Tomaras of Gwalior

The Tomaras of Gwalior were a dynasty who ruled the Gwalior Fort and its surrounding region in central India during 14th-16th centuries. They are known for their patronage to the cultural activities in Gwalior.

The Tomaras originally held a small fief as feudatories of the Tughluq dynasty of Delhi Sultanate. In the 1390s, they gained control of Gwalior, and became independent in the subsequent years. They fought several battles with the Delhi rulers to maintain their independence, and paid tribute to the Bahlul Lodi to avoid war. They were displaced from Gwalior by Ibrahim Lodi in the first quarter of the 16th century, although their descendants continued to hold fiefs at other places.

Much of the information about the Tomaras of Gwalior comes from the Gwalior Fort inscriptions, the contemporary chronicles by Muslim writers, and the various history books on Gwalior (known as Guwaliar-namas). Two notable Guwaliar-namas include Gopachala-Akhyana and Qulyat-i-Guwaliari.

The Gopachala-Akhyana of Khadagrai exists in several different manuscripts. It was written in Hindi for the Tomara chief Krishna-simha, who was a descendant of the Tomara kings of Gwalior. The text was composed during the reign of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. A later manuscript contains several omissions from and additions to the original text, and covers the history of Gwalior down to its conquest by the Maratha general Mahadaji Scindia.

Qulyat-i-Guwaliari was also written during the reign of Shah Jahan, by Syed Fazl Ali Shah Kadiri Chishti. The author cites Tarikh-i-nama by Ghanshyam Brahmana as his source for the history of Gwalior. Chishti's genealogy of the Gwalior rulers is contradicted by other sources, including Gopachala-Akhyana, the Muslim chronicles, and the Tomara inscriptions. For example, he uses the name "Paramala-deva" for Virasimha, and claims that he belonged to the Paramara clan. A later manuscript contains several additions to the original work, and covers the history of Gwalior down to its conquest by the British General Popham.

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