Chudasamas of Junagadh

Who he is

Title

Ra (raja) of Junagadh (Jirnadurga) and Vanthali

Since

not pinned

Born

not pinned

Family

Chudasama (Chudachandra's line), Rajputs of Saurashtra

Confidence

low

Wikipedia's Chudasama article: no inscription of the line exists before Mandalika I (1294 to 1306); the bardic lists disagree on names, order and number. The Kasahrada article names a 'Rah Jayasingh' of Junagadh as an ally of Bhima II, without a date; the Chaulukya article has Jayasimha Siddharaja beating Khangara alias Navaghana. No source we could check names the Ra of 1 January 1200.

What it holds

• The Uparkot, a scarped citadel with rock-cut cisterns and Buddhist caves, at Junagadh
• Vanthali (Vamanasthali) and the Ojat valley
• Girnar, the Jain and Shaiva hill, as its patron and its toll-taker
• The pilgrim road to Prabhas Patan (Somnath) and the coast creeks from Mangrol to Veraval
• Claims on the Gir forest and its tribute of timber, honey and wax

How it was acquired

Inherited; the tradition of the house reaches back to the ninth century (Chudachandra), which is bardic.

Allies and rivals

Feudatory of the Chaulukyas when quiet. Neighbours: the Jethwas of the Barda hills; the Pashupata priests of Somnath; the Jain merchants of Girnar and Palitana. The Gohils of the later Gohilwad are not yet in Saurashtra (tradition has them leaving Marwar about 1260).

How things stand that morning

Probably in their rock at Junagadh, paying homage to Bhima II in name and nothing in kind unless a Chaulukya governor comes down the road.

Wealth

Pilgrim and road tolls, the Ojat valley grain, the Gir forest produce taken as tribute at the edge, a share of the coast trade.

Military

The cisterns of the Uparkot decide a siege; a Gujarat field army cannot simply ride past it. No count survives.

Threats

• A Chaulukya punitive column
• Sea raiders on the creeks

Places of note

• The Uparkot: Citadel above Junagadh
• Vanthali: The older Chudasama seat in the Ojat valley
• Girnar rock: Boulder with Ashoka's edicts, Rudradaman's and Skandagupta's inscriptions

Where the sources disagree

• The campaign board entry junagadh-girnar says the same: 'which Chudasama sits here cannot be recovered'. The Wikipedia page we read gives Khengara as the one early twelfth century ruler and Mandalika I (1294 to 1306) as the first inscription-attested king; we use neither for 1200.

Evidence: A line without inscriptions until 1294; the chronicles that name its Ras are bardic.

"The campaign board" is OMNIA's working map. These notes record where its earlier claims were checked against the sources.

On the map: The extent of Chudasama authority outside the two seats is inferred.

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