According to tradition once Vishwamitra stole away a cow of Vasista. To arrange himself Vasista performed a yajana out of which a warrior was born who snatched the cow from Vishwamitra. Being pleased Vasista gave this warrior the title of 'Parmara'. All the rulers of Parmara dynasty call themselves the sons of this Parmara. On account of their belonging to agnikunda kshatriya some scholars say that they were the sons of Kushans, Hunas, Gurjars etc.

Harsol inscription, which is the oldest inscription of this dynasty, refers them as Rashtrakutas. The king of Rashtrakuta dynasty adopted the titles of 'Amoghvarsa', 'Prithvi ballabh' etc. the same titles were adopted by these Parmaras also.

Many scholars are of the view that Parmaras were Kshatriyas. In the beginning, the Parmaras lived in Ujjain, but in the course of time, due to fear of Chalukyas they made dhara as their capital.

Upendra
According to some scholars Upendra was the first king of the Parmara dynasty. Some scholars are of the opinion that Upendra was a Samanta of the Gurjar Pratiharas in Malava. But according to Dr. Ganguly he was the Samanta of the Rashtrakuta kings.

Vairi singh I
Upendra was succeeded by his son Vairi Singh. According to some scholars he was also the Samanta of the Gurjara Pratiharas.

Siyaka I
He was also an ordinary Samanta like Vairi Singh I. No important incident took place during his reign. Regarding Vairi Singh I and Siyaka I, Cunningham writes, "Their description in the Udaipur Prasasti are conventional nor is a single historical fact recorded about them in any document."

Vakapati I
Siyaka I was succeeded by Vakapati I. Dr. Ganguly regards him as the Samanta of the Rashtrakutas. But many other scholars do not agree with this view and say that early Parmara rulers were not the Samantas of the Rashtrakutas. They always give it a second thought.

Vairi Singh II
The Pratiharas had established their complete authority over the Malava before the beginning of his reign. But later on Vairi Singh II conquered Malava from the Pratiharas and remained a Samanta of the Rashtrakutas.

Siyaka II
Sikaya II is also known as Siyaka Harsha. He ascended the throne in 949 A.D. He defeated the kings of his neighboring states and declared Malava as an independent state. It was the period of the decline of the Pratiharas and this gave Siyaka full opportunity to extend the frontiers of his state. He is said to have defeated Huna king Jajas. He had also conquered the Chalukya king Avani-varman Yogiraja II.

Siyaka II had also to fight with the Rashtrakutas; a terrible battle was fought between Rashtrakuta king Khottiga and Siyaka II at the bank of river Narmada. Siyaka defeated Khottiga and followed him up to the Rashtrakuta capital. According to Buhler Siyaka had attacked the Rashtrakuta capital Manyakheta and plundered the city. Nagpur Prasasti also describes the battle of the view that Siyaka had also defeated the Huna dynasty of Rajasthan.

Siyaka died near about 972 A.D.
Vakapati Munja
Vakapati Munja is said to have ruled from 993 to 995 A.D. Most of the scholars agree that Vakapati was the real son of Siyaka Harsha.

Sindhuraja
Vakapati Munja was succeeded by his younger brother Sindhuraja. He is also known as Navasashasanka. His character has been, described by Padma Gupta in 'Navasahasanka charit'.

According to 'Navasahasanka Charit', the Naga dynasty of Bastar was danger of the Bajra state. Sindhuraja helped the Nagas and killed the Bajra king. He is also said to have married Sashiprabha, who was a girl of Naga dynasty. Sindhuraja also conquered the Chalukya king Satyashraya and recovered the territory which had been conquered by his father Taila II.

It is also said that after defeating Lata king Gongira had attacked Gujarat but was defeated by Chamundaraja. Some scholars are of the opinion that he also fought against king of Kosala who was of Soma dynasty. Sindhuraja also suppressed the revolt of Nagada.

Sindhuraja died near about 1,000 A.D.

Bhoja , Parmar King of India
Bhoja was the most powerful and famous ruler of Parmara dynasty. He is ranked among the famous and popular rulers of India. After the death of his father Sindhuraja, he succeeded him as a king. He ruled for a long period of 55 years and led many military campaigns. He had conquered many kings. He was a very brave and courageous ruler and was ever prepared to face any sort of difficulty.

Jaya Singh , Parmar King of India
After Bhoja, Jaya Singh became the king. He had established friendly relation with the Chalukya king of Kalyani. In the beginning he suffered defeats at the hands of Chalukya king, Bhima and Kalachuri king Kama but later on after receiving the help of Vikramaditya he was successful in driving away the armies of Bhima and Lakshamikarna. His friendly relations with Vikramaditya were further strengthened after the death of Someshwara I. Someshwara II became the king of the Chalukya dynasty of Kalyani. Eventually a terrible war was fought between him and his younger brother Vikramaditya in which Vikramaditya was defeated. After achieving victory over Vikramaditya, Someshwara I attacked Jaya Singh. The army of Chalukya king Kama of Gujarat also helped Vikramaditya II. Jaya Singh could not face this combined army and was killed in the battle. After the death of Jaya Singh, Malava was brought under control by Someshwara II and also Kama.

Udayaditya , Parmar King of India
Jaya Singh was succeeded by Udayaditya who tried to revive the power of Parmara dynasty. According to the historians he was the brother of Bhoja and his main objective was to free Malava from Lakshamikarna and Someshwara. For this purpose he made friendly relations with the Vigrahapala who was the king of the Chahamanas. Their combined army attacked Someshwara II and re conquered the territory of Malava.

Udayaditya was very religious man. He was a worshipper of Siva and built a temple of Neelkanthashwara at a place called Udaipur in Bhilsa.

Udayaditya died in 1088 A.D.

Laksamandeva or Jagatadeva
Udayaditya was succeeded by Lakshmandeva or Jagatadeva of Parmara dynasty. He was a king who was a very able and a great soldier. He fought against Kalachuri king Yashakama and Chalukya king Kama and defeated both these kings. He had also fought against the rulers of Kalinga. It is said that Lakshamandeva had defeated the Muslim governor, Mahmud who, had attacked Ujjain. It can be learnt from one inscription that he has also conquered Ceylon and Pandyadesh but many scholars say that these conquests are doubtful.

Scholars are of the view that Lakshmandeva had abdicated in 1094. However, the reason of his abdication is not at all known.

Naravarman: Immediately after his accession, he had to face many difficulties. King Ajairaj of the Chahamanas dynasty of Shakambhari attacked Ujjain and made Senapati Sulahada his prisoner. It is also indicated by Ajaigarh inscription that Narvarman was also defeated by Kalachuri king Sallakchanvarman.

Chalukya king Jaya Singh: Siddharaja of Gujarat attacked Malava. While fighting against him, Naravarman was made a prisoner, but later on he was released. There is some controversy in this regard but it is certain about Jaya Singh that Siddharaja had defeated him.

Naravarman died near about 1133 A.D.

Yasovarman
After the death of Naravarman his son Yasovarman succeeded him as a king. He had also to face many defeats and failures like his father. During his reign a man named Vijayapala established his rule in Malava. The Chandella king also attacked him and conquered the area of Bhilsa. Meanwhile Chalukya king Jaya Singh attacked Yasovarman and made him a prisoner.

Jayavarman
Yasovarman was succeeded by Jayavarman. He attacked Jaya Singh and re conquered Malava from him. But before he could celebrate this victory he was attacked by Hospasala king Narasingha and Chalukya king Jagadeka Malla. Jayavarman was defeated and in his place a man named Balla was appointed as a Samanta ruler. But he could not rule long and in 1143 A.D. Malava was incorporated into the empire of Chalukya king Kumarapala of Gujarat.

Vindhyavarman
Vindhyavarman was the son of Jayavarman. He attacked the Chalukya king Moolraja II and re conquered Malava. Thereafter he attacked Hoyasala king who was increasing his power in the south but was defeated by him. Vindhyavarman had also to suffer a defeat at the hand of Yadava king Bhillam.

Vindhyavarman died in 1193 A.D.

Subhatavarman
Vindhyavarman was succeeded by his son Subhatavarman in 1193 A.D. He fought against the Chalukyas of Gujarat and conquered Lata from them. Thereafter he proceeded further and captured the capital Anihalwal of Gujarat and entrusted its administration to his friend Lavana

Prasad. However, he could not remain there for long and Gujarat king Bhima again conquered it. Subhatavarman had to suffer a defeat at the hands of Yadava king Jaitugi. Scholars are of the view that

Subhatavarman died near about 1210 A.D.