Product Code Database
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{
"type": "Feature",
"properties": { "marker-symbol": "star", "title": "[[Ajmer]]", "description": "Ajayameru (Ajmer) was Vigraharaja's capital: inscriptions from his reign have been found at Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra" },
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"properties": { "marker-symbol": "monument", "title": "[[Bisaldeo temple]], Bisalpur" },
"geometry": { "type": "Point", "coordinates": [75.4571403, 25.9271197] }
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{
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"properties": { "marker-symbol": "monument", "title": "Lohari", "description": "Bhilwara district" },
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{
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"properties": { "marker-symbol": "monument", "title": "Narhar", "description": "Also called Narhad or Narhada" },
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"properties": { "marker-symbol": "monument", "title": "Topra", "description": "The inscription discovered at Topra is now located in Delhi" },
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Vigraharaja's kingdom included major parts of present-day Rajasthan, Haryana, and Delhi; and possibly some parts of Punjab and Uttar Pradesh too. Vigraharaja commissioned several buildings in his capital Ajayameru (modern Ajmer), most of which were destroyed or converted into Muslim structures after the Muslim conquest of Ajmer. These included a Sanskrit centre of learning that was later converted into the Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra mosque. Harakeli Nataka, a Sanskrit-language drama written by him, is inscribed on inscriptions discovered at the mosque site.
His kingdom included the present-day Rajasthan, Haryana, and Delhi. It probably also included a part of Punjab (to the south-east of Sutlej river) and a portion of the northern Gangetic plain (to the west of Yamuna).
The play Lalita-Vigraharaja-Nataka, composed by Vigraharaja's court poet, claims that his army included 1 million men; 100,000 horses; and 1,000 elephants.
According to the Bijolia rock inscription, he killed one Sajjana. The inscription describes Sajjana as "the most wicked person of the land", who was sent to the abode of Yama (the god of death) by Vigraharaja. Historian Dasharatha Sharma identified Sajjana with Kumarapala's governor ( daṇḍāhiśa) of Chittor. According to the Jain author Somatilaka Suri, Vigraharaja's army captured Sajjana's war elephant. While Vigraharaja was busy fighting at Chittor, Kumarapala tried to create a diversion by besieging Nagor, but lifted the siege after learning about Vigraharaja's victory at Chittor.
A Chahamana prashasti (eulogy) boasts that Vigraharaja reduced Kumarapala to a karavalapala (probably the designation of a subordinate officer). This is obviously an exaggeration, but it does appear that Vigraharaja conquered some of Kumarapala's territories. The earliest Chahamana inscriptions from the Bijolia-Jahazpur-Mandalgarh area are dated to Vigraharaja's reign.
Vigraharaja also defeated one Kuntapala, who can be identified with a Naddula Chahamana subordinate of Kumarapala.
An old bahi (manuscript) states that Visaladeva i.e. Vigraharaja captured Delhi from Tamvars (Tomara dynasty) in the year 1152 CE (1209 Vikrama Samvat). According to historian R. B. Singh, Hansi might have been under Muslim control by this time. On the other hand, Dasharatha Sharma theorizes that the Tomaras had recaptured Hansi from Ghaznavids by this time, and Vigraharaja captured it from the Tomaras.
The legendary epic poem Prithviraj Raso states that the later Chahamana king Prithviraja III married the daughter of the Tomara king Anangapala, and was bequeathed Delhi by the Tomara king. Historian R. B. Singh speculates that it was actually Vigraharaja who married the daughter of the Tomara king. According to Singh, Desaladevi, who has been mentioned in the play Lalita-Vigraharaja-Nataka as Vigraharaja's lover, might have been the daughter of a Tomara king named Vasantapala.
The plot of Harakeli Nataka involves Vigraharaja's preparations against a Turushka ruler named Hammira (Emir). In the story, his minister Shridhara tells him not to risk a battle with a powerful adversary. Nevertheless, Vigraharaja is determined to fight the Turushka king. He sends a message to his lover Desaladevi, informing her that the upcoming battle would soon give him an opportunity to meet her. The play describes Desaladevi as the daughter of prince Vasantapala of Indrapura. The play is available only in fragments, so the details of the ensuing battle are not known. Historian Dasharatha Sharma identified Hammira with Khusrau Shah, and assumed that Vigraharaja repulsed his invasion.
Historian R. B. Singh, on the other hand, theorizes that no actual battle took place between Vigraharaja and Hammira. According to Singh's theory, the "Hammira" on the play might have been Bahram Shah, who fled to India after the Ghurids defeated him at the Battle of Ghazni (1151). Bahram Shah invaded the Tomara dynasty territory of Delhi after coming to India. Vasantapala might have been a Tomara ruler, possibly Anangapala. Indrapura may refer to Indraprastha, that is, Delhi. Vigraharaja probably decided to send an army in support of the Tomara king. But before an actual battle could take place, Bahram Shah returned to Ghazna as the Ghurids had departed from that city.
The king commissioned a centre of learning in Ajmer, which was later destroyed by the Ghurid invaders and converted into the Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra mosque. Several literary works were engraved on stones at this centre:
According to Prithviraja-Viajaya, Vigraharaja commissioned as many buildings as the hill forts he captured. Most of these appear to have been destroyed or converted to Muslim structures (such as Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra) after the Muslim conquest. He established a number of towns named Visalapura ("the city of Visala") after his alternative name Visala. He is also said to have commissioned a lake named Visalasara (also known as Vislya or Bisalia) in Ajmer. According to Prithviraj Raso, the king saw a beautiful spot with springs and hills while returning from a hunt. He ordered his chief minister to construct a lake at this spot.
He also founded the Vigrahapura town (modern Bisalpur) on the site of an older town called Vanapura. There, he constructed the Gokarnesvara temple, now popularly known as Bisaldeo temple.
Like his predecessors, Vigraharaja was a devout Shaivite, as indicated by his Harakeli-Nataka. He also aided Jainism scholars, and participated in their religious ceremonies. At the request of the Jain religious teacher Dharmaghosha-Suri, he banned animal slaughter on the Ekadashi day.
The Bijolia rock inscription describes Vigraharaja as "a protector of the needy and the distressed". He is generally considered one of the greatest rulers of the Chauhan Dynasty. Historian Dashratha Sharma calls him "Vigraharaja the Great" and describes his reign as the "Golden age of Sapdalaksha" (the Chauhan Territory).
Vigraharaja's son Amaragangeya succeeded him on the throne.
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