Mahalakadeva

Mahālakadeva (died 1305 CE), also known as Mahlak Deo or Mahlak Deva, was a king of the Paramara dynasty in central India. The last known ruler of the dynasty, he was defeated and killed by the forces of Alauddin Khalji of Delhi.

Mahalakadeva
King of Malwa
Reign	late 13th – early 14th century
Predecessor	Bhoja II
Died	24 November 1305 Mandu, Malwa, India
Dynasty	Paramara

Political status

Mahalakadeva was the successor of Bhoja II. Gogadeva, also known as Haranand or simply Goga, was his powerful pradhan (prime minister). Goga was also the prime minister of Bhoja II's predecessor Arjuna II, and had turned against the king. The 16th century historian Firishta describes Goga as the "Raja of Malwa". According to historian Pratipal Bhatia, Goga might have become the de facto administrator of Malwa, with Bhoja II as a titular ruler.[1]

Defeat against Alauddin Khalji

Main article: Alauddin Khalji's conquest of Malwa

In 1305, the Muslim Sultan of Delhi Alauddin Khalji sent his army to conquer Malwa, the Paramara territory.[2] According to Amir Khusrow's Tarikh-i 'Alai, "Rai Mahlak Deo" and pradhan "Koka" (Goga) commanded a force of 30-40 thousand cavalry, and an infantry of unknown size. Khusrow states that Delhi's "army of Islam" defeated this Paramara force, and "the earth was moistened with Hindu blood". Goga was killed in the battle, and his head was sent to the Sultan in Delhi.[3]

Ayn al-Mulk Multani, the newly-appointed Governor of Malwa, was sent to expel Mahalakadeva from Mandu and cleanse that place from "the odour of infidelity". With help of a spy, Multani's forces found a way to enter the fort secretly. Mahalakadeva was killed while attempting to flee, on 24 November 1305.[3][4] The Jain writer Kakka Suri, in his Nabhi-nandana-jinoddhara-prabandha (1336), describes the end of Mahalakadeva as follows: "Besieged by him [Alauddin] in his own fort, the ruler of Mālwā passed there many days, living like a captive, and then died bereft of heroism."[5]

It is not known when exactly did the Delhi forces completed their conquest of Malwa. A 1310 CE Udaipur inscription indicates that the Paramara dynasty survived until this time, at least in the north-eastern part of Malwa. A later 1338 CE inscription on a new mosque indicates that the area was under the control of the Delhi Sultan Muhammad bin Tughluq by this time.[6]

References

1. Pratipal Bhatia 1970, p. 160.
2. Peter Jackson 2003, p. 198.
3. Henry Miers Elliot 1871, p. 76.
4. V. S. Krishnan 1994, p. 33.
5. Dasharatha Sharma 1956, p. 96.
6. Peter Jackson 2003, p. 199.

Bibliography

• Dasharatha Sharma (1956). "New Light on Alauddin Khalji's Achievements". The Indian Historical Quarterly. Ramanand Vidya Bhawan. 32 (1).CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Henry Miers Elliot (1871). The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians: The Muhammadan Period. Trübner and Company. p. 76.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Peter Jackson (2003). The Delhi Sultanate: A Political and Military History. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-54329-3.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Pratipal Bhatia (1970). The Paramāras, c. 800-1305 A.D. Munshiram Manoharlal.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• V. S. Krishnan (1994). Madhya Pradesh District Gazetteers: Ratlam. Government Central Press.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)