Malladeva was the son of the

Karnat dynasty Karnat or Karnata dynasty was a Maithil dynasty established in 1097 CE. The dynasty had two capitals which were Simraungadh in Bara District of Nepal and Darbhanga, Bihar which became the second capital during the reign of Gangadeva. The kingdom c ...

King,

Nanyadeva Nanyadeva (IAST: ') was the founder of the Karnata (Karan Kayastha) dynasty of Mithila. He was the ancestor of Harisimhadeva and descendant of Suheldev . He established his capital in Simraungadh and ruled the greater Mithila region for 50 years. ...

and a prince of Mithila. According to some scholars, Malladeva has been referred to as the "forgotten King of Mithila" as most records and traditions note that his brother

Gangadeva Gangadeva (also known as Gangeyadeva) was the second ruler of the Karnat dynasty of Mithila. He succeeded his father Nanyadeva as King in 1147 and ruled until 1187. Rule There is controversy surrounding the succession of the throne of Mithila f ...

succeeded his father as ruler of the dynasty. Nevertheless, Malladeva seems to have founded his own stronghold in the village of Bheet-Bhagwanpur in

Darbhanga Darbhanga is the fifth-largest city and municipal corporation in the Indian state of Bihar situated centrally in Mithila region. Darbhanga is the headquarters of the Darbhanga district and the Darbhanga division. It was the seat of the erstw ...

in modern-day

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. In the village, an inscription was found which read "Om Shree Malladevasya" and many Karnat-era sculptures have been found in the area. Malladeva has also been mentioned in the work of the poet,

Vidyapati Vidyapati ( – 1460), also known by the sobriquet ''Maithil Kavi Kokil'' (the poet cuckoo of Maithili), was a Maithili and Sanskrit polymath-poet-saint, playwright, composer, biographer, philosopher, law-theorist, writer, courtier ...

who described him as a "valiant warrior" who served in the army of King

Jayachandra Jaya-chandra (IAST: Jayacandra, r. c. 1170–1194 CE) was a king from the Gahadavala dynasty of northern India. He is also known as Jayachchandra (IAST: Jayaccandra) in inscriptions, and Jaichand in vernacular legends. He ruled the Antarvedi co ...

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 ...

but left as his quarrelsome nature led to major disagreements and he was forced to return to Mithila. Local tradition asserts that he was not on good terms with his brother Gangadeva. Folk tradition also asserts that the villages of Maldiha in Purnea district and Malhad in

Supaul district Supaul district is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar, India. The town Supaul is the district's administrative headquarters. The district, which was split from the former Saharsa district on 14 March 1991, occupies . History Supaul, w ...

were founded by Malladeva. The village of Bheet-Bhagwanpur is today home to a prominent family of

Gandhavariya The Gandhavariya (also known as Gandhawariya and Gandhawaria) are a Rajput clan based in northern Bihar. They are descendants of King Vikukshi and they are descendants of Lava, son of Lord Rama . They ruled over parts of Madhepura district and S ...

Rajputs who are considered by some to be descended from Malladeva.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Malladeva 12th-century Asian people History of Bihar History of Nepal 12th-century Nepalese people