Vijayapala

{{for|the Gahadavala king|Vijayachandra}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}

{{Use Indian English|date=June 2017}}

{{Infobox royalty

| name = Vijayapala

| title = Parama-bhattaraka Maharajadhiraja Parameshvara

| succession = Chandela king

| reign = c. 1035-1050 CE

| predecessor = Vidyadhara (Chandela ruler)

| successor = Devavarman

| father = Vidyadhara

| dynasty = Chandela

| spouse = Bhuvanadevi

}}

Vijayapala (IAST: Vijayapāla; reigned c. 1035-1050 CE) was a king of the Chandela dynasty of India. He ruled in the Jejakabhukti region (Bundelkhand in present-day Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh).

Vijayapala was born to the Chandela ruler Vidyadhara. No inscription from his reign is available.{{sfn|R. K. Dikshit|1976|p=99}} He is mentioned in several Chandela inscriptions, but most of these contain only vague eulogies. For example, the Mau stone inscription declares that he killed all wicked men and put an end to the Kali Yuga.{{sfn|Sisirkumar Mitra|1977|p=88}}

By the end of Vidyadhara's reign, the Ghaznavid invasions had weakened the Chandela kingdom. Taking advantage of this, the Kalachuri king Gangeya-deva conquered eastern parts of their kingdom.{{sfn|Sisirkumar Mitra|1977|pp=89-90}} A fragmentary Mahoba inscription claims that Vijayapala broke the pride of Gangeya in a battle.{{sfn|Sisirkumar Mitra|1977|p=88}}

The Kachchhapaghatas of Gwalior probably gave up their allegiance to the Chandelas during Vijayapala's reign. This is indicated by the use of high-sounding titles for the Kachchhapaghata ruler Muladeva in the Sas-Bahu inscription.{{sfn|Sisirkumar Mitra|1977|p=90}}

Vijayapala's sachiva{{which lang|reason=an Indian language obvs but which?|date=January 2022}} (chief minister) was Mahipala, who was the son of Vidyadhara's chief minister Shivanga.{{sfn|Sisirkumar Mitra|1977|p=91}}

The decline of the Chandela kingdom started during Vijayapala's reign.{{sfn|R. K. Dikshit|1976|p=101}} His successor Devavarman was his son from the queen Bhuvanadevi.{{sfn|Sisirkumar Mitra|1977|p=90}} The Nanyaura copper-plate inscription of Devavarman is dated 1051 CE. This indicates that Vijayapala's reign ended sometime before this year.{{sfn|Sisirkumar Mitra|1977|p=88}} Devavarman's successor Kirttivarman was also a son of Vijayapala.{{sfn|Sisirkumar Mitra|1977|p=90}}