 |
| source |
The history of any nation, people or ethnicity, is nigh incomplete without war. War, has been a constant feature of human history, societies and polities. The Indian subcontinent, unsurprisingly, has also experienced war since time immemorial. Many powers tried, failed or succeeded at crossing the north western passes into the subcontinent and wrestling power from local magnates. At times, the power vacuum created by the absense of a major polity pooling together the vast resources of North India, played a major role in inviting such campaigns, as well as strife from within. We turn our attention here, to one such campaign, in the 12th century CE. As Islam grew into a world religion and the Caliphate expanded from its Arab heartland to Central Asia and towards the east in North Africa, the Arabs made inroads towards "Al-Hind", and while they saw minor success and major failures, the Turks would succeed where the Arabs failed. Sir Wellesley Haig pointed out "the rise of Islam is one of the marvels of history". After 622 CE, it set its foot from the Atlantic to the Indus and from the Caspian Sea to the Nile. India remained no exception. It was in 712 CE, when the Arabs had conquered Sindh. But afterwards, the Arabs could not expand their dominion further into the subcontinent. The real expansion took place after some 4 centuries, not by the Arabs but by the Turks
Dr Lane Poole describes the expansion of the Turks as "the master movement in the Mohemmadan Empire in the tenth and eleventh centuries". (Lane Poole, Medieval India). In the context of India, in the 11th century emerged Mahmud of Ghazni, who consolidated his power, and led as many as a dozen incursions into the mainland of present day India. But finally took his last breathe in 1030 CE. The demise of Mahmud andthe rule of weak successors played a significant role in the decline and decay of the Ghaznavids. The rule of his successors lasted till 1186 CE. This ushered the age of a new power, the Ghurids. Alaudin Hussain of Ghor also known as Jahan-Suz (burner of the world) demolished the house of Ghazni and further weakened its ruler. After the demise of Alaudin Hussain, his son Ghiyasuddin succeeded to the territory of Ghor. He established his control over Ghazni and later handed it to Muhammed Ghori.
Muizuddin Muhammad bin Sam known as Shihabuddin or Muhammad of Ghor led many successful battles. He carved out an empire in India after defeating Maharaja Prithviraj Chauhan III or Rai Pithora in 1192 CE at the 2nd Battle of Tarain. Later he consolidated his power by defeating Maharaja Jai Chand of the Gahadvala dynasty in the fateful battle of Chandawar in 1194 CE.
Generally, in popular history, this episode is considered as the final major disaster for the Rajput kingdoms of the 12th century in North India, to be followed by a 100 years of struggle and defeat, until the eventual rise of Rana Hammir Singh Sisodia of the Sisodia cadet branch of the Guhila line. It is believed that none of the Rajput rulers were able to check the advance of the Ghurid power in the 12th century CE.
Today we cast light upon a lesser known episode in this series of events. One which challenges the narrative of these times and shatters the image of Turki-Afghan invincibility against Rajput arms. The Battle of Kasahrada or Kaydara 1178 CE, is the incident that we are concerned with.
Rise of the Ghurids
The Ghaznavid ruler Yamin ud Daulah Bahram Shah ruling between the region of Kabul and Herat strengthened his power and ruled from 1118-1152 CE. During the same period, after accepting the authority of Seljuqs, Alauddin Hussain rose to power. In 1149 CE, he fought a battle against Bahram Shah Ghaznavid near Tiginabad or Qandahar. The Ghur infantry relying heavily on their protective shields defeated the Ghaznavid army which was dependent upon elephants in the battle, making Bahram Shah to flee to the Punjab. After seven day plunder and destruction in Ghazni by Alauddin, he earned the title of Jahan Suz or" The burner of the World". Khusraw Shah assumed the role of Bahram Shah but his rule was limited to Lahore. He ruled there till 1160. From 1160-86 CE, the last ruler of the Ghaznavid dynasty,Khusraw Malik came to power.
Minhaj-i- Siraj in his Tabaqat-i-Nasiri says that " Muhammad Ghori was appointed the governor of Ghazni in 1173 CE by his elder brother Ghiyasuddin Muhammad. Muhammad Ghori led his first expedition into India in 1175 CE. Ghori defeated the rulers of Mutan and Uch. His victory made him confident about his army and he led another expedition on Indian soil. In 1178 CE, he moved forward against Anhilwara or Patan, the capital of Vaghela ruler of Gujarat. Unlike his earlier victory over Multan and Uch which shattered the rulers of these territory. The Battle also known as Battle of Kayadara (Kasahrada or Gadararaghatta) proved to be a fatal mistake by Ghori in which he was defeated by the Confederacy of Rajputs.
 |
| source |
The Chaulukyas of Gujurat
The Ghurids in their attempt to advance further into the subcontinent, would come into conflict on the fields of Kaydara, in 1178 CE, against the Chaulukyas of Gujurat. According to A.Majumdar (1956), legendary tradition states, the Chaulukyas were created by the "chaluka" or water pot of Lord Brahma. Such is attested in the Vadnagarprashasti of Kumarapala c.12th century CE. The same story more or less is repeated by other sources such as Dvyasrayakavya (Abhayatalika Gani) and Prabandhachintamani (Merutunga). The bardic traditions on the other hand trace their origin to the Agnikula myth, as recorded by James Tod in his Annals and Antiquities, in many cases the first instance of recording of bardic tales.
The founder of the dynasty Mularaja I, ascended the throne in around 998 CE, supposedly by killing his uncle. He expanded a small principality (around Sravasti-mandala) of Chaulukyan rule to a consolidated kingdom stretching from Lata to Mt. Abu. Under a later Chaulukyan ruler, Jayasimha Sindharaja, the Chaulukyan realm was expanded to its virtual zenith, controlling the entirety of modern day Gujurat, parts of Southern Rajputana and Malwa.
Mularaja II, whose armies crushed the "Turushkas" at Kaydara in 1178 CE, succeeded his father Ajaypala, in 1175 CE and reigned for a mere 3 give or take.
 |
| Source |
The Battle:
 |
| source |
After the initial victories, Muhammad Ghori embarked upon his ambition of exploits and conquest in a similar fashion of Mahmud of Ghazni. Little did he know that for his army, it will be a fatal mistake. Unable to expand to the west, the Ghurids under Shihabuddin marched towards the east. The Ghurids managed to defeat the army of Multan and Uch establishing their control almost in the whole of Sindh.
Further, the Ghurid army captured Nadol, and moved to the foothills of Mount Abu. It was at this place, that Ghurids, with the combined efforts of Dharavarsha Paramara of Abu, Kirtipal Chauhan of Jalor and Kelhana Chauhan of Nadol were taken down and suffered the formidable opposition. The Sundha Hill inscription mentions that “ Chahamana Kelhana, destroyed the Turushkas and then they erected a golden Torana, like a diadem for the abode of holy Somesa”. In the same inscription Kirtipala is credited to have routed the army of Turushkas at Kasahrada. Again, this battle is mentioned in the Kiradu inscription of Bhima, in which it refers the invaders as “Turushka”. At the battlefield, the Ghurids were challenged by the Chaulukya army coupled with the armies of Nadol and Jalore. In the ensuing battle the Ghurids were totally defeated. Shihabuddin Muhammad Ghori who led the army was maimed in the battle, and fled from the spot, and with great difficulty managed to reach Ghazni.
In 1175 Bala Mularaja or Mularaja II ascended the throne. According to Gujarati poet Someshwara, who served in the court of Solanki kings mentions that Naikidevi acted as a regent. And it was Naikidevi who repulsed the army of mlechhas (Ghurids) and defeated the Turushkas (Turks). Balachandra, a contemporary of Someshwara states that "king Mularaja was an infant”. Further from Udayaprabha Suri’s Sukritakirtikallolini, it is conveyed that Mularaja's mother Naikidevi gave him an army to play with and with that army he defeated Hammira (Emir) and his Turushka army. [Chalukyas of Gujarat, AK Majumdar, pp131]. The same has been mentioned by Arisimha who refers to Mularaja's victory over the Muslims.
A detailed description of the battle is provided by a Jain scholar named Merutunga who was a medieval scholar from Gujarat. Merutunga states that “ Mularaja's mother queen and the daughter of Paramardin, Queen Naiki fought at a ghat called Gadararaghatta and conquered the king of Mlechhas with the help of mass of rain clouds which shed rains out of season attracted by her virtue". The latter part of his narrative justifying the cause of victory due to rains seems untenable. But the defeat of Ghurids by the hands of Mularaja remains evident. Notably, Merutunga unlike rest of the chroniclers asserts that the invaders suffered defeat at the hands of queen Naikidevi.[ Chalukyas of Gujarat, AK Majumdar, pp132]
Many Muslim chroniclers too mention the invasion of Gujarat by Muizzuddin Muhammad Ghori.
Minhaj-i-Siraj in his Tabaqat-i- Nasiri states that in year 574 AH ( 1178 CE)“ Muizzuddin marched an army towards Nahrwala through Multan and Uch. The Rae of Nahrwala was young but he had numerous forces and many elephants and during the battle the army of Ghori was defeated and sent back”.
Nizamuddin Ahmed in his Tabaqat-i-Akbari states that “Muizzuddin came to Uch and Multan and marched towards Gujarat, after the severe battle the Sultan was defeated and returned to Ghazni”.
Badauni states that “in the year 574 AH, Muizzuddin was defeated by ruler of Gujarat and with great difficulty reached Ghazni".
Ferishta in his account mentions that “ the army of Muizzuddin was defeated by the army of Brahma Dev of Gujarat”. Also it is pertinent to note that these Muslim chroniclers recorded the battle much later in time. So we often tend to see deviation and a modicum of separation of the narrative regarding the name of the ruler of Gujarat who actually resisted the invaders. But it is clear that Muhammad Ghori did suffer a severe defeat before carving an empire in the heartland of India by the rulers of Gujarat.
 |
| source |
Aftermath
The loss at Kaydara was a bitter pill to swallow for the Ghorids. The defeat crushed any immediate ambitions of expansion in the region and subsequent Muslim armies were haunted by the Kaydara episode which served as a reminder of what awaited blind ambition. Mularaja II would not rule for a long time. Having ascended the throne as a minor he would rule for a brief 3 years, roughly. Being guided in his duties by his mother Queen Naikidevi. The Chaulukyas of Gujurat would remain a formidable force until the late 12th century, when powerful neighbouring powers, weak monarchs and internal rebellions would diminish the majesty of the Kingdom to unprecedented lows.
 |
| source |
Conclusions The Battle of Kaydara, 1178 CE, is for military historians an interesting paradox of the 12th century. Here, the sturdy, better mounted forces of the Turks, failed against traditionally understood to have been poorly mounted forces of the Indian subcontinent. The typical paucity of sources for the period in Indian history leaves room for speculation as to the nature of the victory. Did the sheer size and weight of a frontal assault by the Rajput forces tremble the morale of a logistically deficient Turkic force? Did the Turks instead charge upon a Rajput wall of spears and archers in the rear, being decimated in the process by hails of arrow volleys? Once again, paucity of sources leave the nature of the victory up for imagination. This paucity itself is the cause for controversy as well. For example, Muslim sources of the period and later on, claim that it was Bhima II, a successor of Mularaja II, who was responsible for the defeat of the "Turushkas". Meanwhile, all contemporary Rajput sources such as the inscriptions of the period, applaud Mularaja II, as the vanquisher of the Turkic foes. In all likelihood, the explanation by A. Majumdar (1956) is the one that is closest to the truth, being that, the Turks were indeed defeated by an army under the reign of Mularaja II, or Bala Mularaja as he is popularly known, but the Muslim historians, given the young age of the minor king and the limited time for the reign of this youthful foe, mentioned instead the one who ruled over the Chaulukyan relams later on, as the enemy who crushed Turkish forces as Kaydara 1178 CE.
 |
| source |
No comments:
Post a Comment