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44-548: The origins of the Suthar community traces back to the construction of the Rudra Mahalaya Temple , commissioned by King Mularaja of Chaulukya dynasty (now Gujarat and southern Rajasthan) . Ancient Indian temple construction required a blend of skill-set ranging from astronomy and geometry to architecture , Vastu shastra and engineering . The king invited VishwaBrahmin with such skill-set from northern India to design

88-404: A single combat and throw him down from his elephant, and had him tied up with ropes. Lakṣa, wearing white clothes, rushed in and abused Mūlarāja calling him Mula. He asked Mūlarāja to release Grāharipu, but Mūlarāja refused to comply, on the grounds that the captive was a beef-eater . This led to another single combat, in which Mūlarāja killed Lakṣa with a spear. The men of Sauraṣṭra then made

132-496: A Jain temple at Chandravati which was consecrated by Sarvadevasuri. The Mulavastika temple in Patan constructed by Mularaja is also mentioned in an Digambara Jain inscription dated Samvat 1250s of Bhima II rule. Merutunga's Prabandha-Chintamani mentions building of Muleshwara temple at Mandali (now Mandal ) which is the same as Mulanathadeva temple mentioned in Kadi copperplate grants. This

176-551: A large number of soldiers from different parts of his kingdom, and led an army to the Cāhamāna camp. He managed to enter the royal pavallion of Vigraharāja, who, after a short conversation, was impressed with his bravery. Mūlarāja asked Vigraharāja not to attack him while he was engaged in a war with Bārapa, and the Cāhamāna agreed to the demand. Vigraharāja also promised to maintain friendly relations with Mūlarāja, who subsequently attacked and killed Bārapa. Pṛthvīrāja Vijaya , which

220-544: A predominant adherence to Vaishnavism . Common surnames within this community include Suthar , Gajjar , Sharma , Acharya , Rathore , Pancholi , Mistri , Jangid , Panchal Some subcastes of Suthar are classified as OBC in states like Rajasthan , Haryana , Gujarat . Some subcastes of Suthar community, like Suthars of Brahmin varna, either do not take or get reservation or are willingly demanding to give up their reservation status. Rudra Mahalaya Temple The Rudra Mahalaya Temple , also known as Rudramal ,

264-829: A submission before Mūlarāja, dressed as women. The king then released the prisoners and visited the holy Prabhāsa city in Saurashtra. The fight between Mūlarāja and Lakṣa has also been mentioned by the 14th century writer Merutuṅga in Prabandha-Cintamaṇi . According to this version, Lakṣa (or Lākhā) was the son of Phulaḍa, who was a meat-herd . Phulada married Kāmalatā, a daughter of Paramāra king Kīrtirāja. Lakṣa repulsed Mularaja's attacks 11 times. However, in their 12th fight, Mularaja besieged his fort Kapilkot (now Kera, Kutch ), killed him, and trod him on his beard. Enraged by his insulting action, Laksha's mother cursed Mularaja's family to be afflicted with leprosy . A similar account

308-517: A vassal of the Kalyani Chalukya ruler Tailapa II . According to Merutuṅga, Mūlarāja's ministers advised him to take shelter in the Kanthā-durga fort until Navarātri , when Vigraharāja would depart to perform the traditional worship of his family deity, and then attack Bārapa. Mūlarāja agreed to this suggestion, but unexpectedly, Vigraharāja did not depart on Navaratri. Mūlarāja then collected

352-512: A very strong king, and declared that only Mularaja was capable of defeating him. Both the ministers urged Mularaja to attack Graharipu. Mūlarāja launched a campaign against Graharipu on the day of Vijayādaśamī . When the Chalukya army reached the Jambumāli forest, Grāharipu attempted a peaceful resolution by sending his messenger, who asked Mūlarāja to retreat, stating that there was no enmity between

396-623: Is a destroyed/desecrated Hindu temple complex at Siddhpur in the Patan district of Gujarat, India . Its construction was started in 943 CE by Mularaja and completed in 1140 CE by Jayasimha Siddharaja , a ruler of the Chaulukya dynasty . The Hindu temple was destroyed by the Sultan of Delhi , Alauddin Khalji , and later the Sultan of Gujarat , Ahmed Shah I (1410–1444) desecrated and substantially demolished

440-589: Is also given in Kumarapalacharita . Historian Asoke Majumdar theorizes that Mularaja attacked Graharipu on "some flimsy pretext", as Mahadeva's-order-in-a-dream was a popular device used by Sanskrit authors to justify the otherwise inexcusable actions of their heroes. Mularaja's descendants fought against the kings of Kachchha and Saurashtra, so it appears that he managed to annex some parts of these kingdoms, but could not completely subjugate them. Merutuṅga states that Mūlarāja once faced simultaneous invasions at

484-496: Is ascribed to him traditionally. According to Kadi copperplate grant, Rudra Mahalaya was already there in 987 CE. He had constructed Munjaladevaswami and Tripurushaprasada temples in Anahilapataka (now Patan). He had also built Mulnarayana-prasada at Siddhpur. The Mulavasahika Jain temple is ascribed to him. Jinaprabha mentions the temple of Mulanathjinadeva which is probably same as Munjaladevaswami. In 954 CE, Minister Kunkana built

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528-497: Is last temple built before 987 CE. After defeating Graharipu, he had probably rebuilt large temple at Somnath . H. P. Shastri and M. A. Dhaky had concluded this based on paleographic and stylistic evidences. He had settled Brahmans in Vadnagar migrated from North India. He probably had built Hatakeshwara temple for them but the original temple is obscured following major renovation in 19th century. Muni Bawa Temple near Thangadh

572-495: Is no doubt that Mularaja dethroned the Chapotkata king. One of Mularaja's own inscriptions states that he conquered the region watered by Sarasvati river with the strength of his arms. The Vadnagar prashasti inscription of his descendant Kumarapala states that he took the Chapotkata princes captive, took their fortune for his own enjoyment, and became popular among his subjects because of excessively light taxation. According to

616-400: Is possible that they were small princes of a place called Madhupadma. V. V. Mirashi speculated that this place might have been situated on the banks of the river Madhuveni (present-day Mahuwar), which is a tributary of Betwa . Majumdar, on the other hand, identifies it with modern Mathura . The 14th century chronicler Merutunga states that Mularaja was so named, because he was born under

660-456: The Chapotkata kingdom with an army, he would not have felt the need to resort to such appeasement. Therefore, Majumdar theorizes that Mularaja indeed murdered his uncle and then consolidated power with 'soft' measures such as reduced tax burden and sharing of wealth. At the time of his ascension, Mūlarāja's kingdom was probably limited to the territory called Sarasvata- mandala , which included present-day Mehsana , Radhanpur , and Palanpur . By

704-404: The Chapotkata kings with his relatives, Brahmins, bards, and servants. Majumdar argues that if Mularaja had captured the Chapotkata kingdom with an army, he would not have felt the need to resort to such appeasement. Therefore, Majumdar theorizes that Mularaja indeed murdered his uncle and then consolidated power with 'soft' measures such as reduced tax burden and sharing of wealth. However, there

748-407: The Chapotkata princes captive. Bühler theorized that Mularaja was an outsider who captured Samanta-simha's kingdom. However, Asoke Majumdar proposed that he was indeed a relative of the king, based on the following facts: The Vadnagar inscription as well as the writings of Hemachandra suggest that Mularaja reduced the tax burden on the citizens. The inscription also states that he shared the wealth of

792-649: The Chaulukya dynasty was Chulukya, a great warrior. He established his capital at Madhupadma, and the dynasty came to be known as the Chaulukyas after him. His successors included several kings including Simha-Vikrama and Hari-Vikrama. After 85 descendants of Hari-Vikrama came Rama. Bhata or Sahajarama, the son of Rama, defeated the Shakas . Bhata's son Dadakka defeated the Gaja kings of Pipasa. Dadakka's kingdom occupied by Kanchikavyala, who

836-508: The auspices of the Mula nakshatra . According to this legend, Raji (or Raja), Bija and Dandaka (or Dadakka) were three brothers. Raji's knowledge of horse-riding greatly impressed Samanta-simha, the Chapotkata (Chavda) king of Anahilapataka . He became a close friend of the king, and married Liladevi, the king's sister. Liladevi died while she was pregnant; her womb was cut open and the infant Mularaja

880-411: The bardic chronicles variously date between 841 and 1144 CE. The battle took place on the river Jambumāli (identified as Bhogavo River in Saurashtra; a village named Jambu near Limbdi is located on the banks of this river). The battle continued for two days indecisively. On third day, Mūlarāja entered battle on an elephant and Grāharipu mounted on his elephant in rage. Mūlarāja overpowered Grāharipu in

924-461: The community is divided into several subcastes, each associated with distinct occupations, varnas, and ethnic identities. Notable subcastes include Vanshaj Suthar , Vaishya Suthar , Mewada Suthar , Gurjar Suthar , Jangid-Brahmin Suthar , Mistri, Mistri Suthar , Luhar Suthar . Each subcaste practices different faiths, yet they share a common heritage and a reverence for deities such as Lord Vishwakarma , Lord Vishnu , and Lord Shiva , with

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968-463: The conflict ended with some advantage for Vigraharāja, who allied with Bārapa and helped him achieve independence. Historian Asoke Kumar Majumdar theorizes that Mūlarāja may have paid Vigraharāja money to win him over, and the two kings may have then jointly marched up to Bhṛgukaccha against Bārapa. The Jain authors present Mularaja as fully involved in Vedic and Brahmanical notions of kingship, while at

1012-525: The earliest extant chronicle in Persian documenting Shah's campaigns, attributes the destruction to religious zealotry — however, Alka Patel cautions that these texts were often biased due to panegyric aims and often contradicted by other evidence. The temple was built in Māru-Gurjara architecture style. Mularaja Mularaja ( r.  941 – 996 CE ) was the king of Gujarat and

1056-503: The end of his reign, his kingdom extended from Mount Abu in the north to Lata region in the south. Hemacandra 's writings state that Mūlarāja defeated Grāharipu , the Chudasama king of Saurashtra . However, no other Chaulukya-era accounts mention this victory. According to Hemacandra, one night, the god Mahādeva appeared in Mūlarāja's dream, and ordered him to vanquish Grāharipu. In

1100-467: The founder of the Chaulukya dynasty . Also known as the Chaulukyas of Gujarat or Solanki, this dynasty ruled parts of present-day Gujarat . Mularaja supplanted the last Chavda king , and founded an independent kingdom with his capital in Anahilapataka in 940-941 CE. The Kumarapala-Bhupala-Charita of Jayasimha Suri provides a legendary genealogy of Mularaja. It states that the mythical progenitor of

1144-432: The founder of the Chaulukya dynasty of Gujarat, had offered prayers to Rudra Mahalay. Colonial sources say that Muladev ordered the construction of a shrine there to atone for his earlier sins, but it is possible that a temple existed at the place even before his reign. Archaeological evidence suggests that an existing structure was removed and a new complex was built on top of the existing foundation in twelfth century. It

1188-460: The king of Saptakāśī and a number of Gujarati soldiers, joined him. Most of the allies named by Hemacandra appear to be fictional, but Lakṣa appears to be a historical personage, as he has been mentioned in several other chronicles including Kīrti-Kaumudī , Vasanta-Vilāsa , and Sukṛta-Saṅkīrtana . He may be same as Lākhā Phulāni, whom the Jāḍejā princes of Kutch count among their ancestors, and whom

1232-437: The king when drunk, and depose him when he became sober. Mularaja, who was an ambitious man, was regularly disappointed in this way. One day, when a drunk Samanta-simha appointed him as the king, Mularaja killed his uncle, and became the permanent king. However, Merutunga's legend doesn't seem to be chronologically consistent: it claims that Samanta-simha ruled for 7 years. If Samanta-simha's sister married Raji during his reign, as

1276-448: The later Chaulukya court poet Someshvara 's Surathotsava Mahakavya , Mularaja appointed Someshvara's ancestor Sola-sharman as the royal priest ( purohita ), and Sola-sharman performed several ritual sacrifices . According to Bühler, such changes to the royal household would have not happened, if Mularaja had ascended the throne by the right of succession after the death of the last Chapotkata king. Therefore, Bühler theorized that Mularaja

1320-469: The legend states, Mularaja would have been less than 7 years old at the time of Samanta-simha's death. This absurdity, coupled with other evidence, has prompted some scholars such as Georg Bühler to dismiss Merutunga's legend as unhistorical. One of Mularaja's own inscriptions states that he conquered the region watered by Sarasvati river with the strength of his arms. The Vadnagar prashasti inscription of his descendant Kumarapala states that he took

1364-602: The morning, Mūlarāja consulted his ministers Jambaka and Jehula, as he was apprehensive of causing troubles to the pilgrims who visited Prabhasa in Saurashtra. According to Hemacandra's commentator Abhayatilaka Gaṇi, Jambaka was his Mahāmantrin (chief minister) while Jehula, the Rānaka of Khairalu (now Kheralu ), was his Mahāpradhāna (prime minister). Jehula told Mūlarāja that Graharipu was a tyrant who tortured pilgrims and indulged in vices such as eating flesh, drinking wine and hunting deer on Mt. Ujjayanta. Jambaka described Grāharipu as

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1408-515: The northern and southern frontiers of his kingdom. The northern invader was the king of Sapādalakṣa, who can be identified as the Śākambharī Cāhamāna ruler Vigraharāja II . This invasion finds a mention in the later Chahamana accounts, but is not mentioned in Vigraharaja's 973 CE inscription, so it must have happened sometime after 973 CE. The southern invader was the Lata Chalukya ruler Bārapa,

1452-469: The priests of the Rudra Mahalaya Temple . The migrant Brahmins who did not join the newly formed Suthar community and served as the priests of the temple, are now known as the Audichya Brahmins . The Suthar community of Gujarat and Rajasthan community comprises a diverse mix of subcommunities and ethnic groups, resulting in a rich demographic tapestry despite its relatively small population. Currently,

1496-470: The resettlement, the king suggested forming a new community that combined the converted workers and the original Brahmins . This proposal led to the creation of the Suthar community in the Chaulakya kingdom (now Gujarat and southern Rajasthan), a unique blend of Brahmins, Kshatriyas and artisans. King Mulraja later invited additional learned Brahmins from northern India to join the Suthar community and serve as

1540-654: The same time extensively supporting the Jains as a matter of royal policy. Although he was a Shaivaite , he built Mulavasatika (Mula's residence) temple for Digambaras and the Mulanatha-jinadeva (the Jina who is Mula's lord) temple for the Śvetāmbaras . Surathotsava of Someshvara , a thirteenth century Brahmana, describes Mularaja being consecrated as king through the performance of a Vedic Vajapeya sacrifice. The original Rudra Mahalaya Temple at Shristhala (now Siddhpur )

1584-531: The temple and undertake this project. After designing the temple as per King's requirements, the VishwaBrahmins assembled a massive workforce of skilled artisans of different ethnicity and converted them into Brahmin varna through the Hindu ritual purification , to maintain the sanctity of the temple. After the temple's completion, King Mularaja urged the original VishwaBrahmins to settle in his kingdom. To facilitate

1628-424: The temple, and also converted part of it into the congregational mosque (Jami Masjid) of the city. Two torans (porches) and four pillars of the former central structure still stand along with the western part of the complex used as a congregational mosque. Sidhpur, under the rulers of Chaulukya dynasty , was a prominent town in the tenth century. An inscription from 986-987 CE mentions in passing that Mularaja ,

1672-467: The two kings. However, Mūlarāja refused to do so, declaring that Mularaja was a despicable person whose vices could be attributed to he being the son of a mleccha woma. When Mularaja continued his march, Graharipu started his war preparations. His allies included Medas ( Bhillas according to Abhayatilaka-Gaṇi), his friend Lakṣa (who had freed Kaccha from the Turuṣkas ), and a king named Sindhurāja. After

1716-512: The war began, he was joined by a mlechchha chief (a Turuṣka, according to Abhayatilaka-Gaṇi). Mūlarāja was supported by the kings Mahitrāta, Śailaprastha, Revatimitra, Gaṅgamaha of Gaṅgadvāra and his brother Gaṅgāmahā. The Paramāra king of Abu , who lived at Śrīmāla , also joined him. In addition, Mularaja was supported by the Bhillas and the Kauravas. After the battle began, several others including

1760-473: Was an outsider who captured Samanta-simha's kingdom. However, historian Asoke Majumdar proposed that he was indeed a relative of the king, based on the following facts: The Vadnagar inscription as well as the writings of Hemachandra suggest that Mularaja reduced the tax burden on the citizens. The inscription also states that he shared the wealth of the Chapotkata kings with his relatives, Brahmins, bards, and servants. Majumdar argues that if Mularaja had captured

1804-556: Was composed under Cāhamāna patronage, states that Vigraharāja forced Mūlarāja to take shelter in Kanthā-durga, and advanced as far as Bhṛgukaccha (modern Bharuch ), where he built a temple dedicated to the goddess Aśapuri . It is hard to determine the historical truth from these different accounts. Historian R. B. Singh theorizes that Mūlarāja ceded a part of his territory to the Cāhamānas. Historian Dasharatha Sharma also believes that

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1848-463: Was during the 12th century, in 1140 CE, that Jayasimha Siddharaja (1094–1144) consecrated the temple complex in worship of Shiva. This act continued the long-running patronage of the city by the Chalukyas. The temple was dismantled during the siege of the city by Ahmad Shah I (1410–44) of Muzaffarid dynasty; parts of it were reused in setting up a new congregational mosque. Mirat-i-Sikandiri ,

1892-553: Was succeeded by the king Raji. Mularaja was the son of Raji and his queen Liladevi. The Vadasma (Varunasarmaka) grant inscription of Mularaja's son Chamundaraja states that Mularaja was a descendant of one Vyalakanchi-Prabhu. This Vyalakanchi is probably same as the Kanchikavyala mentioned by Jayasimha Suri. Based on this, historian Asoke Majumdar believes that Suri's legendary account seems to be at least partially accurate: Rama and his successors appear to be historical figures. It

1936-439: Was taken out. Three other chroniclers — Arisimha, Udayaprabha and Krishnaji — also describe Mularaja as the son of sister of the last Chapotkata ruler. In the mid-tenth century CE, Mularaja supplanted the last Chavada (Chapotkata) king of Gujarat and established the Chaulukya or Chaulukya dynasty . According to Merutunga's legend, Mularaja gained reputation as a warrior. His uncle Samanta-simha would often appoint him as

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