Jayavarman (reigned c. 1110–1120 CE) was a king of 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. ...

dynasty of India. He succeeded his father Sallakshana-Varman as the ruler of the Jejakabhukti region (

Bundelkhand Bundelkhand (, ) is a geographical and cultural region and a proposed state and also a mountain range in central & North India. The hilly region is now divided between the states of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, with the larger portion lyin ...

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 ...

and

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

). The Chandela descriptions contain only vague

eulogies A eulogy (from , ''eulogia'', Classical Greek, ''eu'' for "well" or "true", ''logia'' for "words" or "text", together for "praise") is a speech or writing in praise of a person or persons, especially one who recently died or retired, or as a ...

of him, so little historical information is known about his reign. He abdicated the throne in favour of his uncle Prithvi-Varman.

Early life

Jayavarman was the son of his predecessor Sallakshana-Varman, as stated in the Mau inscription of Madana-Varman. The only available inscription of Jayavarman is the post-script to an inscription originally issued by his ancestor

Dhanga Dhanga (r. c. 950-999 CE), also known as Dhaṇgadeva in inscriptions, was a king of the Chandela dynasty of India. He ruled in the Jejakabhukti region (Bundelkhand in present-day Madhya Pradesh). Dhanga established the sovereignty of the Chande ...

. This inscription, now affixed to the porch of the Vishvanatha temple at

Khajuraho Khajuraho () is a city, near Chhatarpur in Chhatarpur district of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. One of the most popular tourist destinations in India, Khajuraho has the country's largest group of medieval Hindu and Jain temples, famous f ...

, states that "''Nṛpati'' Jayavarmma-deva" had it re-written in clear letters, presumably because it had become illegible or had been damaged. The inscription contains conventional praise of the king, and states that Jayavarman had uprooted "mountain-like great princes" in battles. This inscription is dated 6 April 1117 CE. In absence of any other evidence, and dating Sallakshana's ascension to 1100 CE, Jayavarman's ascension can be dated to 1110 CE, assuming 10 years for each generation.

Career

The inscriptions of Jayavarman's successors also contain vague eulogies about him. The Mau inscription calls him the residence of "generosity, truth, policy and heroism". It also states that he outshone the princes just like a rising sun deprives lamps of their lustre. The

Ajaygarh Ajaigarh or Ajaygarh is a town and a nagar panchayat in the Panna District of Madhya Pradesh state in central India. Ajaigarh State was one of the princely states of India during the period of the British Raj. The state was founded in 1785, an ...

inscription of Vira-Varman calls him the sole abode of victory, but does not name any rivals defeated by him. According to the Mau inscription, the minister Ananta who had served two of Jayavarman's predecessors, continued to serve the king and died during his reign. Ananta's son Gadadhara held the post of ''pratihara'' (

chamberlain Chamberlain may refer to: Profession *Chamberlain (office), the officer in charge of managing the household of a sovereign or other noble figure People *Chamberlain (surname) **Houston Stewart Chamberlain (1855–1927), German-British philosop ...

). The Ajaygarh inscription mentions another hereditary officer named Shridhara. According to the

inscription, Jayapala of the Gauda family was Jayavarman's

kayastha Kayastha (also referred to as Kayasth) denotes a cluster of disparate Indian communities broadly categorised by the regions of the Indian subcontinent in which they were traditionally locatedthe Chitraguptavanshi Kayasthas of North India, the C ...

(a clerk attached to the king's office). Like his father, Jayavarman is known to have issued copper coins featuring the deity

Hanuman Hanuman (; sa, हनुमान, ), also called Anjaneya (), is a Hindu god and a divine '' vanara'' companion of the god Rama. Hanuman is one of the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He is an ardent devotee of Rama and on ...

. These coins state his name as ''Shrima-jayavarma-deva''. No gold coins issued by him have been discovered. He commissioned renovation of some buildings at

Abdication

Kalanjara Kalinjar ( hi, कालिंजर) is a fortress-city in Bundelkhand, in Banda District of Uttar Pradesh, in India. It was ruled by several dynasties including the Guptas, the Vardhana Dynasty, the Chandelas, Solankis of Rewa, Mughal an ...

inscription states that Jayavarman abdicated the throne after being tired of governance. A devotee of

Narayana Narayana (Sanskrit: नारायण, IAST: ''Nārāyaṇa'') is one of the forms and names of Vishnu, who is in yogic slumber under the celestial waters, referring to the masculine principle. He is also known as Purushottama, and is co ...

, he proceeded to the "divine river" to wash away his sins. He appears to have died without an heir, as he was succeeded by his uncle Prithvi-Varman. The Chandela genealogy mentioned in the Nanyaura copper-plate inscription of Prithvi-Varman's successor Madana-Varman omits the name of Jayavarman and his father Sallakshana-Varman.

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{Chandelas of Jejakabhukti Chandelas of Jejakabhukti 12th-century Indian monarchs