30/05/2020
Ra Navghan ruled for 24 years, and was succeeded by his son, Ra Khengar, who had a long and relatively peaceful rule of 23 years. The next in line, was Ra Navghan-II who also ruled peacefully for the better part of the 21 years of his reign. During the last years of his reign, he witnessed the long and determined attack on his capital, under the illustrious Siddhraj Jaisinh. As fortune would have it, the Ra did not live to see the result of his siege, and the resistance against the Solanki was continued by his brave son and successor, Ra Khengar-II. In spite of a brave resistance and a determined defense by the Ra, Siddhraj, was resilient, and finally broke into the fortress of Uparkot, killing the Ra and his sons. He captured the wife of the Ra, the queen Rainak Devi, and carried her back with him with the intention of espousing her. However, the queen refused his advances and preferred the burning pyre on the banks of Bhogavo river, near the town of Wadhwan.
Siddharaj left a Viceroy at Junagadh, who remained but a short time, for the people of Junagadh quickly expelled him, and elected a new sovereign, Ra Naughan III, who died in a.d. 1140 and was succeeded by his son, a Kawat II, who ruled uneventfully for about twelve years. In a.d. 1152 Jayasinha Chudasama, son of Ra Kawat, ascended the throne of his ancestors under the title of Ra Grahario II. He died about a.d. 1180, after a reign spent chiefly in plundering expeditions into other regions of Gujarat. He was succeeded by his son Ra Raisinha, who in A.D. 1184 was followed by Ra Mahipal II, known as Gajraj. Gajraj died in a.d. 1201, and his son, Ra Jaymal, succeeded him. Ra Mahipal III succeeded his father on the latter’s death in a.d. 1230, and he spent much time in fighting against the Kathis. They defeated an army sent against them under one of the Ra’s generals, and he was obliged to collect another force and to proceed against them in person. The ruler of Dhank, a Vala Rajput chieftain, supported him, but in spite of the strong combination against them, the Kathis did not suffer serious defeat. They even captured several villages belonging to Dhank. They remained undefeated when Ra Mahipal III died in a.d. 1253, and it was left to his son, Ra Khengar III, to complete the work his father had begun. Before his short reign of seven years was ended, he had compelled the Kathis to acknowledge defeat and to take service under him. Ra Mandlik I ascended the throne in a.d. 1260, at a time when the Mohammedans were beginning to establish themselves in Gujarat, and to change plundering raids into permanent occupation of the country.
Ra Mandlik I faced the vicious invasion of Alaf Khan, General and Brother-in-Law to Mohammed Khilji, the ruler of Delhi. Alaf Khan successfully demolished once again, the splendid temple of Somnath, but was greatly hampered in his attacks by the forces of Ra Mandlik I. Alaf Khan subjugated all territories between Talaja and Okha, and left a Mahomedan Viceroy to administer the territory. Ra Mandkli I was later engaged by a Rathore ruler by the name of Jagatsinh, and the Chudasamas lost control of their ancestral wamansthali for almost 100 years, before winning it back in 1356 AD. Ra Mandlik I died in a.d. 1306, and for the next two years Ra Noghan IV ruled in Junagadh. Ra Mahipal IV succeeded him in a.d. 1308, and reigned for seventeen uneventful years, when he died and was succeeded by his son Ra Khengar IV. The new ruler determined to rid Saurashtra of the Mohammedan Viceroy in the South, and soon after he began his reign he made a vigorous onslaught on the Viceroy and drove him out of the peninsula. Prabhas Patan and Somnath thus for the first time came under the Chudasama rule, and Ra Khengar rescued the famous temple from the decay into which it had fallen during the Mohammedan occupation of the country and restored it to its former splendor. But his success against the Mohammedans was not to be for long, for Mahamad Tughlak Shah marched on Junagadh and spent two rainy seasons in besieging the fort, which he eventually captured. Ra Khengar, however, had his kingdom restored to him, and Mahamad Taghlak returned to Delhi. However, in a.d. 1346 another incident was the cause of a second visit being paid to Saurashtra by the King of Delhi. A cobbler named Taghan, who had been raised to power in Gujarat, raised a rebellion amongst the Gujarat nobles against the Mohammedan Governor. Mahamad Taghlak marched with an army on Anhilwad to restore order, and Taghan fled to Junagadh and sought protection from Ra Khengar. In a.d. 1348 Mahamad Taghlak again led an army against Junagadh and again reduced it.
