Parmar Dynasty holds a significant place in the history of Rajasthan due to its political influence and cultural contributions during the medieval period. The rulers of this dynasty played an important role in regional administration, architectural development, and the promotion of art and literature. Their legacy is reflected in various historical monuments and traditions across Rajasthan.
Parmar
Literal Meaning –
- The literal meaning of the word Parmar is considered to be “slayer of enemies”.
Origin
- According to ‘Prithviraj Raso’, composed by Chand Bardai, the Parmars originated from the Agnikund (fire pit).
- In the tradition associated with Rishi Vashistha, the origin of the Parmars is also considered to be from the Agnikund.
- Information about the origin of the Parmars is obtained from “Navasahasankacharita” by Padmagupta (Parimal).
- In the Udaipur Prashasti, Pingal Sutravritti, and Tejpal inscription, the Parmars are described as belonging to the Brahma Kshatriya lineage.
- Other epigraphic and literary evidence also confirms the origin of the Parmars.
Branches of the Parmars –
- Abu
- Jalore
- Malwa
- Vagad
- Marwar
- Gujarat
- Sindh
- Kiradu
Parmars of Abu
- Dhumraj is considered to be the progenitor of the Abu Parmars.
- The actual beginning of the Abu Parmar is considered to begin with Utpalraj.
- The capital of the Abu Parmars was Chandravati.
- Sindhraj Parmar has been called the Maharaja of Marumandal.
Dharanivaraha –
- During the invasion of the Chalukya/Solanki king Mularaja I, Dharanivaraha took refuge with the Rashtrakuta king Dhaval Rathore.
- Information about this event is obtained from the Hastikundi inscription (977 AD).
- Later, Dharanivaraha again captured Abu (known from an inscription of 1002 AD).
- By this time, the Parmars had accepted the suzerainty of the Solankis.
Dhandhuka Parmar –
- Dhandhuk was the son of Mahipal.
- He attempted to free himself from the suzerainty of the Solankis.
- A war took place between Bhimdev Solanki and Dhandhuk Parmar.
- Vimalshah brokered a peace agreement between the two sides.
- Bhimdev Solanki appointed Vimalshah as the administrator of Abu.
- Vimalshah constructed the Adinath Jain Vimalshahi temple in Delwara, Abu in 1031 AD.
- Dhandhuk’s widowed daughter Lahini constructed a Sun temple in Basantgarh.
- Lahini also renovated the Saraswati stepwell.
- For this reason, it is also known as “Lahini Baori”.
Krishnadev –
- In 1060 AD, when the relations between the Parmars and Solankis deteriorated again, Balaprasad, the Chauhan ruler of Nadol, mediated a reconciliation between them.
Vikramdev –
- Vikramdev assumed the title of “Mahamandaleshwar”.
- He participated in the conflict between Kumarapala Chalukya and Arnoraj Chauhan.
- Information related to Vikramdev is obtained from Hemchandra’s “Dayashraya Mahakavya”.
- It is also mentioned in “Kumar Prabandha” by Jinamandanopadhyaya.
Dharavarsha (1163–1219 AD) –
- Dharavarsha is considered the most powerful ruler of the Abu Parmars.
- In 1178 CE, Muhammad Ghori attacked the Chalukya king of Gujarat, Mularaja II.
- Mularaja II’s regent, Nayika Devi, defeated Muhammad Ghori in the Battle of Kayandra.
- In this battle, the Gujarati army was commanded by Dharavarsha Parmar.
- On the Gujarati side, Dharavarsha Parmar (Abu), Kelhana (Nagaur), and Kirtipal Sonagara were allies.
- At that time, the contemporary rulers of Gujarat were Kumarapala, Ajayapala, Mulraja, and Bhimadeva II.
- Dharavarsha completely freed himself from the suzerainty of the Solankis.
- He had good relations with the Chauhans of Nadol.
- It is said that he could pierce three buffaloes with a single arrow.
- Information related to Dharavarsha is obtained from the Patanarayana temple inscription of 1178 AD.
- Near the Achaleshwar temple, on the banks of the Mandakini Kund, stands a statue of Dharavarsha as an archer, with three buffaloes depicted standing in front of him.
- Dharavarsha’s queens were Shringar Devi and Gigadevi (the chief queen).
- Both of Dharavarsha’s queens were daughters of Kelhana (the Chauhan ruler of Nadol).
- Dharavarsha’s court poet was Someshwara.
- Someshwara composed the work “Kirti Kaumudi”.
- Dharavarsha’s younger brother Prahlada founded the city named “Palanpur”.
- Prahlada composed the play “Partha Parakrama Vyayoga”.
- Dharavarsha thwarted Prithviraj Chauhan’s attack on Abu.
Somsingh –
- Somsingh’s minister Tejpal constructed the Lord Neminath Jain temple in Dilwara (Abu).
- This temple is also known as the Lunavasahi / Vastupala-Tejpal temple.
- Tejpal built this temple for the merit of his son Lunavasimha and wife Anupama Devi.
Pratap Singh –
- Pratap Singh defeated Jaitra Singh of Mewar and conquered Chandravati.
- After this, the Brahmin Gangi Delhan renovated the Patanarayan temple.
Vikram Singh –
- Vikram Singh assumed the title of Rawal/Maharawal.
- Around 1311 AD, Rao Lumba, the Chauhan ruler of Nadol, conquered Chandravati, the capital of the Parmars, and established Chauhan rule there.
Parmars of Jalore
Parmars of Jalore –
- Information related to the Parmars of Jalore is found in an inscription from Jalore dated 1087 AD.
- There were a total of 7 rulers in the Parmar
- Vakpatiraj
- Chandan
- Devaraj
- Aparajit
- Vijjal
- Dharavarsha
- Visal
Vakpatiraj (960–985 AD) –
- Vakpatiraj was the first ruler of Jalore.
- During his reign, the rule of the Parmars was established in Jalore.
- The Parmars of Jalore are considered a minor branch of the Parmars of Abu.
Visal (7th ruler) –
- Visal’s queen, Melar Devi, offered a golden kalash (finial) to the Sindhurajeshwar temple in 1087 AD.
Parmars of Kiradu
Parmars of Kiradu –
- Information related to the Parmars of Kiradu is obtained from the Kiradu Shiva Temple inscription (1661 AD).
- The main rulers of the Kiradu Parmar dynasty were Krishnaraj, Sochharaj, Udayaraj, and Someshwar.
- These rulers governed as vassals/ Samants of the Solanki (Chalukya) rulers of Gujarat.
- Someshwar Parmar, with the help of the Solanki ruler Siddharaj, reclaimed the Sindh region.
- The capital of the Kiradu Parmars was Kiradu.
- In 1661 AD, Someshwar Parmar captured the forts of Tanot (Jaisalmer) and Nausar(Jodhpur).
Parmars of Vagad
Parmars of Vagad
- The Parmars of Vagad are considered descendants of Dambar Singh, the second son of the Malwa Parmar ruler Krishnaraj.
- Their territory extended over Dungarpur and Banswara (Vagad region).
- The capital of the Parmars of Vagad was Arthuna (Utthunak), which is currently in ruins.
- The prominent rulers of the Parmars of Vagad were as follows –
- Dhanik Kankadeva
- Satyraj
- Mandalik
- Chamundaraj
- Chamundaraj constructed the Mandaleshwar temple in Arthuna in 1079 AD.
- Vijayraj was the last ruler of the Parmars of Vagad.
- In 1119 AD, the Guhil ruler Samantsingh conquered Vagad, which ended the rule of the Parmars.
Parmars of Malwa
Parmars of Malwa –
- The original area of origin of the Parmars of Malwa is considered to be Malwa and Abu.
- The capital of the Parmars of Malwa was Dharanagari or Ujjain.
- Their territory in Rajasthan included the following areas –
- Southern part of Kota
- Jhalawar
- Vagad
- Eastern part of Pratapgarh
- In the early period, the Parmars of Malwa were vassals of the Rashtrakutas.
- The early rulers of the Parmaras of Malwa were as follows:
- Upendra (Krishnaraja) – Founder of the dynasty
- Verisingh I
- Siyaka I
- Siyaka II – Adoptive son Munja Parmar
Major sources of information related to the Parmaras of Malwa:
- Prabandha Chintamani
- “Navasahasankacharita” by Padmagupta
Munja Parmar –
- Munja Parmar is considered the most powerful ruler of the Parmar dynasty.
- His major titles and epithets were as follows:
- Vakpatiraja
- Ulpalraja
- Amoghavarsha
- Prithvivallabha
- Shrivallabha
- Kavi Vrisha
- During the reign of Shakti Singh, the ruler of Mewar, Munja destroyed Ahar.
- At the same time, Munja captured Chittorgarh.
- Munja Parmar defeated the Chalukya ruler Tailapa II six times.
- Munja Paramara was killed in battle after being defeated by Tailapa II for the seventh time.
- Munja Parmar was a great patron of poets and scholars.
- His prominent court scholars were as follows:
- Halayudha – “Abhidhana Mala”
- Padmagupta –”Navasahasankacharita”
- Dhananjaya – “Dasharupaka”
- Dhanika – “Yashorupavaloka”
Sindhuraja –
- Sindhuraja was the brother of Munja Parmar and the father of Bhoja Parmar.
Bhoja Parmar (1010–1055 CE) –
- Bhoja Parmar is considered the most famous and powerful ruler of Malwa.
- He was a great patron of learning and the arts.
- The major works composed by Bhoja are as follows:
- Saraswati Kanthabharana
- Rajamriganka
- Rajamartanda
- Vidvajjanamanadala
- Champurayana
- Samaranganasutradhara
- Shringaramanjari Katha
- Kurmashataka
- Tattvaprakasha
- Bhoja commissioned the construction of the Tribhuvan Narayan Temple in Chittorgarh.
- This temple is also known as the Mokala Temple or Shiva Temple.
- Bhoja constructed Bhojsar in Nagda, which is mentioned in the Kumbhalgarh inscription.
- Bhoja established the “Saraswati Kanthabharana School”.
- Bhoja founded Bhojanagar or Bhojpal (Bhopal) in Madhya Pradesh.
- Bhoja was defeated by the Chandela emperor Vidyadharavarman and ruled as a subordinate king under him.
- Bhoja built a Sanskrit school in Jalore.
- He installed an idol of Vagdevi in the Saraswati Kanthabharana school.
- This idol later became the symbol of the Jnanpith Award as the “Indian Goddess Saraswati”.
- Facts about the Jnanpith Award –
- The current prize money is 11 lakh rupees.
- It includes a certificate of appreciation and a bronze statue of Vagdevi.
- This award was started in 1961 AD.
- The first award was given in 1965 AD to the Malayalam writer G. Shankar Kurup.
- The 58th Jnanpith Award was given in 2025 to Jagadguru Rambhadracharya of Sanskrit.
- Bhoja’s prominent court scholars were as follows
- Vallabha
- Merutunga – “Prabandha Chintamani”
- Vararuchi
- Subandhu
- Amara
- Magha
- Dhanapala
- Rajasekhara
- Manatunga
- Abul Fazl has mentioned in “Ain-i-Akbari” that 500 scholars visited Bhoja’s court.
Jayasingh –
- Jayasingh was the son of Bhoja Parmar and a capable ruler.
- Mandalik (King of Vagad) served as a feudatory under him.
- In 1135 AD, the Chalukya ruler Siddharaja conquered Malwa.
- After this, the power of the Parmars began to decline.
- Later, during the time of Arjunavarma, there was a short-lived resurgence of the Parmars.
- However, the invasion of the Khiljis destroyed the glory of Malwa, and the Parmars fled towards Ajmer.
