Vamadeva the Wise - January 1095
Vamadeva the Wise. That was what his subjects and foreigners alike called him now. The Raja of Nepal, humble as he was, felt that this was simply because he now looked like a wise old man due to his ever greying hair. In reality, the raja had earned this nickname after signing an alliance with the Paramara Kingdom. The very same kingdom against whom the Nepalis had went to war against during the Solanki-Paramara War on the side of the Solankis.
The Raja of Nepal found it hilarious that he was credited with the alliance when it was Dattadevi, the lowborn wife of Maharaja Naravarman the Inquisitor, who had first suggested the idea. The Inquisitor was the younger brother of Lakshmana Paramara, the maharaja during the Solanki-Paramara War. And the very first meeting between Maharani Dattadevi and Raja Vamadeva had not been the most ideal one.
The maharani's carriage had been traveling through the Kingdom of Bihar alongside a caravan of Paramara traders when they were ambushed by Nepali raiders. The Nepali army had been pillaging every Bihari village, town and city on their path. The maharani spent several days as a hostage of Vamadeva but it never seemed like she was being held against her will. Vamadeva had initially asked Dattadevi, in an almost evil gloating manner, how much her husband would be willing to pay for her freedom. Dattadevi had calmly replied that she was a lowborn and that her husband would promote any of his concubines as the next maharani.
The Rajput woman had an extremely charming personality and a way with her words. She was often found talking to Nepali soldiers who were supposed to be guarding her and it was obvious to anyone with eyes that many of them had became infatuated with her. One of the guards, to Vamadeva's amusement when he later found out, apparently tried to free the Paramara maharani after confessing his love to her. Dattadevi had simply refused the offer, proclaiming her loyalty to her husband and even petitioned Vaamdeva not to punish the soldier in question.
At the end of his wits, the Raja of Nepal had directly asked Dattadevi what she wanted. It was then that she suggested an alliance to him.
"Raja, return me and the traders back to my dear husband. He will agree to the alliance if we are unharmed." Dattadevi had said in her sooting voice. "I know what you and your kingdom seek the most: a reliable ally. Why else would you have been so desperate to join the war on the side of our Solanki enemies?"
There was no guarantee that Dattadevi or her husband would honor the deal but the Raja of Nepal found himself strongly compelled by this woman. Nobody in the raja's army questioned him when the maharani and the Paramara traders were set free.
Vamadeva and his men soon forgot about Dattadevi and her promise of alliance. On 9 January 1094, the Nepali raiders arrived at Mithila, the capital of ten years old Bengali Buddhist Raja Prannath of Tirabhukti. Prannath was a vassal in the Kingdom of Bihar. The boy's regency council hastily assembled a defense force and a battle took place. The Nepali raiders outnumbered the defenders three to one and were under no pressure. Cupbearer Champak was given command of men from Lalitpur at the right flank whereas Shivadeva Nuwakot Thakuri took charge of the left flank. As usual, Vamadeva remained at the center with the bulk of his army.
The battle was over as soon as it began. Vamadeva quickly routed the enemy center and ordered his men to support the Nepali left and right flanks in fighting the enemy wings. Gaudapati Kamboja Pala and Nanyadeva Karnata, who had been commanders of the Tirabhukti left and right flanks respectively at the Battle of Mithila, were taken prisoners in the aftermath of the fighting. The defenders lost over 500 men while only 50 Nepali raiders died in this extremely one-sided battle.
84 years old Gaudapati immediately agreed to join the court of Raja Vamadeva and offer extremely valuable information on the Kingdom of Bihar. Nanyadeva, who happened to be Buddhist, was ordered to become a Hindu and the 24 years old Bengali man was burnt at the stake after he refused the raja's demand.
Vamadeva was extremely pleased with the manner his Cupbearer Champak had led the men of Lalitpur at the battle. After the fighting was over, the Raja of Nepal summoned Champak and asked him if he would like to permanently lead the Lalitpur regiment. The cupbearer was confused until Vamadeva started addressing him as Damapati of Lalitpur. And thus, the House of Malla was born.
After ransacking Mithila for loot, the Nepali raiders returned home. For Damapati Champak, home now meant Lalitpur.
On 13 March 1094, to the surprise of Vamadeva and his court, a Paramara messenger arrived at Kathmandu and stated that Maharaja Naravarman the Inquisitor was willing to enter an alliance with the Kingdom of Nepal. After signing a peace of paper and allying with the Inquisitor, the name Vamadeva the Wise came to be spoken. Only a few people actually knew that the alliance had been possible thanks to the Paramara Maharani Dattadevi.
After Court Jester Parakram the Ill-tempered and Court Tutor Adrika's son Amogh became one years old, Vamadeva the Wise took pity on the parents of the sickly infant and made them Damapati and Damapatni of Kamalamai. Chancellor Giriraja, a close friend of Parakram, had a hand in convincing the raja that this kind of gift would be appropriate for the couple. And thus, the House of Samal was born.
On 1 July 1094, 84 years old Gaudapati Kamboja Pala died of old age. The old Bengali man had provided Kingdom of Nepal with valuable information on the Kingdom of Bihar, which was apparently ruled by nine years old Maharaja Vajramitra of Pala dynasty. Hoping to gather more loot than before using maps provided by the deceased Gaudapati, Vamadeva the Wise gathered his army to go on another raiding campaign.
After Mithila was ransacked again for loot, the Nepali raiders headed to Yavamajjhaka. Unfortunately for them, the Kingdom of Bihar had not been sitting idle since the last raid. The raiders were ambushed by the Bihari army on 24 November 1094 and forced to quickly assemble into formation. Damapati Champak took command of the Lalitpur regiment on the left flank while Shivadeva Nuwakot Thakuri was in charge of the right flank and the remainder of the Nepali soldiers remained at the center with Raja Vamadeva.
The Nepali right flank shattered when it came under attack from the numerically superior Bihari left flank. Things went from bad to worse when the army of Tirabhukti, which had been hidden nearby and eagerly seeking revenge for the Battle of Mithila, attacked Vamadeva's units from behind. The assaults on the Nepali center from Bihari center and the left flank increased as well. As men around him started to drop like flies, the Raja of Nepal gave the order to retreat but there was no way to escape with enemies on all sides. Damapati Champak and the Lalitpur regiment, who had managed to push back the enemy right flank and sent them fleeing out of the battlefield, valiantly sacrificed themselves by charging against the Bihari center. This attack allowed a gap to form in the enemy encirclement of the Nepali center and allowed Vamadeva and many other Nepali soldiers to escape alive.
The Battle of Yavamajjhaka was a disaster. Over 1300 Nepali men, mostly from the Lalitpur regiment, died in combat that day. While the Kingdom of Bihar did lose 1500 men at the battlefield, it was considered their victory for they had beaten back the Nepali raiders. The army of Tirabhukti, previously humiliated at the Battle of Mithila, had gotten their revenge as well.
The Battle of Yavamajjhaka took lives of men even after it was over. On 15 December 1094, while the defeated Nepali raiders were returning home, Damapati Champak Malla of Lalitpur died all of a sudden. The man had stubbornly given everything he had at the battle and fought valiantly till the last moment. Without him and the Lalitpur regiment, Raja Vamadeva and most other Nepali soldiers would have been dead. With a heavy heart, the raja and his men marched to Kathmandu. Vamadeva wondered what he would say to Little Champak and his Panjabi mother Jodhabai, who was pregnant with another child.
However, the raja and his men did not travel back empty-handed. There was some loot but there were no joyous celebrations unlike the last time. There were also some hostages, a few important people from Mithila and Yavamajjhaka. Some taken captive before the disastrous battle, others after it. And among them was an Assamese Buddhist woman who had caught Vamadeva's eye. The woman's name was Vasumati and she was the wife of Bengali nobleman Suvartadeva Rashtrakuta. Her two daughters, ten years old Vijnayavati and nine years old Bhavashankari, were also among the captives. Sure, the raja had ordered the execution of Buddhists like Nanyadeva Karnata in the aftermath of the Battle of Mithila, but he had been an adult man and an enemy combatant. These three were a harmless woman and her little daughters. Thinking about what needed to be done with these three was the only thing keeping the raja's mind off from the death of Champak and many other men at the disaster of Yavamajjhaka.
