Rahila ( IAST: Rāhila, reigned c. 885-905 CE) was a king of the

Chandela The Chandelas of Jejakabhukti was an Indian dynasty in Central India. The Chandelas ruled much of the Bundelkhand region (then called ''Jejakabhukti'') between the 9th and the 13th centuries. They belonged to the Chandel clan of the Rajputs. T ...

dynasty of India. He ruled in the Jejakabhukti region (

Bundelkhand Bundelkhand (, ) is a geographical and cultural region and a proposed state and also a mountain range in central & North India. The hilly region is now divided between the states of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, with the larger portion lying ...

in present-day

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital city, capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, Sagar, and Rewa, India, Rewa being the othe ...

and

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

). Rahila was the son of his predecessor Vijayashakti. R. K. Dikshit dates his reign approximately to 885-905 CE. In an inscription of one of his successors, his title is given as ''nṛpati'' ("Lord of men"). No royal titles have been assigned to him, which suggests that he was a subordinate to the

Pratihara The Gurjara-Pratihara was a dynasty that ruled much of Northern India from the mid-8th to the 11th century. They ruled first at Ujjain and later at Kannauj. The Gurjara-Pratiharas were instrumental in containing Arab armies moving east of th ...

s, like other early Chandela rulers. Not much is known about Rahila's military career. He is mentioned in two

Khajuraho Khajuraho () is a city, near Chhatarpur in Chhatarpur district of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. One of the most popular tourist destinations in India, Khajuraho has the country's largest group of medieval Hindu and Jain temples, fam ...

inscriptions of his successors. These eulogistic inscriptions praise him as a warrior, but do not provide much information of historical value. For example, the 954 CE Khajuraho inscription states that he gave enemies sleepless nights. Using analogies, it compares a battle to a ritual sacrifice, and states that Rahila was never tired of this sacrifice. The legendary text ''Paramala Raso'', which is of doubtful authenticity, contains a highly exaggerated account of Rahila's military campaigns. For example, it claims that he invaded Rameshvara with a cavalary of 2 million horses, and confiscated a thousand ships from the king of Simhala.

People

* Rahila Banu, Indian House Wife Rahila is believed to have commissioned several

public works Public works are a broad category of infrastructure projects, financed and constructed by the government, for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community. They include public buildings ( municipal buildings, ...

. Inscriptions at an

Ajaygadh Ajaigarh or Ajaygarh is a town and a nagar panchayat in the Panna District of Madhya Pradesh state in central India. Ajaigarh State was one of the princely states of India during the period of the British Raj. The state was founded in 1785, and ...

temple bear his name. The Rahilya Sagar lake in

Mahoba Mahoba is a city in Mahoba District of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh in the Bundelkhand region, well known for the ninth century granite Sun temple built in Pratihara style. It is also well known for the 24 rock-cut Jain tirthankara image ...

, which has a temple on its bank, is named after him. ''Paramala Raso'' states that he established the Rasina (or Rajavasini) township, which is identified with Rasin village near Badausa. This village has a Chandela-style temple. According to ''Paramala Raso'', Rahila's queen was Rājamatī. The

Kalachuri The Kalachuris (IAST: Kalacuri), also known as Kalachuris of Mahishmati, were an Indian dynasty that ruled in west-central India between 6th and 7th centuries. They are also known as the Heheya Kingdom, Haihayas or as the Early Kalachuris to d ...

king Kokkala I married a Chandela princess Naṭṭā-devi. According to

R. C. Majumdar Ramesh Chandra Majumdar (known as R. C. Majumdar; 4 December 1888 – 11 February 1980) was a historian and professor of Indian history. Majumdar is a noted historian of modern India. He was a former Sheriff of Kolkata. Early life and educatio ...

, this princess might have been a daughter of Rahila's uncle Jayashakti. However, R. K. Dikshit, believes that she was probably a daughter or sister of Rahila.

References

Bibliography

* * * {{Chandelas of Jejakabhukti Chandelas of Jejakabhukti 9th-century Indian monarchs 10th-century Indian monarchs