| Mahadeva's invasion of Malwa | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Mahadeva's Campaigns as well as the Conquests of Jayavarman II of Malwa | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Yadava dynasty | Paramara dynasty | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Mahadeva of Devagiri | Jayavarman II of Malwa | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Heavy according to Paramara sources | Comparatively less according to Paramara sources | ||||||
Mahadeva's invasion of Malwa was a disastrous campaign led by the Yadava ruler Mahadeva, that resulted in the loss of the Narmada-Tapi doab to the Paramaras. While the Yadava sources mentions the quite opposite of this that is Mahadeva of Devagiri being successful and Jayavarman II of Malwa submitting before him
Mahadeva, the Yadava ruler of Devagiri, had attempted to expand his domain by fighting his neighbors with mixed success. His predeccessors, Krishna and Simhana had successfully campaigned against the Paramara dynasty. In order to mimic or even outshine his predeccessors, Mahadeva invaded the domain of the Paramara dynasty under Jayavarman II
Meanwhile, in the Paramara realm, the Paramara ruler Jayavarman II had restored much of its lost fortunes for his successes against his neighbors, such as his victory over the Chandelas at Rahatgarh and his successes in Rajputana.
Mahadeva crossed the Narmada river in order to face the Paramaras in battle[ citation needed ], but was defeated by Jayavarman, whose Mandhata inscription suggests that he forced Mahadeva back to the south of the bank, then continued to drive him south until the Tapi River after crossing the Vindhyas and Satpuras. [1] .
According to D. C. Sircar, the "Dakshinatya (Southern) king" whom Jayavarman defeated was probably Ramachandra, who later defeated Jayavarman's successor Arjunavarman II. [2] However, H. V. Trivedi argues that this is unlikely, because during the early part of his reign, Ramachandra was engaged in a conflict with his own brother Amana. The Dakshinatya king referred to here is probably Ramachandra's uncle Mahadeva. The Sangur inscription of the Yadavas refers to Mahadeva's invasion of Malwa. [3]
Hemadri indicates that Mahadeva triumphed over the lord of Malwa but spared him due to his status as a minor. This lord is almost certainly Paramara Jayasimha II (1269–1274 CE), which implies that if Mahadeva did indeed attack him, it would have been at some point around 1269-1270 CE—just at the end of Mahadeva and at the beginning of Jayasimha's reign. The Sangur inscription, along with the two inscriptions from the Chitaldroog district of present-day Karnataka (both dated 1265 CE), indicates Mahadeva's engagement with Malwa as having wrestled with the region within contest. Two later inscriptions from the same district dated 1275 and 1280 CE took it a step further by indicating submission of the Malavas, which would support Hemadri's argument. It may also have been the case that, at least in the course of Mahadeva's campaign into Gujarat, that the Yadava army engaged the Paramaras. [4] [5] [6]
After the war, the Paramara realm reached the greatest territorial extent it had ever seen since the reign of Lakshmadeva, prior to the long decline of the reigns of Naravarman and his successors.[ citation needed ]