| Vakpati Munja | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prithvi-Vallabha Amoghavarsha Sri-Vallabha Vakpati-raja-deva Parama-Bhattaraka Utpala-Raja Maharajadhiraja Parameshvara | |||||||||
| King of Malwa | |||||||||
| Reign | c. 972 CE - 990s CE | ||||||||
| Predecessor | Siyaka | ||||||||
| Successor | Sindhuraja | ||||||||
| Pradhan |
| ||||||||
| Died | 994-998 CE Deccan (Western Chalukya kingdom) | ||||||||
| Spouse | Kusumavati (according to Rajavallabha'sBhojacharitra)[1] | ||||||||
| Issue | Chandana (speculated by K.N. Seth) | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Dynasty | Paramara | ||||||||
| Father | Siyaka | ||||||||
| Mother | Vadaja | ||||||||
| Religion | Hinduism | ||||||||
Munja (reigned c. 972-990s CE), also known asVakpati II, was anIndian ruler from theParamara dynasty, who ruled the Kingdom of Malwa. He is known for consolidating the Malwa kingdom, for patronising poets and scholars and for achieving the military success against almost all of the neighbouring kingdoms.
Munja achieved military successes against theChahamanas, theGuhilas, theHunas, theKalachuris, and the ruler ofGurjara region (possibly aChaulukya orPratihara ruler). He also achieved some early successes against theWestern Chalukya kingTailapa II, but was ultimately defeated and killed by Tailapa some time between 994 CE and 998 CE.
Munja succeededSiyaka as the Paramara king, ascending the throne around 972 CE.[2] According toPrabandha-Chintamani by the 14th century writerMerutunga, Munja was an adopted child of the king Simhadantabhatta (Siyaka). The king discovered him in amunja grassland. Since the king did not have any children of his own at that time, he adopted the child and named him Munja. Although the king later had a biological son namedSindhuraja, he appointed Munja as his successor. Historians doubt the authenticity of this legend, in absence of any supporting evidence. Another later poet Ballala states that Munja and Sindhuraja were biological brothers.[3]
Munja is also known as "Vakpati" (Master of speech),Vakpati-raja,Vakpati-raja-deva, andUtpala-raja.[4] In addition, he assumed the titlesAmoghavarsha,Sri-vallabha andPrithvi-vallabha, which were used by theRashtrakuta kings.[4] This was probably meant to commemorate his predecessor Siyaka's victory over the Rashtrakuta kingKhottiga.[5]
At the time of Munja's ascension, the Paramara kingdom was surrounded byChahamanas of Shakambari, theChahamanas of Naddula and theGuhilas of Medapata in the north; theKalachuris of Chedi and theChandelas in the east; theChalukyas of Kalyani in the south; and theChaulukyas of Gujarat in the west. Except the Chalukyas of Kalyani, Munja successfully dealt with his neighbours.[6]Tilaka-Manjari, a work composed by Munja's court poet Dhanapala eulogizes him as an archer hero.[7] Even the Kauthem inscription of the family of Munja's arch-rivalTailapa II mentions his bravery in wars against the Hunas, the Maravas (people of Marwar), and the Chedis (the Kalachuris).[8]
Early during his reign, Munja defeated the elephant forces of the Guhilas, and plundered their capital Aghata (present-day Ahar in Udaipur). The defeated Guhila ruler (either Naravahana or his son Shaktikumara) took shelter with Dhavala, the Rashtrakuta ruler of Hastikundi.[9] Munja's success is corroborated by the Bijapur inscription of Dhavala, which states that Munja "destroyed" Aghata, forcing the Guhila king to flee the battlefield and seek Dhavala's protection.[10] As a result of this victory, the Paramaras gained control of the eastern part of Mewar, includingChittorgarh.[9]
Munja also defeated the ruler ofGurjara, an ally of the Guhilas.[11] The Bijapur inscription of Dhavala states that the armies of the defeated ruler were left without a leader, and sought asylum with him.[10] Kshemendra'sAuchitya-vichara-charcha alludes to the miserable condition of the Gurjara king.[12] According to historians D C Ganguly andDasharatha Sharma, the defeated king wasMularaja, theChaulukya king of Gujarat. On the other hand, historians Pratipal Bhatia, K. N. Seth and K. C. Jain believe that he was thePratihara ruler Vijayapala (r. 954-989 CE). According to Bhatia, Munja conquered Ujjain from the Pratiharas. Jain, however, states that Ujjain must have been conquered by his father Siyaka II since Munja issued land grants from Ujjain in 973 CE, just one year after his ascension.[6][11]
The Paramara conquest of eastern Mewar brought them closer to the Chahamanas of Naddula (Chauhans of Nadol), who ruled theMarwar region, resulting in a conflict between the two kingdoms. Three Chahamana rulersShobhita,Baliraja andVigrahapala died within a period of 14 years, while Munja remained the Paramara king. K. C. Jain speculates that these deaths might have resulted from the Chahamana-Paramara conflict. The Paramara court poet Padmagupta states that the Munja "caused the pearls in the necklaces worn by the women of Marwar to dance". At the same time, the Sevadi copper plates of the later Chahamana rulerRatnapala call Shobhita as the Lord ofDhara (the Paramara capital). Baliraja's records also claim that he defeated Munja's army. K. C. Jain theorizes that the Chahamanas achieved successes in early part of the struggle, but were ultimately pushed back by Munja.[13]
Like his father Siyaka II, Vakpati also fought against theHunas. The Gaonri plate issued by him in 981 CE records the grant of Vanika village in Huna-mandala to Brahmins. Vakpati's victory over Hunas does not appear to be decisive, because his successor Sindhuraja also had to fight against the Hunas.[13]
According to theUdaipur Prashasti inscription of his descendant Udayaditya, Munja also defeated Yuvaraja II, the Kalachuri ruler of Tripuri.[14] This claim is corroborated by the Kauthem grant inscription ofVikramaditya V, which states that "Utpala destroyed the power of the Chaidyas, the king of Chedis".[10] However, this victory did not result in any territorial gains for the Paramaras.[14]
TheUdaipur Prashasti further claims that he subdued theCholas and theKeralas. However, this seems to be hyperbolic praise, as the Chola and the Kerala kingdoms lay to the south of the Western Chalukya (Karnata) kingdom.[15][16] According to K. C. Jain, it is possible that the Cholas and the Keralas sought his help against mutual enemies.[15]
Munja was a staunch rival of theWestern Chalukya kingTailapa II, whose Karnata kingdom lay to the south of the Paramara kingdom. Tailapa considered himself as the successor of theRashtrakutas, and therefore, wanted to control Malwa.[17] TheUdaipur Prashasti inscription states that Munja attackedLata (present-day Gujarat), and defeated the Chalukya ruler of that area. According to one theory, the defeated ruler was Tailapa'sLata Chalukya vassal Barappa or his son Goggiraja. According to another theory, "Chalukya" here refers to theChaulukyas of present-day Gujarat, and Munja fought with their kingMularaja.[18]
The war between Munja and Tailapa has been described by Merutunga, whose account is based on a now-lostApabhramsa poem calledMunja-rasa.[19] According to Merutunga, Tailapa harassed Munja by carrying out several raids into his kingdom, and Munja defeated Tailapa six times (sixteen times, according to some manuscripts).[8] TheUdaipur Prashasti also states that he defeated Tailapa. Despite these early successes, he could not subdue Tailapa. Against the advice of his prime minister Rudraditya, Munja decided to adopt a more aggressive policy and crossed theGodavari River in a campaign against Tailapa.[18] Merutunga states that the minister foresaw Munja's defeat and committed suicide by jumping into a fire. In the ensuing conflict, Tailapa defeated Munja's army by force and fraud, and imprisoned him.[8] In his victory against Munja, Tailapa appears to have been aided by hisYadava vassalBhillama II.[20] Bhillama's 1000Sangamner inscription poetically boasts that he thrashed the goddess of prosperityLakshmi on the battlefield because she had sided with Munja, and forced her to become an obedient housewife in the palace of Tailapa.[8]
According to Merutunga, during his imprisonment, Munja and Tailapa's widowed sister Mrinalavati fell in love. Meanwhile, Munja's ministers entered Tailapa's kingdom in disguise, and managed to get in touch with Munja. They made a rescue plan, which Munja divulged to Mrinalavati, because he wanted to take her to Malwa. Mrinalavati told her brother about Munja's escape plan. As a result, Tailapa humiliated Munja by forcing him to beg door-to-door, and then had him executed.[19]
While Merutunga's account may not be entirely accurate from a historical point of view, there is little doubt that Munja died inDeccan, as a result of his war against Tailapa.[8] Ballala claims that Munja died a peaceful death after appointingBhoja as his successor. However, this is not historically accurate. Munja was succeeded by his brother Sindhuraja. Moreover, his defeat and death at the hands of Tailapa is supported by the inscriptions of Tailapa's descendants. The Kauthem grant inscription ofVikramaditya V states that Tailapa imprisoned Utpala (another name for Munja). TheGadag inscription ofVikramaditya VI states that Munja was killed by Tailapa. TheAin-i-Akbari also states that Munja died in Deccan.[21]
The exact year of Munja's death is not certain.Subhashita-Ratna-Sandoha by the Jain writer Amitagati states that it was completed in 994 CE (1050 VS), when Munja was reigning at Dhara. Tailapa died in 998 CE. Therefore, Munja must have died between 994 and 998 CE.[22]
As a result of his victory against Munja, Tailapa conquered the southern part of the Paramara kingdom, possibly up to theNarmada River.[18]
According to Merutunga'sPrabandha-Chintamani, Munja's successor was his nephewBhoja. However, according toNava-sahasanka-charita and epigraphic evidence, Munja was succeeded by his brother (and Bhoja's father)Sindhuraja.[23]
Merutunga mentions a legend about Munja's attempt to kill a young Bhoja. The legend is also repeated by Ballala with some variations. It states that anastrologer predicted the future greatness of Bhoja as a king. According to Merutunga's version, Munja wanted his own son to become the king. According to Ballala's account, Munja did not want Bhoja to surpass his glory. Both accounts state that the person ordered to carry out the execution faked the killing. Before his faked death, Bhoja wrote a message for Munja, upon reading which Munja felt great remorse. When he came learned that Bhoja was still alive, Munja appointed him as his heir. This legend is considered of spurious nature by the historians. Munja's court poet Dhanapala states that the king had great love for Bhoja. Merutunga and Ballala are later writers, and their accounts are not historically reliable. Moreover, historical evidence indicates that Munja's successor was Sindhuraja, not Bhoja.[24]
The contemporary writers Padmagupta and Dhanapala state that Munja died childless. Merutunga states that the king had one son. Ballala states that he had multiple sons.[25] D. C. Ganguly theorized that Munja had two sons, Aranyaraja and Chandana; he appointed these as the administrators ofAbu andJalor.[15] A Paramara branch at Jalor is known to have been founded by one Vakpati-raja. According to K. N. Seth, this person is same as the Vakpati Munja. Seth speculates that Munja had only one son, Chandana, whom he appointed as the ruler of Jalor.[25] Pratipala Bhatia rejects these theories, stating that Aranyaraja lived two generations before Munja, and there is no concrete evidence about Chandana being Munja's son either. The fact that Munja was succeeded by his brother Sindhuraja also indicates that he died without any heir.[15] Another possibility is that Munja did not expect to die in his expedition against the Chalukyas. Therefore, he left the administration in hands of his brother Sindhuraja temporarily. His unexpected death left Sindhuraja as the king, and then the throne passed on to Sindhuraja's son Bhoja.[26]
Munja dug several tanks and erected many temples.[27] He commissioned several buildings in his capitalDhara.[23] He is believed to have excavated the Munja-sagara (Munj Sagar) lake in Dhara and the Munja-talao tank inMandu. Munja also built temples andghats (embankments) inDharmapuri,Maheshvara,Omkara-Mandhata andUjjayani. Munjapura, a former town in present-day Gujarat, was named after him.[28]
Munja was renowned as a great patron of art and literature. His royal patronage attracted scholars from many parts of India.[29] The poets patronized by him includedDhananjaya, BhattaHalayudha, Shobhana Dhanika, Padmagupta andAmitagati.[27] His grant to Vasantacharya, a philosopher from Ahichchhatra, is recorded in his Dharampuri inscription. His Gaonri inscriptions record the names of several Brahmins who had migrated to his kingdom from the present-day Bengal, Bihar and Assam in eastern India.[23] Munja also composed poetry himself. Although no complete work composed by him is now available, theKashmiri poetKshemendra quotes three stanzas composed by him.[30] The 12th century Jain writerHemachandra describes Munja among the four learned kings; the other three being the legendaryVikramaditya andShalivahana, and Munja's nephewBhoja.[31]
The following inscriptions of Munja, all written inSanskrit language andNagari script, have been discovered.
This inscription records a grant, and is the first known Paramara inscription to be issued from outsideGujarat.[32] It is dated 3 September 974 CE (1031VS), ifChaitra is considered as the first month of the year. The date can alternatively be interpreted as 23 August 975 CE, ifKartika is considered the first month, as was common in some regions. The inscription is inscribed on two copper plates that were found by a farmer inDharampuri ofDhar district. It was sent to theCentral India Agency's Archives Office inIndore, and first translated into English byFitzedward Hall in 1861.[33]
The two plates contain 18 and 16 lines respectively. The second plate has a part of thesign manual of the king. It also shows the Paramara emblemGaruda in human form, about to strike a snake held in its left hand.[34]
The inscription begins with asiddham symbol, followed by twomangala-shlokas (auspicious verses). The first verse praises the manly throat of Srikantha ("the one with auspicious throat" orShiva), seeking more happiness. The second verse praises the body of Mura-ripu ("slayer of the Mura demon" orKrishna), requesting him to protect the world.[35]
Next, the inscription mentions the following genealogy of the issuer, stating that each king meditated at the feet of his predecessor:[35]
The inscription records the grant of ataḍāra (meaning unknown) called Pipparika, which was located on the banks of theNarmada River. K. N. Seth identifies Pipparika with Pipri village nearManawar in Dhar district. The king made the grant while staying atUjjayani (Ujjain), to increase the merit of his family. The donee was Vasantacharya, aBrahmin philosopher fromAhichchhatra.[36]
The inscription mentions Kaṇhapaika, who is also mentioned in the 969 Ahmedabad copper plate of Munja's predecessor Siyaka, as thedapaka (the officer-in-charge of registering the grants).[32]
This inscription, discovered inUjjain, was issued in 980 CE (1036 VS). The inscription states that it was issued by Vakpati-raja-deva alias Amoghavarsha, whose title it gives asParama-bhattaraka Maharajadhiraja Parameshvara.[37]
Like the Dharampuri grant, this inscription also begins withshlokas, followed by Munja's genealogy. The main objective of the inscription is to record the repairs to a temple of the goddess Bhatteshvari (identified withHarsidhhi).[37]
The name of thedapaka is given as Rudraditya, followed by the sign-manual of the king. The inscription states that the king was at Bhagavatpura (identified with Bhagor village), when he made a gift to provide for the worship of the goddess, on 26 October 980, during alunar eclipse.[37] The charter of the gift was officially issued four months later, on when the king was staying at Gunapura (possibly the modern Gunavad village), after having achieved a great victory.[38]
This inscription, issued in 981-982 CE (1038 VS), records the grant of a village toBrahmins.[39] It is recorded on three copper plates, which were discovered on 20 June 1931 in Gaonri (or Gaowdi) village near Ujjain. Apalimpsest containing a record of theRashtrakuta king Suvarnavansha (Govinda IV) was found on the outer side of the first copper plate. This record is dated 929-930 CE (851Saka). S. K. Dikshit speculated that it might have been brought to Malwa by Munja's fatherSiyaka II, who had sacked the Rashtrakuta capitalManyakheta.[40]
The plates are inscribed on one side only, and contain 23, 20 and 10 lines respectively. Like other Paramara inscriptions, the third plate shows a Garuda in human form, about to strike a snake.[40]
As with other inscriptions, it begins withshlokas and the royal genealogy. Next, the inscription records the grant of the Vanika village in the Avarakabhoga (subdivision) ofHuna-mandala. S. K. Dikshit identifies Vanika and Avaraka as present-day villages of Benka and Awar nearAgar. H. V. Trivedi identifies them as Bani and Avra villages nearShamgarh. The donees mentioned in the plates include Brahmins from a variety ofgotras andshakha. Apart from Malwa, the Brahmins the came from distant regions such asMagadha, Dakshina (southern)Raḍha, Uttara-Kula, Savathika (possiblySavatthi orBogra-Dinajpur region),Lata and Madhyadesha.[41]
The grant was made on 16 October 981 CE, on the occasion of alunar eclipse. The official charter was issued nine months later, on 3 July 982 CE. The inscription mentions thedapaka as Rudraditya, and ends with the royal sign-manual.[41]
This inscription, issued in 986 CE (1943 VS), records the grant of a village to a Brahmin.[42] It begins withshlokas dedicated to Srikantha (Shiva) and Mura-ripu (Krishna), followed by the usual royal genealogy. It then states that while residing in Purna-pathaka, the king donated the village of Kadahichchhaka to a Brahmin named Sarvananda, who was the son of Dikshita Lokananda. This donee is also one of the Brahmins mentioned in the earlier Gaonri inscription. The location of Kadahichchhaka is given as Maddhuka-bhukti (province) inUjjayanivishaya (subdivision) of theAvantimandala. It is identified with the present-day Kadchha village near Gaonri.[42]
The grant was made on the occasion ofwinter solstice on 22 December 986 CE. The date of the official charter is given as 31 December 986 CE.[43]