Reign c. 1055 – c. 1070 CE Successor Udayaditya | House Paramara dynasty Predecessor Bhoja | |
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Jayasimha (reigned c. 1055-1070 CE) was an Indian king from the Paramara dynasty, who ruled in the Malwa region of central India. He was the successor of the dynasty's most powerful king Bhoja.
The only known inscription that mentions a Paramara ruler named Jayasimha is the 1055-56 CE Mandhata copper-plate inscription. It is very similar to Bhoja's inscriptions, and records the grant of the Bhima village to Brahmins. The inscription is dated 1112 Vikrama Samvat; the exact date corresponds to either 27 May 1055 CE (assuming Chaitradi year) or 13 July 1056 CE (assuming Karttikadi year). It mentions Jayasimha's predecessors as Bhoja, Sindhuraja and Vakpatiraja. Jayasimha's titles and name are given as "Parama-bhattaraka Maharajadhiraja Parameshvara Jayasimha-deva".
No other Paramara inscription mentions Jayasimha. The Udaipur Prashasti and the Nagpur Prashasti of the later Paramara kings omit Jayasimha's name, and mention Udayaditya as the next king after Bhoja.
Udayaditya is now known to be Bhoja's brother. Jayasimha was probably Bhoja's son. At the time of Bhoja's death, a confederacy of the Kalachuri king Karna and the Chaulukya king Bhima I had attacked Malwa. It is possible lthat Jayasimha and Udayaditya were rival claimants to the throne under these conditions. The poet Bilhana mentions that the Western Chalukya king Vikramaditya VI (r. 1076 – 1126 CE) helped re-establish the rule of a king in Malwa. Bilhana does not name the king of Malwa, but it appears that he was Jayasimha. P. N. Kawthekar theorizes Jayasimha sought help from the Chalukya king Someshvara I, who dispatched prince Vikramaditya to help Jayasimha ascend the throne.
K. C. Jain theorizes that Jayasimha was able to rule in peace as long as Someshvara I was alive. After Someshvara's death, there was a war of succession between the Chalukya princes Someshvara II and Vikramaditya VI. Someshvara II felt that Jayasimha was an ally of Vikramaditya. Therefore, in alliance with Karna, he launched a campaign to de-throne Jayasimha. Later, Udayaditya was able to gain control of the Paramara throne with help of the Chahamanas of Shakambhari.