Chandella Vidyadhara, Pratihara Rajyapala and Mahmud of Ghazni

This historical study examines a newly discovered inscription from the reign of the Chandella king Jayavarman that sheds fresh light on relations among the Chandellas of central India, the Pratihara dynasty of Kanauj and the invading Ghaznavids in the early eleventh century. The inscription, originally a twenty‑eight‑line praśasti on a stone slab, is badly damaged; more than half of its right portion is missing and some lines have been eaten away. Despite its fragmentary state, the author deciphers enough to confirm that it belongs to Jayavarman’s reign and provides important genealogical and historical details. It lists a succession of Chandella rulers from Yasovarman and Dhanga to Ganda and his son Vidyadhara, praising Vidyadhara’s valour and explicitly crediting him with defeating “Hammiravira,” a title that the author identifies as a corruption of the Arabic amīr and used generically for Muslim kings. By analysing the usage of Hammira/Haravira in other inscriptions and coins and cross‑referencing Persian chronicles, the author argues that the Hammiravira mentioned here is none other than Mahmud of Ghazni. The article situates this event around A.H. 409 (1018/19 AD), soon after Mahmud’s plundering of Kanauj. It notes that Dhanga died in 1002 and was succeeded by Ganda; Ganda’s dates are unclear, but Vidyadhara was on the throne during Mahmud’s invasion. The narrative contends that Pratihara king Rajyapala avoided confrontation with Mahmud and may have collaborated, while Vidyadhara resisted and inflicted a defeat on the Ghaznavids. This interpretation challenges the prevailing view that Mahmud triumphed unopposed in central India and highlights regional Hindu resistance. The paper also discusses how the title “Amir Mahmud” appears in the inscription and in Kalhana’s Rājataraṅgiṇī, indicating the widespread adoption of the amīr epithet for Muslim sovereigns. By analysing epigraphic, numismatic and literary evidence, the study reconstructs the complex politics of north India around 1018–1022. The author emphasises that further publication of the full inscription will illuminate details of the Chandella dynasty and their contemporaries, such as the Kalachuris and Paramaras, and provide a clearer picture of how these kingdoms responded to Turko‑Afghan invasions.

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