Yasovarman was a Khmer King. He ruled from 889-910. His conquests hold an interesting place in Indian history. Yasovavman proceeded from the southeastern way. Starting from Kannauj and conquering the provinces in the way he reached Mirzapur via Kanpur, Fatehpur and Prayag.
Conquest of Magadha: From Mirzapur, Yasovarman proceeded towards Magadha. During this period Magadha and Gauda were in one empire and probably Jivida Gupta II was ruling over Magadha. Sivita Gupta suffered a crushing defeat at the hand of Yasovarman.
Attack on eastern Bengal: After conquering Magadha and Gauda, Yasovarman attacked the king of eastern Bengal. King Rajabhatta of Khanda dynasty was ruling over eastern Bengal and he suffered and defeat at the hands of Yasovarman.
Other conquest: After subjugating the aforementioned kings, Yasovarman reached the bank of river Narmada. Thereafter he comes to Thaneshwara via Marudesh. He conquered these provinces and then proceeded towards Ayodhya and thereafter compelled the citizens of Mandar parvat to accept his rule. After this he returned to his capital.
Founding of a city
It is said that after the conquest of Magadha, Yasovarman had founded a city there. There is a great controversy with regard to the location of the city founded by Yasovarman. According to Cunningham, Yasovarman found this city in Bihar while another scholar holds the view that it was founded in Ghosrana.
Cultural process
There are some evidences on the account of the cultural progress during the reign of Yasovarman. A scholar named Vakapati wrote `Gaudavaho` during the reign of Yasovarman. It is ranked among the great books of Prakrit language. The famous dramatist Bhavabhuti was in the court of Yasovarman. Bhavabhuti is ranked among the greatest dramatists of Sanskrit literature. He wrote the three dramas, which are `Malatimadhava`, `Mahavira-charit` and `Uttar ram-charit`.
It is said that Yasovarman was a devotee of Siva and built some temples. But there is no sufficient information about this.
