Yajvapala dynasty
13th century Indian dynasty

The Yajvapala (IAST: Yajvapāla) dynasty ruled parts of central India during the 13th century CE. Their capital was located at Nalapura (present-day Narwar in Shivpuri district). They are also known as Jajapella or Jajpella. The Yajvapalas carved out a kingdom in northern Madhya Pradesh during the first half of the 13th century, and successfully resisted invasions by the Chandelas and the Delhi Sultanate over the next few decades. It is not certain how their rule ended, but they probably fell to the Delhi Sultanate by the end of the century.
History
A 1339 VS (c. 1282 CE) Yajvapala inscription, issued during the reign of Gopala, names the dynasty's progenitor as Jayapala (called Jajapella in vernacular language). It names the dynasty's place of origin as Ratnagiri (unidentified), and attributes the rise of Jayapala to the blessings of the goddess Maharunda (probably a family deity).
The next known member of the family is Ya[pa]ramadi-raja, whose son Chahadadeva conquered the Narwar area. Chahadadeva is mentioned as Chahar-i-Ajari in the writings of the Delhi Sultanate writer Minhaj al-Siraj Juzjani. The Delhi Sultan Iltutmish had appointed Nusrat al-Din Taisi (Tayasi) as the governor of Gwalior region. In 1235 CE, Nusrat al-Din led an expedition against the neighbouring Chandela kingdom.
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Contemporary correspondence, administrative files and participant testimony can test how later narratives organized the event or institution. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 29, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q28171797. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1339, 1282 and 1235.
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This entry incorporates text from “Yajvapala dynasty” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.