Early History of the Dekkan down to the Mahomedan Conquest c18.132

c18.132

Jayasimha ceased to reign in 962 Śaka, or 1040 A.D., and was succeeded by his son Somesvara I, who assumed the titles of Âhavamalla and Trailokyamalla. As usual with the Châlukya princes the first enemy he had to turn his arms against was the king of the Cholas.²⁰ He is then represented by Bilhaṇa to have marched against Dhârâ, the capital of Bhoja, and captured it. Bhoja was compelled to abandon the city. These hostilities with the king of Mâlvâ seem to have been inherited by this king and his predecessor from Tailapa, who had caused Muñja to be put to death. Bhoja was but a boy when this event took place. It is narrated in the Bhojacharitra that after he had come of age and begun to administer the affairs of his kingdom, on one occasion a dramatic play representing the fate of Muñja was acted before him, and thereupon he resolved to avenge his uncle's death. He invaded the Dekkan with a large army, captured Tailapa, subjected him to the same indignities to which Muñja had been subjected by him, and finally executed him ²¹ Bhoja, who ruled over Mâlvâ for about fifty-three years, was but a minor when Muñja died Muñja was on the throne in 994 A D ,²² while Tailapa died or ceased to reign in 997 A D He must therefore have been slain by the latter between 994 and 997 A D , and Tailapa did not survive Muñja for a sufficiently long time to allow of Bhoja's attaining majority and fighting with him Hence Bhoja could not have wreaked vengeance on Tailapa But the wars of Jayasiṁha and Someśvara I with him show that the tradition recorded in the Bhojacharitra must have been correct to this extent, that to avenge his uncle's death the king of Mâlvâ formed a confederacy with some neighbouring princes and attacked the dominions of the Châlukyas Perhaps he captured Vikramâditya I , of whom we know so little, and put him to death It was probably on that account that Jayasiṁha took arms against him and broke the confederacy, as represented in the inscription dated 941 Śaka