Vakpatiraja I (reigned c. 917–944 CE), also known as Vappayaraja, was an Indian king belonging to the Shakambhari Chahamana dynasty. He ruled the Sapadalaksha country, which included parts of present-day

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...

in north-western India. He appears to have made an attempt to throw off the

Gurjara-Pratihara The Gurjara-Pratihara was a dynasty that ruled much of Hindustan, 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 ...

overlordship, and was the first Chahamana king to assume the title

Maharaja 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 ...

Early life

Vakpati was the son and successor of the Chahamana king Chandanaraja (alias Guvaka II) and queen Rudrani. His aliases include Vappayaraja and Manika Rai.

Reign

Vakpati's predecessors were feudatories of the

s, who had been weakened by

Rashtrakuta Rashtrakuta (IAST: ') (r. 753-982 CE) was a royal Indian dynasty ruling large parts of the Indian subcontinent between the sixth and 10th centuries. The earliest known Rashtrakuta inscription is a 7th-century copper plate grant detailing their ...

invasions from the south. The ''

Prithviraja Vijaya ''Prithviraja Vijaya'' (IAST: Pṛthvīrāja Vijaya, "Prithviraja's Victory") is an eulogistic Sanskrit epic poem on the life of the Indian Chahamana king Prithviraja III (better known as Prithviraj Chauhan in the vernacular folk legends). It is b ...

'' claims that Vakpati achieved 188 military victories. This may be an exaggeration, but it is possible that Vakpati participated in a large number of battles in the chaotic conditions resulting from Pratihara-Rashtrakuta conflict. The Rashtrakuta invasion probably weakened the Pratiharas' hold on vassals like Vakpati. According to the

Harsha Harshavardhana ( IAST Harṣa-vardhana; c. 590–647 CE) was a Pushyabhuti emperor who ruled northern India from 606 to 647 CE. He was the son of Prabhakaravardhana who had defeated the Alchon Huna invaders, and the younger brother of Rajyav ...

stone inscription, he assumed the title

. He was the first Chahamana king to do so, and this probably indicates that he tried to gain independence from the Pratiharas. After the Rashtrakutas left, the Pratiharas probably tried to re-assert their authority. The Harsha inscription states that a ''tantrapala'' (provincial governor) attacked the Ananta region in the Chahamana territory. The ''tantrapala'' was very haughty because of the authority he held from his overlord, but his elephant force was defeated by Vakpati's cavalry. He might have been a general sent by the Pratihara emperor

Mahipala I Mahipala I (913–944) ascended the throne of Pratihara dynasty after his step brother Bhoja II. He was a son of Queen Mahidevi. Mahipala I was also known by the names: ''Ksitipala'', ''Vinayakapala'', ''Herambapala'' and ''Uttarapatha Swami' ...

to subdue Vakpati. According to Dasharatha Sharma, his name was Kshamapala. R. B. Singh identifies him with Madhava, a Tomara feudatory of Mahipala.

Legacy

Vakpati had at least three sons including

Simharaja Simharaja ( IAST: Siṃharāja, r. c. 944-971 CE ) was an Indian king belonging to the Shakambhari Chahamana dynasty. He ruled the Sapadalaksha country, which included parts of present-day Rajasthan in north-western India. He was the first Chaha ...

Lakshmana Lakshmana ( sa, लक्ष्मण, lit=the fortunate one, translit=Lakṣmaṇa), also spelled as Laxmana, is the younger brother of Rama and his loyalist in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He bears the epithets of Saumitra () and Ramanuja (). ...

and Vatsaraja. He was succeeded by

on the Shakambhari throne, while Lakshmana established another branch of the dynasty at

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 ...

(Nadol). Vatsaraja is known as the donor of Kardamakakhata village to the Harshanatha temple. The

Bijolia Bijoliya is a census town in Bhilwara district in the state of Rajasthan, India and is surrounded by nature and waterfalls and is famous for Tapodaya Teerth Kshetra and Mandakini Temple. Geography Bijoliya Kalan is located at . It has an aver ...

inscription places one Vindhyanṛpati (or Vindhyaraja) between Vakpati and Simharaja. According to historian

Dasharatha Sharma Dasharatha Sharma (1903–1976) was an Indologist with particular interest in the history of the Rajasthan region of India. Born in the Rajasthani city of Churu, he studied in the city of Bikaner and at the University of Delhi. He had degrees ...

, Vindhyanṛpati was probably an elder brother of Simharaja and had a very short reign. However, R. B. Singh theorized that it was a title of Vakpati, who probably acquired it by conquering the Vindhyavati region (around modern

). Vakpati appears to have been a

Shaivite 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 rangin ...

. The ''

'' states that he built a temple dedicated to Vomkesha (

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

) at

Pushkar Pushkar is a city and headquarters of Pushkar tehsil in the Ajmer district in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is situated about northwest of Ajmer and about southwest of Jaipur.Chahamanas of Shakambhari 10th-century Indian monarchs