Jain Journal 1968 04

Author(s): Jain Bhawan Publication
Publisher: Jain Bhawan Publication

Page 37

APRIL, 1968
markable woman, aod was always affectionately remombered by her grateful son, who, at the height of his power 18 said to have remarked
māsma simantini kvāpi janayet sutam drsam byhat bhagya phalam jasya maturmytyur anantaram
Let no woman give birth to a son who becomes great after his mother's death
Siddharaja inherited along with his throne, the hostility of his neighbours, of whom the most important were the Cahamanas of Sakambhari and the Paramaras of Malaya He first defeated the Cahamana king, Arnoraja, but conciliated him by giving him his daughter in marriage He then turned against Malava, which since the death of Bhoja, had not only recovered but had actually invaded Gujarat during Siddharaja's minority It was most probably a longdrawn out war, but the result was decisive According to the chroniclers, Siddharaja captured Naravarman, the king of Malava, and threw him in a cage, at least part of Malava, including Dhara and Ujjain, was annexed to his kingdom , his kingdom also included the whole of Saurashtra, and parts of Rajasthan
Siddharaja died in CAD 1043 and was succeeded by his grandnephew, Kumarapala, possibly the greatest royal supporter of Jainism
According to the chronicles, Kumarapala was descended from a natural son of Bhima I by a dancing girl, which explains Siddharaja's violent dislike for him, leading to Kumarapala's flight from Gujarat and his famous travel However, the childless Siddharaja suddenly died and Kumarapala managed to capture the throne, possibly not without some opposition, but the details are not known.
From the beginning Kumarapala grasped the reigns of the kingdom in his strong and capable hands, and within a short time restored to Gujarat the glory of his predecessor's reign He died in CAD 1172, within a few months of Hemacandra's death
During the entire Caulukya period, as indeed in the subsequent period of Muslim rule also Gujarat was a prosperous country This was due to several factors, the most important among which were the location of important sea-ports within her territory The main sea