Paramara

Paramara refers to a medieval Indian royal dynasty that ruled parts of central India, especially the Malwa region, from roughly the 9th to the 14th centuries. The Paramaras were a prominent Rajput lineage whose territory centered on the Malwa plateau, with Dhar in western Malwa and later Ujjain serving as major seats of power and culture. The dynasty is known chiefly from Sanskrit and Prakrit inscriptions and later literary traditions.

The most celebrated ruler of the Paramara dynasty was Bhoja (often dated to the first half of the 11th century). Bhoja expanded and organized the kingdom, promoted administration, public works, and culture, and assembled a court famed for learning and artistry. The Dhar-Ujjain axis became a center of religious and educational activity under his successors, and the era is associated with architectural and literary patronage. The Sanskrit treatise Samarangana Sutradhara is traditionally attributed to Bhoja, reflecting the court’s interest in architecture, science, and the arts.

The Paramara era culminated in a decline as northern powers pressed into central India. In the late 13th and early 14th centuries, invasions by the Delhi Sultanate, notably under Alauddin Khalji, weakened Paramara authority and led to the gradual absorption of Malwa into larger imperial polities. The dynasty’s political prominence ended, though its cultural imprint persisted in Malwa’s architectural heritage and in regional legendary genealogies.

Today, the name Paramara (also Parmar or Parmar) survives as a regional clan designation in parts of India, and the legacy of Bhoja and the Paramara rulers remains a notable chapter in medieval Indian history.