Chachiga-deva (

IAST The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows the lossless romanisation of Indic scripts as employed by Sanskrit and related Indic languages. It is based on a scheme that emerged during ...

: Cācigadeva, r. c. 1257-1282 CE) was a king belonging to the Chahamana dynasty, who ruled the area around Javalipura (present-day

Jalore 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. It has a river known as Jawai Nadi. Jalore lies to south of Su ...

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...

). He maintained the borders of his ancestral kingdom intact, and achieved military successes against some neighbouring princes. He is most notable for issuing the Sundha Hill ''

prashasti ''Prashasti'' (IAST: Praśasti, Sanskrit for "praise") is an Indian genre of inscriptions composed by poets in praise of their rulers. Most date from the 6th century CE onwards. Written in the form of poetry or ornate prose, the ''prashastis'' s ...

'' inscription, which provides historically valuable information about his ancestors.

Background

Chachigadeva was the eldest son of his predecessor

Udayasimha Udaya-simha (IAST: Udayasiṃha, r. c. 1204-1257 CE) was an Indian king belonging to the Chahamana dynasty, who ruled the area around Javalipura (present-day Jalore in Rajasthan). The most powerful king of his dynasty, he overthrew the Chaulukya ...

and queen Prahaladava-devi. According to the 1284 CE Budhatra (Jodhpur) inscription of his daughter Rupadevi, he was also known as "Chacha". Several inscriptions from Chachigadeva's reign have been discovered. These include: * 1262 CE Sundha Hill inscription: notable for containing an account of the Chahamana rulers of Javalipura and their ancestors in

Naddula Nadol is a census town in Desuri tehsil of Pali district, India. Ashapura Mataji temple and Shri Nadol Tirth attract pilgrims. History Nadol was originally called Naddula. The Chahamanas of Naddula (called Chauhans of Nadol in vernacular lege ...

* 1266 CE Jalore inscription * 1269 CE

Sewari Sewari or Sewadi is a village located in the Bali Tehsil of Pali district of Rajasthan state, amidst the Aravalli Range The Aravalli Range (also spelled ''Aravali'') is a mountain range in Northern- Western India, running approximately in ...

inscription (issued at Kareda) * 1276 CE Ratanpur inscription * Four

Bhinmal Bhinmal (previously Shrimal Nagar) is an ancient town in the Jalore District of Rajasthan, India. It is south of Jalore. Bhinmal was the capital of the Bhil king, then the capital of Gurjaradesa, comprising modern-day southern Rajasthan and nor ...

inscriptions: 1271 CE, 1274 CE, 1277 CE, and 1278 CE The inscriptions usually give his title as ''

Maharajadhiraja Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king". A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, an ...

'' ("king of great kings") or ''Maharajakula''. The Ratanpur inscription describes him as a ''Mahamandeshvara-raja''. According to the 1274 CE Bhinmal inscription, his title was "Rajadhiraja" (king of kings); the 1277 CE inscription gives his title as "Maharajakula". Jakha or Jakahadeva was the prime minister of Chachigadeva, as attested by the 1266 CE Jalore and the 1276 CE Ratanpur inscriptions.

Military career

Chachigadeva appears to have maintain a sovereign status and the territory inherited from his father. The Sundha Hill inscription poetically describes him as "destroying the roaring Gurjara lord Virama, hating the enemy Salya, taking exquisite delight in felling the shaking (or leaping) Pātaka, depriving of his colour Sanga, and a thunderbolt to the mountain - the furious Nahara". Virama can be identified with the Vaghela prince Virama-deva, who was married to Chachigadeva's sister. Virama and his brother Visala-deva both wanted the Vaghela throne after the death of their father. The Vaghela minister

Vastupala Vastupāla (died 1240 CE) was a prime minister of the Vāghelā king Vīradhavala and his successor Vīsaladeva, who ruled in present-day Gujarat region of India, in the early 13th century. Although he served in an administrative and military ca ...

supported Visala, because of which Virama was forced to flee the Vaghela kingdom. Virama took shelter with his in-laws, but the Chahamanas wanted to maintain good relations with the Vaghelas. Therefore, Chachigadeva treacherously murdered Virama. This event probably happened while Chachigadeva was still a prince. Salya was probably Salha, a ruler of the Chahamana branch of

Sanchore Sanchore is a City in Jalore district in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is the headquarters of the Sanchore tehsil located on National Highway 68. The town is situated from the city of Jalore and was once known as Satyapur. Nearby village ...

and a distant cousin of Chachigadeva. Their fourth-generation ancestors -

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 princi ...

and Vijayasimha - were brothers. Sanchore is known to have been controlled by Chachigadeva's father Udayasimha. It is possible that Salha tried to assert his sovereignty, because of which he and Chachigadeva became enemies. Patuka has been identified as Pratapa-simha of

Abu Abu or ABU may refer to: Places * Abu (volcano), a volcano on the island of Honshū in Japan * Abu, Yamaguchi, a town in Japan * Ahmadu Bello University, a university located in Zaria, Nigeria * Atlantic Baptist University, a Christian university ...

Dasharatha Sharma Dasharatha Sharma (1903–1976) was an Indologist with 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 degrees ...

D. R. Bhandarkar Devadatta Ramakrishna Bhandarkar ( mr, देवदत्त रामकृष्ण भांडारकर; 19 November 1875 – 13 May 1950) was an Indian archaeologist and epigraphist who worked with the Archaeological Survey of India (AS ...

, on the other hand, identified him as a cousin of Chachigadeva (a son of Udayasimha's brother Manavasimha). Bhandarkar identified Sanga Sangana, a ruler of

Vanthali Vamansthli (Vanthli)is a city and a municipality in Junagadh district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Demographics India census, Vanthali had a population of 21,891. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Vanthali has an avera ...

, by Bhandarkar. Dasharatha Sharma opposes this theory, arguing that Chachigadeva was a child at the time of Sangana's death. Nahara, according to Sharma, might have been a Muslim general.

Personal life

According to the 1284 CE inscription, Chachigadeva's wife was Lakshmi-devi. The couple had a daughter named Rupa-devi, who married the king Teja-simha (possibly a

Guhila Gahlot is a clan of Rajputs Guhilot Rajputs ruled number of Kingdom's including Mewar, Banswara, Dungarpur, Pratapgarh, Shahpura, Bhavnagar, Palitana, Lathi and Vala, The variations of the name include Gehlot, Guhila, Gohil or Guhilot. Hi ...

ruler, according to G. H. Ojha). According to the 17th century chronicle ''

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

'', Chachigadeva had three sons:

Samantasimha Samantasimha (IAST: Sāmantasiṃha, r. c. 1282-1305 CE) was a king belonging to the Chahamana dynasty, who ruled the area around Javalipura (present-day Jalore in Rajasthan). During the later half of his reign, he and his son Kanhadadeva jointl ...

(his successor), Chahadadeva, and Chandra. Chachigadeva's successor was

, who was probably his son, although the relationship between these two persons is not certain.

Cultural activities

The Sundha Hill inscription states that Chachigadeva waived some taxes at Shrimala (

). At Ramasainya (modern Ramseen), he donated funds for the temple of the deity Vigrahaditya. For the temple of the gold Aparajitesha, he commissioned a golden cupola, a silver girdle, a hall, a

ratha Ratha ( Proto-Indo-Iranian: ''*Hrátʰas'', Sanskrit: रथ, '; Avestan: ''raθa'') is also known as the Indo-Iranian term for a spoked-wheel chariot or a cart of antiquity. Harappan Civilisation The Indus Valley Civilization sites of Dai ...

studded with precious stones, and a flag staff. He worshipped the goddess Aghateshvari (

Chamunda Chamunda (Sanskrit: चामुण्डा, ISO-15919: Cāmuṇḍā), also known as Chamundeshwari, Chamundi or Charchika, is a fearsome form of Chandi, the Hindu Divine Mother Shakti and is one of the seven Matrikas (mother goddesses).W ...

) at Sugandhadri (modern Sundha Hill), and commissioned a

mandapa A mandapa or mantapa () is a pillared hall or pavilion for public rituals in Indian architecture, especially featured in Hindu temple architecture. Mandapas are described as "open" or "closed" depending on whether they have walls. In temples, ...

at her temple. He also patronized

Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current ...

: he granted a village to a

Parshvanatha ''Parshvanatha'' (), also known as ''Parshva'' () and ''Parasnath'', was the 23rd of 24 ''Tirthankaras'' (supreme preacher of dharma) of Jainism. He is the only Tirthankara who gained the title of ''Kalīkālkalpataru (Kalpavriksha in this "Kal ...

shrine at Karaheda. The Sundha Hill ''

'' (eulogy) of his family was composed by a Jain ''

yati Yati, historically was the general term for a monk or pontiff in Hinduism and Jainism. Jainism In the late medieval period, yati came to represent a stationary monk, who lived in one place rather than wandering as required for a Jain monk. The t ...

'' (monk).

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chachigadeva Chahamanas of Jalor 13th-century Indian monarchs