Bhinmal (previously Shrimal Nagar) is an ancient town in the Jalore District of Rajasthan, India. It is south of Jalore. Bhinmal was the capital of the Rao king, then the capital of Gurjaradesa, comprising modern-day southern Rajasthan and northern Gujarat. The town was the birthplace of the Sanskrit poet Magha and mathematician-astronomer Brahmagupta. History The original name of Bhinmal was Bhillamala. Its older name was Srimal, from which Shrimali Brahmins took their name Xuanzang, the Chinese Buddhist pilgrim who visited India between 631 and 645 AD during Harsha's reign, mentioned this place as Pi-lo-mo-lo. There are different views about the origin of its name. It is suggested that it may from its Bhil population, whereas Shrimalamahatmaya said the name arose because of the poverty caused by Islamic invaders, which caused most of its people to migrate from the area. It was the early capital of the kingdom of Gurjaradesa. The kingdom is first mentioned in Banabhatta's Harshacharita in the seventh century AD. Its king is said to have been defeated by Harsha's father Prabhakaravardhana, who died 605 AD. The surrounding kingdoms were Sindha (Sindh), Lāta (southern Gujarat) and Malava (western Malwa), indicating that the region included northern Gujarat and southern Rajasthan. Xuanzang mentioned the Gurjara country (Kiu-che-lo) with its capital at Bhillamala (Pi-lo-mo-lo) as the second largest kingdom of Western India. He distinguished it from the neighbouring kingdoms of Bharukaccha, Ujjayini, Malava, Valabhi and Surashtra. The Gurjara kingdom was said to have measured 833 miles in circuit and its ruler was a 20-year old Kshatriya, distinguished for his wisdom and courage. It is believed that the king must have been the immediate successor of the Chavda dynasty ruler Vyāgrahamukha, under whose reign the mathematician-astronomer Brahmagupta wrote his treatise in 628 AD. The chroniclers of Sindh (an Arab province from 712 AD onward) narrated the campaigns of Arab governors on Jurz, the Arabic term for Gurjara. They mentioned it jointly with Mermad (Marumāda, in Western Rajasthan) and Al Baylaman (Bhinmal). The country was first conquered by Mohammad bin Qasim (712-715) and, for a second time, by Junayd (723-726). Upon bin Qasim's victory, Al-Baladhuri mentioned that the Indian rulers, including that of Bhinmal, accepted Islam and paid tribute. They presumably recanted after bin Qasim's departure, which made Junayd's attack necessary. After Junayd's reconquest, the kingdom at Bhinmal appeared to have been annexed by the Arabs. A new dynasty was founded by Nagabhata