1st Battle of Kasahrada | |||||||
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Part of Indian campaigns of Muhammad of Ghor | |||||||
![]() Map of Battle of Kasahrada | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Rajput Confederacy | Ghurid Empire | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Mularaja II Kelhanadeva Kirtipala Dharavarsha | Muhammad of Ghur (WIA) | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Unknown | Heavy | ||||||
Location of the Battle of Kasahrada |
The Battle of Kasahrada, also known as Battle of Kayadara or Battle of Gadararaghatta was fought in 1178 at modern Kasahrada in Sirohi district near Mount Abu in present-day Rajasthan. It was fought between the Rajput Confederacy led by Mularaja II and the invading Ghurid forces led by Muhammad of Ghor, during which the Ghurid forces were signally defeated.
Endeavoring for Ghurid expansion east of Indus during the last quarter of twelfth century, Muhammad of Ghor, marched down the Gumal Pass and seized Multan and Uch ejecting the Carmathians from there before he attempted to penetrate into mainland India, approaching it through the territory of Chaulukyas situated in the present-day Gujarat. The Ghurid army marching by the way of Multan and Uch reached Kasahrada, at foot of Mount Abu in state of exhaustion after a long march through the Thar Desert, where they confronted the forces of Chaulukya king Mularaja aided by his Rajput allies. In the decisive battle, the famished Ghurid army was routed and wounded Muhammad of Ghor, retreated back to his capital Ghazna, through the desert with considerable difficulty.
The later Chaulukya (Solanki) inscriptions, as well as the chroniclers of Gujarat, greatly praise Mularaja for this victory:
The 14th century account of Merutunga states that Naiki devi took her son Mularaja in her lap and marched at the head of the Chaulukya army and defeated the Ghurid forces at Gāḍarāraghaṭṭa pass and secured for her son title of "vanquisher of the king of Ghazni". However, Ashoke Kumar Majumdar criticised the writing of Merutunga who used mythical stories to fascinate his readers. [2] In any case, Merutunga is dismissed as "completely unreliable" by modern scholars . [3] [4]
The Sundha Hill inscription of the Jalor Chahamanas boasts that Kirtipala routed the Turushka army at Kasahrada. [5] It also states that his brother Kelhanadeva erected a golden gateway ( torana ) at the shrine of the deity Somesha after destroying the Turushkas. [6] Kelhanadeva was the ruler of Naddula; according to the legendary chronicle Prithviraja Vijaya , Muhammad of Ghor had captured Naddula during his invasion of India. Kelhanadeva managed to regain control of Naddula after the victory at Kasahrada. [7]
According to the 13th century Persian chronicler Minhaj-i-Siraj , Muhammad of Ghor marched towards Nahrwala (the Chaulukya capital Anahilavada) via Uchchha and Multan. The "Rae of Nahrwala" (the Chaulukya king) was young but commanded a huge army with elephants. In the ensuing battle, "the army of Islam was defeated and put to rout", and the invading ruler had to return without any accomplishment. [6]
Nizam-ud-din gives a similar account and states that Muhammad of Ghor marched to Gujarat via desert. The 16th century writer Badauni also mentions the invader's defeat, and states that he retreated to Ghazni with great difficulty. Firishta also states that the ruler of Gujarat defeated the Muslim army "with great slaughter", and the remnant of the defeated army faced many hardships during its return journey to Ghazni. [6]
None of the Chaulukya inscriptions and chroniclers mentions the invading king's name, simply describing him as a mlechchha , Turushka or Hammira. However, modern historians identify him with Muhammad of Ghor. [8]
According to an alternative theory, the Battle of Kasahrada took place during the reign of Mularaja's successor Bhima II. This theory is based on some Muslim chronicles, which state that "Bhim Dev" was the one who defeated Muhammad of Ghor. Moreover, an 1178 Kiradu inscription, issued during Bhima's reign, records repairs to a temple damaged by the Turushkas. The proponents of this theory argue that Mularaja's forces defeated another king, or that Muhammad of Ghor invaded the Chaulukya territory twice around 1178 CE. [9]
During the last quarter of twelfth century, the Ghurid Sultanate was ruled in a dyarchy by Ghiyath al-Din Muhammad and Muhammad of Ghor, with Ghiyath al-Din overseeing the westward expansion of the Sultanate from Firuzkuh, his younger partner Muhammad of Ghor endeavoured for eastward expansion towards the plains of India. Muhammad captured Ghazna and eastern Afghanistan ejecting the Oghuz Turkmens by 1173. Subsequently after taking over Ghazna, Muhammad utilized the city as a spring-board for carrying attacks down to the Indus Valley and further ahead. [10]
In 1175, Muhammad of Ghor crossed the Indus River through the Gumal Pass instead of Khyber Pass, capturing Multan and Uch from the Carmathian rulers in the same year. [11] During the course of these incursions, Muhammad avoided a direct confrontation with the Ghaznawids in Punjab and instead focused on lands bordering the middle and lower course of the Indus Valley. Hence, to bypass the Ghaznawids, Muhammad turned south towards coastal plains of Gujarat in order to open an alternative route to the Gangetic Plain through the wealthy kingdom of the Chaulukyas. [12]
Meanwhile, the Chaulukyas led by their stripling monarch Mularaja II along with their feudatories from Naddula, Jalor and Abu, mustered a powerful army to confront the advancing Ghurid army. [13]
Muhammad of Ghor persisting with the Gumal Pass, marched by the way of lower Sindh to penetrate into northern territory of the Chaulukyas through westernmost Rajasthan. Before reaching the site of battle in Mount Abu, Muhammad sacked Nadol, desecrating the idol of Shiva in Kiradu. [14]
The 12th century Kashmiri-historian Jayanka in his Prithviraja Vijaya mentioned that by time the Turks reached the Chahamana kingdom, they were so parched by marching through the desert that they had to drink the blood of their own horses. [15] After crossing the Thar desert southwards to Marwar, Muhammad's exhausted army eventually reached at foothills of Mount Abu. [16]
At the foot of Mount Abu, the Ghurid army confronted the combined army of Chaulukya feudatories — Paramara ruler Dharavarsha of Abu, Chahamana ruler Kelhana of Nadol and his brother Kirtipala from Jalor. According to Prabandha Kosha — Dharavarsha let Ghurid army into the pass and closed the enemy retreat behind them. In front of Ghurids, facing them was the main Chaulukya army along with Chauhans of Nadol and Jalore. After a sanguinary battle, Ghurid army was signally defeated with great slaughter. Muhammad who got wounded in action, fled from the battlefield; after much trouble in the flight he finally reached Ghazna. [17] [18] [19]
The Catastrophe did not dampen Muhammad's aspirations, who thenceforth opted for northern routes into mainland India through the Khyber Pass. [20] Therefore, Muhammad of Ghor attacked the truncated Ghaznawid principality in Panjab and finally seized Lahore in 1186, deposing them from their last bastion, which heralded a series of lucrative forays into the fertile plains of India. [21] After a series of gains and reverses, Muhammad and his lieutenants, swiftly swept down the Gangetic Plain and eventually extended the Ghurid power as far as the Bengal Delta in east. [22]
The Chaulukya kingdom was raided by Muhammad's elite slave commander Qutb al-Din Aybeg in course of which he defeated Chaulukya ruler Bhima II near Mount Abu and sacked his capital, thereby avenging the humiliation of Muhammad at the same battlefield twenty years later in 1197. [23]
Prithviraja III, popularly known as Prithviraj Chauhan or Rai Pithora, was a king from the Chauhan (Chahamana) dynasty who ruled the territory of Sapadalaksha, with his capital at Ajmer in present-day Rajasthan. Ascending the throne as a minor in 1177 CE, Prithviraj inherited a kingdom which stretched from Thanesar in the north to Jahazpur (Mewar) in the south, which he aimed to expand by military actions against neighbouring kingdoms, most notably defeating the Chandelas.
Kumarapala was an Indian king from the Chaulukya (Solanki) dynasty of Gujarat. He ruled present-day Gujarat and surrounding areas, from his capital Anahilapataka.
The Kiradu temples are a group of ruined Hindu temples located in the Barmer district of Rajasthan, India. Kiradu town is located in the Thar desert, about 35 km from Barmer and 157 km from Jaisalmer.
Bhima I 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 Chaulukya dynasty, also Solanki dynasty, was a dynasty that 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 family is also known as the "Solanki dynasty" in the vernacular literature. They belonged to the Solanki clan of Rajputs.
Mularaja, also known as Bala Mularaja, was an Indian king from the Chaulukya dynasty of Gujarat. He ruled the present-day Gujarat and surrounding areas from his capital Anahilapataka. He ascended the throne as a child, and his mother Naiki Devi acted as the regent during his short reign. The Chaulukyas repulsed a Ghurid invasion when he was 13 years old. The Paramara king Vindhyavarman made attempts to evict the Chaulukyas from Malwa during his reign, and succeeded in regaining control of Malwa either during Mularaja's lieftime or shortly after his death.
Mularaja was the founder of the Chaulukya dynasty of India. Also known as the Chaulukyas of Gujarat or Solanki, this dynasty ruled parts of present-day Gujarat. Mularaja supplanted the last Chavda king, and founded an independent kingdom with his capital in Anahilapataka in 940-941 CE.
The Chahamanas of Naddula, also known as the Chauhans of Nadol, were an Indian dynasty. They ruled the Marwar area around their capital Naddula between 10th and 12th centuries. They belonged to the Chahamana (Chauhan) clan of the Rajputs.
The Guhilas of Medapata colloquially known as Guhilas of Mewar were a Rajput dynasty that ruled the Kingdom of Mewar region in present-day Rajasthan state of India. The Guhila kings initially ruled as Gurjara-Pratihara feudatories between end of 8th and 9th centuries and later were independent in period of the early 10th century and allied themselves with the Rashtrakutas. Their capitals included Nagahrada (Nagda) and Aghata (Ahar). For this reason, they are also known as the Nagda-Ahar branch of the Guhilas.
Vigraharāja II was a king belonging to the Shakambhari Chahamana dynasty. He ruled the Sapadalaksha country, which included parts of present-day Rajasthan in north-western India.
Arnoraja was an Indian king belonging to the Shakambhari Chahamana dynasty. He ruled the Sapadalaksha country, which included parts of present-day Rajasthan in north-western India. Arnoraja defeated the Ghaznavid king Bahram Shah in the Slaughter of Turushkas near Ajmer, and also defeated several neighbouring Hindu kings including the Paramaras and the Tomaras. He had to face defeats against the Chaulukyas, and was ultimately killed by his own son, Jagaddeva.
Bhima II, also known as Bhola Bhima, was an Indian king who ruled parts of present-day Gujarat. He was a member of the Chaulukya dynasty. During his reign, the dynasty's power declined greatly as a result of rebellions by the feudatories as well as external invasions by the Ghurids, the Paramaras, and the Yadavas of Devagiri. The kingdom, however, was saved by his generals Arnoraja, Lavanaprasada and Viradhavala, whose family established the Vaghela dynasty.
Anahilla was an Indian king belonging to the Naddula Chahamana dynasty. He ruled the area around Naddula. He defeated the Chaulukya king Bhima I, defeated a general of the Paramara king Bhoja, and also defended his territory against the Ghaznavids.
Kelhana-deva was an Indian king belonging to the Naddula Chahamana dynasty. He ruled the area around Naddula, as a Chaulukya vassal. He participated in the 1178 CE Battle of Kasahrada, in which the Chaulukya forces defeated the Ghurid ruler Muhammad of Ghor.
Kirti-pala, also known as Kitu in vernacular legends, was an Indian king belonging to the Chahamana dynasty of Javalipura. A member of the Naddula Chahamana family, he carved out a principality for himself with Jalore at its capital. He ruled parts of southern Rajasthan as a feudatory of the Chaulukyas, and participated in their successful battle against Muhammad of Ghor in 1178 CE. He also fought with other Chaulukya feudatories, including Asala of Kiratakupa and the Guhila chief Samantasimha.
Udaya-simha was an Indian king belonging to the Chahamana dynasty, who ruled the area around Javalipura. The most powerful king of his dynasty, he overthrew the Chaulukya suzerainty, and became a sovereign ruler. However, some years later, he faced an invasion from the Delhi Sultanate, and became a tributary to the Sultan Iltutmish.
Naiki Devi was the regent queen of Chaulukya dynasty during her son Mularaja II's infancy from 1175. She was a queen of the Chaulukya king Ajayapala.
Rawal Jaitrasimha also known as Rawal Jaitra Singh was the ruler of the Guhila dynasty from 1213 to 1252. During his rule, the Guhila Kingdom attained a high political status. Ekalinga Mahatmya mentions his title as Rajakula (Rawal), his own inscriptions call him a Maharajadhiraja.
The Ghurid campaigns in India were a series of invasions for 31 years (1175–1206) by the Ghurid ruler Muhammad of Ghor in the last quarter of the twelfth and early decade of the thirteenth century which lead to the widespread expansion of the Ghurid empire in the Indian subcontinent.
The Battle of Kasahrada (1197) was fought on 4 February 1197 between the Ghurid forces led by their slave-lieutenant Qutubuddin Aibak and the Rajput forces led by Chaulukya ruler Bhima. It was fought in the present-day state of Rajasthan at Kasahrada, which is at foot of Mount Abu in the southern Aravali hills. Qutubuddin forces secured a decisive victory and sacked Anhilwara, thereby avenging the defeat of his master Muhammad of Ghor at the same site two decades earlier.