Gayakarna (

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 ...

: Gaya-karṇa, r. c. 1123-1153 CE) was a ruler of the

Kalachuri dynasty The Kalachuris (IAST: Kalacuri), also known as Kalachuris of Mahishmati, were an Indian dynasty that ruled in west-central India between 6th and 7th centuries. They are also known as the Haihayas or as the Early Kalachuris to distinguish them ...

of Tripuri in central India. His kingdom was centered around the Chedi or Dahala region in present-day

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...

. Gayakarna married Alhanadevi, a granddaughter of the

Paramara The Paramara dynasty (IAST: Paramāra) was an Indian dynasty that ruled Malwa and surrounding areas in west-central India between 9th and 14th centuries. They belonged to the Parmara clan of the Rajputs. The dynasty was established in either th ...

king

Udayaditya Udayaditya (reigned c. 1070–1093) was a Paramara ruler of Malwa region of central India, who succeeded Jayasimha I. He was succeeded by his son, either Lakshmadeva or Naravarman. Ascension Udayaditya was a brother of Bhoja, the most reno ...

, which led to peace between the two kingdoms. However, he lost some territory to 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. ...

king

Madanavarman Madana-Varman (reigned c. 1128–1165 CE) was a king of the Chandela dynasty of India. He succeeded his father Prithvi-Varman as the ruler of the Jejakabhukti region (Bundelkhand in present-day Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh). He revived the ...

. The Kalachuri vassals at Ratnapura declared their independence during his reign.

Reign

Gayakarna succeeded his father

Yashahkarna Yashahkarna (IAST: Yaśaḥakarṇa, r. c. 1073-1123 CE) was a ruler of the Kalachuri dynasty of Tripuri in central India. His kingdom was centered around the Chedi or Dahala region in present-day Madhya Pradesh. During Yashahkarna's reign, the ...

as the Kalachuri king. Gayakarna seems to have lost some of his northern territory to the

king

. The Mau inscription of Madanavarman's minister Gadadhara states that the king fled on listening Madanavarman's name. The Chandelas seem to have captured the northern part of

Baghelkhand Bagelkhand or Baghelkhand is a proposed state and a mountain range in central India that covers the northeastern regions of Madhya Pradesh and a small area of southeastern Uttar Pradesh. History Dahala Baghelkhand was known as Dahala 6th–1 ...

, as suggested the discovery of Madanavarman's coins at

Panwar The Panwar is a Rajput clan found in Northern India, especially in Uttarakhand. See also * Panwar dynasty * Paramara dynasty The Paramara dynasty ( IAST: Paramāra) was an Indian dynasty that ruled Malwa and surrounding areas in west-ce ...

in this region. The Ratnapura Kalachuri branch, whose kings had earlier served as vassals of the Tripuri Kalachuris, declared its independence during Gayakarna's reign. Gayakarna sent an army to reduce the Ratnapura chief

Ratnadeva II Ratnadeva II (1120-1135 CE) was the greatest ruler of the Kalachuri dynasty of Ratnapura, in modern-day Indian state of Chhattisgarh. He is known for declaring independence from their overlords, the Kalachuris of Tripuri and defeated an army se ...

to submission, but it was defeated.

Personal life

Gayakarna married Alhanadevi, a daughter of the

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 ...

king Vijayasimha. Her mother Shyamaladevi was a daughter of the

king

. This marriage led to peace between the Paramaras and the Kalachuris. Because of Alhanadevi's patronage, the Pashupata Shaivite religious leaders rose to prominence in the Kalachuri kingdom. Gayakarna's ''rajaguru'' (royal preceptor) was Shakti-shiva. Gayakarna was succeeded by his sons

Narasimha Narasimha ( sa, नरसिंह, lit=man-lion, ), sometimes rendered Narasingha, is the fourth avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu. He is regarded to have incarnated in the form of a part-lion, part-man being to slay Hiranyakashipu, to end rel ...

and Jayasimha one after another.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * {{Kalachuris of Tripuri Kalachuris of Tripuri 12th-century Indian monarchs