Mewar as focus of Guhila State (Part-X)

The newly proliferated Guhila royal houses away from Mewar began their own political, territorial and military history. — Prof. Nandini Kapur Sinha

The next epigraph Thakarda (Dungarpur district) Inscription of AD 1155 records the grant of land of one plough to the god Siddhesvara by Maharajaputra Sri Anangapaladeva, Vijayapaladeva’s grandson,This record too refers to the title of Bhartrpatta for Prthvipäla but not to the Guhila lineage  The above two records give us an idea of the area of control under this ruling family. Prthvipala’s successors seem to have controlled an area between Vagod (districts of Dungarpur and Banswara) and Inganapata (modern Ingnoda) in western Malwa, In view of the decline of the Paramara power in Malwa in the twelfth century, Vijaya- paladeva seems to have extended his sway up to the western part of Malwa. The last of the records, Virpur (in southern part of Udaipur district) inscription of AD 1185 refers to the grant of a well (araghatta) called Lasadia and a land of two halas (ploughs) in the village of Gata- uda in the province of Saht(a)-pañcasat (Chhappan in Udaipur district) to a brahmana, Madana by Amrtpäla, son of Vijayapãla alias Bhart[patta of the lineage Guhadatta (dri guhiladattavamsa úrimadbharty- pattabhidhänamahârâjâdhiraja úrî vijayapalasuta mahârâjädhiraja úri am[tapaladeva). Thus, the three records demonstrate the gradual process through which the ruling family of Vagod in the twelfth century claimed lineage connections with the Guhilas. It is significant that Vijayapala too bears the title of Bhartrpatta in Virpur record. 

I shall now mention the views of the epigraphists and historians who have extensively discussed the above records, to make our position clear on the Bhart[pattabhidhâna Guhilas. Asoke Kumar Majumdar, on the basis of Ingnoda and Thakarada inscriptions opines that an independent line of kings existed within 80 km of Ujjain.

These two inscriptions show that members of a petty dynasty took advantage of the decay of the Paramâras and asserted their independence. Probably they brought under their control territories in western Malwa, but were later driven. out and forced to assume their humbler rank in their now obscure principality near Dungarpur...most likely driven out of Malava by Siddharaja or Chandella Madanavarman and content as feudatories.

R.R. Halder, the editor of the Thakarda Inscription of the time of Maharaja Surapaladeva, comparing this record with Surapaladeva’s Ingnoda Inscription, observes that the genealogical lists are common to both the records. But Thakarda Inscription does not mention the epithets of mahäräjädhiraja, parameœvara and paramabhaGaraka. Halder opines that they were probably, though not necessarily independent kings at first, and ruled over certain parts of Rajputana and central India. He finds it difficult to assign a dynastic origin to them as none of the records mentions the name of the family. Gauri Shankar Hirachand Ojha initially included them in the Kacchaväha rulers of Gwalior but later on changed his opinion and remarked in the Annual Report of the Rajputana Museum that these kings were possibly the descendants of the Pratihära kings of Kanauj and ruled over parts of central India and Rajasthan. Halder accepts the latter view, D.C. Ganguly opines that Vijayapala was a governor of the Paramaras in control of Ingnoda and its surrounding localities, 220 Vijayapala seems to have declared his independence after the death of his master, Paramâra King Naravarman.

Pratipal Bhatia, discussing the Ingnoda Inscription of Vijayapala, observes that since Ingnoda is only 80 km to the north-west of Ujjain, this record reveals the presence of a kingdom, the princes of which seem to have claimed independent position. Not only the Chandellas but also the family of Vijayapala were encroaching upon the borders of the Paramâra kingdom of Malwa.

Our suggestion that Bhartrpattabhidhâna Guhilas extended their sway over western Malwa from Vagod in the twelfth century during the decline of the Paramara power does not contradict the views of Majumdar, Ganguly, or Bhatia. But none of the three inscriptional records of the Bhart [pattabhidhana Guhilas supports Ojha’s contention or Halder’s views that this ruling family was a descendant of the Pratihâras of Kanauj.

The rise of the family of the Bhart[pattabhidhâna Guhilas seems to be an instance of formation of a dynasty from an obscure background, claiming Guhila lineage, and controlling an area south of the territory of the Nagda-Ahada Guhilas The area under the control of the Bhart[pattabhidhana Guhilas is likely to have stretched from the south- eastern part of Dungarpur to western part of Malwa. Possibly they also held parts of Chhappan-south-eastern part of Udaipur district. The fact that the ousted Guhila King Sämantasimhadeva could found a principality around the locality of Dungarpur in the end of twelfth century indicates that the Guhilas of Nagda-Ahada were yet to control Vagod.

A major house of the Guhilas of Nägdä-Ahada that was born in late twelfth century was that of Dungarpur. This branch, known to have originated with Guhila Samantasimhadeva, continued to hold the whole of Vagod as a separate kingdom throughout the medieval period. G.S. Ojha in his monumental work, History of the Dungarpur State constructed the following genealogical table on the basis of epigraphic records, legends and gazetteers of the colonial period: The Jagat (AD 1172) and Soloj (Dungarpur district) Inscriptions (AD 1179)225 show that Samantasimha ruled in Mewar and Vagod respectively in the eighth decade of twelfth century. How did he acquire Vagod? Was it territorial extension of the Guhila state of Nagda-Ahada or was it another case of segmentation of the royal family due to kinship pressures? To answer these questions, we shall examine the evidences of two royal sources, Achaleœvara Inscription of AD 1285 and Kumbhalgarh Prasasti of AD 1460. Achaleœvara Inscription states that Samantasimha snatched away everything from the samantas and that Kumarasimha had to win back the royalty for his ancestral kingdom which had been lost to the enemies. Kumbhalgarh Prasasti states that Rânâsimha was succeeded by Kcemasimha, the younger brother of Mathanasimha who evidently predeceased his father and then Samantasimha became the ruler of Mewar. It records further that Samantasimha was succeeded by his brother Kumarasimha who threw a person called Kitu out of Mewar because the latter had somehow taken hold of the country. He also made Aghatapura his own by acquiring the favour of the ruler of Gujarat. Thus, some external factor seems to have influenced the course of political history of the reign of Samanta- simha and accession of Kumarasimha.  (To be continued ....)

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