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Somesvara III

Western Chalukya king, called Bhulokamalla, who reigned from 1126 to 1138. He is credited with the encyclopaedic Sanskrit work Manasollasa. As Prince Somesvara he governed the Kollipake province from Kolanupaka in Telangana, where a pillar of 1125 celebrates his victory over the lord of Trikalinga. An inscription at Patancheru records grants made on the day of his coronation, 20 February 1127.

Parabrahma Sastry argued that as a prince Somesvara III was viceroy (governor) of the Kollipake province in Telangana.12 An inscription at Patancheru records a grant made at his coronation, which P. B. Desai dated to 20 February 1127.34 He is represented as the author of the Manasollasa, a Sanskrit work on many subjects.5

Prince Somesvara at Kollipake

Somesvara III was a son of Vikramaditya VI and succeeded him.6 Before his accession he served in Telangana. An inscription at Vemulavada dated 10 April 1106 records a gift of a flower garden to the god Harikesvara.4 The gift was made by Prince Somesvara, with the king’s approval.4

P. V. Parabrahma Sastry argued that the king made him viceroy of the Kollipake seven-thousand province in place of the Paramara prince Jagaddeva.12 He cited inscriptions at Kolanupaka of 1110, 1111 and 1112 that name Kumara Somesvara as its mahamandalesvara (great lord).12

Two of his records of 1124–25 are summarised in the Kannada Inscriptions of Andhra Pradesh (1961). At Gudur in the Nalgonda district, an inscription of 24 December 1124 gives Prince Somesvara the epithet Chalukya-Ganga-Permadi.7 It says he put the Chola king to flight and “set fire to the three cities of the three Kalingas”.7 One of his officers held charge of the Kollipake two-thousand.7

At Kolanupaka a four-sided pillar is dated 24 March 1125.78 It records a grant by Kumara Somesvara to the Jaina goddess Ambika “in his capital Kollipake”.78 It calls the pillar the pillar of victory planted by the king’s son Somesvara, who defeated the lord of Trikalinga and captured his elephants.78 P. B. Desai noted that this prince soon afterwards came to the throne as Bhulokamalla Somesvara III.78 See the pillar inscription and Kolanupaka.

Coronation

An inscription at Patancheru, in the Medak district, records a grant made on the king’s oral instruction.3 His officer Bammanayya granted a privilege to the astrologer Nanneya Bhatta.3 It rewarded the astrologer for calculating the auspicious day for the king’s expedition.3

The grant was made on the occasion of the coronation, which Desai dated to 20 February 1127, Chalukya-Vikrama year 51.34 The expedition had set out on 26 October 1126.4 Desai concluded that the record identifies Patancheru with the early Chalukya capital Pottalakere.34 See the Patancheru inscription.

J. F. Fleet, who did not know this record, counted 1126–27 as the first year of the reign.6 But he could not fix the accession within a year.6

Reign

Fleet found the reign “a very tranquil one”, with Kalyana as the capital throughout.65 His records run to November–December 1138.6 Robert Sewell cited an inscription of 1129 showing him ruling in the Palnad taluk of the Guntur district, south of the Krishna.9

An inscription at Gangapuram in the Mahbubnagar district is dated 8 June 1134, in his ninth year.1011 It records a gift made in the presence of officials, among them a councillor of Tailapadeva and the toll officer of the Kandur country.1011

This Tailapadeva was probably his younger brother, Kumara Tailapa, who held the Kandur country as his appanage (estate given to a prince).1213 Parabrahma Sastry argued that Tailapa tried to make himself independent in the last years of Somesvara’s reign.1213

Somesvara III is represented as the author of the Abhilashitarthachintamani or Manasollasa.5 It is a work on polity (government), justice, medicine, elephants, alchemy, astrology, arms and rhetoric, written in the fourth year of his reign.5 He was succeeded by his eldest son, Jagadekamalla II.5

Footnotes

  1. P. V. Parabrahma Sastry, The Kakatiyas of Warangal (1978), p. 71. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  2. Parabrahma Sastry, The Kakatiyas of Warangal (1978), p. 73. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  3. P. B. Desai, introduction to P. Sreenivasachar, Kannada Inscriptions of Andhra Pradesh (Andhra Pradesh Government Archaeological Series 3, 1961), p. 4, No. 9 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  4. Desai, Kannada Inscriptions of Andhra Pradesh (1961), p. 5, Nos. 9 and 11 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  5. Fleet, “Dynasties of the Kanarese Districts” (1896), p. 456 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  6. J. F. Fleet, “Dynasties of the Kanarese Districts”, Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency I, pt. II (1896), p. 455 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  7. Desai, Kannada Inscriptions of Andhra Pradesh (1961), p. 16, Nos. 44–45 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased except for the short phrases quoted. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7

  8. Desai, Kannada Inscriptions of Andhra Pradesh (1961), p. 17, No. 45 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased except for the short phrase quoted. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  9. Robert Sewell, The Historical Inscriptions of Southern India (1932), p. 100 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩

  10. Desai, Kannada Inscriptions of Andhra Pradesh (1961), p. 9, No. 24 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩ ↩2

  11. Desai, Kannada Inscriptions of Andhra Pradesh (1961), p. 10, No. 24 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩ ↩2

  12. Parabrahma Sastry, The Kakatiyas of Warangal (1978), p. 77. ↩ ↩2

  13. Parabrahma Sastry, The Kakatiyas of Warangal (1978), p. 83. ↩ ↩2

Dynasties

Western Chalukyas of Kalyani

c. 973–1189 CE

A dynasty of the western Deccan that overthrew the Rashtrakutas in 973 and ruled from Kalyana (Kalyani) until about 1189. Telangana was part of their kingdom. Kannada inscriptions of their reigns run from Korapolu in the Medak district (973) to Alampur, Gangapuram, Kolanupaka and Hanamkonda, where the early Kakatiya chiefs, the Polavasa chiefs and the Kandur Chodas served them as feudatories. They fought the Cholas for Vengi for a century, and Vikramaditya VI was recognised as king there from 1118 to about 1126. After the Kalachuris took over in the 1150s, the Kakatiyas declared their own sovereignty in 1163.

References

Sources (4)
  1. J. F. Fleet, R. G. Bhandarkar and others (Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency), Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency, Vol. I, Part II: History of the Konkan, Dakhan and Southern Maratha Country (opens in a new tab), Government Central Press, Bombay, 1896, pp. 455–456. J. F. Fleet, Dynasties of the Kanarese Districts, chapter IV. [Public domain]
  2. Dr. P. SREENIVASACHAR, M.A., Ph. D. (London) & Prof. P. B. DESAI, M.A., Andhra Pradesh Government Archaeological Series No. 3. KANNADA INSCRIPTIONS OF ANDHRA PRADESH (opens in a new tab), 1961, pp. 4–5, 9–10, 16–17. P. B. Desai's summaries, Nos. 9, 11, 24, 44 and 45; paraphrased. [Public domain in India]
  3. 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. 100. Paraphrased. [Public domain in India]
  4. P. V. Parabrahma Sastry, The Kakatiyas of Warangal, Government of Andhra Pradesh, 1978, pp. 71, 73, 77, 83. Cite-only; paraphrased. [All rights reserved (cited, not reproduced)]

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