Vakpati Munja
Munja (reigned c. 972-990s CE), also known as Vakpati II, was an Indian ruler from the Paramara dynasty, who ruled the Kingdom of Malwa.
[7] Even the Kauthem inscription of the family of Munja's arch-rival Tailapa II mentions his bravery in wars against the Hunas, the Maravas (people of Marwar), and the Chedis (the Kalachuris).
[8] Early during his reign, Munja defeated the elephant forces of the Guhilas, and plundered their capital Aghata (present-day Ahar in Udaipur).
[11] The Bijapur inscription of Dhavala states that the armies of the defeated ruler were left without a leader, and sought asylum with him.
On the other hand, historians Pratipal Bhatia, K. N. Seth and K. C. Jain believe that he was the Pratihara ruler Vijayapala (r. 954-989 CE).
[6][11] The Paramara conquest of eastern Mewar brought them closer to the Chahamanas of Naddula (Chauhans of Nadol), who ruled the Marwar region, resulting in a conflict between the two kingdoms.
Three Chahamana rulers Shobhita, Baliraja and Vigrahapala died within a period of 14 years, while Munja remained the Paramara king.
The Paramara court poet Padmagupta states that the Munja "caused the pearls in the necklaces worn by the women of Marwar to dance".
At the same time, the Sevadi copper plates of the later Chahamana ruler Ratnapala call Shobhita as the Lord of Dhara (the Paramara capital).
K. C. Jain theorizes that the Chahamanas achieved successes in early part of the struggle, but were ultimately pushed back by Munja.
[13] According to the Udaipur Prashasti inscription of his descendant Udayaditya, Munja also defeated Yuvaraja II, the Kalachuri ruler of Tripuri.
[14] This claim is corroborated by the Kauthem grant inscription of Vikramaditya V, which states that "Utpala destroyed the power of the Chaidyas, the king of Chedis".
[17] The Udaipur Prashasti inscription states that Munja attacked Lata (present-day Gujarat), and defeated the Chalukya ruler of that area.
According to another theory, "Chalukya" here refers to the Chaulukyas of present-day Gujarat, and Munja fought with their king Mularaja.
[18] The war between Munja and Tailapa has been described by Merutunga, whose account is based on a now-lost Apabhramsa poem called Munja-rasa.
Against the advice of his prime minister Rudraditya, Munja decided to adopt a more aggressive policy and crossed the Godavari River in a campaign against Tailapa.
[18] Merutunga states that the minister foresaw Munja's defeat and committed suicide by jumping into a fire.
[20] Bhillama's 1000 Sangamner inscription poetically boasts that he thrashed the goddess of prosperity Lakshmi on the battlefield because she had sided with Munja, and forced her to become an obedient housewife in the palace of Tailapa.
[19] While Merutunga's account may not be entirely accurate from a historical point of view, there is little doubt that Munja died in Deccan, as a result of his war against Tailapa.
Subhashita-Ratna-Sandoha by the Jain writer Amitagati states that it was completed in 994 CE (1050 VS), when Munja was reigning at Dhara.
[22] As a result of his victory against Munja, Tailapa conquered the southern part of the Paramara kingdom, possibly up to the Narmada River.
[25] D. C. Ganguly theorized that Munja had two sons, Aranyaraja and Chandana; he appointed these as the administrators of Abu and Jalor.
His Gaonri inscriptions record the names of several Brahmins who had migrated to his kingdom from the present-day Bengal, Bihar and Assam in eastern India.
It also shows the Paramara emblem Garuda in human form, about to strike a snake held in its left hand.
The second verse praises the body of Mura-ripu ("slayer of the Mura demon" or Krishna), requesting him to protect the world.
The inscription states that the king was at Bhagavatpura (identified with Bhagor village), when he made a gift to provide for the worship of the goddess, on 26 October 980, during a lunar eclipse.
[37] The charter of the gift was officially issued four months later, on when the king was staying at Gunapura (possibly the modern Gunavad village), after having achieved a great victory.
A palimpsest containing a record of the Rashtrakuta king Suvarnavansha (Govinda IV) was found on the outer side of the first copper plate.
S. K. Dikshit speculated that it might have been brought to Malwa by Munja's father Siyaka II, who had sacked the Rashtrakuta capital Manyakheta.
It then states that while residing in Purna-pathaka, the king donated the village of Kadahichchhaka to a Brahmin named Sarvananda, who was the son of Dikshita Lokananda.
