Kumarapala (Chaulukya dynasty)

This article is about King of Gujarat. For the Pala king, see Kumarapala (Pala king).
Kumarapala
Coin of Kumarapala featuring a seated Lakshmi on one side and Shrimat-Kumarapaladeva written on other side.[1][2]
King of Gujarat
Reign1143–1172 (29 years)
PredecessorJayasimha Siddharaja
SuccessorAjayapala
BornDadhisthali (now Dethali near Siddhpur)
DynastyChaulukya (Solanki)
FatherTribhuvanpala
ReligionJainism, Shaivism

Kumarapala (r. 1143 – 1172 CE) was a ruler of the Kingdom of Gujarat from the Chaulukya (Solanki) dynasty. He ruled present-day Gujarat and surrounding areas, from his capital Anahilapataka (modern Patan).

Kumarapala was a descendant of the Chaulukya king Bhima I. The information about him largely come from two sources – the numerous Sanskrit and Apabhramasa-Prakrit language inscriptions and the Jain texts. These provide a highly inconsistent historical profile in some respects, and corroborate each other in some. Both portray Kumarapala as a keen and generous patron of arts and architecture, one who supported the divergent religious Indian traditions in Western India, particularly Gujarat and Rajasthan region.

Kumarapala inscriptions predominantly invoke Shiva – a Hindu god, and they do not mention any Jain Tirthankara or Jaina deity. The major Veraval inscription calls him Mahesvara-nripa-agrani (worshipper of Shiva), and even Jain texts state that he worshipped Somanatha (Somesvara, Shiva). He rebuilt a spectacular Somanatha-Patan tirtha site with many Hindu temples, bathing ghats and pilgrim facilities, according to one inscription, thereby expanding the Somnath temple his father rebuilt after the plunder and destruction by Mahmud of Ghazni. The inscriptions suggest that he was a Hindu and participated in Brahmanic rituals, at least till the last known inscriptions that mention him.[3][4][5]

According to Jain texts such as those written by Hemachandra and Prabhachandra, Kumarapala spent his early life in exile to avoid persecution by his relative and predecessor Jayasimha Siddharaja. He ascended the throne after Jayasimha's death, with help of his brother-in-law. He ruled for nearly three decades, during which he subdued a number of neighbouring kings, including the Chahamana king Arnoraja and the Shilahara king Mallikarjuna. He also annexed the Paramara territory of Malwa to his kingdom by defeating Ballala. Kumarapala, state the Jain text, became a disciple of the Jain scholar Hemachandra and adopted Jainism towards the end of his reign. The Jain texts composed after his death, additionally state that after his conversion, Kumarapala banned all killing of animals in his kingdom – a law that would be consistent with the Ahimsa principle. Multiple legendary biographies by medieval Jain chroniclers present him as the last great royal patron of Jainism.[6] However, the inscriptions and the evidence from rulers who succeeded Kumarapala do not corroborate the Jain texts.[3] Furthermore, the Jaina chronicles differ substantially in important details about his life.[7]

Representative Image of Acharya Hemachandra and Maharaja Kumarpala
  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Roy1980 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ CNG Coins
  3. ^ a b Ray, Nisith Ranjan (1958). "A Note on the Decline of Chalukya Power under Bhimadeva II". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 21. Indian History Congress: 83–86. JSTOR 44145171.
  4. ^ V Ozha and G Buhler (1889), The Somnathpattan Prasasti of Bhava Brihaspati, Vienna Oriental Journal, Volume 3, pp. 14–17
  5. ^ Kapadia, A. (2018). In Praise of Kings: Rajputs, Sultans and Poets in Fifteenth-century Gujarat. Cambridge University Press. pp. 26–41. ISBN 978-1-108-22606-6.
  6. ^ Asoke Kumar Majumdar 1956, p. 120-125.
  7. ^ Asoke Kumar Majumdar 1956, p. 89.