol in Rajasthan). Reign Ashvapala was the son of his predecessor Mahindu (also ...

and

Anahilla Anahilla (IAST: Aṇahilla, r. c. 1024–1055 CE) was an Indian king belonging to the Naddula Chahamana dynasty. He ruled the area around Naddula (present-day Nadol in Rajasthan). He defeated the Chaulukya king Bhima I, defeated a general of th ...

. He was succeeded by Ashvapala, followed by Ashvapala's son

Ahila Ahila (r. c. 1019–1024 CE) was an Indian king belonging to the Naddula Chahamana dynasty. He ruled the area around Naddula (present-day Nadol in Rajasthan). He defeated the Chaulukya invader Bhima I. Reign Ahila was the son of his predeces ...

. Anahilla succeeded Ahila on the throne of Naddula.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * {{Chahamanas of Naddula Chahamana kings of Naddula 10th-century Indian monarchs 11th-century Indian monarchs