Bappa Rawal is a significant figure in the genealogies of the Guhila dynasty, known for their rule in the region of Mewar. However, historical records are inconsistent about his existence and identity. For instance, the 959 CE Unawas inscription and the 971 CE Ekling inscription mention Bappa Rawal. On the other hand, he is absent from the 977 CE Atpur inscription and the 1083 CE Kadmal inscription.
Bappa Rawal is known for his military campaigns, which extended his influence beyond Mewar. He is said to have fought against invading Arab forces in western India, securing his kingdom against external threats and expanding its territory.
Bappa Rawal is celebrated not only as a warrior king but also as a cultural hero. His reign is often associated with the promotion of Hindu culture and values, and he is venerated in various folk traditions and religious narratives.
Bappa Rawal is a significant figure in the genealogies of the Guhila dynasty, known for their rule in the region of Mewar. However, historical records are inconsistent about his existence and identity. For instance, the 959 CE Unawas inscription and the 971 CE Ekling inscription mention Bappa Rawal. On the other hand, he is absent from the 977 CE Atpur inscription and the 1083 CE Kadmal inscription.
Bappa Rawal, originally named Prince Kalbhoj, was one of the most powerful and famous rulers of the Mewar Dynasty. Although he was a surviving member of the Guhilot clan, he did not continue the family name when he ascended the throne. Instead, he established the Mewar Dynasty, named after the kingdom he had just taken. Celebrated as a heroic figure on numerous battlefields, Bappa Rawal’s life is shrouded in mystery and enriched with many legends.
According to tradition, Bappa Rawal was blessed with kingship by Harit Rishi, a revered sage of the Mewar region. His father, Rawal Mahendra II, had married a woman from the Paramara Rajput clan, either from Mt. Abu or Chandravati. She was also the sister of Maan Mori, the Paramara king who ruled much of Mewar, including lands previously belonging to the Guhilot clan, which the Paramaras had annexed and made their capital at the ancient fortress of Chittorgarh.
Bappa Rawal is said to have spent his childhood near Nagda. Numerous legends surround his early years in the Vindhya Range, portraying him as a high-spirited youth. One such tale involves him tending the sacred cattle of the Brahmans and getting into mischief with local village girls. In one instance, he ‘married’ several young maidens in a game, leading to his hurried escape to the hills to avoid their outraged parents. This anecdote is often cited to highlight his virility, and Bappa Rawal is said to have married many women and fathered over a hundred children.
Bappa Rawal played a crucial role in the Battle of Rajasthan, a series of wars in the 8th century AD between regional rulers of North-Western India and the invading Arabs of Sindh. These battles saw the regional Indian rulers, including Bappa Rawal, deliver a decisive defeat to the Arabs. As Arab Muslims began attacking India, Bappa united the smaller states of Ajmer and Jaisalmer to repel the invaders. Although Muhammad bin Qasim defeated Dahir in Sindh, he was stopped by Bappa Rawal, who served as a commander in the Mori army alongside Dahir’s son.
Legend has it that Bappa Rawal not only defeated Bin Qasim but pursued him through Saurashtra and back to the western banks of the Sindhu (modern-day Baluchistan). He then marched on to Ghazni, defeating the local ruler Salim, and installed a representative before returning to Chittorgarh. After Raja Mori named Bappa Rawal his successor and crowned him King of Chittor, Bappa expanded his conquests, making various kingdoms like Kandahar, Khorasan, Turan, Ispahan, and Iran vassals of his kingdom. Thus, he not only defended India’s frontiers but, for a brief period, significantly expanded them.
Bappa Rawal’s legacy as a formidable warrior and astute ruler endures in the annals of Indian history, where he is remembered for his strategic brilliance and indomitable spirit.
One prevailing theory is that Bappa Rawal was Kalabhoja. According to the Atpur and Kadmal inscriptions, the Guhila ruler Mahendra was succeeded by Kalabhoja. Historian G. H. Ojha and others support this theory because the 977 CE Atpur inscription mentions Khumana as Kalabhoja’s son, while the 1404 CE Uparaganva inscription names Khumana as the son of Bappa Rawal. R. V. Somani agrees with this but also cautions that the evidence isn’t conclusive. Bappa Rawal could have been a different ruler from another branch of the Guhilas.
Another intriguing hypothesis comes from the comparison of different inscriptions. The Atpur inscription names Śila as Nāga’s successor and Aparājita’s predecessor. Meanwhile, the 1460 CE Kumbhalgarh inscription places Bappa Rawal in the same succession line. This leads historians like Dasharatha Sharma and D. C. Sircar to identify Bappa Rawal as Shiladitya, the great-grandfather of Kalabhoja. However, R. V. Somani disputes this, citing errors in the inscription, including the incorrect naming of Bappa Rawal as Guhadatta’s father.
According to various legends, Bappa Rawal captured the famous Chitrakuta (Chittor Fort) from the mlechchhas (foreign invaders). Scholars like R. C. Majumdar and R. V. Somani suggest that Arab invaders defeated the former rulers of Chittor, the Moris (Mauryas), around 725 CE. Bappa Rawal then gained control of Chittor by repelling the Arab invaders. Majumdar believes Bappa’s heroics against the Arabs elevated his status so much that he was mistakenly regarded as the founder of the Mewar dynasty.
R. V. Somani theorizes that Bappa was part of an anti-Arab alliance formed by the Pratihara ruler Nagabhata I. Shyam Manohar Mishra from Lucknow University suggests that Bappa Rawal was initially a vassal of the Mori ruler Manuraja (Maan Maurya) and likely led the Mori campaign against the Arabs. His success in these battles made him more famous than his overlord. Later, Bappa either deposed Manuraja or became king after Manuraja died childless.
After defeating the Arabs, several conflicts occurred in India, most notably between the Pratiharas and the Rashtrakutas. Rashtrakuta king Dantidurga occupied Ujjain and performed the Hiranyagarbha ceremony there, but Nagabhata I soon regained power. Historian R. V. Somani theorizes that Bappa Rawal also faced Dantidurga’s armies, helping the Pratiharas in their struggle. As a result, he succeeded in capturing the eastern parts of the Mewar region and also contested with the Karnataka’s and the Cholas, as described in an inscription at Chittor.