Sallakshana-Varman (reigned c. 1100–1110 CE; IAST: Sallakṣaṇavarman) 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 succeeded his father Kirttivarman as the ruler of 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 ...

). The inscriptions of his descendants suggest that he achieved military successes against the Paramaras, the

Kalachuris of Tripuri The Kalachuris of Tripuri (IAST: ), also known the Kalachuris of Chedi, ruled parts of central India during 7th to 13th centuries. They are also known as the Later Kalachuris to distinguish them from their earlier namesakes, especially the Kal ...

and the ruler of Kanyakubja.

Military career

The partially illegible

Mau Mau may refer to: Places Kenya * Mau Escarpment * Mau Forest India * Mau, Bhind, a town in Madhya Pradesh * Mau, Mawal, Pune district, Marahrashtra * Mau, Punjab, a village in Punjab * Mau, Uttar Pradesh, India * Mau district, Uttar P ...

inscription of Sallakshana's descendant Madana-varman appears to credit him with successful campaigns in "Antarvedi '' vishaya''".

Kalhana Kalhana ( sa, कल्हण, translit=kalhaṇa) was the author of ''Rajatarangini'' (''River of Kings''), an account of the history of Kashmir. He wrote the work in Sanskrit between 1148 and 1149. All information regarding his life has to be ...

's writings suggest that Antarvedi was a name for the land between the

Ganga The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...

and the

Yamuna The Yamuna (Hindustani: ), also spelt Jumna, is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height of about on the southwestern slopes of Ba ...

rivers, centered around Kanyakubja (Kannauj). Because of the fragmentary nature of the inscription, different scholars have interpreted it in different ways.

Alexander Cunningham Major General Sir Alexander Cunningham (23 January 1814 – 28 November 1893) was a British Army engineer with the Bengal Engineer Group who later took an interest in the history and archaeology of India. In 1861, he was appointed to the newl ...

believed that Sallakshana's forces merely carried out a brief raid in this region. H. C. Ray speculated that Sallakshana fought with a Kannauj Rashtrakuta prince (possibly Gopala or one of his predecessors) before aborting his campaign. S. K. Mitra theorized that he unsuccessfully tried to capture Kannauj. D. C. Ganguly, on the other hand, proposed that the Chandelas defeated the rulers of Kannauj, which was subsequently ruled by the

Gahadavala The Gahadavala dynasty ( IAST: Gāhaḍavālas), also Gahadavalas of Kanauj, was a Rajput dynasty that ruled parts of the present-day Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, during 11th and 12th centuries. Their capital was located at Varana ...

s. N. S. Bose theorized that the Gahadavalas invaded the Chandela territory; the military success mentioned in the inscription was Sallakshana's repulsion of this attack. According to R. K. Dikshit, the

Ghaznavids The Ghaznavid dynasty ( fa, غزنویان ''Ġaznaviyān'') was a culturally Persianate, Sunni Muslim dynasty of Turkic ''mamluk'' origin, ruling, at its greatest extent, large parts of Persia, Khorasan, much of Transoxiana and the northwest ...

under Masud III invaded Kannauj region during the reign and defeated the Gahadavalas and their Rashtrakuta feudatories. Taking advantage of this situation, Sallakshana may have captured Antarvedi. Sallakshana-varman is also mentioned in the

Ajaygarh 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 178 ...

rock inscription of Kalyanidevi, the wife of his descendant Viravarman. According to this inscription, Sallakshana's sword "took away to the fortune of the Malavas and the Chedis. The success against the

Malavas The Malavas (Brahmi script: 𑀫𑁆𑀫𑀸𑀭𑀯 ''Mmālava'') or Malwas were an ancient Indian tribe. Modern scholars identify them with the Mallian people (Malloi) who were settled in the Punjab region at the time of Alexander's invasion ...

may have been a raid against the Paramara king Naravarman. The success against the Chedis (the

) was probably refers to an expedition against the Kalachuri king Yashah-Karna." An inscription of Jajalla-deva, 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 of Ratanpur, dated to 1110s CE, states that he was "honoured like a friend" by the ruler of Jejakabhukti. F. Kielhorn identified this Jejakabhukti ruler with Sallakshana's father Kirttivarman. But V. V. Mirashi believed that this ruler was Sallakshana himself, because Jajalla appears to have imitated his copper coins.

Administration

The

inscription suggests that Sallakshana-varman was well-versed with arts and literature. It indicates that his father's chief minister Ananta continued to hold the post during his reign. Some sons of Ananta were also appointed to important posts, after having been tested by the king. The Ajaygarh inscription mentions another hereditary minister, Yashahpala of Gauda family. Sallakshana-varman issued gold and copper coins. Unlike the Chandela inscriptions, these coins mention his name as "Hallakshana-varman" (''Srimat-Hallakshana-Varma-Deva''). This anomaly can possibly attributed to inefficient minting, although the exact reason is not certain. A copper-plate inscription of his descendant Paramardi-deva mentions a place called "Sallakshana-Vilasapura". This place was probably named after Sallakshana-Varman, and is identified with the modern Pachar near Jhansi. Sallakshana-varman was succeeded by Jayavarman.

References

Bibliography

* * * {{Chandelas of Jejakabhukti Chandelas of Jejakabhukti 12th-century Indian monarchs