THE REGIONAL KINGDOMS OF EARLY MEDIEVAL INDIAsystem. When Gurjara Pratihara power declined after the sacking of Kanauj
by the Rashtrakutas in the early tenth century many Rajput princes declared
their independence and founded their own kingdoms, some of which grew to
importance in the subsequent two centuries. The better-known among those
dynasties were the Chaulukyas or Solankis of Kathiawar and Gujarat, the
Chahamanas (i.e. Chauhan) of eastern Rajasthan (Ajmer and Jodhpur), and
the Tomaras who had founded Delhi (Dhillika) in 736 but had then been
displaced by the Chauhans in the twelfth century. Rajput descent was also
claimed by the Chandellas of Khajuraho and the Kalachuris of Tripuri
(Madhya Pradesh). With their martial lifestyle and feudal culture which was
praised by bards for many centuries throughout northern and central India,
the Rajputs made a definite impact on Indian history in the Late Middle
Ages. Even in distant Orissa several of the princely lineages still trace their
descent from the Rajputs. The Rajas of Patna-Bolangir in western Orissa,
among them the former Chief Minister of Orissa, R.N.Singh Deo, even
proudly claim to belong to the lineage of Prithviraj Chauhan, the great hero
who valiantly defended India in 1192 against the Muslim invaders at the
head of a Rajput confederation. Historians have referred to this spread of
Rajput culture as ‘Rajputisation’. It became of added importance at the time
of the Mughal empire when many Rajput families rose to high positions in
the imperial service. In fact, due to intermarriage the later Mughals were
themselves partly Rajputs. One of the most important contributions of the
Rajput dynasties to Indian culture was their patronage of temple building
and sculpture. The Chandellas who commissioned the building of the
magnificent temples of Khajuraho are a good example of this great age of
Rajput culture.
The Pala dynasty of East IndiaThe most important dynasty of East India were the Palas. The founder of
this dynasty, Gopala, was not of royal lineage. It is said that he was elected
by the people in order to put an end to the general chaos which had
prevailed in the country. His son, Dharmapala, stated in an inscription that
his father was elected so as to put an end to ‘the state of the fishes’ and he
was supposed to ‘touch the hand of fortune’. The ‘Law of the Fishes’
(matsyanyaya) which states that the big are devouring the small in a state
of anarchy (a-rajaka, i.e. kingless period) is frequently referred to in old
Indian writings on the principles of government. The political and
philosophical ideas of Hobbes were thus anticipated in India, and if the
reports are true then Gopala owed his kingship to the kind of rational
contract between the ruler and the ruled which Hobbes had in mind.
Gopala’s dynasty rose to great prominence under his two great
successors, Dharmapala (c. 790–821) and Devapala (821–860), who
intervened with great success in the political affairs of North India. But