| Karna I | |
|---|---|
| Trailokyamalla | |
| King of Gujarat | |
| Reign | c. 1064–1092 CE |
| Predecessor | Bhima I |
| Successor | Jayasimha Siddharaja |
| Spouse | Mayanalladevi |
| Issue | Jayasimha Siddharaja |
| dynasty | Chaulukya (Solanki) |
| Father | Bhima I |
| Mother | Udayamati |
Karna I (r. c. 1064–1092 CE) was the ruler of the Kingdom of Gujarat. He was a member of theChaulukya dynasty and ruled from his capitalAnahilapataka (modern Patan).
Karna succeeded his fatherBhima I, who had invaded theParamara kingdom ofMalwa at the time ofBhoja's death. Karna was forced to retreat from Malwa by Bhoja's brotherUdayaditya. He annexedLata to the Chaulukya territory by defeating aKalachuri general, but lost it within a few years. He also suffered a defeat against theChahamanas of Naddula, who raided the Chaulukya capital during his reign.
Karna is credited with defeating aBhil chief ofAshapalli, and laying the foundation of the Karnavati city, identified with the modernAhmedabad in westernIndia. Karna married Mayanalladevi,[A] who was the mother of his son and successorJayasimha Siddharaja.
Karna was born to the Chaulukya monarchBhima I and Queen Udayamati. According to the 12th century Jain chroniclerHemachandra, Bhima had three sons: Mularaja, Kshemaraja, and Karna. Mularaja died during Bhima's lifetime.[3] Kshemaraja, the elder surviving son, renounced his rights to the throne, and retired to Dadhisthali as an ascetic.[4] Bhima then placed Karna on the throne and retired. After becoming the king, Karna sent Kshemaraja's son Devaprasada to Dadisthali to take care of his father.[3]
The veracity of Hemachandra is doubtful, and is not corroborated by any historical evidence. The 14th century chronicler Merutunga states that Bhima's three sons were Mularaja, Karna and Haripala. Of these, Haripala was born of a concubine named Bakuladevi. According to historian A. K. Majumdar, Merutunga's account appears to be more satisfactory, since voluntary rejections of thrones were very rare. Karna may have banished his half-brother and nephew to eliminate any rival claimants to the throne. Hemachandra was a royal courtier of Karna's sonJayasimha Siddharaja as wellKumarapala (a descendant of Kshemaraja/Haripala). Therefore, he probably invented a fictional narrative to avoid mentioning Bhima's illegitimate son as an ancestor of his patron. This theory is corroborated by the fact that Jayasimha Siddharaja hated Kumarapala.[5]
Karna bore the title Trailokyamalla.[6]
Karna was a contemporary of hisKalachuri namesake Karna (also known as Lakshmi-Karna). Karna's fatherBhima I had formed an alliance with the Lakshmi-Karna to defeat theParamaras ofMalwa. The Paramara kingBhoja died as the alliance attacked Malwa, and a war of succession broke out between the Paramara relativesJayasimha I andUdayaditya. Lakshmi-Karna seems to have occupied Malwa for sometime, but he soon suffered a series defeats against other neighbouring kings, and Bhima broke away from him.[7]
Udayaditya ultimately ascended the Paramara throne in Malwa. The Chaulukya inscriptions and chronicles claim that Karna defeated the new Paramara king. An inscription fromKumarapala's reign states that Karna defeated the Malwa monarch at the Sudakupa pass. The Gujarat chronicler Arisimha claims that Karna brought a statue ofNilakantha to Gujarat as a result of his victory against the Malwa ruler.[7] Another Gujarat poet Someshvara claims that Karna overran Malwa, and the Paramara priest magically invoked an evil spirit to defeat him. However, Karna's priest Ama (who was an ancestor of Someshvara), turned this evil spirit against the Paramara priest, who was killed as a result.[8]
The non-Chaulukya records, on the other hand, suggest that Udayaditya defeated Karna. According to the Paramara inscriptions, Udayaditya defeated three kings to ascend the Paramara throne. One of these three kings was Karna, who is identified with the Chaulukya king.[7]Chahamana chroniclePrithviraja Vijaya states that the Chahamana kingVigraharaja III gave a horse named Saranga to Udayaditya, with whose help Udayaditya defeated Karna.[9]TheJainad inscription of Udayaditya's sonJagaddeva also mentions that he subdued Karna, and made the wives of the Gurjara warriors cry.[10] These evidences indicate that the Paramara claims of victory over Karna pertain to the Chaulukya Karna (and not the Kalachuri Karna).[8]
These opposing claims indicate that Karna defeated Udayaditya at first, but then Udayaditya was able to defeat him and ascend the throne of Malwa with Chahamana support. Udayaditya's son Jagaddeva seems to have accompanied his father in the battle against Karna.[11]
After the death of theParamara kingBhoja, theKalachuris of Tripuri briefly occupiedMalwa. The Kalachuri general Vapullaka also conquered theLata region (present-day south Gujarat), which was located between the Chaulukya and the Paramara kingdoms. By 1074 CE, Lata was under Chaulukya control, as attested by one of Karna'sNavsari inscription. Thus, it appears that Karna expelled the Kalachuris from Lata, and annexed the region to the Chaulukya kingdom.[12]
Karna's victory appears to have been achieved during the reign of the Kalachuri king Yashah-Karna, as suggested by a verse of the Gujarat poet Someshvara. This verse talks about how the rivalry between the legendary heroesKarna andArjuna resulted in Arjuna'syashah (fame) being driven away.[12] It appears that Karna lost Lata to one Trivikramapala within three years, but the region was recaptured by his sonJayasimha Siddharaja.[13]
TheChahamanas of Naddula invaded the Chaulukya kingdom during Karna's reign. According to theirSundha Hill inscription, the Chahamana rulerPrithvipala defeated Karna, and his successorJojalladeva occupied the Chaulukya capitalAnahilapataka by force. It is possible that the Naddula Chahamanas raided the Chaulukya capital while Karna was busy at another place.[13]
According to aRas-Mala account based on the writings of the 14th century chronicler Merutunga, Karna defeated theBhils and theKolis. The two tribes lived between theRann of Kutch and theSabarmati River, and plundered the Chaulukya territories. As a result, Karna led a series of expeditions against them. In one such campaign, he defeated a Bhil chief named Asha (Āśā), who lived atAshapalli. According to Merutunga, Karna established the city of Karnavati after this victory. Karnavati is identified with modernAhmedabad by some, but this is not certain.[14]
Bilhana's poemKarna-Sundari, which presents Karna as a hero, claims that he conqueredSindh. But this claim is historically inaccurate.[13]
Two relatively late texts suggest that Karna was defeated by theChahamana kingDurlabharaja III. The 14th century textPrabandha Kosha claims that Durlabha defeated theGurjara king, brought him to the Chahamana capitalAjmer in chains and forced him to sellyogurt in a market. The 15th centuryHammira Mahakavya claims that Karna was killed in a battle against Durlabha. However, this claim is historically inaccurate: Durlabha died around 1070 CE, while Karna lived until 1092 CE. Moreover, the earlier Chahamana records (such asPrithviraja Vijaya) do not mention any such conflict. It is possible that Durlabha achieved a minor military success against Karna, which was magnified into a major victory by the laterpanegyrists.[15]
Karna married Mayanalla, a daughter of theKadamba king Jayakeshi I (r. c. 1050–1080). The various legends provide contradictory accounts of how this marriage happened. According to Hemachandra's 12th centuryDvyashraya, Mayanalla was an extremely beautiful Kadamba princess. She once saw Karna's painting by aBuddhist artist. Enamoured by Karna's looks, she rejected all other suitors, and resolved to marry him. With the approval of her father Jayakeshi, she sent an artist to Karna's court with her own portrait. The Kadamba king also sent gifts for Karna, including an elephant. When Karna went out in the garden to check out the gifted elephant, he found the princess waiting for him. He verified her identity by asking certain questions, and then married her.[16]
According to Merutunga's 14th centuryPrabandha-Chintamani, Mayanalla-devi was an ugly princess ofKarnata. One day, she remembered herpast life. In that past life, she was a devoutShaivite, who had planned to visit theSomanath temple in Gujarat. However, she was stopped at Bahuloda for being unable to pay a pilgrim tax imposed by the rulers of Gujarat. When Mayanalla recalled this incident from her past life, she decided to marry the king of Gujarat and waive this unfair tax. At her insistence, her father Jayakeshi sent amarriage proposal to Karna, but Karna rejected the ugly princess. Mayanalla then came to Karna's court with her eight female companions, and threatened to commit suicide. Karna still refused to marry her, but unable to witness their deaths, Karna's mother Udayamati declared that she would die with the girls. As a result, Karna had to relent. He married Mayanalla, but kept neglecting her. Ultimately, she was able to win him over with help of a minister.[17] Later, she convinced their sonJayasimha Siddharaja to waive the pilgrim tax. This is also attested by another chronicler.[18]
The Kashmiri poetBilhana also appears to allude to this incident. He stayed at Karna's court for sometime, and composed the poetic dramaKarna-Sundari, which presents Karna as a hero. According to this work, Karna dreamt of the princess (called Karnasundari, or "Karna's beautiful woman"), and decided to marry her. His jealous queen attempted to get him married to a boy disguised in Karnasundari's dress. However, Karna's clever minister foiled her plan by replacing the boy with the real Karnasundari.[13] Although Bilhana was a contemporary of Karna, his account is the least accurate one, because it is intended to be a drama.[19] Nevertheless, his account is helpful in estimating the date of this marriage. Bilhana probably left Karna's court somewhere between 1072 and 1078 CE. Assuming that Karnasundari is same as Mayanalla, Karna's marriage to her would have taken place sometime before this.[20]
It is difficult to determine whether Mayanalla was beautiful (as claimed by Hemachandra and Bilhana), or ugly (as claimed by Merutunga). Both Hemachandra and Bilhana wrote under Chaulukya patronage, so they had a vested interest in portraying Karna's queen in a positive light. Merutunga was not under any such pressure, but his account is fanciful and full of historical inaccuracies. For example, he claims that Jayakeshi's father was Shubhakeshi (it was actually Shashthi II).[20] Merutunga further provides an absurd account of how Shubhakeshi chose to die with a tree in awildfire, because he was grateful to the tree for having given him shade during a journey.[16]
Like his predecessors, Karna was aShaivite, and is said to have built three temples. According to the 14th century chronicler Merutunga, he built a temple dedicated to the goddess Kochharba at Ashapalli after defeating its Bhil chief Asha. He also established the Karnavati city nearby, where he commissioned the Karneshvara and Jayantidevi temples. He also built the Karnasagara tank atGambhu nearModhera and Karnavati. In his capital Anahilapataka (now Patan), he erected the Karnameru temple.[21][22] He is also ascribed avapi at Bhadravati (Bhadreshwar). According toHemachandra, Karna repaired a temple of the goddessLakshmi, and prayed her for a son; as a result of the Lakshmi's blessings,Jayasimha Siddharaja was born to him.[23] His minister Shantu built Shantu Vasatika at Karnavati, Patan, Vanka and Nihala. His another minister Munjala built Munjala Vasati at Patan somewhere before 1900 CE. Saliga Jinalaya or Sagal Vasatika was built inKhambhat before 1094 CE. None of these temples survives. According toBhaktamara-stotra-vritti, Shreshthi Chanaka built Adinath temple at Patan. Minister Dhavala, nephew of Vimala, constructed Revanta-prasada. Vayatiya Vasati at Ashapalli probably constructed in early years of Karna, existed before Udayana arrived there. Udayana-vihaea in Karnavati was completed in 1093 CE. The temple is discussed in Mahendrasuri'sVadasthala and its rejoinerPrabodhyavadasthala by Jinapatisuri as it had raised controversies in 1192 regarding its sanctity due to its consecration by aChaityavasi abbot.[24]
Based on style-critical analysis, therangamandapa andtorana atSun Temple, Modhera is ascribed the early years of Karna's reign. The extant temples built during this period include theBrahma temple atKhedbrahma, the Limboji Mata temple at Delmal, Nilkantha Mahadev temple at Sunak, the completely ruined Vishnu Temple on the bank of lake at Ganja, Dugdheshwara Mahadev temple at Madrodpur in Kheralu Taluka ofMehsana district.Shantinatha Jain temple of the group of temples atKumbhariya belongs to this period. Lakulisha Temple atPavagadh is stylistically attributed to this period.[24]
Karna was also tolerant towardsJainism, as evident from Rajashekhara's 15th century commentary on Sridhara'sNyaya-Kandali. One legend claims that as Karna became a disciple of Vardhamana Suri, but this is historically inaccurate since Vardhamana Suri hadstarved himself to death at an earlier date.[21]
According toSomeshvara'sSurathotsava Mahakavya, his ancestor Ama-sharman served as a priest (purohita) to Karna. The Chaulukya kings gave Ama-sharman a considerable amount of wealth, which he used to build Shiva shrines, dig ponds, and make donations to the poor. Someshvara claims that during Karna's invasion of Dhara, the priest of Dhara produced a demoness (krtya); Ama-sharman usedmantras (chants) to protect Karna and defeat the demoness.[25]
The story of Karandev (Karna), Minaldevi (Mayanalla) and their son Siddhraj (Jayasimha Siddharaja) is depicted in theGujarati historical fictionPatan ni Prabhuta (The Glory of Patan) byKanhaiyalal Munshi.[26]
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