Historical Figures

8. The Chauhans and the Chaulukyas destroyed the nation by killing each other!

The struggle between the Chaulukyas and the Chauhans for the expansion of the kingdom was going on for the last several centuries. This struggle reached its peak during the time of Arnoraj.

However, Arnoraj did not want to increase this union because Arnaraj wanted to expand his kingdom towards Malwa while the Chaulukya ruler of Gujarat Siddharaj Jai Singh wanted to expand his kingdom towards Rajasthan. Due to this, both the states started fighting with each other and started doing damage to the nation.

In AD 1134, Siddharaj Jai Singh attacked Ajmer but Arnoraj defeated him. According to the treaty that followed, Siddharaj Jai Singh married his daughter Kanchanadevi to Arnoraj. This led to a brief reconciliation between the two states. In AD 1142, when Chaulukya Kumarpal ascended the throne of Chaulukyas, the Chahamana-Chalukya conflict again intensified.

Renowned writer and grammarian Jain Muni Hemchandra has written that Arnoraj attacked Gujarat by gathering some kings. Arnoraj was aggressive and made Kumarpal's situation serious by joining Chahad among the feudatories of Gujarat.

According to Har Bilas Sharda, Arnoraj wanted to make Bahad, the adopted son of his father-in-law Siddharaj Jai Singh, the king of Gujarat, so he attacked Kumarpal in AD 1145. Kumarpal was defeated in this war and he married his sister Devaladevi with Arnoraj.

The second war between Arnoraj and Kumarpal took place around AD 1150. According to Jaisingh Suri, Jinmandan, Charitra Sundar and Prabandha Kosh, at one time Arnoraj and his wife Devaldevi, who was Kumarpal's sister, started slandering each other's lineage in humorous humor while playing Chaupar.

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Humor turned into animosity, as a result of which Devaladevi instigated her brother Kumarpal Chaulukya to attack her husband Arnoraj Chauhan. Kumarpal attacked Arnoraj.

When Arnoraj came to know that Kumarpal was coming towards Ajmer with his army, then Arnoraj also started towards Gujarat with his army. A battle took place between the two armies near Abu in which Kumarapala defeated Arnoraj. The victorious army of the Chaulukyas reached Ajmer, but it could not enter the city by crossing the strong walls. Kumarpal had to return from Ajmer in desperation.

After some time once again Arnoraj plans to avenge his failure. This time again Chaulukya reached Ajmer and once again Arnoraj was defeated. Thus Chaulukya Kumarpal took control of Ajmer in AD 1150.

The defeated Arnoraj had to marry his sister with the conqueror Kumarapala and also had to gift elephants and horses. Arnoraj's reputation got a big blow due to this defeat. Yet the boundaries of his kingdom remained unchanged.

After this victory, Kumarpal went to Chittor fort where he got an inscription engraved in which he mentioned his Ajmer victory.

According to Ras Mala, the army of Ajmer was led by Someshwar. Someshvara was the nephew of the Chaulukyas, due to which the army of Kumarapala remained in doubt during the war, but when Arnoraj fell due to an iron spear, the war ended abruptly and the Chaulukyas suddenly won.

King Arnoraj had three sons. Among them, Jagdev and Vigraharaj (IV) were born from the womb of Sudhwa, the princess of Marwar, while Someshwar was born from the womb of Kanchanadevi, princess of Anhilwara Patan. Someshwar's childhood was spent in the court of Siddharaj Jaisingh.

This double defeat gave a big blow to the prestige of the Chauhans, but after some time Arnoraj regained the lost prestige by defeating the Ghaznavids. He hoisted his victory flag beyond the Sambhar lake in the regions of the Indus and Saraswati rivers, and by which the Chauhans of Sambhar became the greatest power in northern India.

Chauhan ruler Arnoraj was a devout, respected scholar and a Prajapalak king, but misfortune followed him, due to which he was suddenly defeated by arrows even after defeating the Chaulukyas many times in the front battle.

After regaining his lost power, Arnoraja's elder son Jaggadeva killed Arnoraja in the greed of the kingdom in AD 1155, before Arnoraja could avenge his old defeats against the Chaulukyas.

Thus, the Chauhan rulers, who came out of the small desert kingdom of Nagaur, hoisted their flag till the areas of Mahanadi Indus during Arnoraj's period and Saraswati river lost in mythological period.

-Doctor. Mohanlal Gupta