Chaulukya dynasty should not be confused with Chalukya dynasty.
| Conventional Long Name: | Chaulukyas of Gujarat (Solankis) |
| Common Name: | Chaulukya |
| Government Type: | Monarchy |
| Year Start: | CE |
| Year End: | 1244 CE |
| P1: | Chavda dynasty |
| P2: | Chalukyas of Lata |
| S1: | Vaghela dynasty |
| S2: | Cutch State |
| Capital: | Anahilavada (modern Patan) |
| Religion: | Hinduism, Jainism |
| Today: | India |
| Coa Size: | 280px |
The Chaulukya dynasty, also Solanki dynasty, was a dynasty that ruled the Kingdom of Gujarat in western India, between and . Their capital was located at Anahilavada (modern Patan). At times, their rule extended to the Malwa region in present-day Madhya Pradesh. The family is also known as the "Solanki dynasty" in the vernacular literature. They belonged to the Solanki clan of Rajputs.[1] [2] [3]
Mularaja, the founder of the dynasty, supplanted the last ruler of the Chavda dynasty around 940 CE. His successors fought several battles with the neighbouring rulers such as the Chudasamas, the Paramaras and the Chahamanas of Shakambhari. During the reign of Bhima I, the Ghaznavid ruler Mahmud invaded the kingdom and raided the Somnath temple during 1024-1025 CE. The Chaulukyas soon recovered, and the kingdom reached its zenith under the rule of Jayasimha Siddharaja and Kumarapala in the 12th century. Several minor dynasties, such as the Chahamanas of Jalor and the Chahamanas of Naddula, served as Chaulukya vassals during this period. After Kumarapala's death, the kingdom was gradually weakened by internal rebellions; uprisings by feudatories; and invasions by the Paramaras, the Ghurids, the Yadavas and others. Taking advantage of this, the Vaghelas, who had earlier served as Chaulukya generals, usurped the power and established a new dynasty in the 1240s.
Several princely state rulers of the Solanki clan claimed descent from the Chaulukyas.
The dynasty used the self-designation "Chaulukya" in all but four of its records. The four exceptions are:
Hemachandra, a Jain scholar in the Chaulukya court, generally used the terms "Chaulukya" and "Chulukya". His Dvyasraya Mahakavya mentions the variants "Chulakya", "Chalukka", and "Chulukka"; his Kumarapala-Charita mentions another variant "Chuluga". The Chaulukya court poet Someshvara describes the dynasty as "Chaulukya" (in Kirti-Kaumudi) and "Chulukya" (in the Abu inscription of Vastupala and Tejapala).
"Solanki" or "Solankhi" is a vernacular form of the term.
However, the Chaulukyas of Gujarat shared a myth of origin with the Chalukyas of Kalyani and Vengi. According to this legend, the progenitor of the dynasty was created by Brahma. The version of the legend mentioned in the Vadnagar prashasti inscription of Kumarapala is as follows: the deities once asked the creator god Brahma to protect them from the danavas (demons). Brahma then created a hero from his chuluka (pot or folded palm in Sanskrit), which was filled with Ganges water. This hero was named "Chulukya", and became the progenitor of the dynasty. A variation of this legend is mentioned by Abhayatilaka Gani in his commentary on Hemachandra's Dvyashraya-Kavya. According to this version, Brahma produced the hero to support the earth, after his other creations disappointed him. These stories are of no historical value, as it was customary for contemporary royal houses to claim mythical and heroic origins. The Kumarapala-Bhupala-Charita of Jayasimha Suri presents Chulukya as a historical warrior, whose capital was Madhupadma. Mularaja was his descendant, with nearly a hundred generations separating the two. This account may be partly historical: Madhupadma has been identified variously as a location outside Gujarat, including present-day Mathura.
C. V. Vaidya theorized that the Chaulukyas were different from the Chalukyas. G. H. Ojha opposed this theory, pointing out that an inscription of the Lata Chalukya ruler Kirtiraja describes his family as "Chalukya", while an inscription of his grandson Trilochanapala describes the family as "Chaulukya". According to Asoke Majumdar, while these similar-sounding names suggest a common origin for all these dynasties, there is no concrete evidence to draw any definitive conclusion. Majumdar theorized that the Chaulukyas were connected to the Sulikas or the Chulikas, a tribe mentioned in several ancient records. This tribe is described as living on the northern frontier of ancient India. However, Majumdar admitted that there is not enough evidence to regard this theory as conclusive. According to the Agnikula myth mentioned in a 16th-century recension of the legendary epic poem Prithviraj Raso, four Rajput clans including the Chaulukyas were born from a fire-pit on Mount Abu. A section of colonial-era historians interpreted this mythical account to suggest that these clans were foreigners who came to India after the decline of the Gupta Empire around the 5th century CE, and were admitted in the Hindu caste system after performing a fire ritual.
The Chaulukya rulers have been called "Gurjararāja" and "Gurjareśvara" ("ruler of Gurjara"). Based on this legend, D. R. Bhandarkar and others theorized that the Chaulukyas were a branch of Gurjaras, whom they believed to be a tribe of foreign origin. Bhandarkar and Augustus Hoernle also believed that the name of the "Lata" region changed to "Gurjaratra" (later Gujarat) during the Chaulukya reign, presumably because they were Gurjaras.
However, this foreign-origin theory is weakened by a number of factors. The Chaulukyas did not claim an Agnikula origin for themselves: it was the neighbouring Paramara rulers who used the legend to explain their own origin. The inscriptions from the reign of Bhima II prove that the Chaulukyas knew about the Agnikula legend, but associated it with the Paramaras, not themselves. The earliest copies of Prithviraj Raso do not mention this legend either. The legend that includes the Chaulukyas among the fire-born clans is first mentioned by the 16th century poets, who may have extended the Paramara legend to include other dynasties, in order to foster Rajput unity against the Mughals. Moreover, there is no evidence that the Chaulukya territory area came to be known as "Gurjaratra" during the Chaulukya reign. "Gurjara" and "Lata" were two distinct historical regions in northern and southern parts of present-day Gujarat respectively, and the term "Lata" was never used to describe the whole of Gujarat. The Chaulukya kings were called "Gurjararāja" and "Gurjareśvara" because they ruled the territory which was already called Gurjara by their time. Several other kings who held similar epithets had earlier ruled this territory: these include the Gurjara-Pratiharas and the Gurjaras of Nandipuri. Historian Asoke Kumar Majumdar points out that even the southern Ganga chief Marasimha II assumed the title "king of Gurjaras" after defeating a northern king on behalf of the Rashtrakutas.
Most of the dynasty's rulers were Shaivaite, although they also patronized Jainism.[4] The dynasty's founder Mularaja is said to have built Mulavasatika temple for Digambara Jains and the Mulanatha-Jinadeva temple for the Svetambara Jains. The earliest of the Dilwara Temples and the Modhera Sun Temple were constructed during the reign of Bhima I. According to popular tradition, his queen Udayamati also commissioned the Queen's step-well. Kumarapala started patronizing Jainism at some point in his life, and the subsequent Jain accounts portray him as the last great royal patron of Jainism. The Chaulukya rulers also endowed mosques to maintain good relationship with the Muslim traders.
The Vaghela dynasty, which succeeded the Chaulukyas, claimed descent from a sister of Kumarapala.
Various princely state dynasties calling themselves Solanki (the vernacular form of Chaulukya) claimed descent from the Chaulukyas as well. These included the rulers of the Lunavada State, which was a tributary to the Marathas before coming under the British rule.