page_title: Chaulukya dynasty
section_title: Neighbouring rivalries
hierarchical_section_title: Chaulukya dynasty / History / Neighbouring rivalries
caption_attribution_description: English: "The Somanatha Temple from the west, Somnath (Prabhas Patan)." Photograph of the Somanatha Temple at Somnath, Prabhas Patan, in Gujarat, from the west. Photograph taken in c. 1869 by D.H. Sykes, from the Archaeological Survey of India. Prabhas Patan is an important Hindu pilgrimage centre, considered to be one of the sights of Shiva's Jyotirlingas. The Somanatha Temple was originally founded in the 10th century on the shore of the Arabian Sea. The wealth of the temple attracted many raiders, such as Mahmud of Ghazni who destroyed the sanctuary in 1026. Later the temple was rebuilt during the Solanki period by Kumarapala (r.1143-72). The description below reflects the state of the building when this photograph was taken, as supposed to the current temple building which is a modern reconstruction in the traditional Solanki style. In the report, 'Somanatha and other mediaeval temples in Kathiawad' of 1931, Henry Cousens wrote, “Little now remains of the walls of the temple; they have been, in great measure, rebuilt and pached with rubble to convert the building into a mosque. The great dome, indeed the whole roof and the stumpy minars…are portions of the Muhammadans additions… The great temple, which faces the east, consisted, when entire, of a large central closed hall, or gudhamandapa, with three entrances, each protected with a deep lofty porch, and the shrine – the sanctum sanctorum – which stood upon the west side of the hall, having a broad pradakshina or circumambulatory passage around it...The interior of the temple having being used as a mosque, the Muhammadans...re-erected many of the fallen pillars, roughly rebuilt the dome, and strengthened the cracked lintels with roughly constructed arches, beneath them...”. Oriental and India Office Collection, British Museum. Downloaded from the British Museum Website by user:Fowler&amp;fowler 14:11, 19 March 2007 (UTC)
context_page_description: The Chaulukya dynasty, also known as the Chalukyas of Gujarat, ruled parts of what are now Gujarat and Rajasthan in north-western India, between c. 940 CE and c. 1244 CE. Their capital was located at Anahilavada. At times, their rule extended to the Malwa region in present-day Madhya Pradesh. The medieval legends describe them as Agnivanshi Rajputs. The family is also known as the Solanki dynasty in the vernacular literature.
  Mularaja, the founder of the dynasty, supplanted the last ruler of the Chapotkata dynasty around 940 CE. His successors fought several battles with the neighbouring rulers such as the Chudasamas, the Paramaras and the Chahamanas of Shakambhari. During the reign of Bhima I, the Ghaznavid ruler Mahmud invaded the kingdom and raided the Somnath temple during 1024-1025 CE. The Chaulukyas soon recovered, and the kingdom reached its zenith under the rule of Jayasimha Siddharaja and Kumarapala in the 12th century. Several minor dynasties, such as the Chahamanas of Jalor and the Chahamanas of Naddula, served as Chaulukya vassals during this period.
context_section_description: Durlabharaja was succeeded by his nephew Bhima I, who faced an invasion from the Ghaznavid ruler Mahmud during 1024-1025 CE. Bhima fled to Kanthkot, as Mahmud entered the Chaulukya territory unopposed and sacked the Somnath temple. After Mahmud's departure, Bhima restored the Chaulukya rule. He crushed revolts by the Paramara chiefs of Arbuda, who used to serve as Chaulukya vassals. Bhima also defeated and imprisoned Krishnadeva, a ruler of the Paramara branch of Bhinmal. He unsuccessfully fought against the Naddula Chahamana ruler Anahilla. Anahilla's sons Balaprasada and Jendraraja defeated Bhima and forced him to release Krishnadeva. Later legendary accounts credit Bhima with a victory against Hammuka, a ruler of Sindh, although the accuracy of this claim is not certain.
  Semi-legendary accounts suggest that Bhima formed an alliance with the Kalachuri king Lakshmi-Karna, and the two played an important role in the downfall of the Paramara king Bhoja around 1055 CE. According to the 14th century chronicler Merutunga, Bhima and Lakshmi-Karna invaded Bhoja's kingdom of Malwa from two opposite directions, and Bhoja died of a disease during this invasion. Some Chaulukya chroniclers boast that Bhima annexed Bhoja's capital Dhara or that he captured Bhoja alive, but these claims are not corroborated by historical evidence. After Bhoja's death, a rivalry developed between the Bhima and Lakshmi-Karna over sharing the spoils of their victory.
  Bhima's son Karna succeeded him around 1064 CE. Bhoja's brother Udayaditya, supported by the Shakambhari Chahamana king Vigraharaja III, forced Karna to retreat from Malwa. Meanwhile, the Kalachuris managed to capture the Lata region. By 1074 CE, Karna evicted the Kalachuris from Lata, and annexed the region to the Chaulukya kingdom, before losing it to one Trivikramapala within three years.
  The Naddula Chahamana ruler Prithvipala defeated Karna, and his successor Jojalladeva occupied the Chaulukya capital Anahilapataka, possibly when Karna was busy at another place. The Shakambhari Chahamana king Durlabharaja III also appears to have achieved some military success against Karna, although the Chahamana descriptions of this victory are highly exaggerated. According to legendary chronicles, Karna also defeated Bhil and Koli tribals, who used to raid the Chaulukya territories. He established a city called Karnavati after defeating a Bhil chief named Asha (Āśā). Karnavati is identified with modern Ahmedabad by some, but this is not certain.
caption: Ruins of the Somnath temple, 1869
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