Veera Ballala II

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Veera Ballala II
Hoysala
Hoysala Kings
Nripa Kama II1026–1047
Vinayaditya1047–1098
Ereyanga1098–1102
Veera Ballala I1102–1108
Vishnuvardhana1108–1152
Narasimha I1152–1173)
Veera Ballala II1173–1220
Vira Narasimha II1220–1235
Vira Someshwara1235–1263
Narasimha III1263–1292
Veera Ballala III1292–1343
Harihara Raya1342–1355
Amrutheshwara Temple at Amruthapura
, c. 1196
Veeranarayana Temple in Belavadi, c. 1200
The Kedareshwara temple at Halebidu, c. 1200
Nageshvara (near) and Chennakeshava (far) temples at Mosale, c. 1200
Old Kannada inscription (c. 1196 AD) from the rule of Veera Ballala II in the Amrutesvara temple at Amruthapura
Old Kannada inscription (c. 1193 AD) of Hoysala empire King Veera Ballala II from Bagali, Karnataka

Veera Ballala II (

Pandyas of Madurai and the waning Western Chalukya Empire, and his domination over the diminishing Cholas of Tanjore took the Hoysalas to their peak of power.[1][2][3][4] The historian Chaurasia claims by the end of the 12th century, Ballala II's conquests had made the Hoysalas the most powerful dynasty of the Deccan.[5] According to historian Derrett, Ballala II was "the most outstanding among Hoysala kings", and historian William Coelho in comparing Ballala II to King Vishnuvardhana writes, "he vied in glory with his grandfather".[6]

His court was adorned with some of the most notable of medieval

Kulothunga Chola III.[7]

Wars against the neighbouring kingdoms

Ballala II's ascendancy to the Hoysala throne in c. 1173 was preceded by his successful rebellion against his weak father

malnad chiefs, such as the Chengalvas and the Kongalvas. He later ensured the same chiefs' could not rise against him.[6] In the late 12th century, the weakening Chalukya throne became the bone of contention between the main vassals, the Yadavas, the Hoysalas and the Kalachuris. Around c. 1168, the Kalachuri King Bijjala II had gained control of the Chalukyan capital Basavakalyan (then called Kalyani, in modern Bidar district of Karnataka state). According to historian Kamath, in c. 1171, an ambitious Ballala tasted first victory against Pandya king Kavadeva of the Uchchangi family. This was followed by the annexation of Hangal in c. 1178. But an attempt by him to invade Belvola-300 in c. 1179 led to his defeat by Kalachuri commander Sankama who seized Hangal. According to Chopra et al., in c. 1179, a Kalachuri invasion into the Hoysala territory resulted in a truce with Ballala II agreeing to accept nominal subordination and to help the Kalachuri in their designs against the Chalukyas.[6][9][10] However, by c. 1183, the Kalachuris themselves were in serious decline due to the inept rule of the sons of Bijjala II. The last Chalukya scion, Someshvara IV
, was back in control of his capital Basavakalyan with help from the Kalachuri commander Brahma.

The real contention now, for the territories in the

Krishna rivers.[10] By c. 1192, Ballala II had crowned himself the emperor over the entire modern Karnataka region. A record of his dated c. 1196 claims him victorious over several minor ruling families including those of Banavasi, Hangal, Halashi, Nolambavadi (Nolamba dynasty), Bagalkot, and Gulbarga (Yelburgi) indicating he had complete control over the rich Tungabhadra-Krishna river region. After c. 1212, he lost all these territories north of the Tungabhadra river to Yadava king Singhana II.[7]

Relationship with Cholas

Around c. 1216, Maravarman Sundara Pandya ascended the throne at Madurai. To seek revenge for the humiliation of his elder brother Jatavarman Kulashekara by the Chola monarch Kulothunga III, he invaded the Chola territory and drove Kulothunga into exile. Kulothunga III sought the help of the Hoysalas.

Kaveri plains around Srirangam (central Tamil Nadu). A Hoysala army was left standing in Kanchi to pursue hostilities with the Telugu Chodas and their overlords, the Kakatiya dynasty.[11][12][13][14][15] In words of historian John Keay, "Gloriously if briefly the Hoysalas were paramount throughout most of the Kannada speaking Deccan, and could pose a arbiters in the lusher lands below the Eastern Ghats".[16]

Patron of art and architecture

Veera Ballala II was a great patron of Kannada literature. Janna, one of the most influential Kannada poets of the 13th century, graced his court and was honored with the title Kavichakravarthi ("Emperor among poets"). His most noteworthy writing and magnum opus, the Yashodhara Charitre (c. 1209) deals with

Vaishnava epic in the Kannada language.[20][21]

Ballala II's rule saw the proliferation of the temple construction adhering to the

Western Chalukyas.[22] Some of the best known temples built during his rule were the Kedareshwara temple at Halebidu, the Veera Narayana temple at Belavadi, the Amrutesvara Temple at Amruthapura and the twin ensemble of the Chennakeshava and Nageshvara temples at Mosale.[7][23][24]

Ballala II donated Meruhalli village and other lands in 1174 CE for providing food to Jain monks.[25] He further gifted two villages to Vajranandi-Siddhantadeva for the same purpose.[25] Nanjedevaragudda stone inscription of 1192 CE describes the donations by Hoysala rulers and subjects for Jain monks at Abhinava Shantideva temple at Somepur, Hassan district.[25]

References

Citations

  1. ^ Kamath (1980), pp.126-127
  2. ^ Chopra, Ravindran and Subrahmanian (2003), part I, pp.154-155
  3. ^ Sastri (1955), p.193
  4. ISBN 978-9-38060-734-4
    .
  5. ISBN 978-81-269-0027-5
  6. ^ a b c Kamath (1980), p.126
  7. ^ a b c d e Kamath (1980), p.127
  8. ^ a b E.P. Rice (1921), p.43
  9. ^ a b Chopra, Ravindran and Subrahmanian (2003), part I, p.154
  10. ^ a b c Sastri (1955), p.180
  11. ^ a b Kamath (1980), p.129
  12. ^ a b Sastri (1955), pp.193-194
  13. ^ a b Sen 1999, p.499
  14. ^ a b Thapar (2003), p.368
  15. ^ a b Chopra, Ravindran and Subrahmanian (2003) p155, part1
  16. ^ Keay (2000), p.252
  17. ^ Sastri (1955), pp. 358–359
  18. ^ Kamath (1980), p. 133
  19. ^ Sastri (1955), p.358
  20. ^ Narasimhacharya (1988), p20
  21. ^ Sastri (1955), p.364
  22. ^ Kamath (1980), p. 134
  23. ^ Foekema (1996), p.53
  24. ^ Foekema (1996), p.82
  25. ^ a b c Ram Bhushan Prasad Singh 2008, p. 84.

Sources

External links
Preceded by
Hoysala

1173–1220 		Succeeded by
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