PARMAR DYNASTY

The Paramara or the Parmars are a Rajput fraternity in the region of South Asia. The founder of the Paramara dynasty was king Upendra or Krishnaraja . It was found in the 9th century and its capital was Ujjain. The capital of this dynasty was later on changed to Dharan Nagri, also known as Dhar. This dynasty ended as Mahakaldev was his ruler in 1305. The Paramar dynasty reigned over the Malwa region of central India. 

ORIGIN OF THE PARAMARA DYNASTY-

The paramara dynasty’s origin is said to be in Mount Abu in Rajasthan. 

• ANCESTRY- 

In 949 CE the Harsola copper plates were dispensed by the king of Paramara named SIYAKA II. This coin mentioned a ruler named Akalavarsha followed by the phrase Tasmin kule which means “in that family”. The phrase was followed by the name “Vappairaja”. AKALAVARSHA was a Rashtrakuta title and it was identified as the Rashtrakuta king Krishna III. This led the historians to believe that the Paramars hailed from the Rashtrakutas. 

The later kings claim to hail from the Agnikula or Agni Varsha (fire clan). This origin is based on the story of sage Vishwamita and sage Vashishtha. Sage Vishwa Mitra took a wish-granting cow from sage Vashishta against his wishes on Mount Abu. Vashishta conjured a fire hero from a sacred fire pit to defeat Vishwamitra’s enemies and win back the cow. 

In the later times, the Paramaras were said to belong to the Rajput clan. Historians like Dasharatha Sharma and Pratipal Bhatia have argued that Paramars originally belonged to the brahmins and from the Vashishta gotra. 

• ORIGINAL HOMELAND- 

Historians such as C.V. Vidya and V.A. Smith gambled that the Paramaras had their home in Mount Abu. This speculation was based on the Agnikula legend. 

Historian D.C. Ganguly speculated that they belonged to the Deccan region. This belief was based on the harsola copper plates and ain-i-Akbari. 

Paramara inscriptions have been discovered in Gujarat and concerned land regions. According to this theory, historians D.B. Diskalkar and H.V. Trivedi stated that Paramars belonged to Gujarat. 

EARLY RULERS OF THE PARAMARA DYNASTY- 

List of early paramara rulers- 

The first prodigious ruler of the Paramara dynasty was Vakapati Munja (c. 974-997/998). He was in constant war with the founder of the western Chalukyas dynasty of Kalyani named Tailapa orTaila  II. It is to be believed that Munja defeated Tailapa sixteen times. On the seventeenth time,Tailapa defeated Munja  and went to take him as a prisoner and then kill him. 

Munja was a proficient poet. This can be calculated from the galaxy of men of letters who adorned his court.Padmagupta,Dhananjay, Dhanika and Halayudha  were the prominent ones. Dhananjay wrote Dasharupa which was work on dramaturgy. Dhanika wrote Avaloka, an annotation on Dasharupa. 

Munja was succeeded by Sindhuraja, his brother. He assumed the title of Navasahasanka. King Bhoj ruled from 1010 to 1060. He was a philosopher-king of medieval India. His writings were based on poetry, philosophy, medicine, veterinary and science to name among the many. He made malwa an intellectual state. Bhoj founded the Bhopal city to secure the kingdom’s eastern border. 

THE MAJESTIC PARAMARAS-

Siyaka was the first independent sovereign of the dynasty of Paramara. As a Rashtrakuta liege,Siyaka took part in campaigns against the Pratiharas. He also went on to win against some Huna chiefs ruling the north of the Malwa. After the demise of Krishna III,Siyaka  defeated his successor Khotigga on the banks of the river Narmada. He dismissed the city of Manyakheta in 972 CE. This victory led to the decline of the Rashtrakutas and the founding of the Paramars. 

Military success against the Chahamanas of Shakambari, the Chahamanas of Naddula, the Hunas, the Kalachuris of Tripuris, and the ruler of the Gurjara region was achieved by Munja, Siyaka’s successor. He was defeated and killed by Tilapia. 

Munja’s brother Sindhuraja won against the western Chalujya king and recovered the lost territories to Tailapa. 

ADMINISTRATION OF THE PARAMARA DYNASTY- 

The dynasty was headed by the king. The Prime minister controlled the officials. 

ARMY

The army consisted of infantry, cavalry, and elephants. There were three combat classes. During its extinction, the Paramara government had around 30,000-40,000 cavalry and uncountable infantry. They were famous for their elephants. Bows and arrows, and swords were the main weapons to be used. Archery was practiced by the king Bhoja and drums were used as drums. Orts were built in the cities of Ujjain, Dharh, Bhilsa, Mandu, and Gauupura. 

RELIGION OF THE PARAMARA DYNASTY 

The people were worshippers of Lord Shiva. A temple dedicated to Lord Shiva was built by Udayaditya in Udaipur. Carolina was the most worshipped goddess of Naravarman and Devapala has great reverence for Limbaryadi.  The people practiced Hinduism. Jainism was also followed considerably in the north of the Vindhya mountains. King NARAVARMAN was a follower of Jainism. Jainism gained momentum in Gujarat under the guidance of Caulukya Kumdrapa. During this time Jainism succeeded in the establishment of its foot in northern India. They made Gujarat their headquarters.

ARCHITECTURE

The rulers built many great lakes, temples, and cities. The city of Dhara was also rebuilt by Bhoj. The Bhojpur lake was one of its kind at that time. King Udayaditya led the stone of the city Udaipur, thirty miles away from Bhilsa. King Devapala built the city of Depalpur. He also dug a lake known as Depalsagar which has now spread over several square kilometers. A large number of magical temples were also built under the Paramars rulers.

CONCLUSION

No remnant of independence exists to show the power of the Paramars. They are remembered by the ruins. They are mainly in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh in today’s world. The Paramara or the Parmars are a Rajput fraternity in the region of South Asia.Mahakaldev  was the last known ruler and was killed and defeated by Alauddin Khilji.