kingdom · South Asia

Chaulukya dynasty

942 CE – 1244 CE (approx.) · capital Anahilavada

The Solanki dynasty of Gujarat, whose patronage produced the Modhera Sun temple, the Rani ki Vav stepwell and the marble temples of Mount Abu.

Origins

Around 942 Mularaja, according to tradition the nephew of the last Chavda dynasty king, seized Anahilavada and founded the dynasty. He and his successors expanded across Gujarat, Kutch and Saurashtra, fighting the Chahamanas of Shakambhari, the Paramara dynasty and the Western Chalukya Empire.

Under Bhima I, Mahmud of Ghazni sacked the Somnath temple in 1025, but the kingdom recovered quickly: the Modhera Sun temple and the Rani ki Vav stepwell, built by Bhima's queen Udayamati, date from his reign, and his minister Vimala built the first Dilwara temple at Mount Abu. Jayasimha Siddharaja and Kumarapala ruled at the height of Chaulukya power; the Jain scholar Hemachandra served their courts, and Kumarapala became a patron of Jainism. Maritime trade made Gujarat wealthy.

Mularaja II defeated Muhammad of Ghor in 1178, but Qutb al-Din Aibak sacked Anahilavada in 1197. The dynasty weakened, and around 1244 the Vaghela branch took the throne.

Cite this page

APA: The Epoch Institute. (2026). Chaulukya dynasty. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/chaulukya-dynasty
MLA: “Chaulukya dynasty.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/chaulukya-dynasty. Accessed .
Chicago: The Epoch Institute. “Chaulukya dynasty.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/chaulukya-dynasty.
Harvard: The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Chaulukya dynasty’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/chaulukya-dynasty (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻