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Bhima III (Eastern Chalukya)

Bhima was a younger son of the Eastern Chalukya king Amma I and a younger brother of Beta-Vijayaditya V. J. F. Fleet numbered him Bhima III, and Robert Sewell Bhima II. In the civil war after his father's death he overthrew his great-uncle Vikramaditya II and reigned for eight months, 926–927 in Fleet's dating. Then Yuddhamalla II, the son of Tadapa, killed him. Only one grant known to Fleet names him at all.

Bhima was a king of the Eastern Chalukya dynasty of Vengi, in the civil war that followed the death of his father Amma I.12 He reigned for only eight months, which J. F. Fleet dated 926–927.1 Almost all the later grants leave him out, so he is known mainly from a single record.1

Family and numbering

Bhima was a son of Amma I and a younger brother of Beta-Vijayaditya V.1 Fleet numbered him Bhima III.1 Robert Sewell’s table calls him Bhima II instead.3 Chalukya-Bhima II, who ruled after him, was his father’s half-brother.1

Eight months on the throne

After Amma I died in 925, his son Beta was driven out by Tadapa.4 Then Vikramaditya II, Amma’s uncle, killed Tadapa and ruled for eleven months.12

Fleet found Bhima named in only one grant, issued by Chalukya-Bhima II from Pagunavaram.15 It says that Bhima conquered Vikramaditya II in war and reigned for eight months.1 Then Yuddhamalla II, the son of Tadapa, killed him.1 The 1917 epigraphy report noted Fleet’s account of him.6

Sewell explained why Bhima could claim the throne.7 With his elder brother Beta gone, he wrote, Bhima “had a sound title to the throne”.7 Sewell described the fight as a civil war in which Bhima defeated and dispossessed Vikramaditya.27 He added that Bhima was killed eight months later.7

K. A. Nilakanta Sastri and N. Venkataramanayya (1960) told it differently.8 They wrote that Bhima had Vikramaditya assassinated, and that only the Digumarru grant mentions this.8 In their account Yuddhamalla II then overthrew Bhima with the help of a large army sent by the Rashtrakuta king Indra III.8

Left out of the records

Most grants pass over Bhima in silence.1 The Pithapuram pillar inscription goes straight from Vikramaditya’s eleven months to Yuddhamalla’s seven years.9 The Maliyapundi grant says that after Vikramaditya’s death, “kinsmen-princes who were desirous of the kingdom” fought for five years.10 It names Yuddhamalla, Rajamartanda and Kanthika-Vijayaditya, but not Bhima.10

Where the sources disagree

  • How he took the throne. Fleet’s grant says that Bhima conquered Vikramaditya II in war.1 Nilakanta Sastri and Venkataramanayya say that he had him assassinated.8
  • His number. Fleet calls him Bhima III, and Sewell Bhima II.13
  • When. Fleet’s reckoning gives 926–927.1 The Early History of the Deccan (1960) gives 928.11

Footnotes

  1. Fleet, “Chronology of the Eastern Chalukya Kings” (1891), p. 269 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11 ↩12 ↩13 ↩14

  2. Robert Sewell and S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, The Historical Inscriptions of Southern India (1932), p. 43 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  3. Sewell and Aiyangar, Historical Inscriptions of Southern India (1932), p. 337 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2

  4. J. F. Fleet, “The Chronology of the Eastern Chalukya Kings”, Indian Antiquary XX (1891), p. 268 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩

  5. Fleet, “Chronology of the Eastern Chalukya Kings” (1891), p. 270 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩

  6. Annual Report on Epigraphy, for 1916–17 (G.O. No. 1035, Home (Education), 10 August 1917), p. 117, paragraph 24 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩

  7. Sewell and Aiyangar, Historical Inscriptions of Southern India (1932), p. 44 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  8. K. A. Nilakanta Sastri and N. Venkataramanayya, “The Eastern Chalukyas”, in G. Yazdani (ed.), The Early History of the Deccan, Parts VII–XI (1960), p. 483 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  9. E. Hultzsch, “Pithapuram Pillar Inscription of Mallapadeva”, Epigraphia Indica IV (1896–97), p. 240, translation (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩

  10. E. Hultzsch, “Maliyapundi Grant of Ammaraja II”, Epigraphia Indica IX (1907–08), p. 55, abridged translation (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2

  11. Nilakanta Sastri and Venkataramanayya, in The Early History of the Deccan (1960), p. 502, Appendix A, “The Eastern Chalukya Genealogy” (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩

Dynasties

Eastern Chalukyas of Vengi

c. 615–1077 CE

The Eastern Chalukyas were a branch of the Chalukyas of Badami. They ruled Vengi, the coastal country between the lower Godavari and Krishna, from the early 7th century. Their founder, Kubja Vishnuvardhana, was a younger brother of Pulakesin II. The kings fought the Rashtrakutas for two centuries. After about 1000 they were linked to the Cholas by marriage, and in 1070 their heir became the Chola emperor Kulottunga I. Their copper-plate grants record the length of every reign. The first Telugu literary work, Nannaya's Mahabharata, was written at their court in Rajahmundry.

References

Sources (6)
  1. R. C. Temple (ed.); article by J. F. Fleet, Indian Antiquary, Vol. XX (1891), incl. J. F. Fleet, 'The Chronology of the Eastern Chalukya Kings' (opens in a new tab), Education Society's Press, Bombay, 1891, pp. 268–270. J. F. Fleet, 'The Chronology of the Eastern Chalukya Kings'. [Public domain]
  2. F. Kielhorn (articles); E. Hultzsch (ed.), Epigraphia Indica, Vol. IV (1896–97) (opens in a new tab), Archaeological Survey of India, 1897, pp. 240. E. Hultzsch, Pithapuram pillar inscription of Mallapadeva, translation. [Public domain]
  3. E. Hultzsch and Sten Konow (eds.), Epigraphia Indica, Vol. IX (1907–08) (opens in a new tab), Government of India, Calcutta, 1908, pp. 55. E. Hultzsch, Maliyapundi grant of Ammaraja II, abridged translation. [Public domain]
  4. Madras Government (Assistant Archaeological Superintendent for Epigraphy), Annual Reports on Epigraphy, Southern Circle, for 1915-16 to 1919-20 (opens in a new tab), Government Press, Madras, 1920, pp. 117 (report for 1916–17). [Public domain]
  5. Robert Sewell (ed. S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar), The Historical Inscriptions of Southern India (Collected till 1923) and Outlines of Political History (opens in a new tab), University of Madras, 1932, pp. 43–44, 337. Paraphrased. [Public domain in India]
  6. G. Yazdani (ed.); Part VII by K. A. Nilakanta Sastri and N. Venkataramanayya, The Early History of the Deccan, Parts VII-XI, Oxford University Press, London, published under the authority of the Government of Andhra Pradesh, 1960, pp. 483, 502. Cite-only; paraphrased. [All rights reserved (cited, not reproduced)]

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