As to the origin of the Prathira Gurjaras who ruled a vast area of India between second half of 8th century AD to the second half of 10th century AD, there runs mainly two traditions.
The first one is that the Prathiran family was there is existence right from 500 BC and the Prathira kings used the title Adhivaraha (Rana Ali Hasan Chouhan: Tarikh-e-Gurjar Urdu).
The second opinion is that the Prathira were of foreign origin and they poured into India through the north western passes along with or soon after the Hunas during the period of political unrest following the disruption of Gupta empire.
Tripathi; History of Ancient India.
p.318) In fact the difference of opinion about the origin of Prathira is linked with the origin of Gurjaras themselves.
The group of historians which regard the Gurjars to be of Indian origin hold the former view, whereas the scholars who hold the Gurjars to be of foreign origin took the latter view.
Notwithstanding the controversy as to the origin of Prathiras all the historians without an exception are in complete agreement that the Prathiras belonged to Gurjar clan.
The inscription of Rajour Alwar, Rashtrukata records, Arab writers, like Abu Zaid and Al-Masudi confirm that Prathiras were Gurjars (ibid.p.318).
As regards Prathira's we now have ample material to establish that they always claimed their descent from Lakshmana, the younger brother of Sri Rama (K.M.
Munshi; The Glory That Was Gurjara Desa, p.19) The Gwalior inscription of Prathira support this claim.
Prathira means doorkeeper and Lakshmana also came to be known as Prathira owing to his act of repelling displayed against his enemies, like Meghanada, in battle.
(Tripathi;op.cit.p.319) The earliest known settlement of Prathiras was at Mandor (Jodhpur) in central Rajupatana, where ruled the family of Harichandra.
(ibid.p.319) However the dynasty began under Naghabhatta I (739-750), Maharaja Naghabhatta I was the scion of the Prathira family who for the last time in Gurjar history established an Empire, (Rana; Urduwork, V.I.p.308) when the Arabs had occupied the Sindh, Junaid who was its Governor under Khalifa Hisham (724-43) AD was particularly active.
He conquered Bailaman (Bhinmal), Jurz (Gurjara kingdom of western India), and other territories, but against Ujjain he could merely make an incursion.
In this direction he was perhaps repulsed by Nagabhata I.
From this times onwards the Prathira kings continued to be the greatest foes of the Muslims and their faith, and this compelled the latter to seek alliance of the Bulharas (Vallabharajas), i.e.
the Rastrakutas of Menyakhata.
(Tripathi; op.cit.p.338).
Rama SHankar Tripathi writes, "It is likely that the Arabs might have achieved more successes in the interior of India, if the Prathiras had not offered them a detrimined opposition".p.338 Nagabhata I was succeeded by his borhter's son Kakkuka and Devaraja, of whom nothing is known.
Devaraja's son Vatsaraja (757-792) was, however, a powerful ruler.
Majumdar; The Age of Imperial Kanauj,p.21) He succeeded to throne in 757 AD.
He rose to great prominence by his achievements.
He defeated Bhandi clan, perhaps Bhattis of Central Rajputana, over which his supremacy was recognized.
He won a victory also against the Gauda monarch, Dharmapala.
(Tripathi; op.cit.p.320) He had to face two other rival powers for supremacy over the North, the Rastrakutas of South and Palas of the East.
(Rana Ali Hasan; A Short History of Gurjars,p.68) But eventually Vatasraja was routed by Dhruva, and was compelled to take shelter in the centre of the deserts of Maru.
(Tripathi;op.cit.p.320) After his defeat at the hands of Dhruva, Vatasraja passes completely out of our view .It is probable that his power was confined to central Rajputana and there he died in 792 AD.
His son and successor Nagabhata II, however, retrieved the fortunes of his family.
Two years after Nagabhata II came to the throne.
Govinda III the younger son of the Rastrakuta emperor Dhruva, succeeded his father.
His elder brother, Stambha, refused to acknowledge his suzerainty.
A war of succession, with feudatories fighting on either side, convulsed the Rastrakuta empire.
This gave Nagabhata the opportunity which his father had been denied.
Nagabhata began strenuous efforts to recover the ground.
He entered into an alliance with the kings of Sindhu, Andhra, Vidarbha and Kalinga, who, succumbing later to his power lost their independence.
These four regions joined to Gurjaradesa, formed a central belt right across the country bounded in the east by Pala empire, in the south by Rastrakuta, and in the west by the Arabs of Sindh.
p.88) The Gwalior inscription further represents Nagabhata II as having won victories against Anaratta, (Northern Kathiawad), Malwa or central India, the Matsyas (of eastern Rajputana), Kiratas (of the Himalayan regions) Turuskas (Arab settlers of western India), and the Vatsas (of Kosambi).
(Tripathi; op.cit.p.321).
When Nagabhata II died in 833 AD the Gurjar empire had its boundaries upto the river Ravi in the north to river Narbada in the south, and from Bengal in the east to Sindh in die west.
(Rana; Eng,work,p.70).
The next three years were ruled by Ramabhadra, during his rule the empire weakened.
In 836 AD Mihira Bhoja, the Great, acceded to the throne.
He is also referred to in the Gujarati tradition as Bhuyada of Kalyan-akataka (Kanauj).
Munshi; Gujarat and its Literature,p.30).
With his succession a new and glorious chapter begins in the history of the Pramiras.
Mihira Bhoja attempted the consolidation of Prathira power, which had received a rude shock during the feeble government of his father, Ramabhadra.
He without fighting prevailed upon the kings and made them submissive and, appointed them the governors of their own states.
(Rana; Urdu work, Vol.1.
Mihira Bhoja re-established the supremacy of his family in Bundelkhand.
In the north his suzerainty was certainly acknowledged up to the foots of the Himalayas.
(Tripathi; op.cit.p.321) The Chouhans of Partap Garh (thar) were the staunchest supporter of Mihira Bhoja, with whose support he conquered the whole Gujarat up to Amahi and the Chap family of Annihlwara submitted before him.
With the help of Gahalots of Marwara Bhoja defeated Raja Baladitya and thus extended the boundaries of his empire upto the river Sindh.
The Parmaras of Malwa also surrendered before Mihira Bhoja.
The kingdom of Raja Lakhan Ram situated in the hills of Chamba near Jammu was uprooted.
(Rana;Urdu work V.I,p.320,321) There are also grounds to believe that Mihira Bhoja's arms penetrated as far as Pehoa (Karnal district) and even beyond it in the west, and Saurastra in the south west.
(Tripathi;op.cit.322) Directly or indirectly the influence of Mihira Bhoja was experienced on the political scene of Kashmir, particularly during the reign of Sankravarman (for details see M.L.
Kaoor's Eminent Rulers of Ancient Kashmir).
However Mihira Bhoja suffered certain setbacks at the hands of Rastrakutas and the Palas on some occasions, but still he was able to build a magnificent empire.
The Arab traveler Sulaiman pays a tribute to the efficiency of Bhoja's administration and forces, he thus records.
"This king maintains numerous forces and no other Indian prince has so fine a cavalry.
He is unfriendly to Arabs, still he acknowledges that the king of Arabs is the greatest of the kings.
He has got riches, and his camels and horses are numerous.
Exchanges are carried on in his states with silver (and gold) in dust, and there are said to be mines (of these metals) in the country.
There is no country in India safer from robbers." (Majumdar;op.cit.p.32) Al-Masudi says that the empire of Juzr (A corrupt form of Gurjar) had 1,800,000 villages, cities and rural areas and was about 2000Km in length and 2000KM in breadth.
The king's army had four divisions each consisting of 7,00,000 to 9,00,000 men.
Multan Division-this was meant for north western areas.
Some historians believe that it was to keep the Arab invaders in check.
Ujjaini (Bhinmal) Division-it was the native place of the Prathiras and a strong division of army was kept here to contain the Rastrakutas.
Kanauj-it was the capital city and the seat of the great Gurjar kings, here a good number of army was deputed to address the conspiracies and to maintain law and order in the interior of country.
Patlipuitra (Patna)-it was meant to keep vigil on Bengal, Burma, Bihar, Orissa, Magadh.
Some coins of the period of Bhoja with a fire pit on one side and a picture with the head of a goose on other side and the title Adhivaraha engraved on it, were found.
The national flag of Gurjar empire was of saffron colour.
(Rana; Urdu work.V.I.
p.321, 325, 329 & 332) Bhoja was undoubtedly one of the outstanding political figures of India in the ninth century, and ranks with Dhruva and Dharampala as a great general and empire-builder.
Perhaps the adventures of Bhoja in the early part of his life, his gradual reconquest of his lost empire, and his final recovery of Kanauj struck the imagination of his contemporaries.
Unfortunately, we know very little of his personal history, except that he was a devotee of Bhagwati and was known by various names such as Prabhasa, Adivaraha, and Mihira in addition to Bhoja.
(Satish Chandra; Medieval India,p.l0) Bhoja probably died in 885AD, and was succeeded by his son Mahendrapala I.
He not only maintained intact the vast empire inherited by him, but also further expanded it towards the east.
We may say without much exaggeration, that his empire extended from the Himalayas to the Vindhyas and from the eastern to the western ocean.
(Majumdar; op.cit.p.33) He also fought with the king of Kashmir but remained unsuccessful.
He ruled upto 908 AD.
Emperor Mahendrapala had more than two wives and begot children from all of them.
Mahipala the Yuvraj-the eldest heir apparent ascended the throne but his step brothers Bhoja II (from Dehananga Devi) and Yinayakpala (from Mahi Devi) also claimed lordship in different regions, Indra III grandson of Rastrakuta king Krishna II campaigned in their favour, and ultimately Mahipala had to leave the throne and Bhoja II captured the throne and appointed Vinayakpala as his assistant.
On the death of Bhoja II in 933 AD, Mahipala again took the possession of the kingdom with the help of Chouhans and Guhilots.
His influence was felt by the Murals (inhabitants of the Narmada regions), Mekhalas (of the Amarkantak hills), Kalinga (Orissa), Keralas, Kulutas (Kangra valley); Kuntalas (north Maharastra) and the Ramathas (dwelling beyond Prithudaka).
This would mean the suzerainty not only of nearly the whole northern India but also a part of the Deccan where the Rastrakutas ruled.
There are however indications that the closing years of Mahipala were again seriously disturbed owing to the northern invasions of Krishna III Rastrakuta.
Al-Masudi, who visited the valley of Indus in 915-916 AD bears eloquent testimony to the strength of the forces of Bauura, evidently an Arabic corruption of the term Prathira.
(Tripathi;op.cit.p.324) No doubt Mahipala held the empire greater than even Mihira Bhoja I and Mahendrapala extending from Kabul to Karnataka and from Kullu valley to Kerala but when he died he left feudatories so strong that they fought against each other without caring for the Imperial authority.
Work,p.74) During the next fifteen years there is succession of no less than four kings viz.(1) Devapala (948-949 (2) Vinayakpala (953-AD) (3) Mahipala II (955-AD) (4) Vijyapala (960-AD) Whether all these were distinct rulers or two or more of them identical, it is difficult to say.
There is however, no doubt that there was a steady decline in the power and authority of the empire during this period.
And finally about the middle of the tenth century AD, the Prathira empire disintegrated and was gradually reduced to the territory round about Kanauj.
(Majumdar;op.cit.pp.37,38) In 990 AD, Rajpala came to the throne when its glory had almost faded.
After his assassination Tarlochanpala took the reign of the government.
The last ruler of this line was perhaps Yashapala, referred to in an inscription of the year 1036 AD.
Tripathi writes that, with the decline of the Prathira family of Kanauj, the Prathiras did not entirely fade into oblivion.
We hear of Prathira chiefs ruling in different localities long afterwards upto 1304 AD.
(Tripathi;op.cit.p.326) The Prathira empire, which continued in full glory for nearly a century, was the last great empire in northern India before the Muslim conquest.
This honour is accorded to the empire of Harsha by many historians of repute but without any real justification; for the Prathira empire was probably larger, certainly not less in extent, and its duration was much longer.
It recalled, and to certain extent rivalled, the Gupta empire, and brought political unity and its attendant blessings upon a large part of northern India.
(Majumdar:op.cit..p.39) The Prathiras were patrons of learning, art and literature.
The great Sanskrit poet and dramatist.
lived at the court of Mahipala, a grandson of Bhoja.
The temple of Modhera (c.800) the temples of Khajuraho (c.900-1000) and the Vimalsa temples of Abu (c.1030-1050) are the relics of the magnificent tradition of art which flourished during their period.
(Munshi: Gujarat and its Literature.p.3l) During the eigth and ninth centuries, many Indian scholars went with embassies to the court of the Caliph of Baghdad.
These scholars introduced Indian sciences, especially mathematics, algebra and medicine to the Arab world.
Despite the hostility, it seems that the movement of scholars and goods between India and West Asia continued even during this period.
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