44 Abode of Gods
misfortune of meeting the mighty warlords from Bengal, parti-
cularly Devpala, who according to Dr. R.C. Majumdar "is
said to have exacted tributes from the whole of Northern India
from the Himalayas to the Vindhyas and from the eastern to
the western occean.
The line of Nimbaraka was succeeded at the tailend by
Bhudeva, who succeeded his illustrious father Lalitsurdeva in
875 A.D. It is not known how his family rule came to an end.
Solenadeva (895 A.D.) ascended the throne of Kartikeyapura.
The new king was quite competent to safeguard the four cor-
ners of his kingdom. He was succeeded by his son Ishtadeva
in 920 A,D. He had a brief spell of rule and was soon suc-
ceeded by his son Desatdeva in 931 A.D. who acquired "by
the might of his arms unnumbered provinces on all sides, the
owners of which coming to make his obeisance poured forth
such incessant gifts of horses, elephants and jewels before him
that they held in contempt the offerings made to Indra". He
extended his territory right upto Tarai and caused the cons-
truction of some beautiful temples at Narayankoti and Baijnath.
His successor Subhikshrajadeva was not as competent as his
father but he kept intact the glorious traditions of his fore-
fathers. He was a man of letters and a dedicated Vaishnavite.
The glorious kingdom of Katyuris started disintegrating
after Subhiksharajadeva. His successor Dhanadeva and
Bisadeva proved incompetent and caused widespread revolt by
their tyranny. Smaller Thokedars of Askote, Doti, Baramdeo,
Dwarahat and Lakhanpore rose in revolt and established
themselves as independent kingdoms. The main line of the
Katyuris had to satisfy itself with the control of the Katyur
Valley and Danpur till Chands of Champawat rose into
prominence in Kumaon and Pauwars in Garhwal who closed
a crowded page in the history of Uttarakhand and inaugurated
,an era of intense activity in Manaskhand known as
Kurmanchal and Kedarkhand which came to be known as
'Garhwal.
In next chapters, I shall give you a brief account about the
Jand and people of these regions so that my readers are able
.to enjoy the best of the land, hosoitalitv of the oeoDle and
Iheii; culture.