https://indianpedia.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Battle_of_KasahradaBattle of Kasahrada - Revision history2026-07-31T13:19:47ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.45.4https://indianpedia.org/index.php?title=Battle_of_Kasahrada&diff=398957&oldid=prevAjay Kumar at 18:59, 23 July 20232023-07-23T18:59:57Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|12th century battle in India}}<br />
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2022}}<br />
{{Use Indian English|date=May 2022}}<br />
{{Infobox military conflict<br />
| partof = [[Indian campaigns of Muhammad of Ghor]]<br />
| image = Kasahrada.jpg<br />
| caption = Map of Battle of Kasahrada<br />
| date = 1178 <br />
| place = Kayandra in modern [[Sirohi district]] of [[Rajasthan]]<br />
| map_type = South Asia<br />
| map_relief = <br />
| map_caption = Location of the Battle of Kasahrada<br />
| map_label = Kasahrada<br />
| map_mark = Big battle symbol.svg<br />
| coordinates = {{coord|24.571|N|72.838|E|display=inline}}<br />
| result = [[Rajput|Rajput confederacy]] victory<br />
| territory = <br />
| combatant1 = [[Rajput|Rajput Confederacy]]<br />
| combatant2 = [[Ghurid dynasty|Ghurid Empire]]<br />
| commander1 = [[Mularaja II]]<br>[[Kelhanadeva]]<br>[[Kirtipala]]<br>[[Paramaras of Chandravati|Dharavarsha]]<br />
| commander2 = [[Muhammad of Ghur]]{{WIA}}<br />
| strength1 = <br />
| strength2 = <br />
| casualties1 = Unknown<br />
| casualties2 = Heavy<br />
| conflict = Battle of Kasahrada<br />
}}<br />
The '''Battle of Kasahrada''', also known as '''Battle of Kayadara''' or '''Battle of Gadararaghatta''' was fought in 1178 at modern Kasahrada in [[Sirohi district]] near Mount Abu in present-day [[Rajasthan]]. It was fought between the [[Rajput|Rajput Confederacy]] led by [[Mularaja II]] and the invading [[Ghurid|Ghurid forces]] led by [[Muhammad of Ghor]], during which the Ghurid forces were signally defeated. <br />
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Endeavoring for [[Ghurid]] expansion east of [[Indus]] during the last quarter of twelfth century, [[Muhammad of Ghor]], marched down the [[Gumal Pass]] and seized [[Multan]] and [[Uch]] ejecting the [[Carmathians]] from there before he attempted to penetrate into mainland India, approaching it through the territory of [[Chaulukya dynasty|Chaulukya]]s situated in the present-day [[Gujarat]]. The Ghurid army marching by the way of [[Multan]] and [[Uch]] reached Kasahrada, at foot of [[Mount Abu]] in state of exhaustion after a long march through the [[Thar Desert]], where they confronted the forces of Chaulukya king [[Mularaja II|Mularaja]] aided by his [[Rajput]] allies. In the decisive battle, the famished [[Ghurid]] army was routed and wounded Muhammad of Ghor, retreated back to his capital [[Ghazna]], through the desert with considerable difficulty.<br />
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== Background ==<br />
During the last quarter of twelfth century, the [[Ghurid Sultanate]] was ruled in a [[dyarchy]] by [[Ghiyath al-Din Muhammad]] and [[Muhammad of Ghor]], with Ghiyath al-Din overseeing the westward expansion of the Sultanate from [[Firuzkuh]], his younger partner [[Muhammad of Ghor]] endeavoured for eastward expansion towards the plains of [[Indian Subcontinent|India]]. Muhammad captured [[Ghazna]] and eastern [[Afghanistan]] ejecting the [[Ghuzz Turks|Oghuz Turkmens]] by 1173. Subsequently after taking over [[Ghazna]], Muhammad utilized the city as a spring-board for carrying attacks down to the [[Indus Valley]] and further ahead.{{sfn|Wink|1991|page=140-141}} <br />
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In 1175, Muhammad of Ghor crossed the [[Indus River]] through the [[Gumal Pass]] instead of [[Khyber Pass]], capturing [[Multan]] and [[Uch]] from the [[Carmathian]] rulers in the same year.{{sfn|Wink|1991|page=142}} During the course of these incursions, Muhammad avoided a direct confrontation with the [[Ghaznawids]] in [[Punjab]] and instead focused on lands bordering the middle and lower course of the [[Indus Valley]]. Hence, to bypass the Ghaznawids, Muhammad turned south towards coastal plains of [[Gujarat]] in order to open an alternative route to the [[Gangetic Plain]] through the wealthy kingdom of the [[Chaulukya dynasty|Chaulukyas]].{{sfn|Thomas|2018|page=65}} <br />
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Meanwhile, the Chaulukyas lead by their stripling monarch [[Mularaja II]] along with their feudatories from [[Chahamanas of Naddula|Naddula]], [[Chahamanas of Jalor|Jalor]] and [[Paramaras of Chandravati|Abu]], mustered a powerful army to confront the advancing Ghurid army.{{sfn|Majumdar|1956|page=135-136}}<br />
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== Battle ==<br />
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Muhammad of Ghor persisting with the [[Gumal Pass]], marched by the way of lower [[Sindh]] to penetrate into northern territory of the Chaulukyas through westernmost [[Rajasthan]]. Before reaching the site of battle in [[Mount Abu]], Muhammad sacked [[Nadol]], desecrating the idol of [[Shiva]] in [[Kiradu temples|Kiradu]].{{sfn|Patel|2009|page=40}}<br />
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The 12th century Kashmiri-historian Jayanka in his [[Prithviraja Vijaya]] mentioned that by time the Turks reached the Chahamana kingdom, they were so parched by marching through the desert that they had to drink the blood of their own horses.{{sfn|Wink|1991|page=143}} After crossing the [[Thar desert]] southwards to [[Marwar]], Muhammad's exhausted army eventually reached at foothills of [[Mount Abu]].{{sfn|Wink|1991|page=108-109}} <br />
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At the foot of Mount Abu, the Ghurid army confronted the combined army of Chaulukya feudatories — [[Paramaras of Chandravati|Paramara ruler]] Dharavarsha of Abu, [[Chahamanas of Naddula|Chahamana]] ruler [[Kelhana]] of Nadol and his brother [[Kirtipala]] from Jalor. According to [[Prabandha Kosha]] — Dharavarsha let Ghurid army into the pass and closed the enemy retreat behind them. In front of Ghurids, facing them was the main Chaulukya army along with Chauhans of Nadol and Jalore. After a sanguinary battle, Ghurid army was signally defeated with great slaughter. Muhammad who got wounded in action, fled from the battlefield; after much trouble in the flight he finally reached [[Ghazna]].{{sfn|Sharma|1959|p=138-139}}{{sfn|Majumdar|1956|p=131-137}}{{sfn|Bhatia|1970|p=176}}<br />
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== Aftermath ==<br />
The Catastrophe did not dampen Muhammad's aspirations, who thenceforth opted for northern routes into mainland India through the [[Khyber Pass]].{{sfn|Majumdar|1956|page=136}} Therefore, Muhammad of Ghor attacked the truncated [[Ghaznawid]] principality in [[Panjab]] and finally seized [[Lahore]] in 1186, deposing them from their last bastion, which heralded a series of lucrative forays into the fertile plains of [[India]].{{sfn|Wink|1991|page=143-144}} After a series of gains and reverses, Muhammad and his lieutenants, swiftly swept down the [[Gangetic Plain]] and eventually extended the Ghurid power as far as the [[Ganges Delta|Bengal Delta]] in east.{{sfn|Wink|1991|page=144-149}}<br />
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The Chaulukya kingdom was raided by Muhammad's elite slave commander [[Qutb al-Din Aybeg]] in course of which [[Battle of Kasahrada (1197)|he defeated]] Chaulukya ruler [[Bhima II]] near [[Mount Abu]] and sacked his capital, thereby avenging the humiliation of Muhammad at the same battlefield twenty years later in 1197.{{sfn|Majumdar|1956|page=143}}<br />
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== Sources ==<br />
=== Native accounts ===<br />
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The later Chaulukya(Solanki) inscriptions, as well as the chroniclers of Gujarat, greatly praise Mularaja for this victory:<br />
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* The poet Someshvara writes that Mularaja defeated the lord of [[Turkic peoples|Turushka]]s (Turkic people), and crushed the ''[[mlechchha]]'' (foreign) army.{{sfn|Majumdar|1956|p=131}}<br />
* Balachandra mentions that Mularaja defeated the ''mlechchha'' king despite being an infant.{{sfn|Majumdar|1956|p=131}}<br />
* [[Udayaprabha Suri]], in his ''Sukrita-Kirti-Kallolini'', states that Naikidevi gave Mularaja an army to play with. With this army, Mularaja defeated the Hammira (Sanskrit form of ''[[Emir]]'') and his ''mlechchha'' army, whose soldiers were covered from head to toe in order to protect themselves.{{sfn|Majumdar|1956|p=131}}<br />
* Arisimha also mentions that Mularaja defeated the Muslims.{{sfn|Majumdar|1956|p=131}}<br />
* An inscription of [[Bhima II]] states that even a woman could defeat Hammira during the reign of Mularaja.{{sfn|Majumdar|1956|p=131}}<br />
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The 14th century account of Merutunga states that Naiki devi took her son Mularaja in her lap and marched at the head of the Chaulukya army and defeated the [[Ghurid]] forces at Gāḍarāraghaṭṭa pass and secured for her son title of "vanquisher of the king of Ghazni". However, Ashoke Kumar Majumdar criticised the writing of Merutunga who used mythical stories to fascinate his readers.{{sfn|Majumdar|1956|page=137}} In any case, Merutunga is dismissed as "completely unreliable" by modern scholars .<ref>{{citation |last=Crouzet |first=François |title=Studies in the Cultural History of India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2HJDAAAAYAAJ |year=1965 |page=237|publisher=Shiva Lal Agarwala}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=A. K. Warder |author-link=A. K. Warder |title=Indian Kāvya Literature |volume=VI: The Art of Storytelling |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fl0l5ZTkNxIC&pg=151 |year=1992 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0615-3 }}</ref><br />
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The [[Sundha Mata Temple|Sundha Hill]] inscription of the Jalor Chahamanas boasts that [[Kirtipala]] routed the Turushka army at Kasahrada.{{sfn|Srivastava|1979|pp=4-5}} It also states that his brother [[Kelhanadeva]] erected a golden gateway (''[[torana]]'') at the shrine of the deity [[Shiva|Somesha]] after destroying the Turushkas.{{sfn|Majumdar|1956|p=135}} Kelhanadeva was the ruler of [[Naddula]]; according to the legendary chronicle ''[[Prithviraja Vijaya]]'', Muhammad of Ghor had captured Naddula during his invasion of India. Kelhanadeva managed to regain control of Naddula after the victory at Kasahrada. {{sfn|Singh|1964|p=259}}<br />
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=== Muslim accounts ===<br />
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According to the 13th century Persian chronicler ''[[Minhaj-i-Siraj]]'', Muhammad of Ghor marched towards Nahrwala (the Chaulukya capital [[Anahilavada]]) via [[Uch]]chha and [[Multan]]. The "[[Raja|Rae]] of Nahrwala" (the Chaulukya king) was young but commanded a huge army with [[war elephants|elephants]]. In the ensuing battle, "the army of Islam was defeated and put to rout", and the invading ruler had to return without any accomplishment.{{sfn|Majumdar|1956|p=135}}<br />
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Nizam-ud-din gives a similar account and states that Muhammad of Ghor marched to Gujarat via desert. The 16th century writer [[`Abd al-Qadir Bada'uni|Badauni]] also mentions the invader's defeat, and states that he retreated to Ghazni with great difficulty. [[Firishta]] also states that the ruler of Gujarat defeated the Muslim army "with great slaughter", and the remnant of the defeated army faced many hardships during its return journey to [[Ghazni]].{{sfn|Majumdar|1956|p=135}}<br />
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=== Alternative chronology ===<br />
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None of the Chaulukya inscriptions and chroniclers mentions the invading king's name, simply describing him as a ''[[mlechchha]]'', [[Turkic peoples|Turushka]] or [[Emir|Hammira]]. However, modern historians identify him with Muhammad of Ghor.{{sfn|Majumdar|1956|p=132}}<br />
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According to an alternative theory, the Battle of Kasahrada took place during the reign of Mularaja's successor [[Bhima II]]. This theory is based on some Muslim chronicles, which state that "Bhim Dev" was the one who defeated Muhammad of Ghor. Moreover, an 1178 [[Kiradu temples|Kiradu]] inscription, issued during Bhima's reign, records repairs to a temple damaged by the Turushkas. The proponents of this theory argue that Mularaja's forces defeated another king, or that Muhammad of Ghor invaded the Chaulukya territory twice around 1178 CE.{{sfn|Majumdar|1956|p=132-133}}<br />
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== In popular culture ==<br />
The 2022 Gujarati historical film ''[[Nayika Devi: The Warrior Queen]]'' depicts the battle of Kasahrada.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=2022-03-16 |title='Nayika Devi: The Warrior Queen' Depicts Chunky Panday As Evil Antagonist |url=https://news.abplive.com/entertainment/nayika-devi-the-warrior-queen-depicts-chunky-panday-as-evil-antagonist-1520021 |access-date=2022-04-08 |website=ABP Live |publisher=IANS |language=}}</ref><br />
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==See also==<br />
[[Battle of Kasahrada (1197)]]<br />
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== References ==<br />
{{Reflist}}<br />
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=== Bibliography ===<br />
{{refbegin}}<br />
* {{cite book|last=Bhatia|first=P.|title=The Paramāras: (c. 800 - 1305 A.D.) ; a Study in the Political and Cultural History of Their Kingdoms|publisher=Munshiram Manoharlal|year=1970| isbn=978-81-215-0410-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CW6oyAEACAAJ|access-date=1 May 2022}}<br />
* {{cite book|last=Majumdar|first=R. C.|author-link=R. C. Majumdar |title=Ancient India |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |year=1977 |isbn=9788120804364 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XNxiN5tzKOgC }}<br />
* {{cite book|last=Majumdar|first=Ashoke Kumar|title=Chaulukyas of Gujarat |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ffAdAAAAMAAJ |publisher=Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan |year=1956 |oclc=4413150 }}<br />
* {{Cite journal |last=Patel |first=Alka|date=2009 |title=Expanding the Ghurid Architectural Corpus East of the Indus: The Jāgeśvara Temple at Sādaḍi, Rajasthan |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40863700 |journal=Archives of Asian Art |volume=59 |pages=33–56 |jstor=40863700 |issn=0066-6637}}<br />
* {{cite book |last=Srivastava|first=Ashoke Kumar|title=The Chahamanas of Jalor |publisher=Sahitya Sansar Prakashan |year=1979 |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.547206 |oclc=12737199 }}<br />
* {{cite book|last=Sharma|first=Dasharatha|title=Early Chauhān Dynasties |publisher=S. Chand / Motilal Banarsidass |year=1959 |isbn=9780842606189 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n4gcAAAAMAAJ }}<br />
* {{cite book |last=Singh|first=R. B.|title=History of the Chāhamānas |publisher=N. Kishore |year=1964 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TKs9AAAAIAAJ |oclc=11038728 }}<br />
* {{Cite book|last=Thomas|first=David|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6h2_DwAAQBAJ |title=The Ebb and Flow of the Ghūrid Empire|date=2018|publisher=Sydney University Press |isbn=978-1-74332-542-1|language=en}}<br />
* {{Cite book|last=Wink|first=Andre|author-link=Andre Wink|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=75FlxDhZWpwC |title=Al-Hind the Making of the Indo-Islamic World: The Slave Kings and the Islamic Conquest : 11Th-13th Centuries |date=1991 |publisher=BRILL| isbn=9004102361 |language=en}}<br />
{{refend}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Conflicts in 1178|Kasahrada]]<br />
[[Category:Battles involving the Indian kingdoms|Kasahrada]]<br />
[[Category:History of Rajasthan]]<br />
[[Category:Battles involving the Rajputs|Kasahrada]]<br />
[[Category:1178 in Asia]]<br />
[[Category:12th century in India]]<br />
[[Category:Battles involving Turkic peoples]]<br />
[[Category:12th-century military history]]</div>Ajay Kumar