Early History of the Dekkan down to the Mahomedan Conquest c18.160

c18.160

Some time after, the king of the Cholas died and there was a revolution in the kingdom. When the Châlukya prince heard of this he immediately proceeded to Kâñchî, and placing the son of his father-in-law on the throne, remained there for a month to suppress his enemies and render his position secure. A short time after his return to the Tungabhadrâ, however, Râjiga, the king of Vengî, observing that the nobility of the Chola prince were disaffected, seized the opportunity, and, having deposed him, usurped the sovereignty of the country. To embarrass Vikramâditya and prevent his descent on Kâñchî, Râjiga incited his brother Someśvara II to attack him from behind Vikramâditya, however, marched on, and, by the time he came in sight of the Draviḍa forces, Someśvara overtook him in his rear. He had a very large army, which was well equipped.⁴⁶ Bilhaṇa, who is, of course, anxious to show his patron to be guiltless in this fratricidal war, represents him to be deeply afflicted when he saw that his brother had made common cause with his enemy, and to have endeavoured to dissuade him from the course on which he had embarked Someśvara made a show of yielding to his brother's expostulations, seeking however in the meanwhile for a favourable opportunity to strike a decisive blow.⁴⁷ But Vikramâditya finally resolved to give a fight to the armies of both.