The Early History of the Deccan (Parts I–XI) v2.c13.s2.t1: Śaktivarman I
The Early History of the Deccan (Parts I–XI) v2.c13.s2.t1
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Śaktivarman I
v2.c13.s2.t1.1
The accession of Śaktivarman I opens a new epoch in the history of Vengi. Though he succeeded in regaining his ancestral kingdom he had had to pay a heavy price to attain his object. The alliance with the Chōla monarch through whose help he managed to overthrow his enemies involved the sacrifice of national independence. He had to submit to Chōla authority, and acknowledge the Chōla as his overlord and sovereign. Vengi ceased to be an independent kingdom and became a protectorate of the Chōla empire. The formation of the Chōla-Chālukya alliance and the establishment of Chōla ascendancy over the entire coastal Telugu country upset the political equilibrium of the Southern Deccan and plunged the land into interminable dynastic wars. The Chāḷukyas of Kalyāṇī who succeeded to the power of the Rāṣṭrakūṭas in the Deccan challenged the Chōḷa supremacy over the Telugu country of the maritime plain, and Vengi became the theatre of a long war which lasted, with a few brief intervals, for the next 135 years; the history of Vengi during this period is a history of this war; the Eastern Chāḷukyas, the rulers of the country, recede into the background, leaving the Chōḷas and the Kalyāṇī Chāḷukyas to dispute the field.
v2.c13.s2.t1.2
The rule of Śaktivarman I lasted, according to the later Eastern Chāḷukya charters, for a period of twelve years; but very little is known about the internal affairs of Vengi during his reign. His inscriptions, no doubt, furnish ample information about his struggle with Jaṭā Chōḍa Bhima and his allies; but regarding the events which happened after his accession they have no evidence to offer. Śaktivarman’s reign was not, however, without disturbances. The first of the series of Karnatak invasions which was to devastate Vengi during the next century and a quarter occurred during the early years of his rule. Sattiga or Satyāśraya, the son of Tailapa II, sent an army to invade the Eastern Chāḷukya kingdom in A.D. 1006, probably with the object of overthrowing the Chōḷa-Chāḷukya alliance and bringing the east coast under his control. Bayal Nambi, one of his generals, marching at the head of an army, entered Vengi from the south, reduced the forts of Dharaṇikōṭa and Yanamadala to ashes, and established himself at Chebrolu in the Guntur District. How Śaktivarman I faced the invasion it is not possible to ascertain, as we have no information on the subject from any sources. But his ally the Chola emperor, Rājarāja I, appears to have bestirred himself and made plans for the protection of Vengi. The invasion of Karnatak by Rājēndra Chōḷa I in A.D. 1007 was probably undertaken to divert the attention of Satyāśraya, and compel him to withdraw his army from Vengi for the defence of his realm. However this may be, we know that the Western Chāḷukya army retired from the east coast and that Śaktivarman was left in possession of his kingdom. During the last years of his reign he seems to have devoted his attention to the internal administration of his realm. He expelled people who were not favourably disposed towards him from their estates and bestowed these on his followers as a reward for their loyal service. Very little is known of his family life; it is not even known whether he was married. He died without issue in A.D. 1011, and was succeeded by his younger brother Vimalāditya.