The Colas c21.16

c21.16

The war began with an advance of Vikramāditya into the Cōḻa territory till he encountered the Cōḻa army in the Kōlār district, whence, if the Cōḻa inscriptions may be trusted, Vikramāditya was pursued by the Cōḻa forces, through Maṇalūr,³⁵ not identified, up to the banks of the Tungabhadrā; and there was heavy fighting all along the road. In the result, the Cōḻa ruler, besides capturing much valuable booty, became master of the Gaṅgamaṇḍalam and Śiṅgaṇam. The identity of Śiṅgaṇam is doubtful; Hultzsch suggested that it means the dominions of Jayasiṁha III;³⁶ but the territory ruled over by Jayasiṁha III was Banavāse and not only is there no evidence of the present campaign having extended to that country, but Bilhaṇa says that Vikramāditya made his brother Jayasiṁha ruler of Banavāse at the end of the war with Kulōttunga, and that Jayasiṁha was still in charge of that territory some years later when he revolted against his brother and sought the assistance of Kulōttunga. It is probable, however, that before the war began, Jayasiṁha was in charge of some territory to the south and east of the Tungabhadrā. Kulōttunga's claim that, as a result of the war, he found himself in possession of a considerable part of the Mysore country is borne out by the provenance of his inscriptions, and Bilhaṇa's statement that Kulōttunga fled from the battlefield is not to be trusted. The *Kaliṅgattupparaṇi*³⁷ mentions some of the incidents of this war such as the fights at Aḻatti and Maṇalūr, and the capture of elephants in Navilai, possibly the same as Navilē-nāḍ of the Mysore inscriptions.³⁸ The *Vikramaśōḻan-ulā* states that Kulōttunga reached the western sea, and captured Koṅkaṇa and Kannaḍa countries and humbled the pride of the Mahratha king—a statement which implies that even Banavāse might have been overrun, though perhaps only for a time. The worst sufferer was Sōmēśvara II, who fell into the hands of his brother as a prisoner and thus lost his kingdom. What ultimately became of him is not known.³⁹