Vijayashakti (
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 ...
: Vijayaśakti) was a 9th-century ruler from 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
Bundelkhand region in central India. In the Chandela records, he is generally mentioned with his elder brother and predecessor
Jayashakti
Jayashakti ( IAST: Jayaśakti) was a 9th-century ruler from the Chandela dynasty of Central India. In the Chandela records, he is generally mentioned with his younger brother and successor, Vijayashakti. The two are believed to have ruled the Ch ...
. The two are believed to have ruled the Chandela kingdom between c. 865 and 885 CE.
Vijayashakti was the son of
Vakpati, and succeeded his elder brother Jayashakti. He is also known as Vija, Vijaya and Vijjaka.
Much of the information about Jayashakti and Vijayashakti in Chandela records is eulogistic in nature, and of little historical value. These records state that they destroyed their enemies, but do not name any of the defeated rulers.
An inscription found at Khajuraho states that Vijayashakti
bridged the ocean in order to conquer the South in support of an ally. Historians such as H. C. Ray speculated that as a vassal, he might have conducted a southern expansion on behalf of his masters, the
Gurjara-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 th ...
s.
R. C. Majumdar proposed that he might have conducted the campaign for his
Pala Pala may refer to:
Places
Chad
*Pala, Chad, the capital of the region of Mayo-Kebbi Ouest
Estonia
* Pala, Kose Parish, village in Kose Parish, Harju County
* Pala, Kuusalu Parish, village in Kuusalu Parish, Harju County
*Pala, Järva County, vi ...
allies. However, there is no record of any Chandela campaign in
South India
South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territo ...
. It is possible that the inscription only alludes to the southern expansion of the Chandela territory, not a campaign up to the Indian Ocean in the south.
Vijayashakti was succeeded by his son
Rahila
Rahila (IAST: Rāhila, reigned c. 885-905 CE) was a king of the Chandela dynasty of India. He ruled in the Jejakabhukti region (Bundelkhand in present-day Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh).
Rahila was the son of his predecessor Vijayashakti. R. ...
.
References
Bibliography
*
*
{{Chandelas of Jejakabhukti
Chandelas of Jejakabhukti
9th-century Indian monarchs