Kadi." width="400" height="400" zoom="5" longitude="72.33" latitude="23.30"> Tribhuvanapala (r. c. 1240–1244 CE) was the last king of the

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 ...

dynasty of western India. He ruled parts of present-day

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

from his capital at

Anahilapataka Patan () is the administrative seat of Patan district in the Indian state of Gujarat and is an administered municipality. It was the capital of Gujarat's Chavda and Chaulukya dynasties in medieval times and is also known as Anhilpur-Patan to ...

(modern Patan). He ruled for a short period before dying heirless or being dethroned, after which the

Vaghela dynasty The Vaghela dynasty ruled the Kingdom of Gujarat in India in the 13th century CE, with their capital at Dholka. They were the last Hindu dynasty to rule Gujarat before the Muslim conquest of the region. Early members of the Vaghela fami ...

assumed control of the kingdom.

Early life

Tribhuvanapala succeeded

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 ...

as the Chaulukya king. He is known from a 1242-43 CE Kadi inscription, some ''

pattavali A Pattavali (From Sanskrit patta: seat, avali: chain), Sthaviravali or Theravali, is a record of a spiritual lineage of heads of monastic orders. They are thus spiritual genealogies. It is generally presumed that two successive names are teach ...

s'', and the prologue of a drama. The chronicles about the dynasty do not mention him. Tribhuvanapala's relationship to Bhima is not certain, although the various records suggest that he was the legal heir to the throne. His inscription states that he meditated at the feet of Bhima (a conventional way to describe a rightful heir). The inscriber of his inscription was Somasimha, and its drafter (''dutaka'') was Vayajaladeva: both these persons also worked on the grant inscriptions of Bhima. Tribhuvanapala's inscription records a grant to Vedagarbharashi, who had been appointed as a trustee of a Shaivite monastery by Bhima. Thus, Tribhuvanapala appears to have been a legitimate successor.

Reign

The prologue of Subhata's

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

play ''Dutangada'' states that the play was composed by the order of the ''parishad'' (council) of ''

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

'' Tribhuvanapala. The occasion was a spring festival procession of ''Kumarapaleshvara'' ("Lord of Kumarapala") at Devapattana (modern

Prabhas Patan Prabhas Patan, historically named Dev Patan, is a locality in Veraval, Gujarat. As the site of the Somnath temple and its associated Jyotirlinga (an aniconic representation of the god Shiva), it is an important place of Hindu pilgrimage. P ...

or Somnath). The festival was probably held to celebrate the restoration of a

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 ...

temple commissioned by the earlier king Kumarapala. According to one record, a ruler called Tribhuvana-Ranaka killed Bala, a general of the

Guhila Guhila, also called Guhil and Guhadatt, was the ruler of Idar and Mewar from 566-568 AD. He is known as the founder of the Guhila dynasty The Guhilas of Medapata colloquially known as Guhilas of Mewar were a Rajput dynasty that ruled the Ki ...

ruler Jaitrasimha, who was trying to recapture Kottadaka (modern Kotada). This Tribhuvana-Ranaka is identified with Tribhuvanapala. The Chaulukya dynasty ended with Tribhuvanapala. The Vaghela generals Lavanaprasada and Viradhavala had become powerful during the reign of his predecessor Bhima II. Viradhavala's son Visaladeva became the next king after Tribhuvanapala's death. One theory is that the Vaghelas forcibly dethroned Tribhuvanapala. However, it is also possible that Tribhuvanapala died heirless, because of which the Vaghelas assumed the control of the kingdom.

References

Bibliography

* * {{Chaulukya dynasty 13th-century Indian monarchs Chaulukya dynasty