Interpreting the History of the Paramaras

ARVIND K. SINGH

The opening essay in this special issue by Daud Ali surveys the historiography of the
medieval and touches on some of the key problems of interpretation and periodisation in
Indian history. However, Alis paper does not address the Paramaras of central India and their
part in building a strong kingdom in the heart of the country for several centuries. Because
an introduction to the dynastys history is essential for situating the articles that follow, this
paper will survey the leading role played by the Paramaras in the history of India over the
four hundred years of their political existence. This paper also provides an opportunity to
contextualise the three Royal Asiatic Society copper-plates of the Paramara dynasty now
kept in the British Museum; they are illustrated in the pages that follow (Figs 13).
Most probably beginning as subordinates of the Ras.t.rakut.a monarch in the ninth century
ce,1 the residue of the Paramara dynasty was at last subsumed into the Delhi Sultanate
in the early fourteenth century.2 Over this time, the Paramaras ruled various territories,
including Malava proper as well the districts adjacent to Vidisa in the east, Ratlama in the
west, and parts of Hoshangabad in the south-east. Besides the imperial dynasty of Malava,
there were several other Paramara houses. These held control, more or less at the same time,
over parts of Gujarat and Rajasthan. The Paramaras who ruled the Arbuda man.d.ala had
u. Their history is investigated below
their capital at Candravat at the foot of Mount Ab
by Daniel Balogh who presents a previously unknown copper-plate charter of the dynasty.
The Paramaras of Bhnmal-Kirad.u , in Rajasthan, were not an altogether separate dynasty
u. Their records indicate that they
but represent a branch of the house that ruled from Ab
had close ties with the Caul.ukyas of Gujarat, as did the rulers headquartered at Candravat.
u is known as the Paramaras of Jalor. Like the Paramaras of BhnmalAnother branch of Ab
Kirad.u , they were overtaken by the Cahamanas by the end of the twelfth century. In the
territory of Vagad.a, finally, an off-shoot of the imperial Paramara house of Malava rose to
prominence from about the middle of the tenth century ce. Located in the Dungarpur
area of Rajasthan, the capital of this house was at Arthun.a , also known as Utthapanaka,
athunaka. Unlike the branches mentioned above, they were loyal to the
Utthunaka and Ar
1 On the basis of the verse 24 of the Sanjan copper-plates inscription of Amoghavarsa dated 871 ce, EI 18,
.
pp. 235257, it has been concluded by H. V. Trivedi, Inscriptions of the Paramaras, Chandellas, Kachchhapaghatas and
Two Minor Dynasties, Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum, volume 7 (New Delhi, 197891) 1: 2 that Govinda III
entrusted the charge of the administration of Malava to one of his vassals who he takes to be Upendra, the founder
of the Paramara dynasty. Abbreviations are given at the end of the article.
2 As outlined below by M. Willis in this JRAS issue.

JRAS, Series 3, 22, 1 (2012), pp. 1328

doi:10.1017/S1356186312000028

C The Royal Asiatic Society 2012



14

Arvind K. Singh

Paramaras of Malava. The history of these houses adds much to our understanding of the
political texture of medieval India but is beyond the immediate scope of the present essay.
Origin and Homeland
There is ample evidence in the form of literature, foreign accounts, material remains,
monuments, coins and inscriptions for the history of the Paramaras, although inevitably
some key points remain shrouded in mystery. As to their origins, the bardic traditions of
the Rajputs regard them as fire-born and so belonging to the Agnikula.3 In some later
inscriptions the name of the progenitor of the family is mentioned as Dhumaraja instead
of Paramara.4 The name indicates that the sacrificial fire, from whence the dynasty arose,
gave rise to a cloud of smoke which assumed the form of a hero called Dhumaraja. The
Agnikula myth has misled some scholars to think that the Paramaras belong to Hun.a-Gujara
stock while evidence supports the proposal that they were, in fact, Ks.atriyas.5 On the basis
of the expression tasmin kule in the Harsola inscription, and the use of the Ras.t.rakut.a titles
Amoghavars.a, S rvallabha and Pr.thvvallabha for Vakpatiraja, D. C. Ganguly suggested that
the Paramaras were members of the imperial Ras.t.rakut.a house.6 However, these titles actually
refer to the succession or inheritance of power, just as the Ras.t.rakut.as themselves adopted
the titles S rvallabha, Pr.thivvallabha and so forth from the Western Caul.ukyas whom they
had overthrown. It seems possible that since the ultimate origin of the Paramaras had been
forgotten in the course of time, composers of the texts and epigraphs were obliged to follow
the general conventions of the age for assigning the origin of the family to a mythical or
legendary hero.7
Like their origin, no specific information is available regarding the place where Paramaras
settled prior to their take-over of Gujarat. However, their association with Ras.t.rakut.as tends
to show that their homeland was somewhere in the Deccan, whereas the Agnikula legend
u. Even today there is a place at the foot of
suggests their original home was around Ab
u that is said to be the fire-pit or Agnikun.d. where the sacrifice giving rise to the
Mount Ab
Agni lineage was performed. The places mentioned in early inscriptions certainly do suggest

3 The court poet of Sindhuraja, Padmgupta (circa 9951010 ce) emerges as the real originator of the fire-born
theory. His Navasahasan kacarita seems to have utilised the bardic legend with a view to glorifying the family of his
patron. This version was followed by some other works like the Prithvrajaraso, c Ayn-i Akbar and even by some later
inscriptions, which embellish the story with seemingly-fabricated details that are not fully dependable.
4 Trivedi, Inscriptions of the Paramaras, nos. 68, 75, 82.
5 The Udaypur prasasti (see below) uses the expression dvijavargaratna (a jewel among the twice born) for
Upendra. The Piplianagar grant of 1211 ce mentions that the ancestors of this family were a crest-jewel (sekhara) of
the Ks.atriyas. The Prabhavakaracarita records that Vakpatiraja was born in the dynasty of a Ks.atriya while the court
poet of Vakpati, Halayudha, says of his patron in Pingalasutravr.tti that although he was a Ks.atriya king also had the
attributes of a learned person (Brahma). (The comment is also a play on the name Vakpati) (ed).
6 D. C. Ganguly, The History of the Paramara Dynasty (Dacca, 1933): 9. K. N. Dikshit and D. B. Diskalkar, the
editors of the Harsola grant of Syaka (the relevant references are given in Trivedi, Inscriptions of the Paramaras, no. 1,
p. 1) put forward a possibility that the Paramaras were descended from a Ras.t.rakut.a princess and on analogy with
the Poona copper-plate of Prabhavatgupta they justify the occurrence of the Ras.t.rakut.a names in the inscription.
But a portion of the original draft of the grant is missing through the engravers oversight and nothing can be said
in respect of the relations of the Paramaras with the Ras.t.rakut.as.
7 For the theme generally see, Hans T. Bakker, Throne and Temple: Political Power and Religious Prestige in
Vidarbha, in The Sacred Centre as the Focus of Political Interest, (ed.) Hans T. Bakker (Groningen, 1992), pp. 83100.

Interpreting the History of the Paramaras

15

that the Paramaras had their earliest association with Gujarat. They later moved to Malava
and its neighbouring territories from where later records are found in considerable number.
Early Paramaras: Upendra to Syaka
Information on the early Paramara rulers, from Upendra to Vairisim
. ha is rather scanty. The
political destiny of the first kings was interlocked with the Pratihara-Rasht.rakut.a struggle.
The Malava region bore the brunt of the clash because its geographical position lay directly
between these two great powers. As regards the genealogy of the early Paramara rulers and
their successors, there is some divergence in the sources, leading scholars to form different
opinions. The Harsola grants8 report Bappaiparaja, his successor Vairisim
. ha and his successor
Syaka; while the Dharampur, Ujjain and Gaonri grants9 record Kr.s.n.araja in the place of
Bappaiparaja, quite plausibly because the two were identical. The Navasahasan kacarita records
Upendra after the eponymous Paramara, who is said to have been followed by some kings,
who are not named (tad anyes.u), and after them three rulers, namely, Vakpati, his son
10
Vairisim
. ha, and his son Syaka, in due succession. The use of the expression some other
kings by Padmagupta in the Navasahasan kacarita suggests that he had no specific information
about the familys genealogy. The same genealogical sequence, with the addition of some
names, is given in the Udaypur prasasti.11 They are Upendraraja, his son Vairisim
. ha-Vajrat.a,

his son Syaka, his son Vakpati, his son Vairisim

ha-Vajrat
a,
his
son
S
r

Hars
a
.
.
. and his son
Vakpati. The identification of Upendra of this list with Kr.s.n.araja of the grants is accepted.12
When he is identified with Bappaiparaja, then there is only Vairisim
. ha, Syaka and Vakpati
in order after Upendra.13
The first historic king, Upendra, is mentioned by Padmagupta merely as the originator
of the dynasty. He earned wide fame and was particularly noted for performing multitudes
of sacrifices and for composing his own eulogy by erecting pillars of victory on the earth
bounded by four oceans.14 The Udaypur prasasti positively says that he was the founder
of the reigning house who gained a high order of kingship by his own valor.15 Some
scholars have identified the king Upendra defeated by Ras.t.rakut.a Indra III (as mentioned
in the Navasari grant of 914 ce) with this king, while others put Upendra much earlier.
Accordingly, the identification with the adversary of Indra has been questioned16 and, in our
view, rightly so because the evidence places Upendra earlier at the head of the genealogy
list.
8 Trivedi, Inscriptions of the Paramaras, nos. 12.
9 Ibid., nos. 47.
10 Navasahasan
kacarita, canto XI, vv. 7690.
11 Trivedi, Inscriptions of the Paramaras, no. 24. As

noted by M. A. Ansari in this JRAS issue, the Udaypur prasasti

is most probably from Muradpur where the ruins of a Varaha temple have been discovered.
12 EI 1, p. 225.
13 For these reasons, C. V. Vaidya, History of Medieval Hindu India, 3 vols. (Poona, 1926) 2: 118, 123, suggested
that in the later sources, namely, those beginning with the Navasahasan kacarita, the names of Vairisimha, Syaka,
and Vakpati are repeated in the genealogy through mistake. Trivedi, Inscriptions of the Paramaras, p. 7 mentions that
if we identify the first-mentioned Vakpati of the prasasti with Bappapairaja of the Harsola grants and with Kr.s.n.araja
of the others then we can have only the six successors of Upendra as mentioned in prasasti; however, he identified
Vakpati with Kr.s.n.a raja and describes only Vairisim
. ha, Syaka and Vakpati Munja after him.
14 Navasahasan
kacarita, canto XI, vv. 7679.
15 Trivedi, Inscriptions of the Paramaras, no. 24, vv. 78.
16 Ibid., introduction, p. 8.

16

Arvind K. Singh

The description of Vairisim

. ha in the Navasahasan kacarita is only vague and conventional.
The Udaypur prasasti tells us that people called him by another name, namely Vajrat.asvamin,
and that by him famous Dhara was vindicated when he slew the crowd of his enemies
with the sharp edge (dhara) of his sword.17 The enemies he claims to have slain may be
identified with the Gurjara-Pratiharas of Kannauj. But because the Pratapagad.h inscription
of Mahendrapala,18 dated 94546 ce, confirms that in or before these years some portion of
Malava was recovered by Mahendrapala, the conclusion must be that in the latter part of his
reign Vairisim
. ha was pushed out of Malava toward Gujarat. Thus, Dhara, which may have
been temporarily occupied by Vairisim
. ha in the beginning, slipped from his hands in his last
days.19
Vairisim
. has son and successor was Syaka, alias Hars.a and Sim
. habhat.a. He issued three
20
copper-plate grants. Two of them, dated in 949 ce, were issued from Hars.apura and the
third, of 969 ce, was issued from Ahmedabad. The grants mention him with the feudatory
title mahaman.d.alikacud.a man.i as well the sovereign title maharajadhiraja, probably showing that
he enjoyed the position of a semi-independent chief who was entitled to issue land-grants
under his own authority. His achievements are also recorded. After inflicting a defeat on
Yogaraja, the lord of the Khet.aka man.d.ala and a chief of the Capotkat.a Avanivarman II,
whose principality must have been somewhere to the west of the Mah river, Syaka made
the grants.21 His adversary may be the same as mentioned in the Navasahasan kacarita as the
Lord of Rudrapat. defeated by Syaka.22 He also overpowered the Hun.as, one of whose
principalities then lay around Mandasaur.23 The Navasahasan kacarita tells us that Syaka
slaughtered the Hun.a princes and turned their harem into a dwelling place for widows.24
Syaka killed the Hun.a prince, identified as successor of Jejjapa,25 and captured some Hun.a
territory, as known from the Mod. fragmentary inscription which says that he enjoyed the
earth that was sprinkled over by the blood of the Hun.as.26
Syakas victories inspired him to throw off the yoke of the Ras.t.rakut.as for which he also
found encouragement in the death of Kr.s.n.a III in 967 AC. With Kr.s.n.a III succeeded by
his younger brother Khot.t.iga, Syaka went into open revolt, initiating a military expedition
toward the Deccan. Although Syakas kinsman of the Vagad.a branch, who had come
to his assistance, died a heroic death at Khalighat.t.a on the Narmada, the Paramaras were
ultimately victorious. Syakas crushing advance proceeded to the imperial Ras.t.rakut.a capital
at Manyakhet.a where the treasury was plundered and the city sacked. This incident is
17 Trivedi, Inscriptions of the Paramaras, no. 24, v. 11.
18 EI 14, pp. 176188.
19 K. C. Jain, Malwa Through the Ages (Delhi, 1973),

p. 333 opines that Vairisim

. ha occupied Dhara only after
946 AC when the Prathara empire was dismembered without giving his view about the period of the reign of this
prince.
20 Trivedi, Inscriptions of the Paramaras, nos. 13.
21 Haddala copper-plate inscription of 914 ce (IA 12, p. 190; and IA 18, p. 90) indicates the existence of the
principality immediately west of Mah River.
22 Navasahasan
kacarita, canto XI, v. 89.
23 Ganguly, History of the Paramara Dynasty, puts the Hunamandala to the north-west of Malava. For the different
.
..
locations of Hun.as, Pratipal Bhatia, The Paramaras (New Delhi, 1970): 40, n. 3; Trivedi, Inscriptions of the Paramaras,
p. 11.
24 Navasahasan
kacarita, canto XI, v. 90.
25 Ganguly, History of the Paramara Dynasty, p. 40.
26 Trivedi, Inscriptions of the Paramaras, no. 56, v. 27.

Interpreting the History of the Paramaras

17

mentioned in the Udaypur prasasti which says that Hars.adeva, who equalling the snakeeater (garud.a) in fierceness, took in battle the wealth of king Khot.t.iga.27 The end result
of this Paramara attack was the death of Khot.t.iga in the same year, i.e. 972 ce. The event
is also mentioned by Dhanapala who composed the Paiylacchnamamala in 97273 ce when
Manyakhet.a was being looted by the king of Malava.28 For these reasons, Syaka may be
regarded as the de-facto founder of the Paramara kingdom in Malava. He left behind a vast
extent of territory from the Mah region in the west, to the Betwa in the east, to the edge
of Rajasthan in the north and the Narmada region in the south. Padmagupta states that
Syaka adopted the life of an ascetic and clothed himself in the grass-robe of a royal sage,29
indicating a possibility that after he returned from the invasion of the Ras.t.rakut.a capital he
relinquished the kingdom in favour of his son Vakpati.
Imperial Ambitions: Vakpati, Sinduraja and Bhoja
The Paramaras had become independent rulers by 974 ce but independence brought with it
fresh problems. Battles with their neighbours intensified and these developed into a tripartite
struggle between the Caul.u kyas, the Cahamanas and the Paramaras. The aggressive foreign
policy of the Paramara rulers, who were fanatical in their ambition to establish themselves
as universal kings or cakravartins, further extended the geographical scope of conflict. In this
struggle, the Paramaras won the first round and Vakpati Munja, also called Utpala, extended
his territories as far as the fortress of Chitor in the north, Lat.a in the west, Tripur in the
east, the Deccan in the south and the Gangetic plain in the far north.30 The Udaypur prasasti
suggests that Vakpatis ambition was to vanquish all the rulers of the directions in the manner
of a traditional digvijaya. This validated his success as a military leader and justified his use
of the imperial titles paramabhat..ta raka maharajadhiraja paramesvara and his assumption of the
epithets Amoghavars.a, Pr.thvvallabha and S rvallabha.
The successes of Vakpati are confirmed by diverse sources. These may be briefly
summarised. The Kalacuri king Yuvaraja was easily defeated, as the Kauthem grant of
Vikramaditya V states that Utpala destroyed the power of the Caidyas, the king of the
at.a,
Cedis.31 The Bijapur inscription of Dhavala32 records that Vakpati destroyed Agh
the pride of Medapat.a and caused the Guhila prince to flee the battle field and seek the
protection of the Ras.t.rakut.a king Dhavala of Hastikun.d. (Hathun.d.). This shows that in
the north Vakpati had come in conflict with the contemporary Guhila ruler S aktikumara
of Mewad.a. After this success, Vakpati led his army into the bordering region of Gujarat, a
large part of which was then governed by Mularaja I. The Bijapur inscription tells us that his
armies, bereft of a leader, sought refuge with the Ras.t.rakut.a Dhavala. The importance of the
event is indicated by the fact that Ks.emendra alluded to the miserable plight of the Gurjara
27 Ibid., no. 24, v. 12.
28 B. J. Dos (ed.), Paalacchnamamala (Bombay, 1960), v. 276.
29 Navasahasan
kacarita, canto XI, v. 88.
30 The Udaypur prasasti (Trivedi, Inscriptions of the Paramaras, no

24, vv. 1415) mentions that his lotus like feet

were coloured by the jewels on the head of the Karn.a t.as, Lat.as, Keralas and Co.las and further tells that he also
dominated Yuvaraja, slew his generals, and held his sword high at Tripur.
31 IA 16, p. 23.
32 EI 10, p. 20, vv. 910.

18

Arvind K. Singh

king in his Aucityavicaracarca (vv. 910). After conquering Mularaja, Vakpati marched through
the Lat.a region and succeeded in defeating Barappa, a general of the Caul.ukya king Tailapa,
who was killed in the process. He then marched into Maravad.a. D. C. Ganguly opines that
u and divided it among the
in his expedition Vakpati also conquered the region around Ab
Paramara princes, namely his sons Aran.yaraja, Candana and his nephew Dusala.33 Vakpatis
invasion of Hun.a territory is recorded in the Kauthem grant.34 The Ganori plates of 982
record his donation of land in the Hun.a-man.d.ala, issued after the victory. The Udaypur
prasasti reports that Vakpati had subdued the Karn.a t.as a general term for rulers in the
Deccan and Merutunga states that Vakpati defeated Tailapa six times.35 But however
much Vakpati may have gained success against Tailapa, he ended his life fighting in the
Deccan between 993 and 998.36 And on the western front, the struggle with Caul.u kyas that
was started during his reign ended only with the extinction of both dynasties.
The next ruler, Sindhuraja, attempted to maintain the magnificence of the Paramara
house and to extend its dominions.37 He assumed the titles Kumaranarayan.a and
Navasahasan ka. Sindhurajas court poet Padmagupta mentions him as Avantisvara, Malavaraja
and Paramamahbhr.ta, and records his victories over the king of Kuntala and the countries
of the Hun.as, Vagad.a, Murala, Lat.a, Aparanta and Kosala. The narration of successes over
these powers is casual and only the victory over the king of Kuntala is substantiated by the
Udaypur prasasti.38 That he recovered authority over the south, which was seized by king
Tailapa, is shown by the categorical assertion of Padmagupta.39 It is not obvious, however,
that he came into actual contact with the Western Caul.ukya ruler Satyasraya. As for the
Hun.as, possibly he has contributed to the campaign of his brother. For his victory over
the people of Vagad.a, it may be assumed that he beat the attempt of Kankas son Can.d.apa
who tried to renounce his subordination to the main branch. The country of the Muralas
is normally recognised as Kerala. In the view of P. Bhatia, after his victory over Aparanta,
Sindhuraja pushed further and defeated the Muralas.40 But because Sindhurajas ruled for a
short period it seems more likely that Muralas came into conflict with him, as feudatories
or allies of the Western Caul.ukyas or of the S ilaharas. His adversary from Lat.a was Barappas
son Gongiraja. He is mentioned in a copper-plate grant of 1050 as one who relieved his own
land like Vis.n.u,41 a statement which signifies the assertion of his authority over his parental
throne and land. The Caul.ukya ruler Camun.d.araja also may have clashed with Sindhuraja.
The Vad.anagar prasasti of Kumarapala dated 1151 affirms that Sindhuraja, together with his
elephant forces, made such a cowardly retreat on seeing the armies of Camun.d.araja that his
33 Ganguly, History of the Paramara Dynasty, pp. 22, 52 and 298.
34 IA 16, p. 23.
35 C. H. Tawney, trans. The Prabandhacintamani or Wishing-stone of Narratives (Calcutta, 1901), p. 58.
.
36 IA 21, p. 167.
37 Padmgupta (Navasahasan
kacarita, canto XI, v. 85) tells us that Vakpati placed the earth in Sindhurajas

arms
when he headed against Tailapa. This is discarded by Merutunga (Prabandhacintaman.i, p. 36) and others according
to whom Vakpati Munja was succeeded not by Sindhuraja (who was for long at enmity with his elder brother) but
by Bhoja.
38 Sindhuraja achievements are known from Navasahasan
kacarita (canto I, v. 74; canto X, vv. 1419) and some
later Paramara inscriptions.
39 Navasahasan
kacarita, canto, I, v. 74.
40 Bhatia, Paramaras, p. 66.
41 IA 13, p. 203.

Interpreting the History of the Paramaras

19

well-established fame was lost as a result.42 The Kumarapalacarita goes so far as to say that
Sindhuraja was killed by Camun.d.araja, but this assertion in a fourteenth-century document
has to be discounted in view of the epigraphic evidence. That the S ilahara prince Aparajita
allied himself with Sindhuraja in the campaign in Bastar shows that the reference to the
conquest of Aparanta or north Konkan.a is simply conventional. A. S. Altekar43 held that
Aparajita who in the Bhadan copper-plate grant of 997 regretfully refers to the overthrow
of the Ras.t.rakut.a but, had not recognised Caul.ukya supremacy till that year may have
thought it best to secure an alliance with the Paramaras. Sindhurajas victory over Kosala, if
accepted as actual, would have been against Kalingaraja44 or Yayati Mahasivagupta.45
The Sas Bahu temple inscription of Mahipala dated 1092 tells us that the Kacchapaghata
ruler Kirtiraja had conquered in battle the countless hosts of the prince of Malava. The
defeat inflicted by this ruler on the Paramara forces was so crushing that the invading troops
fled away, leaving even their spears, which were collected by the townsmen for thatching the
roofs of their houses.46 The Malava ruler mentioned in this account was once identified by
scholars as the Paramara Bhojadeva and it was surmised that it would have been impossible
for a minor chief like Kirtiraja to inflict this terrible shock on the invading forces without the
assistance of the Candella king Vidyadhara.47 But in light of the likely date for the accession
of Kirtiraja in circa 985, it seems more probable that the Malava ruler who was conquered in
the battle was Sindhuraja.48
Sindhuraja was succeeded by Bhoja. The Udaypur prasasti makes a general statement
regarding his military exploits: he resembled Pr.thu and ruled the earth from Kailasa to
Malaya hills and up to the mountains of the setting and the rising sun, and further that
his mercenaries conquered the Karn.a t.as, the lord of Lat.a, the king of Gurjara, the Turus.ka,
chief among whom were the lord of the Cedis, Indraratha, Toggala and Bhima.49 These
statements are supported by the Kalvan.a grant of his feudatory Yasovarman, which claims
for Bhoja victory over the lord of Karn.a t.a, Lat.a, Gurjara, Cedi and Konkan.a.50 Bhoja, in
alliance with Gan geya Kalacuri and Rajendra Co.la, had some preliminary success in his war
against the Western Caul.ukyas, but in the end the combined forces appear to have been
repulsed. This is shown by a Western Caul.ukya record of 1028 AC that says Jayasim
. ha routed
the elephant squadron of Co.la, Gan geya and Bhojadeva.51 In this struggle, Jayasim
. ha appears
to have been helped by his vassal Baciraja, about whom it is said that his victorious arms
put Bhoja to embarrassment.52 In his south-eastern expedition, Bhoja inflicted defeat on

Indraratha, the Somavam

and a vassal of the Gangas of Kalinga. Since
. s ruler of Adinagara
42 EI 1,
43 A. S.
44 V. V.

p. 308, v. 1.
Altekar, The S ilaharas of Western India, Indian Culture 2 (1935), p. 405.
Mirashi, Inscriptions of the Kalachuri-Chedi Era, Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum, IV (Ootacamund,
1955), p. xviii.
45 Mirashi, Studies in Indology II (Nagpur, 1961), p. 59.
46 Trivedi, Inscriptions of the Paramaras, no. 155, v. 10.
47 Ray, The Dynastic History of Northern India, pp. 824825; Trivedi, Inscriptions of the Paramaras, p. 23.
48 For detail see Arvind K. Singh, Krtiraja and Kakanamatha Temple of Suhaniya, Journal of the Asiatic Society
of Mumbai 82 (2008), pp. 113121.
49 Trivedi, Inscriptions of the Paramaras, no. 24, v. 17. (The inscription appears to be incorrect if we follow B
uhlers
reconstruction mukhyan (EI 1, p. 238, n. 90) because the Cedis were certainly not Turus.kas.)
50 Ibid., no. 16 (line 6).
51 EI, 15, p. 330.
52 HAS 8, p. 20.

20

Arvind K. Singh

Gan geyadeva and Rajendra also claim to have vanquished this ruler of Adinagara
(in two
inscriptions dated 1018 and 1025),53 it seems that Bhoja fought this battle in alliance with
them. However the alliance with Gan geya did not last long and Bhoja soon inflicted a defeat
on the later. His victory over the Kalacuri king is evidenced by the Parijatamanjar tablet
inscription found at Dhar.54
Krtiraja, Bhojas contemporary in Lat.a (known to us from his Surat grant of 962),55 was
defeated and brought into subjection, a fact signified by a statement recorded in a copperplate grant of Trilocanapala, viz. that during his reign his fame was for the time taken away
by his enemies.56 Further south, Bhoja invaded Konkan.a and the territory of the S ilahara
ruler Arikesarin alias Kesiraja.57 He accepted the supremacy of Bhoja sometime before 1020,
when Bhoja celebrated his victory over Konkan.a.58 The Miraj plates dated 102445 indicate,
nonetheless, that Bhojas occupation of Konkan.a was momentary.59
The Udaypur prasasti records that Bhoja defeated the Turus.kas, but the material on this
point is scanty, leading scholars to differ in their opinions, including the view that Bhoja did
not come into direct conflict with Muslim forces.60 To the immediate north of Malwa, it is
generally believed that Bhoja penetrated into part of the Kacchapaghata kingdom, but was
repulsed by Krtiraja. However, the latest findings, noted above, indicate that this incident
took place in the time of Sindhuraja. Conflict with the Kacchapaghatas is nonetheless hinted
at in the Dubkun.d. inscription of 1088 which says that the highly intelligent king, the
illustrious Bhojadeva had widely celebrated the skill shown in the management of horses and
chariots of Abhimanyu.61 H. C. Ray saw in this a veiled hint of Abhimanyus subordination
to Bhoja.62 The statement in the Mahoba inscription that Bhoja and Kalacuri Chandra
(Gan geya) waited upon the Candella prince Vidyadhara, the master of warfare, who had
caused the destruction of the king of Kanyakubja, and who was lying on a couch hints
at Bhojas political relations with the Candellas.63 According to V. V. Mirashi, this refers to
Bhojas alliance with the Candellas in the expedition led by Vidyadhara in which the Kannauj
ruler Rajyapala was killed.64 Some late sources inform us that Cahamana Vakpatiraja II had
inflicted a defeat on Bhoja, and it is surmised that Bhoja made an attack on the Cahamana
in the time of Viryarama to avenge this defeat and, after killing him, occupied his capital.65
The Tilakawad.a grant of 1046 tells us that Bhoja received help from his feudatory S u ryaditya
in his struggle against Sahavahana, a Chamba prince.66

53 SII 3, p. 424; EI 9, p. 233.

54 EI 8, p. 101, v. 3. The Dhar slabs are discussed at length below by M. Willis in this JRAS issue.
55 VOJ 7, p. 88
56 IA 12, p. 204.
57 The Kannada poet Ranna informs us that Arikesarin was defeated and probably also brought under subjection

.
by the Western Caul.ukya ruler Satyasraya, an enemy of the Paramaras; the cause of Bhojas expedition in that region
was possibly to drive off this adversary (IA 11, p. 41).
58 Trivedi, Inscriptions of the Paramaras, nos. 10, line 15 and 11, line 10.
59 IA 8, p. 18.
60 Trivedi, Inscriptions of the Paramaras, pp. 222223.
61 Ibid., no. 154, v. 11.
62 Ray, Dynastic History of Northern India, 2, pp. 831, 870.
63 Trivedi, Inscriptions of the Paramaras, no. 113, v. 22.
64 Mirashi, Inscriptions of the Kalachuri-Chedi Era, p. lxxxix.
65 Prithvrajavijaya (canto V, vv. 5560).
66 Trivedi, Inscriptions of the Paramaras, no. 15, v. 4.

Interpreting the History of the Paramaras

21

This summary of Bhojas campaigns show he was a great warrior who attempted to
extend his power far and wide.67 His imperialistic policy, which included starting a large
S aiva centre at Bhojpur that aimed to surpass every temple in India in size and splendour,
proved ultimately unsuccessful and fatally weakened the Paramara empire.68 The Caul.ukyas
under Somesvara I captured and burnt the capital at Dhar, occupying also the hill-fort
at Man.d.u .69 Bhoja was compelled to abandon the city and was captured by Gun.d.amaya,
Somesvaras general. On other flanks, Bhma Caul.ukya formed an alliance with Karn.a,
the Kalacuri king, and they proceeded against Malava from the west and east respectively.
Undone by these set-backs, Bhoja died, leaving the kingdom in anarchy. The Vad.anagar
prasasti51 informs us that the invaders seized Dhar, the capital of the Malava cakravartin and
70
dethroned Jayasim
. ha, the immediate successor of Bhoja.
Paramaras after Bhoja
The dethroned prince Jayasim
. ha, with the aid of the Western Caul.ukya Somesvaras second
son Vikramaditya, ultimately succeeded in driving away the allied forces of his enemies, and
was established on the throne of Malava.71 For this help Jayasim
. ha was extremely loyal to
Vikramaditya. But when Somesvara II became the Caul.ukya ruler, he suspected a conspiracy
72
against him by his younger brother Vikramaditya with Jayasim
. ha. He made an alliance with
the Ganga chief Udayaditya and the Hoysala prince Ereyanga to punish both of them. It
seems possible by the expression nas..te svamini that Jayasim
. ha was killed in the struggle that
ensued. At this critical time Bhojas brother Udayaditya managed the situation, and acted
like a holy boar, that is, supported the lands of the kingdom as the Varaha incarnation
supported the earth goddess.73 The Sehore grant of Arjunavarman dated 121374 describes
that with his fierce arms he exterminated mighty kings maintaining powerful armies. But
Caul.ukya Vikramaditya VI led a successful campaign and annexed a part of the Malava
territory to the south of Godavar.75 On western flank, Karn.a, the Caul.ukya, also invaded
Malava and achieved some initial successes before being driven back. To strengthen his
position, Udayaditya made matrimonial alliances with the Guhila, Kalacuri, Vaghela and
Solank houses.

67 Statements in some of the Pattana manuscripts (see Gaekwad Oriental Series, No. LXXVI, p. 49) show that
..
Bhojas many victories also entered the manuscript tradition.
68 The temple at Bhojpur is discussed below by Whitney Cox in this JRAS issue; the dating is taken up by
Willis, also below.
69 G. Yazdani, (ed.), The Early History of the Deccan, 2 vols. (London, 1960) 1, p. 331 according to the Nander
inscription (dated ce 1047) and Nagai inscription (dated ce 1058).
70 EI 1, p. 297.
71 Vikraman
kadevacarita, 3: v. 67.
72 The Dongaragaon stone inscription of the time of Jagaddeva dated 1112 ce (Trivedi, Inscriptions of the Paramaras
no. 28) shows the number of enemies who attached Malava to be three: Karn.a, Somesvara and the Ganga chief
Udayaditya, combined with the Hoysala prince Ereyanga.
73 Trivedi, Inscriptions of the Paramaras, no. 33, v. 34. Jayasimha does not appear in the Udaypur prasasti, perhaps
.
because Udayaditya wished to bypass the memory of his failures.
74 Ibid., no. 48, v. 8.
75 EC 7, Sanskit no. 124, p. 171. The rhetorical nature of the claim is suggested by the extended geographical
size of Malwa in this inscription.

22

Arvind K. Singh

Udayaditya had two key sons, namely Laks.madeva and Naravarman, according to the
Nagpur Museum stone inscription (dated 110405 ce).76 This record describes the various
military campaigns of Laks.madeva in a metaphorical way, as he is said to have subjugated
the earth in all directions. In the east, he threatened the lord of Gaud.a, defeated the armies
of Anga and Kalinga and occupied Tripur; in the south, he subjugated the Co.las and some
other tributaries and invaded the Pan.d.ya country and Ceylon; in the west, he achieved
victory over the Timingalas and other tribes living in the Mainaka mountain, and in the
north he vanquished the Turus.ka and the Kras. There is a possibility that Udayaditya placed
both his sons in charge of the eastern and western regions of his territory, conferring on
them the full power of viceroys. This is why both of them were making donations in their
own authority in his lifetime. Thus the military achievements attributed to Laks.madeva in
the Nagpur Museum stone inscription are all to be dated in the time of his father, and
certainly before 1082.77
The Dewas grant78 indicates that Naravarman was the immediate successor of his father
Udayaditya. The Kamed inscription of 1082 records the donation of a plot of land by
Naravarman for perpetually burning a lamp for his brother Laks.madeva.79 This undoubtedly
shows that Laks.madeva had died some time before 1082. The depictions of Naravarman in
some of the later inscriptions as a great military leader, undertaking a digvijaya in all directions,
appears purely conventional because he was not in a position to have a strong hold over his
kingdom.80 Indeed, he was conquered by many rulers. The Candella Sallaks.an.avarman is
reported to have snatched the royal fortune of the Malavas81 and been defeated by the
Cahamana rulers Ajayaraja and Arn.oraja.82 The Talwad.a inscription of the Caul.ukyas also
83
claims that Jayasim
. ha humbled the pride of Naravarman. In his last days, Naravarmans
kingdom appears to have become much circumscribed, and some of his subordinates may
also have caused trouble which he could not suppress.84 This situation probably accounts for
Naravarmans inability to finish the temple at Vidisa , as noted by O. P. Mishra elsewhere in
this issue.
Dynastic misfortunes continued in the time of Naravarmans son Yasovarman, the end
result being that Jayasim
. ha of western India became the dominant ruler overall. The Dohad
85
inscription of 1139 states that Jayasim
. ha put the king of Malava in prison. The Gala
grant also records Jayasim
. has success against Yasovarman by naming him Avantinatha,
the Lord of Avanti.86 On the eastern front, the Candella king Madanavarman had
already penetrated into the area along the River Betwa, sometime before 1134, when he
issued his Augasi grant. Shortly after, with the favour of Jayasim
. ha Siddharaja, Yasovarman
76 Trivedi, Inscriptions of the Paramaras, pp. 3132 and no. 33.
77 As concluded by Trivedi, ibid., pp. 3132.
78 Ibid., no. 31.
79 Ibid., no. 21.
80 Ibid., no. 49, v. 9; no. 60, vv. 3738.
81 Ibid., no. 154, v. 4.
82 EI 1, p. 84, v. 17; EI 26, p. 104, v. 15.
83 Bhandarkar, EI 1923, appendix, no. 1521.
84 Ingana plates of 11321133 ce (Trivedi, Inscriptions of the

Paramaras no. 158) records imperial titles and

donations to a S iva temple by Vijayapala, a local governor or feudatory under the Paramara king.
85 IA 10, p. 159.
86 JBBRAS 35, p. 322.

Interpreting the History of the Paramaras

23

Fig. 1. Royal Asiatic Society Charter of Yasovarman dated VS 1192. British Museum, London, Asia
1967,1018.1. Collected by James Tod at Ujjain and presented to the Society in 1824. Trivedi, Inscriptions
of the Paramaras, no. 38.

seems to have obtained his release and also regained a portion of his kingdom, as
indicated by his grant of 1135 (illustrated here in Fig. 1). He is called maharaja in
the Jhalrapat.an inscription of 1142, indicating, in all probability, subordination to the
Caul.ukyas.87
Yasovarman was succeeded by his eldest son Jayavarman. His donations from the camp
of Candrapur and Vardhamanapura are mentioned in the charter illustrated here in Fig. 2.
This suggests that, taking advantage of the intrigues and dissentions in the Caul.ukya court
in the later years of Jayasim
. ha, Jayavarman came out of his eastern retreat and succeeded in
reoccupying Dhar, or at least a portion of his ancestral kingdom. This is further attested by
the titles of a paramount sovereign attached to his name in his grant.88 However, Caul.ukya
Jagadekamalla II, and Hoyasala Vis.n.uvardhana and Narasim
. ha, all refer to victory over Malava
89
in their inscriptions.
Meanwhile, one Ballala is known to have siezed power and ruled Avanti from the
capital at Dhar.90 The Caul.ukya king Kumarapalas feudatory Yasodhavala was compelled
to take up the sword against Ballala and slew him in the struggle. After annexing a
portion of Malava, Kumarapala assumed the title of Avantinatha, just like his predecessor.
As a consequence, the country of Malava was once again integrated into the Caul.u kya
87 Bhandarkar, EI 1923, appendix, no. 1521, no. 252.
88 Trivedi, Inscriptions of the Paramaras, no. 39.
89 MI, pp. 58, 61 158; EC, Hassan Taluq, no. 53, pp. 1415.
90 Ballala is mentioned as king of Avanti in Hemacandras Dvayasrayakavya

(canto 16, vv. 714); king of Dhara

u inscription (EI 8, p. 211).
in v. 10 of the Veraval inscription of 1160 ac and as king of Malava in the Mount Ab

24

Arvind K. Singh

Fig. 2. Royal Asiatic Society Charter of Jayavarman, undated. British Museum, London, Asia
1967,1018.2. Collected by James Tod and presented to the Society in 1824. Trivedi, Inscriptions of
the Paramaras, no. 39.

kingdom in the fifth decade of the twelfth century.91 Due to this pressure, the
Paramara princes were compelled to move eastward to the region of Bhopal, Vidisa
and Hoshangabad, where they maintained an independent existence. They assumed the
unostentatious title of mahakumara, and in the inscriptions issued by them they are styled as
samadhigatapanchamahasabdalam
. karavirajamanamahakumara. Their relations with the Caul.u kyas
of Gujarat during this period are not known.
Inscriptions mention Yasovarman successors as Jayavarman (also known as Ajayavarman),
Laks.mvarman and Trailokyavarman.92 It seems that Jayavarman was forced to leave the
newly-created principality in the Bhopal region due to some sort of political disturbance.
It is not unlikely that the root-cause was the occupation of eastern Malava by the Candella
91 An inscription at Udaypur of 1163 ac (IA 18, pp. 341348) tells us that this place was being governed in that
year by mahasandhivigrahika Rajyapala, in the reign of Kumarapala the vanquisher of the lord of S akambhari and
Avanti.
92 The history of this branch of the Paramaras, which extends from 1144, the earliest known date of
Laks.mvarman, to 1173, which is the approximate date of Kumarapalas death, is rather complicated due to
the difference in the genealogy given in their inscriptions. For a detailed explanation see Bhatia, Paramaras,
pp. 127235.

Interpreting the History of the Paramaras

25

king Madanavarman. This obliged Jayavarman to move to the west, towards Dhar, which
he reoccupied for a short time. Ultimately, however, he lost his life in his struggle with the
Caul.ukyas. After the fall of Jayavarman, his younger brother Laks.mvarman fought with the
Candellas and pushed them away from the principality which originally belonged to his
father. He made a gift of some places lying in the same Mahadvadasaka man.d.ala. His brother
Laks.mvarman confirmed these gifts when he reoccupied the territory, as shown by the Mau
stone inscription.93
The Bhopal grant of 1144, another confirmation of a previous donation, records that after
Jayavarman, the mahakumara Laks.mvarmadeva had obtained sovereignty by the favour of his
sword (illustrated here in Fig. 3).94 Laks.mvarman was succeeded by his son Hariscandra,
during whose minority Trailokyavarman widened his power as a chief.95 Hariscandra came
to clash with the Caul.ukyas of Gujarat. The first of his grants shows that the Mahadvadasaka
man.d.ala was a part of his kingdom in 1157; but sometime later and certainly before 1163
AC, it was wrested from him by the Caul.ukya Kumarapala, whose inscription of that year
is found in the same man.d.ala.96 It seems that Hariscandra recovered this region some time
before 1178 AC, when he issued his Piplianagar grants.97 These mention his donation of
two villages in the Nilagiri man.d.ala, which touches the Mahadvadasaka man.d.ala on the
south-east.
No political event of the reign of Hariscandras son Udayavarman is so far known.
The inscriptions of the Paramara mahakumaras dating from 1144 to 1200 indicate that
none of the princes made an attempt to revive the fallen fortunes of the family. But
in a period of internal dissensions and confusion in the Caul.ukya kingdom, a heroic
effort was made by Vindhyavarman, the son of Jayavarman, to avenge the defeat of his
father.98 Some of the statements show that Vindhyavarman after all succeeded in liberating
a substantial part of his ancestral domain, sometime before 1190. But Vindhyavarman had
to suffer a reverse at the hands of the Yadava king Bhillama V and the Hoyasala king
Ballala.99 His son Subhat.avarman inherited the warlike spirit of his father. His success in the
Gujarat region is attested by epigraphic and literary records, but despite winning battles, he
could not make any territorial gains because Bhma again made his country and kingdom
stable.100
Arjunavarman, the son of Subhat.avarman, had the epithet trividhavra, that is a hero of war,
generosity and religion (dharmadanayuddhavra).101 The Piplianagara and Sehore inscriptions
corroborated by the drama Parijatamanjar of his court poet Madana record that this ruler
vanquished the Caul.ukya mahmahendra Jayasim
. ha and captured Jayasr a play on words
93 Trivedi, Inscriptions of the
94 Ibid., no. 46, lines 56.
95 EI 24, pp. 228229.
96 IA 18, pp. 341348.
97 Trivedi, Inscriptions of the
98 The Piplianagar grant of

Paramaras, no. 125.

Paramaras, no. 45.

Arjunavarman (Trivedi, Inscriptions of the Paramaras, no. 47) and the Mandhata grant
(Trivedi, Inscriptions of the Paramaras, no. 51) of Devapala probably indicates his exploits against the Caul.ukya by
representing him as eager to extirpate the Gurjaras and they also add that this king, who was skilled in war, rescued
Dhara by his strong sword. The epigraphic evidence is supplemented by the literary tradition and writings of the
court poet Sulhan.a, the details of which are summarised in Trivedi, Inscriptions of the Paramaras, pp. 4445.
99 EI 15, p. 35, v. 9 and EC 6, kd. 127, 156; ak. 40.
100 EI 2, pp. 437446.
101 Trivedi, Inscriptions of the Paramaras, nos. 4749.

26

Arvind K. Singh

Fig. 3. Royal Asiatic Society Charter of Laks.mvarmadeva dated VS 1191 and 1200. British Museum,
London, Asia 1967,1018.3. Collected by James Tod and presented to the Society in 1824. Trivedi,
Inscriptions of the Paramaras, no. 40.

meaning both victory and the daughter of the king of Gujarat.102 Merutunga, writing in the
early fourteenth century, calls him the destroyer of Gujarat and records that he completely
overran the kingdom.103 One of Arjunavarmans grants, dated 1213, was issued by the king
from his camp in Bhr.gukaccha, the capital of Lat.a, which indicates that this country was
part of the kingdom of Malava at the time.104 With the help of the Lat.a chief Sim
. ha and the
105
feudatory Sallaks.an.asim
. ha, Arjunavarman also defeated the forces of Yadava Sim
. han.a. But
Sim
. han.a launched a counter-attack on Lat.a in which Arjunavarman was signally defeated
and lost his life.106
It appears that Devapala, the next Paramara, continued the fight with the Yadava ruler but
after some battles, a treaty was concluded between the rival parties.107 In the latter part of
Devapalas reign, Sultanate forces proceeded to Ujjain and Iltutmish appointed a governor at
Vidisa . Muslim occupation of this place was, however, temporary. The Mandhata inscription
of 1274 records that Devapala killed an adhipati of the Mlechchhas, the governor of Vidisa .108
According to Hammramahakavya, a text written in the fifteenth century by Nayacandra Suri,
102 EI 8, p. 103. The inscription is taken up by
103 Prabandhacintamani, p. 97.
.
104 Trivedi, Inscriptions of the Paramaras, no. 48.
105 Ibid., no 60, v. 60.
106 IA 14, pp. 314316, EI 19, pp. 1930. This

M. Willis in the JRAS issue.

evidence is substantiated by Hemadri who explicitly states that

king Arjuna was killed by Sim
. han.a.
107 Lekhapa
nccasika provides a treaty specimen for which we now have Ingo Strauch, Die LekhapaddhatiLekhapancasika: Briefe und Urkunden im Mittelalterlichen Gujarat (Berlin, 2002).
108 Trivedi, Inscriptions of the Paramaras, no. 60, v. 48.

Interpreting the History of the Paramaras

27

the Cahamana ruler Vagbhat.a put Devapala to death when he came to know that he was
conspiring to kill him at the instigation of the Sultan of Delhi.109 Devapalas son Jaitugi,
who assumed the title of Balanarayan.a,110 was unable to maintain the Paramara kingdom
as reconstituted by Arjunavarman and Devapala and had to face invasion from all sides:
the Yadavas from the south, Sultanate armies from the north, and the Vaghelas from the
west.111
These attacks drained the resources of Malava and hastened the downfall of the Paramaras.
Jaitugis younger brother Jayavarman (also known as Jayasim
. ha) withstood continued attacks
at the hands of the Yadava king Mahadeva and his son Ramacandra.112 The Rahatgad.h
stone inscription of 1256, which is the first Paramara record in the western part of the
Sagar District, shows that Jayavarman captured this region from the Yadavas who had held
113
Moreover, when the Cahamana king Jaitasim
it from the time of Sim
. ha raided
. han.a.
some of the northern territories of Malava, Jayavarman retired to Man.d.u , showing he
controlled key parts of eastern Malwa.114 Arjunavarman II was a weak ruler and in his
time the kingdom was weakened by internal dissention and fell prey to invasion.115 The
Hammramahakavya states that in the course of his digvijaya, Hammra reached Ujjain and
Dhar, defeated the Paramara ruler Bhoja II, encamped at the former of these cities where
he worshipped Mahakala.116 As noted elsewhere in this volume, this Bhoja may be a
literary convention of the 1400s rather than an actual figure. He should, as a consequence,
be excused from the dynastic sequence. The actual ruler of Malwa at the turn of the
thirteenth century, known from various sources, was named Koka or Goga.117 He offered
stiff resistance to c Ayn al-Mulk Multan, who was sent at the head of an army from Delhi in
1305, but against the superior forces of the Sultanate, and the diplomatic skill of Multan who
effectively detached the petty chiefs by offering the preservation of their estates, the Paramaras
could not maintain a unified military front. The capture of Dhar and the installation of a
governor there by Delhi signalled the extinction of the Paramara dynasty. The central Indian
nobility nonetheless continued as subordinates of the Sultanate and are known from a
number of later records, for example, the votive inscriptions at the entrance to the temple at
Udaypur.118

109 Hammramahakavya, canto 4, vv. 107123.

110 Trivedi, Inscriptions of the Paramaras, no. 57, v. 22.
111 See Purushottam Puri plates (EI 25, p. 204) referring

to Yadava Kr.s.n.as victory over the king of Gujarat,

Malava, Co.la and Kosala; for the Vaghela attacks: EI 1, p. 28; IA 6, p. 212.
112 EI 13 pp. 202203; EI 23, p. 194.
113 Trivedi, Inscriptions of the Paramaras, no. 54.
114 EI 19, pp. 4950, vv. 7 and 9.
115 The Udaipur inscription of Yadava Ramacandra, dated 1276 AC (Annual Report, Archaeoloical Survey [Mysore,
1929], p. 143) speaks of his victory over the Arjuna of Malava. Cahamana Hammra wrested the glory of Malava
by force (EI 19, p. 50, v. 11) while the Chintra prasasti avers that the Vaghela rule S arangadeva reduced the power
of the king of Malava, with the help of his vassal Visala (EI 1, p. 281, v. 13). Also see note 117 below.
116 IA 8, pp. 6465.
117 For the sources see Trivedi, Inscriptions of the Paramaras, pp. 5354. Internal dissension at court, mentioned
in the Taziyat al-Amsar which was written about 1300 and refers to events about thirty years before should not be
referred to Kokas time, but rather to circa 1275 and Jayavarman II or Arjunavarman II.
118 The records are listed in Annual Report on Indian Epigraphy (196162), section C.

28

Arvind K. Singh
Abbreviations

EC
EI
HAS
IA
JBBRAS
MI
SII
VOJ

Epigraphia Carnatica
Epigraphia Indica
Hyderabad Archaeological Series
Indian Antiquary
Journal of the Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society
Mysore Inscriptions
South Indian Inscriptions
Vienna Oriental Journal ( = Wiener Zeitschrift fur die Kunde des Morgenlandes)

Key works cited

Pratipal Bhatia, The Paramaras (New Delhi, 1970).
D. C. Ganguly, The History of the Paramara Dynasty (Dacca, 1933).
H. V. Trivedi, Inscriptions of the Paramaras, Chandellas and Kachchapapaghatas and two Minor Dynasties.
Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum, volume 7. In 3 parts. (New Delhi, 197991).

Arvind K. Singh
Jiwaji University

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.