Kalachuris of Ratnapura

Who he is

Name

Ratnadeva III (reign about 1178 to 1200) or his heir Pratapamalla (about 1200 to 1225): not pinned

Title

Maharaja

Since

the change is placed about 1200 by convention

Born

not known

Family

A younger branch of the Tripuri Kalachuris: Prithvideva II (1135 to 1165), Jajalladeva II (1165 to 1168), Jagaddeva (1168 to 1178), Ratnadeva III, Pratapamalla. Ratnadeva's minister is Gangadhara in our recollection of the Kharod stone; not checked.

Confidence

low

Wikipedia reign list (estimates); stones of Ratnadeva III at Kharod and Pasid, of Pratapamalla at Pendrabandh and Bilaigarh.

Overlord

none (formally independent since Ratnadeva II)

What it holds

• Ratnapura, Tummana (Tuman) and Pali
• Malhar, Kharod, Sheorinarayan, Janjgir and the Hasdo and Mahanadi rice country
• Rajim (Rajivalochana), Arang, Sirpur (old Shripura, ruined by now) and the Raipur plain
• the Chhattisgarh hill rim as tributary country

How it was acquired

Inherited; independent since the 1130s.

Allies and rivals

Tripuri cousins (no allegiance), the Eastern Gangas (Kosala and Trikalinga), the Chindaka Nagas of Bastar to the south (Jajalladeva I defeated their king Somesvara in 1114 and freed him), the Phani-Nagas of Kawardha, Gond and Kol hill chiefs.

How things stand that morning

Reigning; succession due. Pratapamalla's stones at Pendrabandh show his reign continuing for decades.

Wealth

Mahanadi rice, forest and salt trade to Kalinga, temple towns, iron and forest produce of the hill rim.

Military

Hill forts and the militia of the plain; Naga and Gond contingents; no numbers.

Threats

• Eastern Ganga attack
• Gond and Naga chiefs of the rim

What the year holds

What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.

In 1200

1. about 1200Pratapamalla succeeds Ratnadeva III (convention only).Depends on: Natural succession.

Later, on the likely course

1. 1210s to 1230sEastern Ganga pressure under Anangabhima III; one theory says he defeated Pratapamalla (a "better source needed" claim).Depends on: Ganga ambition.

Places of note

• Ratnapura: capital
• Tummana: older capital
• Rajim: temple town

Where the sources disagree

• See realm record on "Prithvideva III". Wikipedia puts the Raipur branch as a rival seat, identified through a Raipur stone of Brahmadeva, which is a later (fourteenth century) Kalachuri line; we do not draw it.

Evidence: Reign spans are estimates from a few stones.

On the map: The plain is held; the rim is a claim.

Primary sources for Kalachuris

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.

• 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.