The Early History of the Deccan (Parts I–XI) v2.c13.s2.t2: Vimalāditya
The Early History of the Deccan (Parts I–XI) v2.c13.s2.t2
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Vimalāditya
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Vimalāditya ascended the throne in A.D. 1011 and ruled until 1018 for a period of seven years. He was a colourless king, quite satisfied with the conditions of life as he found them. The only facts really known about him are his apparent conversion, either temporary or permanent, to Jainism, and his marriage with two princesses of the Chōḷa family. His first wife was Kundavai, the daughter of the great Chōḷa emperor Rājarāja I, by whom he had a son named after his maternal grandfather Rājarāja; Rājarāja was appointed crown prince and succeeded his father on the throne of Vengi. Melama, the second wife of Vimalāditya, was probably a daughter of Jaṭā Choḍa Bhīma, and by her he had also a son called Vijayāditya. Though he is styled like his predecessors a *parama-brahmanya* and *parama-māheśvara* in the Raṇasthipūṇḍi grant, Vimalāditya appears at one time to have favoured Jainism. An undated epigraph at Rāmatirtham in the Vizagapatam District refers to a Jaina monk named Trikālayogi Siddhāntadeva as his *guru*,¹ and it is not unlikely that Vimalāditya received religious instruction from him, possibly after first relinquishing the throne.
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¹ 831 of 1917, *SII*, ix (i), 403.
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At the close of the reign of Vimalāditya in A.D. 1018, the succession to the throne was in dispute. Vijayāditya, his son by Melama, seized power with the help of Jayasiṃha II Jagadekamalla, king of Kalyāṇi, and kept his brother Rājarāja out of the kingdom.² Rājarāja appealed to his maternal uncle and overlord the Choḷa emperor, Rājendra Choḷa, for help, and the latter promptly dispatched forces to his aid. To divert the attention of Jayasiṃha II, and prevent him from sending effective help to Vijayāditya, he sent against Raṭṭapāḍi a powerful army which devastated the country and compelled him to take steps for the defence of his kingdom. At the same time Rājendra ordered his general Śōliyavaraśan to march at the head of another army into Vengi and restore to his nephew his ancestral kingdom. Śōliyavaraśan advanced, accordingly, with his forces into Vengi, defeated Vijayāditya and his allies in several battles, took possession of the country on behalf of Rājarāja, and proceeded afterwards at the command of his master on a grand military expedition to the Gangetic valley. On the departure of the Choḷa army from their country, the Utkalas whom Śōliyavaraśan had subdued rose again, probably incited by Jayasiṃha II, and threatened the line of communications. To put down the Utkalas and protect the rear of his army campaigning in the Gangetic valley, Rājendra Choḷa I marched with his troops towards the north and arrived on the banks of the Godavarī where he established himself in a fortified camp. He sent troops to chastise the Utkalas and meanwhile awaited the arrival of his general from the Gangetic valley. During his sojourn on the banks of the Godavarī he enthroned his nephew Rājarāja as the ruler of Vengi, celebrated the latter's coronation on 16 August A.D. 1022, and returned home with the victorious army from the north which had joined him soon afterwards.³
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² See the chapter on Western Chālukyas of Kalyāṇi for detailed treatment of events more summarily described here, pp. 327 ff.
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³ *Cōḷas* (second edn.), 204-11.