History of Solankis

The Solanki is a royal Hindu clan that ruled parts of western and central India from the 10th to 13th centuries.

History

It is said that Brahma created a young man from fire. He was holding a sword in one hand and Ved in the other. He came to be known as 'Chilonki' because it is believed that as Brahma had prepared the putla or human image on his hand, then had thrown it into fire, the man had born. It is said that the word got corrupted to 'Milonki' and later on to 'Solinki'. Another version is that their original name is Chaluka, because they were formed in the palm (chalu) of the hand. They were not very prominenet in rajputana, but were very prominent in the Deccan.

Here they were commonly called Chalukya, though in northern India the name Solanki is more common. As early as AD 350 Pulakesin I made himself master of the town of Vatapi, the modern Badami in the Bijapur District and founded a dynsty, which developed into the most powerful kingdom south of the Nerbudda, and lasted 2 centuries, when it was overthrown by the Rastrakuta Pulakesin II, one of this Chalukya dynasty successfully defended an inroad of the great emperor Harsha Vardhana of Kannauj, who aspired the conquest of the whole of India.

The Rastrakuta kings governed for 2 centuries and in AD 973 Taila or Tailapa II, a scion of the old Chalukya stock, restored the family of his ancestors to its former glory and founded the dynasty known as that of the Chalukya of kalyan, which lasted like that which it superseeded for nearly 2 centuries and a quarter, up to AD 1190. In the 10th century apparaently another branch of the scion migrated from Rajputana into Gujarat and established a new dynasty there, owing to which Gujarat, which had formerly been known as Lata, obtained its present name. The principal king of this line was Sidh raj Solanki, which is well known to tradition. From these Chalukya or Solanki rulers the Baghel clan arose, which afetrwards migrated to Rewah. The Solankis are found UP and in small numbers in MP.

Salunkhes are descendents of Solanki Dynasty of Gujarat. Solankies ruled on Gujarat before 900 years. Solankies were descendents of Chalukyas of Karnataka in 6th to 8 century A.D. from Badami. Another branch of Chalukyas ruled between 973 A.D. to 1186 from Kalyan on Karnataka, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. Chalukyas were Jains and this tradition was also in Solankies.

Solanki Dynasty Provinces

NameType
BansdaPrincely State
LotiyanaThikana
LunawadaPrincely State
MangalgarhThikana
MirpurThikana
Moti MoriBhumiate
NasvadiPrincely State
OganaThikana
PanarwaThikana
PatanJagir
PavapurJagir
RoopnagarJagir
SansariThikana
SathambaPrincely State
SurehraZamindari

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Most of the information above is courtesy of Wikipedia.

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