Jayasimha (reigned c. 1055-1070 CE) was an Indian king from the

Paramara dynasty 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 t ...

, who ruled in the

Malwa Malwa is a historical region of west-central India occupying a plateau of volcanic origin. Geologically, the Malwa Plateau generally refers to the volcanic upland north of the Vindhya Range. Politically and administratively, it is also syn ...

region of central India. He was the successor, and possibly a son, of the dynasty's most powerful king

Bhoja Bhoja (reigned c. 1010–1055 CE) was an Indian king from the Paramara dynasty. His kingdom was centered around the Malwa region in central India, where his capital Dhara-nagara (modern Dhar) was located. Bhoja fought wars with nearly all ...

. He appears to have ascended the throne with the support of the

Kalyani Chalukya The Western Chalukya Empire ruled most of the western Deccan, South India, between the 10th and 12th centuries. This Kannadiga dynasty is sometimes called the ''Kalyani Chalukya'' after its regal capital at Kalyani, today's Basavakalyan in the ...

prince

Vikramaditya VI Vikramaditya VI (r. 1076 – 1126 CE) became the Western Chalukya King after deposing his elder brother Someshvara II, a political move he made by gaining the support of Chalukya vassals during the Chola invasion of Chalukya territory.Sen ...

, and appears to have been dethroned by Vikramaditya's rival brother

Someshvara II Someshvara II (; ) who was administering the area around Gadag succeeded his father Someshvara I (Ahavamalla) as the Western Chalukya king. He was the eldest son of Someshvara I. During his reign Someshvara II was constantly under threat from his ...

Source of information

The only known inscription that mentions a Paramara ruler named Jayasimha is the 1055-56 CE Mandhata copper-plate inscription. It is very similar to Bhoja's inscriptions, and records the grant of the Bhima village to

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (gur ...

s. The inscription is dated 1112

Vikrama Samvat Vikram Samvat (IAST: ''Vikrama Samvat''; abbreviated VS) or Bikram Sambat B.S. and also known as the Vikrami calendar, is a Hindu calendar historically used in the Indian subcontinent. Vikram Samvat is generally 57 years ahead of Gregorian Calend ...

; the exact date corresponds to either 27 May 1055 CE (assuming ''

Chaitradi The Hindu calendar, Panchanga () or Panjika is one of various lunisolar calendars that are traditionally used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, with further regional variations for social and Hindu religious purposes. They adopt a s ...

'' year) or 13 July 1056 CE (assuming ''

Karttikadi The Hindu calendar, Panchanga () or Panjika is one of various lunisolar calendars that are traditionally used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, with further regional variations for social and Hindu religious purposes. They adopt a s ...

'' year). It mentions Jayasimha's predecessors as Bhoja,

Sindhuraja Sindhuraja (IAST: Sindhurāja) was an Indian king from the Paramara dynasty, who ruled the Malwa region in the late 10th century. He was the younger brother of Munja, and the father of Bhoja. Background No inscriptions issued by Sindhuraja ...

and Vakpatiraja. Jayasimha's titles and name are given as "Parama-bhattaraka

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, a ...

Parameshvara Jayasimha-deva". No other Paramara inscription mentions Jayasimha. The ''Udaipur Prashasti'' and the ''Nagpur Prashasti'' of the later Paramara kings omit Jayasimha's name, and mention Bhoja's brother

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 re ...

as the next king after Bhoja.

Biography

Jayasimha was probably Bhoja's son. At the time of Bhoja's death, a confederacy of the Kalachuri king

Karna Karna (Sanskrit: कर्ण, IAST: ''Karṇa''), also known as Vasusena, Anga-raja, and Radheya, is one of the main protagonists of the Hindu epic '' Mahābhārata''. He is the son of the sun god Surya and princess Kunti (mother of the ...

and 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 ...

king

Bhima I Bhima I (r. c. 1022–1064 CE) was a Chaulukya king who ruled parts of present-day Gujarat, India. The early years of his reign saw an invasion from the Ghaznavid ruler Mahmud, who sacked the Somnath temple. Bhima left his capital and took s ...

had attacked Malwa. It is possible that Jayasimha and Udayaditya were rival claimants to the throne under these conditions.

Bilhana Kaviraj, Kavi Bilhana was an 11th-century Kashmiri Pandits, Kashmiri poet. He is known for his love poem, the ''Caurapañcāśikā''. According to legend, Bilhana fell in love with the daughter of King Madanabhirama, Princess Yaminipurnatilaka, ...

, a court poet of the

king

mentions that his patron had helped re-establish the rule of a king in Malwa. Bilhana does not name the king of Malwa, but it appears that he was Jayasimha. P. N. Kawthekar theorizes Jayasimha sought help from the Chalukya king

Someshvara I Someshvara I (; ) was a king of the Western Chalukyas. Also known as "Ahavamalla" or "Trilokamalla", Someshvara succeeded his father Jayasimha II to the throne. His several military successes in Central India made him a formidable ruler of ...

, who dispatched prince Vikramaditya to help Jayasimha ascend the throne. After the death of Someshavara I, there was a war of succession between the Chalukya princes

and Vikramaditya VI. It appears that Someshvara II considered Jayasimha an ally of Vikramaditya, and therefore, allied with Karna to dethrone him. Jayasimha may have been killed in the ensuing conflict. Later, Udayaditya ascended the Paramara throne, and salvaged the kingdom.

References

Bibliography

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