The Early History of the Deccan (Parts I–XI) v2.c13.s5.36

v2.c13.s5.36

The son of Yuddhamalla I was Arikesari I, the donor of the Kollipara plates which, however, only praise his bravery in war in general terms without mentioning any specific facts of his career; they also give his many titles and say that he was an adept in such diverse subjects of knowledge as grammar, law, elephant-lore, logic, archery, and medicine. All the other sources agree that he captured and ruled Veṅgi together with Trikaliṅga by the strength of his arm; Pampa says that this happened in the reign of Nirupama, i.e. Dhruva (A.D. 780-93), which must have included the later part of the reign of Arikesari I. Dhruva, we have seen (p. 475), attacked Viṣṇuvardhana IV of Veṅgi to punish him for his part in aiding Govinda II in the civil war which had just ended; and in this task Arikesari aided him greatly and was duly rewarded. We may assume that parts of Teliṅgaṇa definitely changed hands as a result of Arikesari’s campaign and became part of the Rāṣṭrakūṭa empire, the newly conquered territory being placed under the rule of Arikesari and his successors. It is quite probable that after this Vēmulavāḍa became the seat of their power.