A History of South India from Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar c14.62

c14.62

To begin with the Western Chālukyas of Kalyāni, Someśvara III was a peaceful monarch and in his reign Hoysala Vishnuvardhana not only threw off his allegiance to the Chālukyan power, but sought to extend his dominions at their expense, particularly in the regions of Nolambavāḍi, Banavāsi and Hangal. Vishnuvardhana continued his aggression in the reigns of the two sons of Someśvara III, Jagadekamalla II (1138-51) and his younger brother Taila III (1150-6). By 1149 Vishnuvardhana stationed himself at Bankāpura in Dharwar and left his son Narasimha in charge of his capital Dōrasamudra. The Chālukya empire was beginning to dissolve, although its trappings continued intact and even the Hoysalas occasionally paid nominal allegiance to the emperor, not to speak of the Kalacuris who had held a fief in Tardavāḍi, in the heart of the empire, from the time of Someśvara III.