The Dynasties of the Kanarese Districts of the Bombay Presidency from the Earliest Historical Times to the Musalman Conquest c8.s13.337

Language: English

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The successor of Vaddiga was his eldest son Krishna III., whose name appears also in the Prâkṛit form of Kannara:⁸ in one passage he is mentioned as "the dear or favourite son" of his father;⁹ and in another he is spoken of as a *paramadhéśvara* or most devout worshipper of the god Mahêśvara (*Śiva*).¹⁰ He had the *biruda* of Akâlavarsha,¹ — the usual titles of Mahârâjâdhirâja, Paramêśvara, and Paramabhaṭṭâraka, — and the epithets of prithivîvallabha, śrîprithivîvallabha, and samastabhuvanâśraya.² Later records of the Raṭṭa chieftains of Saundatti, of the thirteenth century A. D., speak of him as Kṛishṇa-Kandhara and Kṛishṇa-Kandhâra, with the title of Kandhârapuravar-adhîśvara or "supreme lord of Kandhârapura, 'the best of towns,'" — a place, however, which is otherwise unknown;³ and one of them would give him the name or biruda of Tuliga.⁴ Mânyakhêṭa (Mâlkhêḍ) continued to be his capital. The earliest date that we have for him is in April, A. D. 940. The latest date, furnished by his published records, is in November A. D. 951. But an inscription at Âlûr in the Hângal tâluka, Dhârwâr District, mentions him as still reigning in May, A. D. 956. The Vellorê inscription⁵ shews that he reigned for at least twenty-six years. And the date of A. D. 968-69 may perhaps be furnished by the Lakshmêshwar inscription of the Western Gaṅga prince Satyavâkya-Koṅgunivarma-Mârasimha,⁶ who was then, or had been, a feudatory of his; but the record does not make it clear whether Kṛishṇa III.

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was at that time still alive or not. An important event of this reign was the war with the Chôḷa king Râjâditya. This is specially referred to in the Âtakûr inscription, which tells us that in or just before A. D. 949-50, Kṛishṇa III. fought and killed Râjâditya at a place named Takkôḷa; that the actual slayer of the Chôḷa king was the Western Gaṅga prince Satyavâkya-Koṅgunivarma-Permaṇadi-Bûtuga, who killed him treacherously, while they were out together, taking the air;⁷ and that, in recognition of this, Kṛishṇa III. gave to Bûtuga the Banavâsi twelve-thousand province, the Purigere three-hundred, the Belvola three-hundred, the Kisukâd seventy, and the Bâgenâd seventy. The Bûtuga who is mentioned here had acquired the Gaṅgavâḍi province by killing Râchamalla, son of Ereyappa; and the Dêôlî grant indicates that, in doing this, he received material assistance from Kṛishṇa III. The spurious Sûḍi grant speaks of Bûtuga as besieging Tañjore;⁸ and this appears to be borne out by the Tirukkalukkunram inscriptions, which describe Kṛishṇa III. as the taker of Kâñchî and Tañjore. The Dêôlî record states that Krishna III. slew two kings named Dantiga and Vappuka; that he subdued many hostile Gangas; and that he overcame a Pallava king whose name is real as Anthiga: and it also implies that he protected the Kalachuris of Central India from an attack by the Gurjaras, i.e.

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doubtless, the followers of the Chaulukya king, Mûlarâja of Aṇhilwâḍ, who had entertained the idea of seizing the hill-forts of Kâlañjara and Chitrakûṭa. Also, the Lakshmêshwar record speaks of a campaign to the north, in which the Gurjara king was conquered by Mârasimha under the orders of Krishna: this campaign is mentioned again in one of the Sravana-Belgola inscriptions,¹ and the Lakshmêshwar record, speaking of Krishna III. as "the king who was a very Antaka (Death) to the Chôḷa," shews that it must have taken place after A. D. 949-50. Other records of interest in connection with this reign are—two inscriptions at Kyâsanûr in the Dhârwâr District, dated in A. D. 945-46, which tell us that the government of the Banavâsi province was then in the hands of the Mahâsâmanta Kali-Viṭṭa, of the Chellakêtana family, as a feudatory of Krishna III.; and some later records of the Raṭṭa chieftains of Saundaṭṭi which shew that it was he who brought that family to the front, by raising a religious student named Prithvîrâma to the rank and authority of a Mahâsâmanta and also claim that the Raṭṭas were descended from him.² Another feudatory of his was Vandiga or Vaddiga, of the Yâdava family of Sêuṇadêśa.³