Website: iashelpdesk.in Whatsapp: 8586055783 SOCIAL SCIENCE STANDARD SEVEN TERM I Website: iashelpdesk.in Whatsapp: 8586055783 [PfrSTORY 1, THE NORTH INDIAN KINGDOMS - THE RAJPUTS The history of every country The populartheoriesare, is long and complex. Hence to understand history in a very easy i) They are the descendants of and convenient manner, the Lord Rama (Surya vamsa) or historians have divided it into Lord Krishna (Chandra vamsa) different periods such as the or the Herowho sprang from the Ancient Period, the Medieval sacrificial fire (Agni Kulatheory), Periodand the Modern Period. The period of history, that you ii) They belong to the ancient are about to learn is the Medieval Kshatriyafamilies, period of Indian History. This period lies between the 8th and the 18th iii) They areforeigners. centuryA.D. and isclassifiedas The Early period (8lh-12lh Medieval There were nearly 36 Rajput' century A.O.) and the Later clans. The majorclanswere Medieval period (1S*1*"! 81h century) The PratiharasofAvanti. In the forthcoming chapters you will be learning about the historical ThePalas of Bengal. events that took place during this The Chauhans of Delhi and Ajmer period in both North and South India. The Tomars of Delhi This chapter deals with the Rajputs The Rathorsof Kanauj who belonged to the early medievalperiod. The Guhilasor Sisodiyas of Mewar The RajputPeriod The Chandellas of Bundelkhand (647A.D-1200A.D.) The Paramarasof Malwa The Ancient Indian history The Senasof Bengal to end the came an with The Solankis of Gujarat. rule of Harsha and Pulakesin II. _ j From the death of Harsha to the 12th Strugglefor Supremacy century, the destiny of India was mostly in the hands of various During the Rajput period there Rajputdynasties. were nearly 36 Rajput clans ruling over North India. Afew of themwere the Pratiharas, Palas, Chauhans, Scholars have different theories Tomars, Chandelas and Paramaras. about the origin of the Rajputs. There was no strong central 204 Website: iashelpdesk.in Whatsapp: 8586055783 authority. The Rajputslacked unityand Declineofthe Pratiharas struggled with one another. They Rajyapala was the last Pratihara also neglected the frontiers of India king. During his period the vast and gave way for the Muslims to empire was reduced to Kanauj. The invade Indiaat a later period. Pratihara power began to decline after Mahmud of Ghazni attacked The Pratiharas 8th-!1th Century A.D. the kingdom in 1018 A.D. After the The Pratiharaswere also known decline of the Prathiharas their as Gurjara Pratiharas as they feudatories Palas, Tomars, belongedto the Gurjara race. Chauhans, Rathors, Chandellas, They ruled over northern and Guhilas and Paramaras became western India from the 8th to the 11th independent rulers. centuryA.D. The Palas (8th -12th CenturyA.D.) Nagabhatta I (725-740.A.D.) There was complete anarchy in was the founder of the Pratihara Bengal between 750-760A.D. The dynasty with Kanauj as his capital. chieftains of Bengal selected He defeated the Arabs of Sind. He Gopala as the King of Bengal and also captured Kathiawar, Malwa, Bihar in order to put an end to Gujarat and several parts of the anarchy. Rajputana. Gopala (765-769.A.D.) soon Among his successors, restored order and founded the Pala Vatsaraja and Nagabhatta II played dynasty. Gopala extended his power a vital role in consolidating the over Magadha and the Pala dynasty empire. Mihirabhoja was the most ruled over northern and eastern powerful Pratihara king. During his India. period, the empire extended from Dharmapala (769-815 A.D.) the Kashmir to Narmada and from son of Gopala, succeeded him. He Kathiawar to Bihar. He was able to brought Kanauj, Bengal and Bihar stop the Muslim invasion under under his control and became the Junaid of Sind. Mahendrapala (885- master of Northern India after 908 A.D.) son of Mihirabhoja, was defeating the Pratiharas. He was a also a powerful ruler. He extended staunch Buddhist and founded his control over Magadha and north several monasteries and the famous Bengal. Vikramasila University. He also renovatedthe Nalanda University. / \ Pratiharas-A bulwark Dharmapala's son Devapala The Pratiharas stood as a (815-855 A.D.) who succeeded him bulwark of India's defence against kept the Pala territories intact. He the aggression of the Muslims from also captured Assam and Orissa. the days of Junaid of Sind His successors were weak. During the reign of (998- (725.A.D.) to that of Mahmud of 1038.A.D.) the Palas became Ghazni. V_ / powerfulagain. 205 Website: iashelpdesk.in Whatsapp: 8586055783 The Pala dynasty started Rathorsof Kanauj declining after the death of (1090-1194A.D.) Mahipala. The last Pala king was There was a lot of confusion Govinda Pala. By the middle of the after the decline of the Pratiharas. 12th century the Pala kingdom gave Ultimately, the Rathors established way to the risingpower ofthe Senas. themselves on the throne of Kanauj Tripartite Strugglefor Kanauj from 1090 to 1194 A.D. Jaichand was the last great ruler of this The Pratiharas of Central India, dynasty. Hewas killed inthe battleof the Palas of Bengal and the Chandwar in 1194A.D. by Rashtrakutas of Deccan wanted to MuhammadofGhori. establish their supremacy over Kanauj and the fertile Gangetic The Chandellas of Bundelkhand Valley. Their Tripartite struggle The Chandellas of Bundelkhand lasted nearly 200 years and established themselves in the 9th weakened all of them and enabled century. The Chandella Chief the Turks to overthrow them. Yasovarman had his capital at Mahoba. TheTomars of Delhi The Tomars were the feudatories of the Pratiharas. They roseto power andfounded the city of Delhi in 736 A.D. In 1043 A.D., Mahipala Tomar captured Thaneshwar, Hansiand Nagarkot. The Tomars became the feudatories of the Chauhans when Kanderiya Mahadeva Temple Delhi was captured by them in middle ofthe 12th century. Kalinjar was their important fort. The Chandellas built a number of The Chauhans of DelhiandAjmer beautiful temples at Khajuraho, the The Chauhans who were the most famous being the Kandariya feudatories of the Pratiharas Mahadeva Temple (1050 A.D.). declared their independence in the Qutb-ud-din Aibak defeated, 1101 century atAjmer. Inthe early part Paramal the last Chandella ruler in of the 12th century they captured 1203A.D. Ujjainfrom the Paramaras of Malwa The Guhllas or Slsodlyas of and Delhi from the Tomars. Thus Mewar they shifted their capital to Delhi. The Rajput ruler Bapa Rawat The most important ruler of this was the founder of the Guhila or the dynasty was PrithvtrajChauhan. Sisodiya dynasty with its capital at Chittor During the period of Rana Ratan Singh of Mewar, Ala-ud-din 206 Website: iashelpdesk.in Whatsapp: 8586055783 khilji invaded his territory and Government defeated him in 1307 A.D. Rana The Rajput government was Ratan Singh's wife Queen Padmini feudal in character. Each kingdom performed Jauhar. The Sisodiya was divided into a large number of rulers- Rana Sangha and: Maharana Jagirs held by the Jagirdars. The Pratap gave a tough fight to the Jagidars collected revenue from the Mughal rulersof India. allocated villages and gave a share The Paramaras of Malwa of it to the king. They also offered militaryassistanceto their kings. The Paramaras were also the feudatories of Pratiharas. They Contributionofthe Rajputs asserted their independence in the The Rajputs have contributed 10th century and their capital was at remarkably to the development of Dhara. Raja Bhoja (1018-1069) was language, literature, art and the most famous ruler of this period. architecture of India. He constructed a beautiful lake Languageand Literature (More than 250 sq. miles) near Bhopal. He set up a college at Dhara for the During the Rajput period, study of Sanskrit Literature. The regional languages like Marathi, reign of the Paramaras came to an Gujarati and Bengali were well end with the invasion of Ala-ud-din developed. The Bhakti saints and Khilji. the folk singers played a major role in the development of regional Natureofthe Rajputs languages. The Rajputswere great warriors r and chivalrous by nature. They believed in protecting the women and the weak. The women preferred death to dishonour. They were educated and were highly honoured in society. They took part in public life and wars. Child marriage and polygamy were in practice. Women Lingaraja Temple performed Sati and Jauhar to protect themselves from the hands Some of the literaryworks of this of the enemies and to avoid period are Kalhana's Rajatarangini, dishonour. Jayadeva's Gita Govindam and Religion Somadeva's Kathasaritasagar. Chand Bardai, the court poet of The Rajputs staunch were Prithviraj Chauhan, wrote Prithviraj followers of Hinduism. They also Raso in which he refers to the Buddhism and Jainism. patronized military exploits of Prithviraj was their that the It during period Chauhan. Bhaskara Charya wrote BhaktiCult started. Siddhanta Shinomani, a book on 207 Website: iashelpdesk.in Whatsapp: 8586055783 North Indian Kingdoms /•Naland Chandellas Paramarai BundelkhaiVd ionark Arabian Sea Bay of Bengal Indian Ocean 208 Website: iashelpdesk.in Whatsapp: 8586055783 astronomy. Rajasekhara was the Bhubaneshwar,the Sun Temple at court poet of Mahendrapala and Konark and the Dilwara Temple at Mahipala. MountAbu are the fine specimens of r temple architecture of the Rajputs. Sun Temple - Konark best works were His known Dilwara Temple Karpuramanjari and Bala Ramayana. The Khajuraho temples attract Art andArchitecture tourists from India and abroad. The Mural paintings and Miniature Palaces at Jaipur and Udaipur and paintings became popular during the forts at Jaisalmar, Chittor, this period. Mandu, Jodhpur and Gwalior are fine examples of Rajput architecture. Endof the RajputPower During the Rajput period there was no strong military power in India to keep the warring princes in check and to co-ordinate their activities against foreign invasions.This Udaipur Palace political situation enabled the Turks The Khajuraho group of to establishtheir control over India.