Jayasimha I (Paramara dynasty)


Jayasimha was an Indian king from the Paramara dynasty, who ruled in the Malwa region of central India. He was the successor, and possibly a son, of the dynasty's most powerful king Bhoja. He appears to have ascended the throne with the support of the Kalyani Chalukya prince Vikramaditya VI, and appears to have been dethroned by Vikramaditya's rival brother Someshvara II.

Biography

Jayasimha was probably Bhoja's son. At the time of Bhoja's death, a confederacy of the Kalachuri king Karna and the Chaulukya king Bhima I had attacked Malwa. It is possible that Jayasimha and Udayaditya were rival claimants to the throne under these conditions.
Bilhana, a court poet of the Kalyani Chalukya king Vikramaditya VI mentions that his patron had helped re-establish the rule of a king in Malwa. Bilhana does not name the king of Malwa, but it appears that he was Jayasimha. P. N. Kawthekar theorizes Jayasimha sought help from the Chalukya king Someshvara I, who dispatched prince Vikramaditya to help Jayasimha ascend the throne.
After the death of Someshavara I, there was a war of succession between the Chalukya princes Someshvara II and Vikramaditya VI. It appears that Someshvara II considered Jayasimha an ally of Vikramaditya, and therefore, allied with Karna to dethrone him. Jayasimha may have been killed in the ensuing conflict. Later, Udayaditya ascended the Paramara throne, and salvaged the kingdom.