Kachchhapaghata Dynasty

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Find spot Provenance (from the French ''provenir'', 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody or location of a historical object. The term was originally mostly used in relation to works of art but is now used in similar senses i ...

s of the Kachchhapaghata inscriptions" width="400" height="400" zoom="7" longitude="78.14" latitude="25.92"> The Kachchhapaghatas (

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 ...

: Kacchapaghāta) were a Rajput dynasty that ruled between 10th and 12th centuries. Their territory included north-western parts of Central India (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 ...

). The

Kachhwaha The Kachhwaha or Kachawa is a Rajput clan found primarily in India. Sometimes families within the clan ruled a number of kingdoms and princely states, such as Jaipur State, Jaipur, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Alwar State, Alwar and M ...

Rajputs of

Amber Amber is fossilized tree resin that has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. Much valued from antiquity to the present as a gemstone, amber is made into a variety of decorative objects."Amber" (2004). In Ma ...

were from the same family.

History

The Sanskrit word ''Kachchhapa-ghata'' (कच्छपघात) literally means "tortoise killer". The Kachchhapaghatas were originally the vassals of the

Pratihara The Gurjara-Pratihara was a dynasty that ruled much of Northern India from the mid-8th to the 11th century. They ruled first at Ujjain and later at Kannauj. The Gurjara-Pratiharas were instrumental in containing Arab armies moving east of the ...

s and 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. ...

s. After the death of the Chandela king

Vidyadhara Vidyadhara(s) (Sanskrit , literally "wisdom-holders") are a group of supernatural beings in Indian religions who possess magical powers. In Hinduism, they also attend Shiva, who lives in the Himalayas. They are considered ''Upadeva''s, or demi ...

, the Chandela kingdom was weakened by repeated Muslim ( Yamini) invasions. Taking advantage of this situation, the Kachchhapaghatas gave up their allegiance to the Chandelas. They became powerful towards the end of the 10th century. A Sasbahu temple inscription suggests that Lakshmana was the first prominent member of the dynasty. This inscription, as well as a 977 Sihoniya inscription state that his successor Vajradaman captured Gopadri (Gwalior) from the king of Gadhinagara, that is the

ruler of

Kannauj Kannauj ( Hindustani pronunciation: ənːɔːd͡ʒ is a city, administrative headquarters and a municipal board or Nagar Palika Parishad in Kannauj district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The city's name is a corrupted form of the class ...

. Vajradaman, described as the ''

tilaka In Dharmic culture, the ''tilaka'' ( sa, तिलक) () is a mark worn usually on the forehead, at the point of the Ajna chakra, or sometimes another part of the body such as the neck, hand, chest or arm. ''Tilaka'' may be worn daily or for ...

'' of the dynasty in Gwalior inscriptions dated 1093-94 and 1104, was probably the first powerful ruler of the dynasty. He served as a feudatory to the Chandela kings

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 ...

and Vidyadhara. The dynasty was divided into three branches, which ruled from

Gwalior Gwalior() is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; it lies in northern part of Madhya Pradesh and is one of the Counter-magnet cities. Located south of Delhi, the capital city of India, from Agra and from Bhopal, the s ...

(Gopādrigiri), Dubkunda (Chaṇdobha), and

Narwar Narwar is a town and a nagar panchayat in Shivpuri district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Narwar is a historic town and the Narwar Fort is just east of the Kali Sindh River and is situated at a distance of 42 km from Shivpuri. Na ...

(Nalapur). Virasimha (also Virasimharama or Virasimhadeva), a Kachchhapaghata ruler of Nalapura, issued a copper plate grant in 1120-21. This record describes him using the high-status royal title ''

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 ...

''. Gold coins issued by him have also been discovered.

Downfall

According to bardic tradition, the last ruler of the dynasty was Tejaskarana (alias Dulha Rai or Dhola Rai), the hero of the romantic tale ''

Dhola Maru The Dhola Maru is the romantic tale of Dhola and Maru in Rajasthan. The Rajasthani version is entirely different from a version found in Chhattisgarh. Literature The Dhola Maru story is deeply rooted in folklore and oral traditions. The story r ...

''. This account states that he left Gwalior in 1128 to marry the daughter of a neighbouring ruler, after leaving Paramal-dev (or Paramardi-dev) in-charge of the Gwalior fort. When he returned to Gwalior, Paramal refused to hand over the fort to him, and founded the Parihara dynasty which ruled Gwalior for 103 years. The Parihara ruler over Gwalior is also attested the 1150 inscription of Ramdeo and 1194 inscription of Lohanga-Deva. However, other inscriptions suggest that the Kachchhapaghatas ruled the area at least until 1155 CE. In addition, 1192 and 1194 inscriptions found at Gwalior show that the Kachchhapaghata ruler Ajayapala controlled Gwalior in the later years as well. Thus, the bardic account is not completely reliable, and the Parihara chiefs probably ruled Gwalior as feudatories of the Kachchhapaghatas. Sulakshanapala, the last ruler of the dynasty, appears to have lost his kingdom to a

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 ...

invasion. The '' Tajul-Ma'asir'' suggests the Ghurid general

Qutb al-Din Aibak Qutb ud-Din Aibak ( fa, قطب‌الدین ایبک), (1150 – 14 November 1210) was a Turkic general of the Ghurid king Muhammad Ghori. He was in charge of the Ghurid territories in northern India, and after Muhammad Ghori's assassination in ...

invaded Gwalior in 1196, and extracted tribute from Sulakshanapala (whom ''Tajul-Ma'asir'' labels Solankhapala of Parihar family). The invaders took over the fort in the later years. The Kachchhapaghatas are the ancestors of

. Although the Kachwaha inscriptions claim a different origin for their dynasty i.e. from Kachhapa family which is likely the shortened form of Kachhapaghata itself. Strong traditions of bardic accounts such as ''Dhola Maru'' suggest that the Kachwaha dynasty of Amber originated from the Tejaskarana, the last ruler of the Narwar branch of the Kachchhapaghata dynasty.

Rulers

The following is a list of known Kachchhapaghata rulers, with estimate of their reigns: Simhapaniya (Sihoniya) and Gopadri (Gwalior) branch * Lakshmana (r. c. 950–975) * Vajradaman (r. c. 975–1000) * Mangalaraja (r. c. 1000–1015) * Kirtiraja (r. c. 1015–1035) * Muladeva (r. c. 1035–1055) * Devapala (r. c. 1055–1085) * Padmapala (r. c. 1085–1090) * Mahipala (r. c. 1090–1105) * Ratnapala (r. c. 1105–1130) * Ajayapala (r. c. 1192–1194) * Sulakshanapala (r. c. 1196) Dubkund (Dobha) branch * Yuvaraja (r. c. 1000) * Arjuna (r. c. 1015–1035) * Abhimanyu (r. c. 1035–1045) * Vijayapala (r. c. 1045–1070) * Vikramasimha (r. c. 1070–1100) Nalapura (Narwar) branch * Gaganasimha (r. c. 1075–1090) * Sharadasimha (r. c. 1090–1105) * Virasimha (r. c. 1105–1125) * Tejaskarana

Art and architecture

The dynasty patronized

Shaivism Shaivism (; sa, शैवसम्प्रदायः, Śaivasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Supreme Being. One of the largest Hindu denominations, it incorporates many sub-traditions rangi ...

and

Vaishnavism Vaishnavism ( sa, वैष्णवसम्प्रदायः, Vaiṣṇavasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as the ...

, but were tolerant towards

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

and

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 ...

. Several temples were constructed during their reign in Kadwaha. Sas Bahu Temple.jpg , Sasbahu Temple, Gwalior Matha or Monastery at Kadwaha.tif ,

Matha A ''matha'' (; sa, मठ, ), also written as ''math'', ''muth'', ''mutth'', ''mutt'', or ''mut'', is a Sanskrit word that means 'institute or college', and it also refers to a monastery in Hinduism.

(monastery), Kadwaha File:Chausath Yogini Temple, the platform.JPG ,

Chausath Yogini Temple, Morena The Chausath Yogini Temple, Mitaoli, also known as Ekattarso Mahadeva Temple, is an 11th-century temple in Morena district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Build during Kachchhapaghata reign, it is one of the well-preserved Yogini temp ...

Kakan Math.jpg , Kakanmath, Sihoniya The Kachchhapaghatas of Gwalior are especially noted for their art and architecture. Kachchhapaghata ruler Mahipala commissioned the

Sas-Bahu Temple __NOTOC__ Sasbahu Temple, also called the Sas-Bahu Mandir, Sas-Bahu Temples, Sahasrabahu Temple or Harisadanam temple, is an 11th-century twin temple in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India. Near the Gwalior Fort and dedicated to Vishnu in his Padmana ...

at Gwalior. Records of two grants issued by him at Gwalior, dated 1093 and 1104 CE, have been found. Several silver and gold coins issued by him have also been discovered. Ajayapala (r. c. 1192–1194) had the Gangola tank of Gwalior desilted, as attested by an 1194 inscription. Other temples constructed by the Gwalior branch include the ones located at:

References

Bibliography