Chandela dynasty

Also called: Chandellas, Jejakabhukti, Chandelas · Topic: Early Medieval North India: Harsha to the Rajputs · NCERT: Class 7, Ch 4 "Turning Tides: The 11th and 12th Centuries"

Meaning

The Chandellas (also written Chandelas) were a Rajput dynasty of central India. They ruled Bundelkhand, known in their time as Jejakabhukti, from about the 9th to the 13th century. They are best known for resisting Mahmud of Ghazni and for building the temples of Khajuraho.

They matter because they show that a medium-sized kingdom of early medieval India could fight the biggest invader of its age and still build some of India's greatest temples. Khajuraho is tested again and again on its style, its religions and its UNESCO status.

Explanation

Background: how the Chandellas rose

• The old empire broke up.
• The Gurjara-Pratiharas were the big power of north India. They broke up in the 10th century.

• Their old governors and vassals (junior rulers who obey a bigger king) became kings in their own right.

• The new kings were later called Rajputs. The Chandellas were one of these houses.

• North India became a set of medium-sized kingdoms. Each had its own capital, temples and poets: the Paramaras in Malwa, the Chaulukyas in Gujarat, the Chahamanas in Rajasthan, and the Chandellas in Bundelkhand.

Power and war

• Chandella power was at its height between 950 and 1050 CE [2].
• They resisted Mahmud of Ghazni, who raided north India from Afghanistan in the early 11th century.
• But they fought alone.
• Other Rajput kings also fought these raids. Bhoja Paramara sent help to the Hindu Shahis, and later the Chaulukyas beat Ghuri in 1178.
• Each kingdom acted separately. They never formed one joint front.

Main achievement: the Khajuraho temples

• The Chandellas built dozens of temples at Khajuraho.
• Only about 20–23 temples survive today. They are spread over about 6 sq km in three clusters: western, eastern and southern [2].
• Two religions stand side by side: there are both Hindu and Jain temples [2].
• Style: they are rare surviving examples of the Nagara style [2]. This is the north Indian temple style, with a curved tower (shikhara) rising over the shrine.
• Famous temples:
• Lakshmana temple: an important Chandella temple at Khajuraho, dedicated to Vishnu.
• Kandariya Mahadeva: the largest and grandest temple at the site [2]. More details are given below.

Kandariya Mahadeva, the high point

• It is a Shaivite temple (dedicated to Shiva) [3].
• Date: one source puts it around c. 1000 [3]. UNESCO links it to king Ganda (AD 1017–29) [2]. So the exact date is approximate.
• Height: about 31 metres (102 feet) [3].
• Design: porches and small turrets pile up, one above another, and lead the eye to one tall main spire, like a mountain peak [3].

Results

• The temples were political statements as well as places of worship. Their huge size and rich carving advertised the king's power and wealth.
• They show that political break-up did not mean cultural decline.

Time, place and evidence

• Period: about the 9th to the 13th century, with the peak c. 950–1050 CE [2].
• Region: Bundelkhand (old name Jejakabhukti) in central India. Today this area is split between Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
• Key site: Khajuraho, in Madhya Pradesh.
• Key ruler named in the note: Ganda (AD 1017–29), credited with the Kandariya Mahadeva temple [2].
• Main enemy: Mahmud of Ghazni (early 11th century).
• How we know:
• The surviving temples are the main evidence: their buildings, sculpture and layout in three clusters [2].
• UNESCO and Britannica records give the dates, attributions and measurements used above [2][3].

• NCERT Class 7 covers the Chandellas among the Rajput kingdoms of the 11th–12th centuries.

• Heritage status: the Khajuraho Group of Monuments became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986 [2][3].

Don't confuse with

• Chahamanas (Chauhans) of Ajmer: another Rajput house, with its capital at Ajayameru (Ajmer). Their famous king was Prithviraja III. The Chandellas ruled Bundelkhand, and their capital was not Ajmer.
• Chaulukyas (Solankis) of Gujarat: they defeated Muhammad Ghuri in 1178 near Mount Abu. The Chandellas are linked with resisting Mahmud of Ghazni, not Ghuri.
• Konark Sun temple: this was built by the Eastern Gangas (Narasimhadeva I, c. 1250) in Odisha. It is shaped like Surya's chariot. Kandariya Mahadeva is a Chandella Shiva temple at Khajuraho, built c. 1000 [3][4].
• Bhojeshwar temple: an unfinished temple built by Bhoja Paramara of Malwa. It is not part of the Chandella group at Khajuraho.

Prelims Hooks

• Chandellas → Bundelkhand (Jejakabhukti) → Khajuraho temples, including Kandariya Mahadeva and Lakshmana.
• Kandariya Mahadeva: the largest Khajuraho temple, Shaivite, about 31 m (102 ft) high, c. 1000, attributed to king Ganda (1017–29) [2][3].
• Khajuraho → UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986 [2][3].
• About 20–23 temples survive in three clusters (western, eastern, southern), and they are both Hindu and Jain [2].
• Style trap: Khajuraho is Nagara style (north Indian, curved tower). It is not Dravida or Vesara [2].
• Chandella peak: c. 950–1050 CE. They resisted Mahmud of Ghazni, not Muhammad Ghuri [2].

Mains Points

• Political break-up did not mean cultural decline.
• After the Pratiharas collapsed, mid-sized kingdoms spent heavily on temples and learning: Khajuraho under the Chandellas, Dhara under Bhoja, Konark under the Eastern Gangas.

• Use this to argue against the old "dark age" label for early medieval India.

• Temples as instruments of royal legitimacy.

• Kandariya Mahadeva (c. 1000, about 31 m) showed the king's power through its size and carving [2][3].

• Hindu and Jain temples standing side by side at Khajuraho point to royal patronage of more than one faith [2].

• Separate resistance and its cost.

• The Chandellas resisted Mahmud, but the Rajput states fought the Ghaznavid and Ghurid raids one by one, never together.
• Historians often give this lack of unity as the standard explanation for the later Ghurid success in north India.

Related concepts

• Agnikula legend
• Paramaras
• Raja Bhoja
• Bhojeshwar temple
• Bhojshala
• Samarangana Sutradhara
• Khajuraho group of monuments
• Kandariya Mahadeva temple
• Chaulukya dynasty
• Modhera Sun temple

Read more

• Rajput kingdoms and eastern India