Samara-simha (

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 ...

: Samarasiṃha, r. c. 1182–1204 CE) was an Indian king belonging to the

Chahamana dynasty Chauhan, a name derived from the historical Chahamanas, a clan name associated with various ruling Rajput families in the present-day Indian state of Rajasthan from seventh century onwards. Subclans Khichi, Hada, Songara, Bhadauria, De ...

Javalipura Jalore () (ISO 15919 : ''Jālora'' ), also known as Granite City, is a city in the western Indian state of Rajasthan. It is the administrative headquarters of Jalore district, Jalore District. It has a river known as Jawai Nadi. Jalore lies to ...

(present-day Jalore 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 ...

). He ruled the area around Jalore as a

Chaulukya The Chaulukya dynasty (), also Solanki dynasty, was a dynasty that ruled parts of what are now Gujarat and Rajasthan in north-western India, between and . Their capital was located at Anahilavada (modern Patan). At times, their rule extended ...

feudatory.

Reign

Samarasimha succeeded his father

Kirtipala Kirti-pala ( IAST: Kīrtipāla, r. c. 1160-1182 CE), also known as Kitu in vernacular legends, was an Indian king belonging to the Chahamana dynasty of Javalipura (modern Jalore). A member of the Naddula Chahamana family, he carved out a prin ...

on the Chahamana throne of Javalipura. He had two brothers named Lakhanapala and Abhayapala, and a sister named Rudala-devi. In his inscriptions, he is styled as "

Maharaja Maharaja (also spelled Maharajah or Maharaj; ; feminine: Maharani) is a royal title in Indian subcontinent, Indian subcontinent of Sanskrit origin. In modern India and Medieval India, medieval northern India, the title was equivalent to a pri ...

Samarasimha-deva". Samarasimha's 1182 CE Jalor stone inscription states that he "held in scorn" the nomadic tribes of Pilavahika (identified with modern Peelwa near Parbatsar). According to 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 ...

, this is a reference to his successful expeditions against the bandits of Pilavahika. The 1182 CE inscription mentions that Samarasimha's maternal uncle Jojala was a ''Rajya-Chintaka'' during his reign. This suggests that Jojala looked after the administration of the kingdom.

Public works

The 1185 Jalor inscription from Samarasimha's reign records the construction of a temple called Kuvara-Vihara. The temple was originally built by the

monarch Kumarapala in the Kanchanagiri fort of Javalipura, in 1221 VS (1164-65 CE). It was rebuilt by Bhandari Yashovira in 1242 VS (1285-86 CE), on Samarasimha's orders. The original temple structure had been burnt by the Shakambhari Chahamana invader

Vigraharaja IV Vigraharāja IV (r. c. 1150–1164 CE), also known as Vigraharāja the Great and also Visala-deva (or Visaldev), was a king from the Chahamanas of Shakambhari, Chahamana (Chauhan) dynasty in north-western India, and is generally considered as ...

during his war against the Chaulukyas. According to the Sundha Hill inscription, Samarasimha built extensive ramparts on the Kanakachala fort. G. H. Ojha identified Kanakachala with the fort of Jalor, same as Kanchanagiri fort mentioned in the 1185 CE inscription. According to D. R. Bhandarkar, Kanchanagiri or Kanakachala was the original name of the hill on which the fort was situated. Kirtipiala started the construction of a fort on this hill, and the work was completed by Samarasimha. The Sundha Hill temple further states that the king established the town of Samarapura, after having weighed himself against

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

. The identity of Samarapura is not known. Samarasimha's sister Rudaladevi also commissioned two

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

temples.

Personal life

Samarasimha had at least two sons and a daughter. His daughter Lila-devi married the

monarch

Bhima II Bhima II (r. 1178–1240), also known as Bhola Bhima, was an Indian king who ruled the Kingdom of Gujarat. He was a member of the Chaulukya (also called Chalukya or Solanki) dynasty. During his reign, the dynasty's power declined greatly as a ...

. This is attested by the 1206 Kadi inscription of Bhima II. His two sons were Manavasimha and Udayasimha. The elder son Manavasimha was an ancestor of the founders of the Chauhan principalities of Chandravati and Abu. Udayasimha succeeded Samarasimha on the throne of Jalore.

References

Bibliography

* * {{Chahamanas of Jalor Chahamana kings of Jalor