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The Indian Analyst
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North Indian Inscriptions |
THE SILAHARAS OF KOLHAPUR
to his kingdom. As stated before,[1] the Śilāhāra king was reduced to great straits at this time. Gaṇḍarāditya seems to have sent his son Vijayāditya to his help. He inflicted a defeat on Jayakēśin II and helped Aparāditya to regain his ancestral kingdom. .. Gaṇḍarāditya seems to have sent a force under his feudatory Nimbadēvarasa to help his Chālukya suzerain in his war with the Chōlas. Nimbadēvarasa is described in an inscription[2] at Kolhāpur as ‘an awful rutting elephant to the beds of lotuses, the barons of Toṇḍaiâ. .. Gaṅḍarāditya was succeeded by his son Vijayāditya in c. A.D. 1138[3]. He bears the same titles as his predecessor and claims to have obtained the right to the pañcha-mahā-śabdas. He appears to have taken an active part in the conspiracy to depose the Later Chālukya king Tailapa III. It is said that it was with his help that Bijjala got his sovereignty.[4] He also said to have reinstated the deposed rulers of Sthānaka and Gōvā. The former reference may be to the help which his father is said to have rendered to the Śilāhāra king Aparāditya of Ṭhāṇā. The help to the king of Gōvā will be discussed later. .. Bijjala is said to have called Vijayāditya to his Court, but Vijayāditya disobeyed the summons. Bijjala then marched against him and defeated him in a hard-won battle. It is not known how far this account given in the Bijjalacharita is true. At Khidrāpur, 12 miles south-east of Shiroḷ in the Kolhāpur District, there are several records incised below bracket figures in the Raṅga-maṇḍapa of the temple of Kōppēśvara, which glorify Bōppaṇa Daṇḍanāyaka, who apparently obtained a great victory in a battle fought in the neighbourhood. The inscriptions are not dated, but one of them states that Bōppaṇa was the Commander-in-Chief of Vijayāditya, evidently the homonymous Śilāhāra king of Kolhāpur. The enemy has not been mentioned in any of the records, but he was probably Bijjala. It seems that he invaded the Śilāhāra kingdom, but suffered a crushing defeat in the battle fought near Khidrāpur.[5] In any case, Vijayāditya makes no mention of any Suzerain in any of his grants. He evidently mantained his independance throughout his reign.
.. The king of Govā who was reinstated on his throne by the Śilāhāra king Vijayāditya is nowhere named. To determine his identity we must review the political situation in the Deccan in that period. ..
The Kalachuri usurpation of the Chalukyan kingdom lasted for about twenty-five years
(A.D. 1156-1181). Towards the end of this perod the Chālukya king Sōmѐśvara IV was fighting
against the Yādavas of Dēvagiri and the Hoysaḷas of Dvārasamudra. He was unsuccessful in
these conflicts. So he seems to have sought refuge with the Kadambas of Goā. The Kalachuris
could not brook this. So Āhavamalla, son of Bijjala, sent his Daṇḍanāyaka Chandugidēva to
subdue the defiant Kadamba king. The general is said to have burnt the territories of the
brave Vijayāditya, who seems to be none other than Vishṇuchitta, son of Jayakēśin II. He
seems to have been deposed. At this juncture Vijayāditya, the Śilāhāra king of Kolhāpur,
seems to have rushed to his aid. As stated before, Vijayāditya had spurned the summons of
Bijjala to attend his covert, and defeated the army sent against him by the Kalachuri usurper.
It is, therefore, not surprising that he espoused the cause of the deposed Kadamba king Vijayāditya alias Vishṇuchitta and reinstated him after defeating the Daṇḍanāyaka Chandugidēva
of the Kalachuri Āhavamalla. This invasion and devastation of the Goā territory is mentioned
[1] Above, p. xvii.
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