Vigraharaja IV
| Vigraharaja IV | |
|---|---|
| King of Shakambhari | |
| Reign | c. 1150-1164 CE |
| Predecessor | Jagaddeva |
| Successor | Amaragangeya |
| Dynasty | Chahamanas of Shakambhari |
| Father | Arnoraja |
Vigraharaja IV (r. c. 1150-1164 CE) was an Indian king belonging to the Chahamana dynasty of north-western India. He is also known by the names Visaladeva or Bisaldev. He turned the Chahamana kingdom into an empire by subduing nearly all the neighbouring kings. His kingdom included the parts of present-day Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi. He commissioned several buildings in his capital Ajayameru (modern Ajmer), most of which were destroyed or converted to Muslim structures after the Muslim conquest of Ajmer. These include a Sanskrit centre of learning that was later converted into the Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra mosque.
Vigraharaja was born to the Chahamana king Arnoraja. Vigraharaja's elder brother and predecessor Jagaddeva killed their father. Their half-brother, Someshvara, was brought up in Gujarat by his Chaulukya maternal relatives. Vigraharaja probably ascended the throne after killing Jaggaddeva to avenge their father's death.
The 1164 CE Delhi-Shivalik pillar inscription states that Vigraharaja conquered the region between the Himalayas and the Vindhyas. The Himalayas and the Vindhyas form the traditional boundary of Aryavarta (the land of ancient Aryans), and Vigraharaja claimed to have restored the rule of Aryans in this land. While his claim of having conquered the entire land between these two mountains is an exaggeration, it is not completely baseless. His Delhi-Shivalik pillar inscription was found at Topra village in Haryana, near the Shivalik Hills. This indicates that Vigraharaja captured territories to the north of Delhi, up to the Himalayan foothills. Raviprabha's Dharmaghosha-Suri-Stuti states that the ruler of Malwa and Arisiha (possibly Arisimha of Mewar) assisted him in hoisting a flag at the Rajavihara Jain temple in Ajmer. The ruler of Malwa here probably refers to a claimant to the Paramara kingdom, which had been captured by the Chaulukyas during this period. Assuming that the claimant to the Malwa throne had accepted Vigraharaja's suzerainty, it appears that Vigraharaja's influence extended up to the Vindhyas, at least in name.
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