A peninsula of small rajas, pilgrim hills, ports and forest.
The Chudasama rajas hold Junagadh and the south, the Jethwas the Barda and Porbandar coast, the Jhalas the north (see their records), and the Chaulukya crown stands over all of them as overlord. Somnath, Girnar, Palitana and Dwarka make it the richest pilgrim country in the west; the Gir forest holds lions and Maldhari herders. The Gohils of Gohilwad, the Jadejas of Halar and the Gohil of Bhavnagar are not here yet: the first come from Marwar in the thirteenth century and the second from Kutch in the sixteenth (recalled, not rechecked).
Who holds it
- Name
- the Chudasama raja of Junagadh and the Jethwa rana of the Barda, among others
- Title
- Local rajas
- Since
- not pinned
- Born
- not pinned
- Confidence
- low
The Chudasama and Jethwa records (Chudasamas of Junagadh, Jethwas of the Barda hills) and the campaign board.
Overlord
Bhima II of Gujarat, nominally
What it holds
- Junagadh and Girnar
- Somnath and Veraval
- The Barda and Porbandar
- Palitana and Shatrunjaya
- Dwarka and Okhamandal
Allies and rivals
Rival rajas under the Chaulukya crown.
How things stand that morning
Local rajas under a distant overlord: the Chaulukya claim is real in homage and thin in garrison.
Wealth
Pilgrim dues, ports, salt, cotton, horses landed at Veraval.
Where the sources disagree
- The Gohils and Jadejas are later arrivals in Saurashtra (recalled, not rechecked); the campaign board does not place them in 1200.
Evidence: The Chudasama and Jethwa records (Chudasamas of Junagadh, Jethwas of the Barda hills) and the campaign board.
"The campaign board" is OMNIA's working map. These notes record where its earlier claims were checked against the sources.
On the map: Drawn as a rough outline from the campaign board's description of the country; the edges are not fixed.
Primary sources for Independent Rajput houses
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- The Crown of Glorious Deeds, Hasan Nizami (Sadr al-Din Muhammad ibn Hasan Nizami of Nishapur) (begun about 1205 at Delhi, carried on to about 1217). The earliest history written in Muslim India and the only contemporary account of Qutb al-Din Aibak's campaigns. Read online
- The Nasirean Generations (a general history of the Muslim dynasties), Minhaj-i Siraj Juzjani (completed 1260 at Delhi). The fullest narrative of the Ghurid conquest of northern India. Read online
- Epigraphia Indica: inscriptions of the Chandelas, Paramaras, Gahadavalas, Chaulukyas, Senas and Eastern Gangas, Various (edited for the Archaeological Survey of India by J. Burgess, E. Hultzsch, F. Kielhorn, Sten Konow, F. W. Thomas and successors) (inscriptions of the 1180s to 1210s; the series ran from 1892). The main record series for the Hindu kingdoms of northern India around 1200. Read online
- Historical Inscriptions of Gujarat, Various (the Chaulukya and Vaghela chanceries), edited by G. V. Acharya (inscriptions of the 10th to 14th centuries; edited 1933 to 1942). The standard corpus of Gujarat's inscriptions. Read online
- Inscriptions of the Paramaras, Chandellas, Kachchhapaghatas and two minor dynasties, Various, edited by H. V. Trivedi (inscriptions of the 9th to 14th centuries; edited 1978 to 1991). The collected records of the Paramaras of Malwa (parts 1 and 2) and of the Chandelas of Jejakabhukti (part 3), re-edited from Epigraphia Indica and earlier journals with new finds.
- The Victory of Prithviraja, Jayanaka (a Kashmiri poet at the Chahamana court) (about 1191 to 1192, left unfinished). A court epic written at Ajmer in the months between Prithviraja III's victory at Tarain in 1191 and his defeat and death in 1192. Read online
- The Wishing-Stone of Narratives, Merutunga (a Jain monk of the Nagendra gaccha) (1305 (Vikrama 1361) at Vadhvan in Gujarat). A Jain collection of historical anecdotes about the kings of Gujarat and Malwa, a century after 1200. Read online
Sources and studies
- Wikipedia, 'Chudasama dynasty'
- Wikipedia, 'Chaulukya dynasty' (summarising Majumdar 1956 and Dasharatha Sharma, Early Chauhan Dynasties, 1959)
- OMNIA board notes for the place (a lead only; checked against the sources above)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.