Viramadeva (died c. 1311) was the son of the Jalore Chahamana king

Kanhadadeva Kanhadadeva (IAST: Kānhaḍa-deva, r. c. 1292-1311 CE) was a king belonging to the Chahamana dynasty, who ruled the area around Javalipura (present-day Jalore in Rajasthan). Initially, he ran the administration jointly with his father Samanta ...

. He was crowned during Alauddin Khalji's invasion of Jalore, and was killed in the conflict 2½ days later.

Legend

Fictional legends in

Padmanābha Padmanābha was a 15th-century Indian poet and historian. He has been hailed as the Yug Charan (Charan of the Era) for commemorating Kanhadade's struggle in his famous treatise "Kanhadade Prabandha", written in 1455. This work has been praised ...

's ''

Kanhadade Prabandha ''Kānhaḍade Prabandha'' is a book by Indian poet Padmanābha written in 1455, in a western Apabhramsha dialect. The book tells the story of Raval Kanhadade ( Kanhadadeva), the Chahamana ruler of Jalore. Textual history Padmanabha wro ...

'' (15th century) and ''

Nainsi ri Khyat Nainsi ri Khyat (or 'Khyat of Nainsi') is a late 17th-century Marwari & Dingal text chronicling the history of Marwar. Its author Muhnot Nainsi, an official of Marwar State, based the Khyat (or chronicle) on the Charan accounts and the traditi ...

'' (17th century) claim that a daughter of the Delhi Sultan

Alauddin Khalji Alauddin Khalji (; ), born Ali Gurshasp, was a ruler from the Khalji dynasty that ruled the Delhi Sultanate in the Indian subcontinent. Alauddin instituted a number of significant administrative changes in the Delhi Sultanate, related to revenue ...

fell in love with Viramadeva ("Viramade"). The ''Kanhadade Prabandha'' names the Delhi princess as Piroja, and mentions that Alauddin offered to marry her to the Viramadeva, stating the couple had also been married in several previous births. However, Viramadeva rejected the offer, leading to Alauddin's invasion of Jalore. Nainsi's ''Khyat'' claims that Viramadeva temporarily stayed at the court of Delhi, where Alauddin offered to marry his daughter to the Chahamana prince. Viramadeva did not want to marry the Khalji princess, but could not openly refuse the offer. He asked for Alauddin's permission to return to Jalore, promising to return with a marriage party. When he did not return, Alauddin invaded Jalore. The legendary narrative about Piroja's love for Viramade is purely imaginary. The ''Kanhadade Prabandha'' states that the first army sent by Alauddin besieged Jalore for 7 days, but the

sortie A sortie (from the French word meaning ''exit'' or from Latin root ''surgere'' meaning to "rise up") is a deployment or dispatch of one military unit, be it an aircraft, ship, or troops, from a strongpoint. The term originated in siege warf ...

s led by Viramadeva and his uncle Maladeva foiled the invaders' attempt to capture the fort. On the 8th day, a severe thunderstorm forced the besiegers to retreat. The Jalore forces launched an eight-pronged attack on one of the retreating detachments at Moklana, with Viramadeva leading one of the Jalore contingents. The Delhi detachment's commander Shams Khan was captured along with his

harem A harem is a domestic space that is reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A harem may house a man's wife or wives, their pre-pubescent male children, unmarried daughters, female domestic Domestic worker, servants, and other un ...

, while the rest of his soldiers fled. After this setback, Alauddin dispatched a stronger army led by ''Malik'' Kamaluddin. According to the ''Kanhadade Prabandha'', the Jalore contingents led by Maladeva and Viramadeva attacked the invading army on alternate days. Although they managed to slow down Kamaluddin's march, they were unable to stop his gradual advance towards Jalore. Ultimately, Viramadeva, who was stationed at Bhadrajun, was recalled to Jalore to help his father prepared for the impending siege. Maladeva was also recalled, but was re-sent to fight Kamaluddin once the invaders reached near Jalore. Sometime after besieging the fort, Kamaluddin managed to breach it with the help of a traitor named Bika. Facing a certain defeat, the defenders prepared for a

last stand A last stand, or final stand, is a military situation in which a body of troops holds a defensive position in the face of overwhelming and virtually insurmountable odds. Troops may make a last stand due to a sense of duty; because they are d ...

, and Viramadeva was crowned King. The women of the fort committed suicide by ''

jauhar Jauhar, sometimes spelled Jowhar or Juhar, was a Hindu Rajput practice of mass self-immolation by women and girls in the Indian subcontinent to avoid capture, sex slavery, enslavement, and rape when facing certain defeat during a war. Some repo ...

'' (mass self-immolation), while the men died fighting. Viramadeva is said to have died two-and-a-half days after the coronation. The ''Kanhadade Prabandha'' states that Viramadeva's head was brought to Alauddin. It miraculously turned away when the Sultan turned towards it. Piroja immolated herself while holding his head.

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{Chahamanas of Jalor Year of birth missing 1311 deaths Chahamanas of Jalor Monarchs killed in action