Durlabharaja I

Durlabha-rāja I (r. c. 784-809 CE ) was an Indian ruler belonging to the Chahamana dynasty. He ruled parts of present-day Rajasthan in north-western India as a vassal of the Gurjara-Pratihara king Vatsaraja.

Durlabha was the son of the Chahamana king Chandraraja I, and succeeded his uncle (Chandraraja's brother) Gopendraraja.[1]

The Prithviraja Vijaya states that Durlabha's sword bathed in Ganga-sagara (presumably the confluence of the Ganga river and the ocean), and tasted the sweet juice of Gauda. This refers to Durlabha's military achievements in the Gauda region.[2][3] His son Guvaka is known to have been a vassal of the Gurjara-Pratihara king Nagabhata II. This suggests that Durlabha was also a feudatory of the Pratiharas, most probably that of Nagabhata's father Vatsaraja. He appears to have achieved his victories in Gauda during Vatsaraja's campaign against the Pala king Dharmapala.[3][4] R. C. Majumdar theorized that "Gauda" here refers to the Ganga-Yamuna Doab in present-day Uttar Pradesh. Dasharatha Sharma, on the other hand, identifies it with the Gauda region in Bengal, which was the core Pala territory.[5] Both Vatsaraja and Dharmapala were later subdued by the Rashtrakuta king Dhruva. As Dhruva died in 793 CE, Durlabha military successes in Gauda can be dated before this year.[6]

Durlabha was succeeded by his son Govindaraja I alias Guvaka.[1]