Bhima I

Bhima I
King of Gujarat
Reignc. 1022–1064 CE
PredecessorDurlabharaja
SuccessorKarna
SpouseBakula devi, Udayamati
IssueMularaja, Kshemaraja, Karna, Haripala
dynastyChaulukya (Solanki)
FatherNagaraja
Map
Find spots of inscriptions issued during the reign of Bhima I[1]

Bhima I (r. c. 1022–1064 CE) was a Chaulukya king who ruled parts of present-day Gujarat, India. The early years of his reign saw an invasion from the Ghaznavid ruler Mahmud, who sacked the Somnath temple. Bhima left his capital and took shelter in Kanthkot during this invasion, but after Mahmud's departure, he recovered his power and retained his ancestral territories. He crushed a rebellion by his vassals at Arbuda, and unsuccessfully tried to invade the Naddula Chahamana kingdom. Towards the end of his reign, he formed an alliance with the Kalachuri king Lakshmi-Karna, and played an important role in the downfall of the Paramara king Bhoja.

The earliest of the Dilwara Temples and the Modhera Sun Temple were built during Bhima's reign. The construction of Rani ki vav is attributed to his queen Udayamati.