Bijjala II (1130–1167 CE) was the Mahamandaleshwara of the Kalyani Chalukyas. He was the most famous of the
southern Kalachuri kings who ruled initially as a vassal of Chalukya
Vikramaditya VI. He ruled as the ''Mahamandalesvara'' (chief or governor) over Karhada-4000 and Tardavadi-1000 provinces, designations given to territories within the larger Western Chalukya kingdom.
He revolted against the
Western Chalukya Empire
The Western Chalukya Empire ( ) ruled most of the Deccan Plateau, western Deccan, South India, between the 10th and 12th centuries. This Kannada dynasty is sometimes called the ''Kalyani Chalukya'' after its regal capital at Kalyani, today's ...
, assumed imperial titles in 1157, and ruled along with his successors, the
Deccan Plateau
The Deccan is a plateau extending over an area of and occupies the majority of the Indian peninsula. It stretches from the Satpura Range, Satpura and Vindhya Ranges in the north to the northern fringes of Tamil Nadu in the south. It is bound ...
for a quarter of a century.
Bijjala's opportunism
After the death of Vikramaditya VI, seeing the weakening empire, Bijjala II declared independence.
The ''Chikkalagi'' inscription refers to Bijjala as ''Mahabhujabalachakravarti'', which in Sanskrit
literally means ''the great great (maha) unopposed ruler (cakravartin) with strong (bala) arms (bhuja)''. By the time of Chalukya
Taila III
Tailapa III (r. 1151–1162 CE) succeeded his brother Jagadhekamalla II to the Western Chalukya throne. His rule saw the beginning of the end of the Chalukya empire. Kakatiya dynasty's Prola II warred with him, defeated and took the Chalu ...
, Bijjala's attempts towards independence seems to have spread to other feudatories as well. Kakatiya
Prola II
Prola II (r. c. 1116-1157 CE) was a Kakatiya chief who ruled the area around Anumakomda (modern Hanamkonda) as a vassal of the Chalukyas of Kalyani, Kalyani Chalukyas. He was the father of Rudradeva, Rudra-deva, the first sovereign ruler of the Kak ...
broke free of Chalukya rule in the middle of the 12th century. By 1162 CE. Bijjala II had managed to drive Taila III out of Kalyani, the Chalukya capital. He assumed Chalukyan titles like ''Sriprithvivallabha'' and ''Parameshvara''. He shifted his capital from Mangalavada to
Kalyani also known as
Basavakalyan
Basavakalyana is a historical city and municipal council in the Bidar District of the Indian state of Karnataka. It was the capital of Western Chalukya Empire, Kalyani Chalukya and Kalachuris of Kalyani two dynasties. It is famous for the world ...
.
Death
His rule was marked with turbulence, both domestic and social. According to the historian Dr. P.B. Desai,
Bijjala II became very unpopular with the followers of
Basava and was assassinated by them. Dr. Desai
however does confirm that Basava himself was not responsible for this incident. He was succeeded by his younger son
Sovideva to the throne.
References
Bibliography
* Dr. Suryanath U. Kamat (2001). ''Concise History of Karnataka'', MCC, Bangalore (Reprinted 2002)
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12th-century Indian monarchs
History of Karnataka