for students of BA II Sem, BHU

1. Chandelas of Jejakbhukti
By
Prachi Virag Sontakke

3. Introduction
• The Chandella dynasty arose in the first quarter of the 9th century and survived as a
powerful independent Royal family until the close of the 13th century.
• One of the prominent dynasties of North India.
• Initially samantas of Gurjar Pratiharas.
• Later became independent.
• Early seat of power: Jejjakbhukti.
• The boundaries of the Chandella Kingdom usually extended from the Betwa River on the
west to the Vindhya mountains on the east, and from the Yamuna on the north to the
Narmada on the south.
• Centres of power: Khajuraho, Kalanjar, Mahoba, Ajaygarh.

7. Sources
• Khajuraho inscription of Dhanga.
• Mahu Inscription of Madanvarma.
• Banaras inscription of Laxmikarna Kalchuri.
• Madanpur inscription of Prithviraja III Chahmana.
• Doobakunda inscription of Kachchhwahas.
• Rajatarangini.
• Muslim writers: Ibn-ul-Athar, Ferishta, Utbi, Nizamuddin.
• Chandel la coins.
• Art & Architecture.
• Excavated site remains.

9. Vishvanatha Temple

10. Kandariya Mahadeva temple

11. Ajaygarh temple

16. Ajaygarh fort

17. Ajaygarh fort

18. Ajaygarh fort

19. Ajaygarh fort

21. Kalinjar fort

23. Kalinjar fort

24. Kalinjar fort

25. Kalinjar fort

27. Origin
• Khajuraho inscription: Descendants of Chandra and Sage Atri.
• First chandelle king = Nannuka.
• Chandravamshi Kshatriya.
• Chandella inscriptions: Chandellas related to Khajuraho, Kalanjar, Mahoba,
Ajaygarh.

28. Capitals
• V.A.Smith
• Khajuraho = Religious capital
• Kalanjar = Military capital
• Ajaygarh = City capital

29. Nannuk (c.831-845CE)
• First Chandella ruler.
• Dhang’s inscription: Nannuka is called Nrupa & Mahipati.
• Indicative of feudatory status.
• Most probably his overlord was Gurjar Pratihara king Nagabhatta II.
• Khajuraho inscription: Nannuk’s commands were accepted even by
enemies as garlands.

30. Vakapati (c.845-890CE)
• Chandela inscriptions: Called as Shri Vakapati & Kshitipa.
• Feudatory status.
• Probably he extended his boundaries to include Vindhyas.
• Known as patron of knowledge.

31. Jaishakti & Vijayshakti (c.870-900CE)
• S/O Vakpati.
• Praised for their bravery.
• Tales of their bravery so popular that later they were hailed as
founder of Chandella dynasty instead of Nannuka.
• Mere feudatories.

32. Rahila (c.900-915CE)
• S/O Vijayshakti.
• Khajuraho inscription: Rahila never got tired of wars.
• Functioned as Pratihara samanta.
• Initiated the tradition of construction of lakes and other structures.
• Constructed a temple in Ajaygarh and some cities on his name.
• Constructed Rahila sagar reservoir in Mahoba.

33. Rise of Chandellas
• By this time Indian history had entered a new phase.
• Owing to Internal disorder, the Rashtrakutas and the Palas could not
play any further important part in Northern India.
• The Pratihara empire was crumbling.
• Fortune favored their feudatories with golden opportunities.
• Chandella rulers Harsha and Yashovarman made best use of them.

34. Harsha (c.915-930CE)
• S/O Rahila
• Contemporary to Pratihara king Mahipala.
• Harsha raised Chandellas to prominence which was further enhanced by his son and successor
Yashovarman
• Utilized matrimonial alliances to consolidate his position.
• Banaras inscription of Laxmikarna Kalchuri: Kalchuri Kokkal married Nattadevi, a Chandella princess.
She was probably related to Harsha.
• Kokkal’s daughter from this alliance was later married to Rashtrakuta Krishna II.
• This way Harsha established cordial relations with Kalchuris and Rashtrakutas as well.
• Harsha himself married a Chahmana princess.

35. Harsha & His Gurjar Pratihara Overlord
• Poet Pampa: When Rashtrakuta Indra III attacked north India in 916 CE, he acquired Kannauj.
• Mahipala had to ask his Chandella feudatory Harsha for help.
• Harsha successfully recaptured all the areas won by Indra III (after he left for Manyakheta) and
coronated Mahipala on throne of Kannauj.
• Khajuraho inscription: Harsha re established Shri Kshitipaldeva on Kannauj throne.
• Kshtipaldeva = Gurjar Pratihar king Mahipala.
• Indicative of strong position of Harsha with respect to his Pratihara overlord.
• Accepted Pratihara sovereignty for name sake.
• V.N.Pathak: Harsha probably himself took fort of Chitrakuta as his reward for helping Mahipala.
• Mahipala could not retaliate.

37. Yashovarma (c.930-950CE)
• S/O Harsha and Chahmana princess.
• First great conqueror and emperor of Chandella dynasty.
• Issued Khajuraho inscription which documents his exploits.
• Pratiharas- Rashtrakutas on busy in their internal politics.
• Time was ripe to seek opportunity for imperialistic conquests.
• Although the Pratihara emperor continued to enjoy the imperial title, it was
Yashovarman who was the de facto ruler of the empire

38. Imperialistic conquests: Kalinjar
• Fort at Kalinjar = Impregnable
• Significant for military conquests.
• Khajuraho inscription: Got hold of Kalinjar fort as easily as winning a game.
• H.C.Rai Chaudhary: Took it from Rashtrakutas.
• C.V.Vaidya: Took it from Kalchuris.
• V.V.Mirashi: Took it from Gurjar Pratiharas.
• Yashovarman inflicted a very severe blow on the rapidly declining power of the
Pratiharas by capturing the important fort of Kalanjara

39. Imperialistic conquests: Kalchuris/Chedis
• Kalchuris who were initially friendly with Chandellas changed their
allegiance to Rashtrakutas.
• Khajuraho inscription: Mentions victory over Chedi king twice.
• V.V.Mirashi: Chedi king = Kalchuri Yuvaraja I.

40. Imperialistic conquests: Kosal and Malav
• Khajuraho inscription: Yashovarma looted the treasury of Kosala.
• H.C.Rai Chaudhary: Kosala = Pratihara area.
• V.N.Pathak: Kosala = Mahakosala (Chhattisgarh)
• Khajuraho inscription: Yashovarma was like death for Malavs.
• Malav = Parmaras
• Doesn’t indicate victory over Parmaras.
• Merely means that Parmaras were scared of rising power of Yashovarma.

41. Imperialistic conquests: Eastern India
• Khajuraho inscription: He slowed the rise of king of Mithila.
• Mithila was under Palas but it became independent.
• Name of Mithila king = ?
• From Mithila he marched towards Gaud kingdom.
• Khajuraho inscription: Yashovarma was like a sword for the soft Gaud
creeper.
• Gaud under Palas.
• Pala king = Rajyapal or Gopal II.
• Victory over Palas must have increased prestige of Yashovarma.
• But no increase in his boundary

42. Imperialistic conquests: North India
• Gurjar Pratihara power waning.
• Khajuraho inscription: He made Ganga-Yamuna doab his play pond.
• Pratiharas were in no condition to retaliate.
• Yashovarma took Ganga-Yamuna doab under his control.
• A chandela inscription from Khajuraho: Verifies Yashovarma’s control over Prayag.
• Khajuraho inscription: Yashovarma was like a hurricane for Kuru dynasty.
• He also won areas north of Haridwar.
• These areas were under Pratiharas.

43. Imperialistic conquests: Kashmir
• Khajuraho inscription: Yashovarma destroyed Veer of Kashmir.
• Rajatarangini: No evidence for any outside attack.
• Probably during his north Indian campaign, his armies met some local
battalion of Kashmir which led to a spontaneous spat between them.
• Khajuraho inscription: Yashovarma faced the force of Khas.
• Khas = Between Rajapuri & Lohar in Kashmir.

44. Yashovarma : Overview
• Great conqueror.
• Made Chandellas a strong contender for being the mightiest dynasty in
north India.
• Protector of Vedic social norms.
• Dutiful and Benevolent king: subjects happy.
• Initiated the tradition of temple and pond building at Khajuraho.
• Committed religious suicide at Prayag.

46. Chandelas as superpower

47. Dhanga (c.950-1102CE)
• S/O Yashovarma.
• Initially accepted Pratihara supremacy.
• Later overthrew the yoke of Pratihara overlordship.
• Became the most powerful king in north India.

48. Dhanga and Gurjar Pratiharas
• The most important event of Dhanga’s reign was the final severance of all connections with the
Pratiharas
• Unfortunately, no detailed account of this event is available and only a bare outline is known from
the indirect evidence of the inscriptions.
• Khajuraho inscription: "While the illustrious Vinayakapaladeva is protecting the earth, the earth is
not taken possession of by enemies, who have been annihilated.
• Scholars differ widely on the identification of this king and his place in the Pratihara chronology.
• Vinayakapala = an emperor of the Pratihara family or Dhanga or king of some other dynasty
• No sufficient ground for identifying the Vinayakapaladeva.

49. Dhanga and Gurjar Pratiharas
• Nanyara Plate of Dhanga of 998CE: Dhahgadeva when at Kasika (Banaras) gave the village of Yuetti
to one Yasodhara In the year VS.1055, when there was an eclipse.
• Banaras had been within the Pratihara empire, and Dhanga must have wrested it from them by
this time.
• A later inscription: Dhanga gave up his life by drowning himself at Prayaga (Allahabad) when he
had attained his hundredth year.
• It shows that Prayaga, which was formerly under Pratiharas, was also Included in his kingdom.
• Mau Stone inscription of Madanavarman: "a King named……. who, having defeated on the
battlefield the King of Kanyakubja who had subdued all princes, obtained exalted sovereignty.
• By 1002CE, Dhanga had completely humiliated the imperial Pratiharas.
• The supremacy of Northern India had shifted from Pratiharas to Chandellas.

50. Imperialistic campaigns
• A Khajuraho inscription of 1002CE: The rulers of Kosala, Kratha, Simhala & Kuntala
humbly listened to his commands and he was so successful in his wars that "the
wives of the Kings of Kanchi, Andhra, Radha and Anga lingered in his prisons.
• Cunningham: These claims are "more than usually fulsome and ridiculous", Dhanga
might have been a powerful King, but it is quite preposterous to make his sway
extend over the greater part of South India.
• May have raided principalities lying to the East and South-East of his paternal
Kingdom: Anga (North Bengal), Radh. (Bardwan and Birbhum districts of West
Bengal) Kosala (north-west part of Orissa and Central Provinces), Kuntala (Central
Deccan)

51. Dhanga and Hammir
• An inscription of Kirtivarman: Praises Dhanga as a blessing for earth, who caused the
destruction of his enemies and who, by the strength of his arms, equaled even the
powerful Hammir”.
• The term Hammir is a corruption of the Arabic word Amir (commander or leader).
• It came to be used in the sense of a king or high official of the State.
• The term Hammira, Hamica, or Hammir = accepted title for a Muhammadan prince,
during 1000 – 1300CE.
• Most historians: identify this Hammir with Sabuktagin (976-997CE).
• Ray: Mohammad Gazni

52. Extent of Dhanga’s kingdom
• Laxman temple inscription of Dhanga: Empire stretched from Bhasvat to
Tamasa and from Yamuna to Narmada, and even the fort of Gopagiri was
in his possession.
• In fact, large portions of the original Pratihara kingdom were captured by
Dhanga.

53. Dhanga: Overview
• Very powerful king and the greatest ruler of his time.
• Firmly consolidated his position.
• Efficient administration.
• Not only the builder of an empire, but a great patron of art and architecture.
• The claim of the Mau Inscription that Dhanga exalted sovereignty (samrajya)
of Chandellas is not an idle boast.
• Undoubtedly the mantle of imperialism had fallen from the Pratiharas upon
the shoulders of Dhahga Chandella.

54. Ganda
• Since Dhanga ruled till he was 100, so by the time Ganda ascended throne, he must have become old.
• That’s why probably he didn’t initiate any new military campaigns.
• Only known from a few later inscriptions of the dynasty, which accord to him some common praise.
• An inscription of Kirtivarman: From Dhahga “there sprang an ornament of the earth, called the
illustrious Ganda, an unrivalled hero, who bore all the parts of the earth on his arms.“
• Another inscription: Calls him “a ruler of the earth in the four quarters, expert in annihilating enemies
whose massive arms were terrible through the itching of pride.“
• Ganda had a very short reign, but he succeeded in maintaining, the Kingdom left by his father.

55. Vidyadhara (c.1004/1017-1029CE)
• An ambitious and powerful king.
• His reign marked the zenith of Chandella supremacy.
• An inscription of Kirtivarman: Ganda’s son & successor was Vidyadhara, who
gathered the flowers of the fame of his enemies.
• Unfortunately, no inscription of his reign.
• Reliance on Muslim records & inscriptions of Later Chandella princes and their
allies.
• Muslim writers call him Bida/Vida/Nanda

56. Vidyadhara & Pratiharas
• 1017CE: Sultan Mahmud attacked the Pratihara Kingdom of Kannauj and compelled its
ruler Rajyapala to enter into a humiliating treaty.
• Rajyapala, the Pratihara king fled without fighting.
• Ibn-ul-Ahtar: Vida sent a messenger to court of Rajyapala to rebuke him for fleeing. Battle
between Vida & Rajyapala. Rajyapala killed.
• Doobkund inscription: Arjuna anxious to serve the illustrious Vidyadhara-deva, fiercely slew
in a great battle, Rajyapala, with many showers of arrows that pierced his neckbone.
• Chandella inscription from Mahoba: Vidyadhar killed Kanyakubjabhupala.
• V.N.Pathak: Punishing Rajyapal for his cowardice was just a facade.
• Hidden agenda: Demolishing the remaining power of Pratiharas & getting hold of territory.
• Killing of Rajyapal by Vidyadhara = Increase in political prestige of Chandellas.

57. Vidyadhar and Shahis of Kabul-Punjab
• 1018 CE: Mehmood marched to attack Chandella Vidyadhar.
• Hemchandra Rai: Shahi king wanted to retrieve his kingdom with the help of Vidyadhar.
• Shahi king Trilochanpala tried to stop him and fought a bloody battle near Ramganga.
• Ibn-Ul-Athar: A king of India Parujaypal fled before Mehmood Gazni & sought the shelter of Bida,
so that the latter might protect him.
• Bida = Vidyadhara
• Smith: Parujaypal king = Trilochanapala , son & successor of Rajyapala, the Pratihara King.
• Ray: Trilochanapala = son and successor of the Shahi ruler Anandapala.
• Trilochanpala had to flee in absence of any help.
• No idea if help given by Vidyadhar reached late or that it wasn’t given at all.

58. Vidyadhara and Mehmood Gaznavi: First attack
• Musilm writers give a detailed account of Sultan Mahmud’s conflict with
Vidyadhara, which was the most important event of his reign and of the history of
North Western and Central India at that time.
• In absence of any Hindu account of the conflict, no comparative study of the
situation and the ultimate success or failure of either side is possible.
• Ibn ul Athar: in the year (1019CE) “Mehmood started on an expedition towards
India & he made larger preparations than he had done before. The reason for this
preparation was Bida who was the greatest of the rulers of India in territory & had
the largest armies, & whose territory was named Kojuraha, who killed Rajyapal for
surrendering his territories to Muslims.
• Sultan Mahmud left Ghazni with the object of destroying presumptuous Vidyadhara

59. Ibn-ul-Akhtar’s account
• Muslim army started in pursuit of Bida.
• both Chandella & Muslim armies continued reinforcing their soldiers till the two
opposing forces increased in numbers. Then they fought.
• At last the night overtook them and parted them. The next morning, however,
Mahmud found the battlefield deserted, each party of the Hindu army having gone
a different way.
• Mehmood plundered Chandella camp and went in pursuit of the Hindu army.
• He overtook them in forests and thickets and slew and captured a large number,
but 'Bida escaped single-handed and Mehmood returned victorious to Ghazni

60. Derivations
• Cause of Mahmud’s expedition was not Vidyadhara’s attack on the Kannauj prince, but Vidyadhara’s
intention of attacking the territory conquered and annexed by Mahmud in India.
• Vidyadhara was probably not unprepared. The vast army he collected, for the battle suggests that he was
fully alive to the consequences of his attack on Raiyapala.
• Cunningham: Mahmud retired because "he was doubtful of the result”.
• Perhaps the vast army collected by Vidyadhara had some effects on Mahmud's policy & he was both afraid
to go too far & apprehensive of his way back through Punjab.
• These two considerations probably induced Mahmud to return to Ghazni & to wait for a suitable time in
the near future for a second expedition.

61. Nizamuddin’s & Ferishta’s account
• After defeating Naro Jaipal, Mahmud advanced towards the Kingdom of Nanda.
• Bida had a huge army consisting of 36,000 horsemen, 5,000 foot soldiers & 390 elephants.
• When the Sultan encamped in front of Nanda's army, he sent an envoy to him & invited him
to submit and to accept Islam.
• Nanda refused to place his neck under the yoke of subjection.
• After this Sultan went to an elevated spot to make an estimate of the strength of Nanda’s
army.
• Then when he saw what a vast host it was, he repented of his coming & prayed for victory.
• In the night a fear fell on the heart of Nanda, and he fled with a few special companions,
leaving the army and all the munitions of war behind.
• The next morning when the Sultan heard this, he mounted his horse & after having all the
places where the enemy might be in ambush carefully searched, examined the traces of the
hostile army, and when he was satisfied that no deception or treachery was intended, he
stretched out his hand for destruction and plunder.
• Immense quantities of booty fell into the hands of the army of Islam. They also accidentally
found 580 elephants belonging to the army of Nanda in a wood, which were included in the
booty.

62. Discussion
• Ibn-ul-Atahar: Battle was fought between Gazni and Bida.
• Nizamuddin: No battle was fought between Gazni and Bida.
• Dr. Ray: Ibn ul Athir's account more reliable. There was a fierce though indecisive battle
between the armies before Vidyadhara made a strategic retreat in the night.
• Nizamuddin’s account of Nanda's sudden fear and flight as if in answer to Mahmud's
prayer to Allah, is typical of the exaggerations often made by Muslim chroniclers for the
greater glory of Islam,
• Ibn-ul-Atahar’s account seems to be more authentic than that of Nizamuddin, especially
because in 1022CE Mahmud had to undertake a second expedition against Vidyadhara,
which shows that the issue was not decided in CE1019

63. Mehmood’s second attack: 1022CE
• Nizamuddin: Sultan laid siege to the fortress of Gwalior.
• At the end of four days, the Commandant of the fort sent envoys & offering a tribute of 35
elephants, prayed for protection.
• The Sultan then advanced to the fort of Kalanjar, which has no equal in the whole country
of Hindusthan for strength and impregnability & besieged it.
• The siege lasted for a considerable time, when Nanda, the ruler of the fort, offered 300
elephants as a tribute and begged for safety.
• Nanda let loose elephants without drivers from inside the fort.
• Sultan ordered to catch hold of them and mount them.
• Troops in the fort were astonished at this spectacle & felt awe for the prowess of the Turks.
• Nanda then sent some verses, which he had composed in the Hindi , in praise of Sultan.
• The Sultan sent his congratulations and a mandate conferring the command of the 15
fortresses and other presents In return for them.
• Nanda too sent much treasure & precious gems. The Sultan returned with victory &
triumph.

64. Derivations
• Muslim accounts: Vidyadhara = king with a great army, but weak & cowardly by nature.
• Smith: Mahmud invaded the Chandella territory expecting to encounter vigorous resistance.
But Chandella king couldn’t harden his heart to face warriors of Islam.
• Dr.Ray: it was Kirtiraja who commanded fort of Gwalior at the time of Mahmud’s invasion.
• King of Gwalior called Hakim = Ruler of Gwalior was subordinate to ruler of Kalanjara.
• Dr. Ray: Mahmud could not repeat the devastating success which he obtained against the
Gurjara Pratiharas. In two invasions he could not capture Kalanjara and his campaign ended
in "mutual gifts and compliments which appear to have been euphemistically represented
by his historians as tribute.

65. Outcome: Vidyadhara & Mehmood
• Dr. Majumdar: Sultan had each time to retreat without much gain & ultimately
established a friendly relation with Vidyadhara, who had unique distinction of being the
only Indian ruler who effectively checked the triumphal career of Mahmud & saved his
kingdom from wanton destruction.
• Dr. Ray: The friendship between Sultan Mahmud & Vidyadhara, established in 1022CE,
continued until 1029CE when according to Al-Bundari & Rahatus Sudur, Sultan Mehmood
seized one of his enemies' sons & interned him in a fortress in India called Kalanjar,
where, after languishing in captivity for seven years, the prisoner died.

66. Vidyadhar & Pramaras-Kalchuris
• A later inscription of the dynasty: "Bhojadeva, together with Kalachurichandra
worshipped, full of fear, like a pupil, (this) master of warfare, who had caused the
destruction of the King of Kanyakubja.
• Bhojadeva = Paramar King Bhoja of Malwa who seems to have been forced to
acknowledge for the time the supremacy of the Chandella ruler.
• Sasbahu inscription of Kachchhapghata Mahipala of Gwalior: A prince of the dynasty
named Kirtiraja defeated the Malava-bhumipa.
• Malava-bhumipa = King of Malava
• Dr.Ray: Kalchurichandra = Kokalla II
• Dr. D.C. Ganguly and C.V.Vaidya: Kalchurichandra = Gangeyadeva.

68. Chandellas: Observations
• In spite of all its advantages, the geographical position of the Chandella kingdom had, however, a
great disadvantage.
• It was very difficult for the ruler of such a region to build up a durable empire, owing to
problems of communication &administration of such a hilly region.
• The security of the kingdom depended 'almost entirely on the forts of Kalanjara and Ajaygadh.
• Once these were taken the whole region lay open to an invader
• Moreover, the hilly tribes of the region often caused trouble In the kingdom, and the reference to
the subjugation of the Sahara, Pulindas and Bhillas in a Candella inscription indicates a lack of
strong local administration in outlying districts.
• Vidyadhara’s successors were weak and unworthy of the situation, and, almost with Vidyadhara’s
death, the supremacy in Northern India passed out of the Chandella hands.

69. Chandellas: Concluding Remarks
• One of the most important dynasties of Northern India between the decline of the
Pratiharas and the establishment of Muslim rule in India.
• Dynasty that gave powerful, ambitious, imperialistic monarchs.
• Created a vast empire.
• Tackled the threat of Mehmood both militarily & diplomatically.
• Great builders.
• Beautiful creations in Nagar style of temple architecture.
• Cunningham: Of the famous dynasty of Chandel Rajputs, the remains are more numerous
and more interesting than these of any other ancient family.