Mahipala I (913–944) ascended the throne of

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 ...

Empire after his half brother Bhoja II. He was a son of Queen Mahidevi. Mahipala I was also known by the names: ''Ksitipala'', ''Vinayakapala'', ''Herambapala'' and ''Uttarapatha Swami''.

Reign

It seems that

Indra III Indra III (reigned 914–929 CE) was the grandson of Rashtrakuta Emperor Krishna II and son of Chedi princess Lakshmi. He ascended the imperial throne after the early demise of his father Jagattunga.From the Sangli, Karhad, Deoli and Bagumra ...

's campaign did not influence

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 ...

much and Mahipala I soon revived

as court poet

Rajasekhara Rajasekhara may refer to: * Rama Rajasekhara/Cheraman Perumal "Nayanar" (''fl.'' 9th century), theologian, devotional poet and ruler from south India * Rajashekhara (Sanskrit poet) (''fl.'' 10th century), Sanskrit poet, dramatist and critic * ...

calls him ''Maharajadhiraja of Aryavarta''. According to ''Kavyamimansa'' of Rajasekhara, Mahipala's reign extended from the upper course of the river Bias in the north-west to Kalinga or

Orissa Odisha (), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is a state located in Eastern India. It is the eighth-largest state by area, and the eleventh-largest by population, with over 41 million inhabitants. The state also has the thir ...

in the south-east, and from the

Himalaya The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than 100 pea ...

s to the

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

Chera The Chera dynasty ( or Cēra, ), also known as Keralaputra, from the early historic or the Sangam period in Tamil-speaking southern India, ruled over parts of present-day states Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The Cheras, known as one of the mu-ventar ...

country in the far south. That Mahipala reigned over territories up to the ''

Narbada river The Narmada River, previously also known as ''Narbada'' or anglicised as ''Nerbudda'', is the 5th longest river in India and overall the longest west-flowing river in the country. It is also the largest flowing river in the state of Madhya Prade ...

'' is evident from the Partabgarh inscription, which provides information about his son Mahendrapala II ruling at

Ujjain 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 ...

in 946. R. S. Tripathi asserts that as Mahendrapala II is not credited with any achievements so Mahipala I must be the king who recovered

. The closing days of Mahipala's reign were disturbed by attacks by the

Rashtrakutas The Rashtrakuta Empire was a royal Indian polity ruling large parts of the Indian subcontinent between the 6th and 10th centuries. The earliest known Rashtrakuta Indian inscriptions, inscription is a 7th-century copper plate grant detailing th ...

on 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 ...

as the Deoli and Karhad plates of

Krishna III Krishna III (r. 939 – 967), whose Kannada name was Kannara, was the last great warrior and able Rashtrakuta Emperor. He was a shrewd administrator and skillful military campaigner. He waged many wars to restore the glory of the Rashtrakuta ...

, while praising his achievement in the style of an inflated panegyric, inform that ''by hearing conquest of southern regions, the hope about Kalanjara and Citrakuta vanished from the heart of the

Gurjara Gurjara, or Gurjar, may refer to; * Gurjar or Gurjara, an ethnic group of South Asia **Gujari language, spoken by the Gurjars * Gurjaras of Lata (500–738 CE), or Gurjara dynasty of Baruch, Gujarat *Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty, or Gurjara dynasty ...

''.

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

chronicler

Al-Masudi al-Masʿūdī (full name , ), –956, was a historian, geographer and traveler. He is sometimes referred to as the "Herodotus of the Arabs". A polymath and prolific author of over twenty works on theology, history (Islamic and universal), geo ...

describes Mahipala I as follows:

"The ruler has four armies according to the four quarters of the wind. Each of these number 700,000 or 900,000 men. He has large armies in the garrisons in the north and in the south; in the east and in the west, for he is surrounded on all sides by warlike rulers."

Mahipala I, whom Kannada poet

Pampa The Pampas (; from Quechuan languages, Quechua 'plain'), also known as the Pampas Plain, are fertile South American low grasslands that cover more than and include the Argentina, Argentine Provinces of Argentina, provinces of Buenos Aires Pro ...

expressly calls "Gurjararaja", carried forward the work of his ancestors. Dharanivaraha, a Chapa or Chavda ruler ruling at Vardhamana (now

Wadhwan Wadhwan, also spelled Vadhwan, is a city and a municipality in Surendranagar district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Located on the banks of the Bhogavo River, around 3 km from Surendranagar and 111 km from Ahmedabad, Wadhwan is a ...

Surashtra Kathiawar (), also known as Saurashtra, is a peninsula in the south-western Gujarat state in India, bordering the Arabian Sea and covering about . It is bounded by the Kutch district in the north, the Gulf of Kutch in the northwest, and by the ...

region of Gujarat) was a feudatory of Mahipala, which is mentioned in his grant dated 914.

References

Bibliography

* {{Gurjara-Pratihara kings 10th-century Indian monarchs 944 deaths Year of birth uncertain Pratihara emperors Kings of Kannauj People from Kannauj