Chamundaraja (IAST: CÃÂmuá¹Âá¸ÂarÃÂja; ) was an Indian king who ruled parts of present-day Gujarat from his capital at Anahilapataka (modern Patan). He was a member of the Chaulukya (also called Chalukya or Solanki) dynasty.
CÃÂmuá¹Âá¸ÂarÃÂja was the son of the Chaulukya king Mà «larÃÂja. Inscriptions recording grants made by him as a prince are dated as early as 976, although he ascended the throne much later, sometime during 996âÂÂ997.
The VastupÃÂla-TejaḥpÃÂla praà Âasti includes conventional praise for CÃÂmuá¹Âá¸ÂarÃÂja, boasting that he decorated the earth with the heads of his enemies, but does not name any specific enemies. According to the 12th century Jain author Hemacandra, CÃÂmuá¹Âá¸ÂarÃÂja defeated the Lata Chalukya chief BÃÂrapa, although other chroniclers attribute this victory to his father Mà «larÃÂja. Therefore, it appears that CÃÂmuá¹Âá¸ÂarÃÂja participated in the war against BÃÂrapa as a prince.
According to the 12th century VÃÂdnagar praà Âasti inscription, a king named SindhurÃÂja fled with his elephant forces when he saw CÃÂmuá¹Âá¸ÂarÃÂja's army at a distance, thus losing his well-established fame. This king can be identified with SindhurÃÂja, the ParamÃÂra king of Gujarat's neighbour MÃÂlava. According to SindhurÃÂja's court poet Padmagupta, the ParamÃÂra king defeated the rulers of VÃÂgaá¸Âa and LÃÂá¹Âa, which bordered CÃÂmuá¹Âá¸ÂarÃÂja's kingdom. It is possible that the ruler of LÃÂá¹Âa was a vassal of CÃÂmuá¹Âá¸ÂarÃÂja at this time. Accordingly, CÃÂmuá¹Âá¸ÂarÃÂja came to the rescue of his vassal, forcing SindhurÃÂja to retreat. The 14th century Jain chronicler Jayasiá¹Âha Sà «ri claims that CÃÂmuá¹Âá¸Âaraja killed SindhurÃÂja in a battle. However, this claim doesn't appear in the earlier sources, and therefore, cannot be taken literally.
The CÃÂlukyas of Kalyani captured the LÃÂá¹Âa region during CÃÂmuá¹Âá¸ÂarÃÂja's reign. The 1007 Lakkundi inscription mentions that the Kalyani Chalukya ruler SatyÃÂà Âraya had returned from a successful campaign in the Gà «rjara country. The Kalyani Chalukya poet Ranna also states that SatyÃÂà Âraya defeated the Gà «rjaras with an elephant force. One theory is that the "Gurjara" ruler defeated by SatyÃÂà Âraya in this particular campaign was CÃÂmuá¹Âá¸ÂarÃÂja. However, there is no direct evidence to support this identification. It is possible that the ruler defeated by SatyÃÂà Âraya was the Lata Chalukya ruler BÃÂrapa or an obscure descendant of the Gà «rjaras of NÃÂndëpurë.
Hemacandra states that CÃÂmuá¹Âá¸ÂarÃÂja had three sons: DurlabharÃÂja, NÃÂgarÃÂja, and VallabharÃÂja. Abhayatilaka Gaá¹Âi, who wrote a commentary on Hemacandra's work in the 13th century, states that CÃÂmuá¹Âá¸ÂarÃÂja became licentious, because of which his sister VÃÂcinidevë placed his son Vallabha on the throne. It is not clear how Vacinidevë became powerful enough to replace a ruling king with another.
According to Hemacandra, CÃÂmuá¹Âá¸ÂarÃÂja left for a pilgrimage to Varanasi (Banaras) after his retirement. During this journey, his royal umbrella was confiscated (presumably, by the ruler of a kingdom lying on the way; identified as MÃÂlava by some later chroniclers). As a result, he returned to Gujarat, and asked Vallabha to avenge this insult. However, Vallabha died of smallpox during a march, and Durlabha became the new Caulukya king. CÃÂmuá¹Âá¸ÂarÃÂja then retired to à Âuklatërtha (modern Shuklatirth) on the banks of Narmada, where he died.
According to Someshvara's Surathotsava Mahakavya, his ancestor Lalla-sharman served as a priest (purohita) to Chamunda-raja.
CÃÂmuá¹Âá¸ÂarÃÂja built Caná¸ÂanÃÂtha and VÃÂcineà Âvara temples in Anahilapataka (now Patan). The VÃÂcineà Âvara temple was probably built for merit of his sister VÃÂcinidevë.
Other extant temples attributed to the first quarter of 11th century include original Bhaá¸Âeà Âvara Jain Temple (now completely rebuilt following 2001 Gujarat earthquake); Viá¹£á¹Âu Temple at Sander village in Patan district; AkhÃÂá¸Âa MahÃÂdeva temple at Vasai, and Viá¹£á¹Ânu Temple at Khandosan, both in Vijapur Taluka of Mehsana district in Gujarat. Two pieces of parshwadevatas, of Uma-Maheshwara and Ganesha, from old Brahminical temple at Jhinjhuwada is recovered dated circa 1000.