Even after a.d. 770 Valabhi seems to have been attacked by the Arabs. Dr. Bhagvánlál notices that two Jain dates for the destruction of the city 826 and 886 are in the Vira era and that this means not the Mahávira era of b.c. 526 but the Vikram era of b.c. 57. The corresponding dates are therefore a.d. 769 and 829. Evidence in support of the a.d. 769 and 770 defeat is given in the text. On behalf of Dr. Bhagvánlál’s second date a.d. 829 it is remarkable that in or about a.d. 830 (Elliot, I. 447) Músa the Arab governor of Sindh captured Bála the ruler of As Sharqi. As there seems no reason to identify this As Sharqi with the Sindh lake of As Sharqi mentioned in a raid in a.d. 750 (Elliot, I. 441: J. R. A. S. (1893) page 76) the phrase would mean Bála king of the east. The Arab record of the defeat of Bála would thus be in close agreement with the Jain date for the latest foreign attack on Valabhi. [↑]
[50] The identification of the Balharas of the Arab writers with the Chálukyas (a.d. 500–753) and Ráshṭrakúṭas (a.d. 753–972) of Málkhet in the East Dakhan has been accepted. The vagueness of the early (a.d. 850–900) Arab geographers still more the inaccuracy of Idrísi (a.d. 1137) in placing the Balharas capital in Gujarát (Elliot, I. 87) suggested a connection between Balhara and Valabhi. The suitableness of this identification was increased by the use among Rájput writers of the title Balakarai for the Valabhi chief (Tod An. of Ráj. I. 83) and the absence among either the Chálukyas (a.d. 500–753) or the Ráshṭrakúṭas (a.d. 753–972) of Málkhet of any title resembling Balhara. Prof. Bhandárkar’s (Deccan History, 56–57) discovery that several of the early Chálukyas and Ráshṭrakúṭas had the personal name Vallabha Beloved settled the question and established the accuracy of all Masudi’s (a.d. 915) statements (Elliot, I. 19–21) regarding the Balhara who ruled the Kamkar, that is Kamrakara or Karnáṭak (Sachau’s Beruni, I. 202; II. 318) and had their Kánarese (Kiriya) capital at Mankir (Málkhet) 640 miles from the coast. [↑]
[51] After their withdrawal from Valabhi to Mewáḍ the Válas took the name of Gehlot (see below page 98), then of Aharya from a temporary capital near Udepur (Tod’s An. of Ráj. I. 215), next of Sesodia in the west of Mewáḍ (Tod’s An. of Raj. I. 216; Western India, 57). Since 1568 the Rána’s head-quarters have been at Udepur. Ráj. Gaz. III. 18. After the establishment of their power in Chitor (a.d. 780), a branch of the Gehlot or Gohil family withdrew to Kheir in south-west Márwár. These driven south by the Ráthoḍs in the end of the twelfth century are the Gohils of Piram, Bhávnagar, and Rájpipla in Káthiáváḍa and Gujarát. Tod’s Annals of Ráj. I. 114, 228. [↑]
[52] The somewhat doubtful Jáikadeva plates (above page 87 and Káthiáváḍa Gazetteer, 275) seem to show the continuance of Maitraka power in North Káthiáváḍa. This is supported by the expedition of the Arab chief of Sandhán in Kachch (a.d. 840) against the Medhs of Hind which ended in the capture of Mália in North Káthiáváḍa. Elliot, I. 450. Hiuen Tsiang (a.d. 630) (Beal’s Buddhist Records, II. 69) describes Sauráshṭra as a separate state but at the same time notes its dependence on Valabhi. Its rulers seem to have been Mehrs. In a.d. 713 (Elliot, I. 123) Muhammad Kasim made peace with the men of Surasht, Medhs, seafarers, and pirates. [↑]
[53] The only contemporary rulers in whose grants a reference to Valabhi has been traced are the Gurjjaras of Broach (a.d. 580–808) one of whom, Dadda II. (a.d. 633), is said (Ind. Ant. XIII. 79) to have gained renown by protecting the lord of Valabhi who had been defeated by the illustrious Śrí Harshadeva (a.d. 608–649), and another Jayabhaṭa in a.d. 706 (Ind. Ant. V. 115) claims to have quieted with the sword the impetuosity of the lord of Valabhi. [↑]
[54] Tod An. of Raj. I. 217: Western India, 269. [↑]
[55] Tod An. of Raj. I. 112 and Western India, 148: Rás Málá, I. 21. It is not clear whether these passages prove that the Sesodias or only the Válas claim an early settlement at Dhánk. In any case (see below page 101) both clans trace their origin to Kanaksen. [↑]
[56] Tod’s Western India, 51. [↑]
[57] Tod’s An. of Raj. I. 230. [↑]
[58] The cherished title of the later Valabhis, Śíláditya Sun of Virtue, confirms the special sun worship at Valabhi, which the mention of Dharapaṭṭa (a.d. 550) as a devotee of the supreme sun supports, and which the legends of Valabhi’s sun-horse and sun-fountain keep fresh (Rás Málá, I. 14–18). So the great one-stone liṅgas, the most notable trace of Valabhi city (J. R. A. S. Ser. I. Vol. XIII. 149 and XVII. 271), bear out the Valabhi copperplate claim that its rulers were great worshippers of Śiva. Similarly the Rána of Udepur, while enjoying the title of Sun of the Hindus, prospering under the sun banner, and specially worshipping the sun (Tod’s Annals, I. 565) is at the same time the Minister of Śiva the One Liṅg Eklingakadiwán (Ditto 222, Ráj. Gaz. III. 53). The blend is natural. The fierce noon-tide sun is Mahákála the Destroyer. Like Śiva the Sun is lord of the Moon. And marshalled by Somanátha the great Soul Home the souls of the dead pass heavenwards along the rays of the setting sun. [Compare Sachau’s Alberuni, II. 168.] It is the common sun element in Śaivism and in Vaishnavism that gives their holiness to the sunset shrines of Somanátha and Dwárka. For (Ditto, 169) the setting sun is the door whence men march forth into the world of existence Westwards, heavenwards. [↑]