Solanki
For the English cricketer, please see Vikram SolankiThe
Solanki (from
Chalukya, an ancient
Indian dynasty) are a
Hindu clan who ruled parts of western and central India between the
10th and
13th centuries AD. The Solanki are a branch of the
Chalukya dynasty of whose oldest known area of residence was in present-day
Karnataka. The Solanki clan-name is found within the
Jat and
Rajput communities. There are even some
Jain families with origins from
Solanki clan. Also, spelled as
Sholanki in the Western world.
In
Gujarat,
Anhilwara (modern
Siddhpur Patan) served as their capital.
Gujarat was a major center of
Indian Ocean trade, and Anhilwara was one of the largest cities in
India, with population estimated at 100,000 in the year
1000. The Solankis were patrons of the great seaside temple of
Shiva at
Somnath Patan in
Kathiawar; Bhima Dev helped rebuild the temple after it was sacked by
Mahmud of Ghazni in
1026. His son Karandev conquered the
Bhil king Ashapall or Ashaval, and after his victory established a city named
Karnavati on the banks of the
Sabarmati River, at the site of modern
Ahmedabad.
Mulraj Solanki, who came to power in
942, established what came to be known as the Solanki dynasty. Ambitious as he was, he started expanding his frontiers and established his complete and total hold over
Saurashtra and
Kachchh by defeating Grahripu of
Junagadh (
Saurashtra) and Lakho Fulani of
Kachchh.
Mulraj Solanki's reign marked the start of a period during which
Gujarati culture flowered as manifested in art, architecture, language and script. It is described as the golden period of
Gujarat's chequered history.
Mulraj himself adopted the title of
Gurjaresh (King of Gurjardesh) an aristocratic title claimed from his
Gujjar lineage. The territory under the sway of the Solankis came to be known by different variations of the word Gurjar like Gurjardesh, Gurjara-Rastra and finally
Gujarat.
The one name stand out in the Solanki dynasty is
Siddhraj Jaysinh also known as Siddhraj Solanki who ruled for 47 years from
1094 and considered as the most prominent Solanki king. Apart from
Saurashtra and
Kachchh, Siddhraj Jaysinh had also conquered the
Malwa.
The popular conception of Siddhraj mixes greatness and medieval callousness. One of the most prominent legends of the
Gujarat bards is woven round the siege of
Junagadh by Siddhraj' Jaysinh. Siddhraj wanted to marry the princess Ranakdevi, but his vassal, Ra Khengar, the Chief of
Junagadh, married her before he could do so. An enraged Siddharaj attacked the mountain-fortress of Junagadh. It fell after Ra Khengar's nephews betrayed him. Ranakdevi refused Siddharaj's advances for marriage after he had killed her husband and two sons. She was forcibly brought to
Wadhwan where she committed the ritual of
Sati at this place to protect her honour. It is believed that her curse made Bhogavo, a local river, waterless, forever. Some historians doubt the authenticity of the story.
Siddhraj is said to have ascended the throne of
Patan after his uncle Mulraja Solanki.
He also features in the legend of Jasma Odan, a beautiful woman of the tank diggers' community-oudes, who were digging a new tank in Patan. Already married, she refused Siddhraj's advances and committed sati to protect her honour. It is believed that her curse made this tank waterless and the king without an heir to the kingdom of Gujarat.
Siddhraj's successor was the king
Kumarpal, who rebuilt the
Somnath temple. Several scholars including the great
Acharya Hemachandra flourished during the rule of Kumarpal.
After
1243, the Solankis lost control of
Gujarat to their feudatories, of whom the
Vaghela chiefs of
Dholka came to dominate Gujarat. In
1297 Gujarat was conquered by the
Delhi Sultanate.
Descendants of the Anhilwara Solankis ruled the state of
Rewa, in the
Bagelkhand region, the eastern part of present-day
Madhya Pradesh. Vyaghra Deo, brother of the King of Gujarat, moved to Bagelkhand in the middle of the
twelfth century, and obtained the fortress of Marpha, 18 miles northeast of
Kalinjar. His son Karandeo married a Kalchuri (
Haihaya) princess of
Mandla, and received the fortress of
Bandogarh as her dowry. Bandogarh served as the seat of the Solankis of Bagelkhand until its destruction by the
Mughal emperor
Akbar in
1597. After the destruction of Bandogargh, the Solankis moved their capital to
Rewa. From
1812 to
1947 the Solanki
rajas of Rewa ruled the
princely state of that name, within
British India. In 1947, the last Raja of Rewa acceded to newly-independent India.
* Mulraj I (942/960-995/997).
* Chamundaraj (c.995 -c.1010)
* Vallabharaj (c.1010)
* Durlabhraj (
1009-
1021).
* Bhimdev I (
1021-
1063). Son of Naagraj and Nephew of Durlabhraj.
* Karnadev I (
1063-
1093). Son of Bhimdev I.
* "Siddhraj" Jaysinh I (
1093-
1143)
*
Kumarpal (
1143-
1173). Descendant of Karandev I.
* Ajavapal. Nephew of Kumarpal. (c.1171-c.1176)
* Mulraj II (c.1176-c.1178)
* Bhimdev II (c.1178-
1242).
* Jaysinh II (c. 1223) -co-ruler of Bhimdev II
* Tribuvanpal (
1242-
1244)
*
List of rulers of Gujarat:
