ujjain history. part 3

ujjain history. part 3

Malwa was lost in the time of Vakpati's successor, Vairisimha II, to the invading forces of Mahipala I who avenged his defeat at the hands of Indra III by invading the empire of Rastrakuta. Mahipala and his Kalachuri confederate Bhamanadeva are said to have conquered the territory up to the banks of the Narmada including Ujjain and Dhar. The Paramara sovereignty in the Malwa ceased around AD 946 when Vairsimha II became dominant in the area.

It is in his son Siyaka II's reign that the independent Paramara rule in Malwa began. It is believed that it was this time that the capital was shifted to the area of the Mahakala Vana in Ujjain. From the 9th to the 12th centuries, the Paramaras became so identified with Ujjain that subsequent tradition has converted Vikramaditya into a Paramara. The last Paramara ruler, Siladitya, was captured alive by the Sultans of Mandu, and Ujjain passed into the hands of the Muslims.

Thus began a long era of misfortune and decay and the ancient glory of Ujjayini was lost in a morass of repeated inroads of attacking hordes. The invasion of Ujjain by Iltutmish in 1234 triggered off a systematic desecration and despoiling of temples. This tide of destruction was stemmed only in the time of Baz Bahadur of Mandu. The Mughal rule heralded a new era in reconstruction. Emperor Akbar put an end to Baz Bahadur's hegemony over Malwa and had a city wall constructed for the defense of Ujjain.

The Nadi Darwaza, Kaliadeh Darwaza, Sati Darwaza, Dewas Darwaza and Indore Darwaza were the various entrances to the city. In 1658 took place a battle near Ujjain in which Aurangzeb and Murad defeated Maharaja Jaswant Singh of Jodhpur, who was fighting on behalf of Prince Dara. The actual scene of the battle is Dharmatpura renamed Fatehbad by Aurangzeb, after the victory.

The cenotaph of Raja Rattan Singh of Ratlam, who fell in the battle, still stands at the site. In the reign of Mahmud Shah, Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh was made the Governor of Malwa. A great scholar of astronomy, he had the observatory at Ujjain reconstructed and built several temples.