South Indian Inscriptions

EPIGRAPHIA INDICA

dant of Kaṇṭhikā-Bēta crowned himself king of Vēṅgi and assumed the Imperial Chālukya title Sarvalōkāśraya-Śrī-Vishṇuvardhana-Mahārāja.^[1] His coronation took place on the 14th February 1128.^[2] He was the son of Mallapadēva II, and his mother Chandalladēvī was the daughter of Kolanu Brahmarāja^[3] and probably, therefore, a sister of Mahāmāṇḍalika Kolanu-Bhīmarāja, the lord of Sagara vishaya, whom the Tamil inscription call Teluṅga-Bhīman.^[4] It would appear that Vijayāditya was defeated and reduced to submission after a short time, but restored to his principality by Velanāṇṭi Goṅkarāja II.

It would appear that at this period the operations against Mahāmāṇḍalika Kolanu-Bhīma or Kolanāṇṭi Bhīma^[5] as the present record calls him (v. 55 : lines 111-14.), who was the most formidable opponent of the Chōḷa-Chāḷukyas, were directed by prince Rājēndra-Chōḍa, afterwards Rājēndra-Chōḍa II, son and successor of Goṅkarāja II. Unable to oppose Rājēndra-Chōḍa in the open field, Kolanu-Bhīma would seem to have taken up his position inside the famous jala-durga ‘ fortress in the water’, of Kolanupura or Kollēṭi-kōṭa as it is called even to-day, in the middle of the lake, Kollēru.^[6] Rājēndra-Chōḍa II invested the impregnable fortress, captured Kolanu-Bhīma alive and put him to death instantaneously together with all his sons and other near relations (vv. 55-56). The Piṭhāpuram inscription of Pṛithvīśvara^[7] gives a graphic description of the storming of Kolanupura. It is stated that Rājēndra-Chōḍa II dried up the water of the lake Kollēru and presumably, by constructing a causeway across the water, reached the impregnable fortress, captured Bhīma and killed him just as Rāghava killed Rāvaṇa who terrified the worlds. The present record speaks of Kolanu-Bhīma as haughty and cruel, full of pride, as a thorn to the gods and Brāhmaṇas, a man of massive strength, of great prowess and fierce frame of body and as resembling Rāvaṇa. The slaying of Kolanu-Bhīma would seem to have taken place about the beginning of Śaka 1053 corresponding to about April, 1131 A. C., which was the thirteenth year of Vikrama-Chōḷa’s reign.^[8] This event paved the way for the final victory of Goṅkarāja II. It enabled the Velanāṇṭi chief to crush the enemies of Vikrama-Chōḷa completely, put an end to the Western Chāḷukya occupation and restore the sovereignty of the Chāḷukya-Chōḷas in Vēṅgi (c. 1135 A.C.)

Mahāmaṇḍalēśvara Velanāṇṭi Goṅkarāja was a great soldier, perhaps the greatest military genius of his day. He is said to have defeated and slain a certain Siddhi-Bēta and acquired the title Siddhi-Bēta-Chīrpuli-hariṇa-mṛigēndruṇḍu, “ a lion to the deer Siddhi-Bēta of Chīrpuli.”9 Siddhi-Bēta would appear to be a Telugu Chōḍa prince of Chīrpuli in Rēnāḍu and a subordinate of Tribuvanamalla Vikramāditya VI. Chīrpuli (now called Chippili) is an obscure village in Chittoor

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^[1] Above, Vol. IV, pp. 226 ff, verses 35-36.
^[2] Ibid., verses 32-34. The date is expressed as nidhi-jaladhi-viyach-chandragē. Dr. Hultzsch shows his preference for 7 to 4 instead of as the intended meaning of the numeral jaladhi, on the ground that ‘ if he (Vijayāditya) had been crowned in 1049 his reign would have lasted for the unusually long period of 75 years. Dr. Hultzsch’s view need not be taken as conclusive. For the word jaladhi is more often used to denote number 4 in preference to 7. Moreover two inscriptions found at Drākshārāma (SII, Vol. IV, Nos. 1261 and 1201) dated the 2nd and 6th regnal years respectively of his son Rājanārāyaṇa-Vishṇuvardhana, show that Vijayāditya ruled for about 50 years and that his death took place in or about 1178 A.C. Vijayāditya was perhaps 20 or 25 years old at the time of his coronation in 1128 A.C.
^[3] Above, Vol. IV, pp. 226 ff. verse 32.
^[4] SII, Vol. II, No. 68 and ibid., Vol. III, No. 79.
^[5] Kolanāṇṭi is a Telugu expression meaning Kolanunāṇṭi,“ of the nāḍu (subdivision) of Kolanu. To meet the exigencies of metre the poet distorted the word into Kolanāṇṭi dropping the intermediate syllable.
^[6] Above, Vol. VI, p. 1. v. 28. Here the poet distorted the word Kolanu into Kaunāla.
^[7] Above, Vol. IV, p. 32, v. 45.
^[8] SII, Vol. II, No. 68.
^[9] SII. Vol. IV, No. 675 ; ibid., Vol. X, No. 89.