By the stone of 1195 Paramardi had handed the government to Sallakshana, a Vashistha-gotra Brahmin who also built Shiva and Vishnu temples; his son Purushottama inherited the post.
Gadadhara, called Kavi-chakravarti, was minister of war and peace. Gangadhara and Jaunadhara, Kayastha brothers, served as chamberlain and perhaps as captains at Kalanjara. Vatsaraja, an amatya, wrote plays (the Rupakashatkam). This is the ministerial class that ran the tanks, the tolls and the treasury; Brahmin and Kayastha houses hold their posts by descent.
Who he is
- Name
- Sallakshana, with Gadadhara, Gangadhara and Jaunadhara, Vatsaraja and Mahipala
- Title
- Prime minister (mantrin), minister of war and peace (sandhivigrahika), chamberlain (kancuki)
- Since
- by 1195 (the Bateshwar stone)
- Born
- not known
- Family
- Sallakshana: Brahmin of the Vashistha gotra, son (successor in office) Purushottama. Gangadhara and Jaunadhara: Kayastha brothers. Vatsaraja: amatya, poet.
- Confidence
- medium
Wikipedia (Paramardi) from the Bateshwar (Baghari) stone of 1195 and later Ajaygarh stones. Gangadhara's chamberlainship is from the Ajaygarh stone of Bhojavarman, a later reign, so his post under Paramardi is inferred.
Overlord
Paramardideva
What it holds
- Posts, not land: the treasury and the court at Mahoba, the writing office, the tanks and the tolls; temple foundations by Sallakshana
Allies and rivals
Rivals within the court are told only by the ballads (Mahil Parihar against Alha and Udal) and are not used here.
How things stand that morning
In office. Sallakshana's authority is the king's delegation to him; he has just built two temples. Their ministry is the group Hasan Nizami will meet in 1202 to 1203 under the name of the dewan Ajayadeva.
Threats
- Loss of the king in war
- A court quarrel such as the ballads imagine
Where the sources disagree
- Wikipedia names the Bateshwar stone as "Baghari (Bateshvar)"; the findspot is Bateshwar on the Yamuna by Agra (board: bateshwar-yamuna), which we accept, not checked in the edition.
Evidence: A single main stone (Bateshwar 1195) and the later Ajaygarh stones; the identities of the posts are from Wikipedia's summary, which we could not check against the editions.
On the map: No ground: an office record. The point is the court at Mahoba.
Primary sources for Chandelas
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
- The Nasirid Generations: a General History of the Muslim Dynasties, Minhaj-i Siraj Juzjani (1259 to 1260, at Delhi). The Ghurid court's own history, by a man born in 1193 whose family served the sultans of Ghur and Ghazna. 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
- Inscriptions of the Kalachuri-Chedi Era, Various, edited by V. V. Mirashi (inscriptions of the 7th to 13th centuries; edited 1955). Collects every known record of the Kalachuris of Tripuri (Dahala) and of Ratnapura (south Kosala), with text, translation and a long historical introduction. 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 History of India as Told by its Own Historians: the Muhammadan Period, vol. 2, Various (Ibn al-Athir, Hasan Nizami, Awfi, Juzjani and others), edited by H. M. Elliot and John Dowson (the sources date from the 1190s to the 14th century; the collection was published in 1869). A one-volume anthology of the Arabic and Persian accounts of the Ghurid conquest. Read online
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.