Chamba is the upper Ravi valley and its side valleys behind the Dhauladhar, with the old seat at Brahmapura (Bharmour) in the high valley and the new town of Champavati (Chamba) on the Ravi terrace.
It is the hill state with the thickest written record, but the thick part is earlier: copper-plate grants of its rajas run from the tenth century into the twelfth in Vogel's collection. For the 1190s the list of rajas is a reconstruction: Vogel says the plates stop about 1105 and resume in 1330, so the brief's "only Chamba has copper plates" is true of the house and not of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.
Who he is
- Name
- Not known for 1 January 1200; the reconstructed list puts Vijaya Varman about 1175 to the 1190s and does not settle his successor
- Title
- Raja (Varman house)
- Since
- not pinned
- Born
- not known
- Family
- The Varman line of the Vamshavali: Sahila Varman founded Champavati about 920 by the tradition; Jasata Varman reigned 1105-1120 and Lalita Varman 1143-1170 in the reconstruction.
- Confidence
- low
Wikipedia Chamba State (list reconstructed from the Vamshavali). Vogel, in Hutchison and Vogel, says no copper plate of the twelfth or thirteenth century has been found: the plates run to about 1105 and resume in 1330.
What it holds
- Champavati and the Ravi valley
- Brahmapura (Bharmour), the old capital and temple town
- The side valleys: Pangi on the Chenab edge, Churah, Bhattiyat
- Claims on Lahul across the Pir Panjal (not pinned)
How it was acquired
Hereditary.
Allies and rivals
Neighbours: Trigarta (Kangra) to the south, Jammu and Basohli to the west, Kishtwar to the north, Lahul and Kullu to the east. Kashmir, which the Rajatarangini shows dealing with the hill rajas of Champa in the early twelfth century (unchecked), is now much weaker.
How things stand that morning
A mountain kingdom behind snow, fortified by distance. No Ghurid or Khokhar approach recorded.
Wealth
Timber, salt and wool from the high valleys, pilgrim traffic to Brahmapura, hill-road tolls.
Military
Hill levies; no source gives a number.
Threats
- None named for 1200
Places of note
- Chamba (Champavati): town on the Ravi
- Bharmour (Brahmapura): old capital with a temple group
Where the sources disagree
- Brief: "only Chamba has copper plates". Vogel (Hutchison and Vogel) says none of the twelfth or thirteenth century has been found: the plates run to about 1105 and resume in 1330. The statement holds for the house, not for 1200.
- The campaign board entry has Chamba (Champavati) and Bharmour (Brahmapura) as towns; both stand. The ruler for 1 January 1200 is not on the campaign board.
Evidence: Strong earlier plates, a late list and nothing dated for the decade.
"The campaign board" is OMNIA's working map. These notes record where its earlier claims were checked against the sources.
On the map: Modern district; the real reach into Lahul is not pinned.
Primary sources for Hill rajas
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 River of Kings, with Jonaraja's continuation, Kalhana; continued by Jonaraja (Kalhana 1148 to 1150; Jonaraja about 1459). Kalhana's chronicle stops in 1149, so for 1200 the witness is Jonaraja, writing three centuries later and very briefly. Read online
- The Gopala Raja Chronicle, and the Nepalese colophons, Anonymous (chronicle); various scribes (colophons) (the chronicle about 1389; the colophons are contemporary notes of the 11th to 14th centuries). The Nepal valley in 1200 is known chiefly from dated manuscript colophons and short inscriptions, which name the reigning king with the Nepal era year, and from the Gopalarajavamsavali, a chronicle written about 1389 that lists the kings with regnal years.
Sources and studies
- Wikipedia, Chamba State
- Wikipedia, Chamba State (list of rulers is a reconstruction from the Vamshavali)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.