Trailokya-Varman (reigned c. 1203–1245 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 central India. He ruled the Jejakabhukti region (

Bundelkhand Bundelkhand (, ) is a geographical and cultural region and a proposed state and also a mountain range in central and North India. It corresponds to the Post-Vedic Chedi kingdom. The hilly region is now divided between the states of Uttar Prad ...

in present-day

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (; ; ) is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and the largest city is Indore, Indore. Other major cities includes Gwalior, Jabalpur, and Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, Sagar. Madhya Pradesh is the List of states and union te ...

and

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

). Epigraphic evidence suggests that he recaptured Kalanjara from the

Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate or the Sultanate of Delhi was a Medieval India, late medieval empire primarily based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for more than three centuries.

Early life

Chandela inscriptions suggest that Trailokyavarman succeeded Paramardi as the Chandela ruler. He was probably Paramardi's son, although this cannot be said with certainty based on the available evidence.

Reign

Seven inscriptions of Trailokyavarman have been found at Ajaygarh, Banpur, Garra near Chhatarpur, and Tehri (

Tikamgarh Tikamgarh (also spelled as Tikamgadh)is a town and a tehsil in Tikamgarh district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. The city serves as a district headquarters. The earlier name of Tikamgarh was Tehri (i.e., a triangle) consisting of thr ...

). A number of other places in the

region are mentioned in these inscriptions. The inscriptions give him the usual imperial titles ''Parama-bhattaraka Maharajadhiraja Parameshvara Parama-Maheshvara Shri-Kalanjaradhipati''. His coins have been found in Banda district. This indicates that he controlled a large part of the traditional Chandela dominions. Trailokyavarman bore the title ''Kalanjaradhipati'' ("Lord of Kalanjara"), which suggests that he recovered the Kalanjara fort from the Turkic rulers of the

. The Garra copper-plate inscription of Trailokyavarman as well as the Ajaygarh inscription of his successor Viravarman support this hypothesis. The Garra inscription records the grant of a village to the son of Rauta Pape, who was killed in a battle with the Turushkas (Turkic people) at Kakadadaha. The Ajaygarh inscription states that like

Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...

, he lifted the earth submerged in the ocean formed by the Turushkas. The Muslim chronicle '' Tabaqat-i Nasiri'' also suggests that Kalanjara had slipped from the Delhi Sultanate control, before it was raided by

Iltutmish Shams ud-Din Iltutmish (1192 – 30 April 1236) was the third of the Mamluk kings who ruled the former Ghurid territories in northern India. He was the first Muslim sovereign to rule from Delhi, and is thus considered the effective founder of ...

's officer Malik Nusrat-ud-din Taisi (or Tayasi) in 1233 CE. According to the text, Taisi marched to Kalanjara from Gwalior, forcing the ruler of Kalanjara to flee, and then plundered the city. According to the Ajaygarh rock inscription from

Bhojavarman Bhojavarman (reigned c. 1285-1288 CE) was a king of the Chandela dynasty of central India. He ruled in the Jejakabhukti region (Bundelkhand in present-day Madhya Pradesh). Bhojavarman succeeded Viravarman, whose last inscription is dated 1342 ...

's reign, Trailokyavarman's general Ananda subjugated several tribes, including the Bhillas, the Shabaras and the Pulindas. He is also said to have defeated Bhojuka, whose identity is uncertain. Some earlier scholars believed that Trailokyavarman captured the northern portion of the Kalachuri kingdom as well as

Kanyakubja Kannauj ( Hindustani pronunciation: ) is an ancient city, administrative headquarters and a municipal board or Nagar Palika Parishad in Kannauj district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located 113 km (71 mi) from Etawa ...

. This theory was based on the identification of "Trailokyamalla" mentioned in the 1212 CE Dhureti inscription with Trailokyavarman. However, the discovery of the 1197 CE Jhulpur inscription nullifies this assumption: Trailokyamalla was actually a son of Kalachuri king Vijayasimha. Like his predecessors, Trailokyavarman issued gold coins featuring a seated goddess, and copper coins featuring the deity

Hanuman Hanuman (; , ), also known as Maruti, Bajrangabali, and Anjaneya, is a deity in Hinduism, revered as a divine ''vanara'', and a devoted companion of the deity Rama. Central to the ''Ramayana'', Hanuman is celebrated for his unwavering devotio ...

. He was succeeded by Viravarman.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * {{Chandelas of Jejakabhukti Chandelas of Jejakabhukti 13th-century Indian monarchs