History of Mediaeval Hindu India (being a History of India from 600 to 1200 A.D.) v3.c35.s4.1

v3.c35.s4.1

The third important kingdom was that of the Hoyasala Yādavas of Halebid or Dvārasamudra, in the present Mysore state. It was also in the beginning a feudatory of the Western Chālukyas of Kalyan (perhaps of the Rāshtrakūtas also). The first important king was Vinayāditya whose inscription dated 1040 A. D. has been found (Gaurishankar's Tod p. 333). His son Erayanga had three sons, the eldest of whom Ballāla was a noted feudatory of Jayasinha III, Chālukya king. The chief town of these Yādavas was Belāpur (modern Belur) upto this time; but his successor Bettiga alias Vishnuvardhana who was the first powerful and independent king of this line made Dvārasamudra his capital. He acquired independence from such a powerful overlord as the famous Vikramānka of Kalyan, though he did not actually succeed in defeating the latter. But he defeated other neighbouring kings, the Gangas, the Kadambas, the Tuluvas and the Pāndyas. Many inscriptions of his time have been found dating from 1115 to 1138 A. D. (Gaurishankar). His reign is more famous for the support he gave to Rāmānuja and the spread of Vaishnavism. He was converted to that faith by that saint and he built the famous Vishnu temple at Dvārasamudra which excites admiration even now, and another magnificent temple at Belur also.