Chalukyan Revival

The successful revolution of Taila II thus brought about the revival of Chalukyan supremacy over the Deccan . The earliest inscription. of Taila II (973-997) in the middle Mysore region comes from the Shimoga district.55. But unfortunately it is undated, but may be assigned to about 975. There have, however, been found in the Chitradurga district two inscriptions, both dated 971 and belonging to Taila's father Vikramaditya. These may very well be taken to indicate the growing influence of the Chalukyas during the weak rule of Khottiga.

We had left Nolamhas above with the end of Dilipa's reign in about 966. Further history of the Nolambas for some time is not clear. According to an inscription from Aimangala,56 Dilipa's son and successor was Nanni Nolamba and according to another inscriptions57 coming from Kolar district he had assumed the crown by 969. We have two other names after Nanni Nolamba, namely Polalchora II and Vira Mahendra or Mahendra II, the dates of whom cannot be laid down with any degree of certainty. There is little doubt that during this period the Nolambas were experienc­ing a hard time and they were losing their influence in the Chitra­durga district ; this is indicated clearly by the extreme rarity of their records in the district for about half a century. It appears that so long as the Rashtrakutas were supreme and strong, the Nolambas were secure under their protection. The moment this power became weak, they began to feel the effects of the expan­sionist policies of the other major powers. Thus in about 974 the Nolambas were overrun by the Ganga king Marasimha, who boasts of having destroyed the Nolamba family and had the title Nolambakulantaka. He actually ruled, for a time, over the Nolambavadi country, among other provinces. Next, not long after this Ganga conquest, the Cholas appear to have started spreading their tentacles in the Nolamba regions. We do have inscriptions indicating conflicts between the Cholas and the Nolambas. In at least two records58 from the Kolar district, we have a Nolambadhiraja Chorayya as a Nolamba-Pallava ruler under the Chola Rajaraja in 1010. It is only after the revival and re-establishment of the Chalukya power in the north that the Nolaniba-Pallavas went over from the Cholas to the Chalukyas and their inscriptions begin to appear again. But with the change in their allegiance there was a change in their capital also ; hence­forward it was Kampili on the Tungabhadra, to the west of Bellary .

Tailapa

To return to the Chalukyas, Taila or Tailapa, who not only regained all the territories of his forefathers but even extended them in all directions, must have been an active and ambitious ruler and has been aptly described in the inscriptions as full of desire to fight with the Chola king and as being a destroying fire to the Cholas. It may be remarked at the very outset that if the early Chalukyas had been largely occupied in the South in wars against the Pallavas, the later Chalukyas had to engage them­selves in that quarter in struggles with the Cholas. The period of about thirty years from 978 to 1003, when the Eastern Chalukya kingdom of Vengi was without a ruler, seems to have been a time when the Cholas had overrun the country, first acquiring the territories of the Pallavas and then encroaching upon those of the Chalukyas or their feudatories.

We have one inscription in this district, from Vasana in Davangere taluk, dated 992, referring to the reign of Taila II (973-997) under his title Ahavamalla. At that time, Kadambalige was under one Jatarasa, a Sinda chief. Taila was succeeded by his son Satyashraya (Iriva Bedanga-997-1008), of whom we have no inscriptions in this district and very few in the neighbour­ing districts also. Nor have we any records of his successor Vikramaditya V (1008-1015) in this region. This paucity of Chalukya records in this period may be explained by the fact that it was about this time that the Cholas became supreme in Southern India and Rajaraja claims to have conquered Gangavadi and Nolambavadi. It is held that Western Chalukya power was not established again in Nolambavadi until about 1015, when Jayasimha (IT) .Tagadekamalla (1015-1042) came to the throne. Of this king, Jayasimha, we have a number of inscriptions in this district and others around it. The Nolambavadi chief during the reigns of both Satyashraya and Vikramaditya V was one Irivabe-danga Nolamba Ghateyankakara who appears to have married Pampa Devi, a daughter of Satyashraya. Jayasimha II was a brother of Vikramaditya. V and in an inscription from Shimoga district,59 he is stated to have been known as Nolamba-Pallava Permanadi, being the son of a Pallava princess. The Nolamba vassal under Jayasimha was Udayaditya (about 1018-1035) also called as Vira-Nonamba Jagadekamalla Malladeva Chola Maharaja60 and Nolamba Pallava Permanadi Deva61 in his in­scriptions found in this district and elsewhere. While from his two records coming from Challakere taluk he is known to be governing the Rodda, Sira and other nads, from many of his other records he is known to be ruling over the Nolambavadi, Kadambalige and other provinces also. According to an inscription62 from Mudi-hadadi in Davangere taluk, one Jagadekamalla Immadi Nolamba Pallava Permanadi, perhaps the successor of Udayaditya, was ruling over Kadambalige in 1037. And according to a much defaced inscription, dated 1041, 68 from Vaderahalli in Davangere taluk, one Chalukya-Ganga-Permanadi was ruling over Nolam­bavadi and some other Nayaka, the Kadambalige province.

Struggle with Cholas

Jayasimha's son Someshwara I (1042-1068) next came to the Chalukya throne. He was also known as Trailokyamalla Nanni- Nolambadhiraja or simply Trailokyamalla and Ahavamalla. There are inscriptions of this king right from 1042 to 1068 in this and the surrounding districts. The period of his rule was one of continual warfare against the Cholas, who, judging from their own inscriptions, appear to have been trying to recover the Nolamba­vadi and other provinces. The Chola kings Rajadhiraja (1018-1053), Rajendradeva (1053-1062) and Virarajendra I (1062-1070) claim to have defeated the Chalukya king Someshwara I. At the same time there are inscriptions which show that Someshwara was also taking retaliatory measures. Whatever it may be, the territories of the Chalukya kingdom appear to have remained intact. An inscription from Hadadi in the Davangere taluk64, dated about 1042, which introduces this king in this district, also says that Trailokyamalla Nanni Nolamba Pallava Permanadi was governing Kadambalige. The next local chief seems to be one Narasingadeva, who is referred to in two inscriptions found in this district.65 The Chalukya Someshwara married a Pallava princess, by whom he had a son named Jayasimha, who took the title Vira Nonamba Pallava Permanadi and governed various provinces under his father from 1048 to 1054.66 One of his half brothers, i.e., one of the sons of Someshwara I, by an Eastern Chalukya princess, namely Vishnuvardhana Vijayaditya, according to some inscrip­tions found outside this district, was ruling the Nolambavadi pro­vince in 1064 and 1066. Another inscription67 from Chitradurga taluk, dated 1067 shows him ruling several provinces including Kadambalige-1000 and having under him a Pallava prince Banchayya Nayaka.

Someshwara I was succeeded by his eldest son, Someshwara II (1068-1076) surnamed Bhuvanaikamalla, of whom we have no inscriptions in this district. This king made his younger half-brother Jayasimha, with the title Vira Nonamba Pallava Permanadi, referred above, the governor of Nolamba-Sindavadi in 1068. We have two records of this local governor in this district.68 Some time after he came to the throne, Someshwara II developed hostile relations with his brother Vikramaditya VI who was the governor of the Banavasi province. When the Chola king Kulothunga marched against Vikramaditya, Someshwara joined the former and helped him against his brother. But Vikramaditya not only defeated both of them but also dethroned Someshwara and ultimately proclaimed himself emperor in 1076. In Someshwara's reign, in 1076, we hear of some Udayaditya ruling over Nolambavadi-32000, of whom it is said that he extended the Penjeru or Henjeru kingdom on all sides. He was apparently under the Cholas, as he has a sub-title Vira-Rajendra, as well as Vira Nolamba Pallava Permanadi. In all probability the Chola inroads on the Chalukyas about this time led to the transference of the suzerain power to them for some time. Though this Udayaditya seems to have continued his rule till 1109, round about 1080 seems to be the time when the Nolamba-Pallavas practically lost their hold on the Nolambavadi province. After this date we have only two inscriptions in this district belonging to the Pallavas-one dated about 1160 coming from Vasana in the Davangere taluk69 and the other dated 1205 found at Ganjigatti in the Chilradurga taluk.70 The former refers to an unnamed Pallava king, while in the latter we have a Pallava prince Machideva, ruling over Holalkere and the adjacent parts as a feudatory to the Hoysala king Ballala II. The Pandyas, 71 better known as the Pandyas of Uchangi, who were the successors of the Nolambas in the Nolamba­vadi region from about 1079 to 1183, were friendly to the Chalukyas and deadly hostile to the Chola monarchy.

Vikramaditya VI

Of Vikramaditya VI, also known as Vikramarka and Vikramanka and having the titles Permadi and Tribhuvanamalla (1076- VI 1126), we have a number of inscriptions in this district. Though his reign is taken to begin from 1076, we have an inscription at Hulegondi near Chitradurga,72 dated 1074, giving the full Chalukya royal titles to Tribhuvanamalladeva (Vikramaditya) . At this time one of his brothers, Jayasimha, was the governor of Nolambavadi and one Mangiy-Echayya of Kereyur was ruling Sulgal70 (later Chitradurga) . According to an inscription found at Bagali in the Bellary district, one Nigalanka-malla Pandya was ruling over Nolambavadi-32000 in 1079. Tribhuvanamalla Pandya was the next. These Pandya feudatories boast of having frustrated the designs of Rajiga, the Vengi Chalukya-Chola king Kulottunga I. The Pandyas were undoubtedly of great help to Vikramaditya in his wars against the Cholas. A number of inscriptions speak of the great confidence the Chalukya monarch had in his feudatories, some of them describing the latter as his right hand. Tribhuvanamalla Pandya Deva was in charge of the Nolambavadi province by 1083, according to an inscription from the Shimoga district.73 The earliest inscription in this district, referring to him, is dated 1093 and comes from Holalkere.74 He seems to have been in power upto 1123, which is the date of an inscription coming from Garehatti in the Chitradurga taluk and referring to his rule. He had his headquarters at Beltur, modern Bettur, to the north-west of Davangere. In 1125, according to an inscription coming from Shimoga district,75 we find his son Raya Pandya governing Nolambavadi and Santalige.

Jagadekamalla II

Vikramaditya was succeeded by his son Someshwara III (1126-1138) who had a peaceful reign. There is only one inscription, dated 1143 in this district, referring to his rule.76 Of the next king, Jagadekamalla II (1138-1151), however, there are a few records in this district. One77 of these, dated 1143, describes him as Kuntalaraya and says that he drove away the Cholas and made the Chola-nela (i.e., the Chola country) an Al-nek (i.e., a subdued country). It further says that he attacked the Hoysala king (who must be Narasimha I, 1141-73) and captured his elephant. During both these reigns, the Pandya chief was Vira Pandya, ruling over Nolambavadi from Uchangi. There are, in this district, three or four inscriptions referring to his reign, one78 of which, dated 1143, says that he subdued Male and gave it to the ' ornament of the Chalukyas'. Vira Pandya appears to have ruled till 1148, for, while, on the one hand, he is said to have been ruling over Nolambavadi-32000 in the llth year of Jagadeka-malla's reign ,79 we have, on the other, an inscription80, dated 1148 referring to the reign of Vijaya Pandya Deva, his successor.

Taila III (1151-1163), who succeeded Jagadekamalla II, appears to have no inscription in this district. He was a weak ruler and as a result of this the kingdom was losing strength every day. His complete defeat at the hands of the Kakatiya Prola was a further blow to the prestige of the Chalukyas. Bijjala II of the Kalachuri dynasty, one of the feudatories of the Chalukyas, governing Tardavadi in Bijapur area and later in charge of the entire southern region including Tardavadi, Bannvasi and Nolambavadi, took advantage of this state of affairs and dethro­ned the Chalukya king in 1156. But he seems to have acknow­ledged the Chalukya supremacy till the death of the king in 1163.

But that the suzerainty of Bijjala (1156-1168) had been accepted in the Chalukya kingdom even before the death of Taila III is clear from some records. One of such records is an inscriptionsi coming from Kadlabalu in the Davangere taluk. It is dated 1163 and refers to the reign of Tribhuvanamalla Bijjanadeva. Bijjala ruled till 1168 in which year he met his death in the religious conflict with Veerashaivas. Bijjala was succeeded by his son Someshwani also known as Somadeva, Sovideva and Raya Murari (1108-1177), who was not as capable as his father. This gave the opportunity to the Chalukya prince Someshwara IV, or son of Taila III, and his followers to subvert the usurping Kalachuri line. Though this was not possible immediately, it was accom­plished within the next three or four years. After Sovideva, came to the Kalachuri throne in quick succession his two younger brothers Sankama II (1177-1180) and Ahavamalla (1180-1183) . It was during the reign of the last-mentioned king that the Cha­lukya prince succeeded in wresting his ancestors' throne from the Kalachuris in 1181. Ahavamalla, however, continued to rule Belvola and Banavasi till 1183, when he was succeeded by his younger brother Singhana who, within a year after his succession, surrendered the two provinces to the Chalukya king and acknow­ledged his supremacy. There are a few inscriptions referring to Bijjala and his sons, dating from about 1161 to 1180, in this district.

Vijaya Pandya

This state of confusion at the imperial level during the period of about 30 years from 1155 to 1185 is well reflected in the contemporary inscriptions of the local Pandya chief, Vijaya Pandya who ruled over Nolambavadi from Uchangi from about 1148 to about 1187. In the majority of inscriptions his name appears without that of any overlord. This Vijaya Pandya seems to have been an enterprising ruler and has left a number of records in this district. One of these says, inter alia , that he subdued in mere sport the seven Konkanas, set up on the Kanaka mountain a pillar of victory with his fish crest, had a treasury filled with pearls from the Tamraparni and a pleasure-house among the sandal trees on the slopes of the Malaya mountain. He even appears to have revolted against Someshwara IV with a view to obtaining permanent freedom from the Chalukya monarchs, for one of Someshwara IV's titles was " the lion to the elephant Pandya."

The restoration of the Chalukya supremacy over the Deccan by Someshwara IV (1181-1189 or 1199) was short-lived. The Chalukya ruler who was 'the destroyer of the Kalachurya race' and 'the lion to the elephant Pandya ', could not stand the onslaught of the Yadavas, who, under Bhillama, deprived him of his sovereignty in 1189 or even earlier. But Someshwara appears to have continued to rule for about ten years more, his sovereignty during this latter period being limited more or less to the southern parts of his kingdom. We have two records belonging to his reign in this district, both of them speaking of him as ruling from Banavasi ; they are dated 1187 and 1199.82

After 1189 there is hardly any acknowledgment of Chalukya suzerainty in the inscriptions of its old feudatories : 1200, as a round figure, may safely be taken as the time when the Chalukyas as a paramount power disappear from the Deccan . This, appro­ximately, was also the time that saw the end of the Pandya family of Uchangi, though one or two Pandya inscriptions appear in this district round about 1220, under the Hoysala sovereignty.

Courtesy : Gazetteer of India, Chitradurga District, 1967.