Rawal Jaitrasimha also known as Rawal Jaitra Singh was the ruler of the

Guhila dynasty The Guhilas of Medapata colloquially known as Guhilas of Mewar were a Rajput dynasty that ruled the Medapata (modern Mewar) region in present-day Rajasthan state of India. The Guhila kings initially ruled as Gurjara-Pratihara feudatories be ...

from 1213 to 1252. During his rule, the Guhila Kingdom attained a high political status. ''Ekalinga Mahatmya'' mentions his title as ''Rajakula'' (''

Rawal Rawal (also spelled Raval) or Raol originally is a regional variation of the Hindi princely ruler title Raja/Radjah (literally "king") used in some princely states in Rajputana and Western India (notably Gujarat), and is now also used as a caste ...

''), his own inscriptions call him a ''

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"). During his rule, literary works like ''Hamir Mada Mardan'' are found which state that Jaitrasimha was confident in his sword. According to Ram Vallabh Somani, Many other indicators suggest that the Guhila Kingdom at this stage was an independent entity.

Struggles with the Ghurids and Iltutmish

The Achaleshvara inscription suggests that Jaitrasimha destroyed

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 ...

and defeated the Turushkas (Turkic people). According to historian R. B. Singh, this suggests that the Turkic

Ghurid The Ghurid dynasty (also spelled Ghorids; fa, دودمان غوریان, translit=Dudmân-e Ğurīyân; self-designation: , ''Šansabānī'') was a Persianate dynasty and a clan of presumably eastern Iranian Tajik origin, which ruled from the ...

invaders had captured Naddula from the

Chauhans Chauhan, historically ''Chahamana'', is a clan name historically associated with the various ruling Rajput families during the Medieval India in Rajasthan. Subclans Khichi, Hada, Songara, Bhadauria, Devda etc. are the branches or subclan ...

(Chahamanas), and Jaitrasimha defeated their local governor. Later, the Jalor Chauhan king

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 ...

(a relative of Jayatasimha), gained control of Naddula. However, D. C. Ganguly believes that Jaitrasimha may have plundered Naddula ''after'' Udayasimha's conquest of Jalore. Early in his reign, the

Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate was an Islamic empire based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for 320 years (1206–1526).

ruler

Iltutmish Shams ud-Din Iltutmish ( fa, شمس الدین ایلتتمش; died 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 ...

invaded Mewar, and destroyed Nagada. Jaitrasimha (alias Jayatala) suffered heavy losses, but the invaders retreated when the Vaghela chief Viradhavala (a Chaulukya feudatory) marched northwards to check their advance. Jaitrasimha seems to have invaded 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 ...

territory. During an attempt to capture Kottadaka (modern Kotada), his general Bala was killed by Tribhuvana-Ranaka (identified with the Chaulukya king

Tribhuvanapala Tribhuvanapala (r. c. 1240–1244 CE) was the last king of the Chaulukya dynasty of western India. He ruled parts of present-day Gujarat from his capital at Anahilapataka (modern Patan). He ruled for a short period before dying heirless or be ...

). According to one record, Ksehma's son Madana fought with the Panchalagudika Jaitramalla at Utthunaka (modern

Arthuna Arthuna is a town in Banswara district, Rajasthan, India. History The old name of the place was Utthunaka. It was the capital of Paramara rulers of Vagad during eleventh-twelfth centuries A.D. They patronized both Jainism and Saivism simultan ...

), on behalf of Jesala. Based on identification of Jesala with Jaitrasimha, historian D. C. Ganguly believes that Jaitrasimha's general Madana fought with Jaitramalla, who was probably a chief of the

Vagada Vagad (also known as Vagar, Hindi: वागड) is a region in southeastern Rajasthan state of western India. Its boundaries are roughly defined by those of the districts of Dungarpur and Banswara. Major cities of the region are Dungarpur and ...

branch of the Guhilas. The Guhila records also credit Jaitrasimha with military success against the king of

Shakambhari Shakambhari (Sanskrit: शाकम्भरी, IAST: Śākambharī), also referred to as Shatakshi, is a goddess of nourishment. She is regarded to be an incarnation of Mahadevi, and identified with both Lakshmi and Durga in Hinduism. Aft ...

. The Chauhan dynasty of Shakambhari had already ended by this time, therefore, this may be a reference to his victory over their descendants, the Chauhans of Ranthambore. Jaitrasimha is also said to have defeated the Sindhuka army, whose identity is uncertain.

References

Bibliography

* {{refend 13th-century Indian monarchs