Marasimha II Satyavakya was a king of the

Western Ganga Dynasty Western Ganga was an important ruling dynasty of ancient Karnataka in India which lasted from about 350 to 999 CE. They are known as "Western Gangas" to distinguish them from the Eastern Ganga Dynasty, Eastern Gangas who in later centuries r ...

, 23rd in the succession. He was the successor of Marulaganga Neetimarga, his half-brother who reigned 961–963. He was succeeded by Rachamalla IV Satyavakya, his eldest son. He was a

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...

of the declining

Rashtrakuta The Rashtrakuta Empire was a royal Indian polity ruling large parts of the Indian subcontinent between the 6th and 10th centuries. The earliest known Rashtrakuta inscription is a 7th-century copper plate grant detailing their rule from Manapu ...

empire and served them until their collapse. His reign is considered as a prelude to the decline and fall of the Ganga Kingdom. His two sons- Rachmalla IV and Rachmalla V (Rakkasaganga) were the last kings of the

Reign

Marasimha II was the second son of

Butuga II Butuga II (938–961 CE) became the ruler of the Western Ganga Dynasty after his elder brother Rachamalla III. Relations with Rashtrakutas In order to ascend the throne he had to first seek help from the Rashtrakutas who were hitherto their ar ...

through his second wife Kallabbarasi. He was a loyal

feudatory A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerai ...

of the

Rashtrakutas The Rashtrakuta Empire was a royal Indian polity ruling large parts of the Indian subcontinent between the 6th and 10th centuries. The earliest known Rashtrakuta Indian inscriptions, inscription is a 7th-century copper plate grant detailing th ...

and served them till their demise. He was serving them from the reign of

Krishna III Krishna III (r. 939 – 967), whose Kannada name was Kannara, was the last great warrior and able Rashtrakuta Emperor. He was a shrewd administrator and skillful military campaigner. He waged many wars to restore the glory of the Rashtrakuta ...

, the last great

monarch. He led a campaign into the north for his overlord

, where he defeated a

Gurjara-Pratihara The Pratihara dynasty, also called the Gurjara-Pratiharas, the Pratiharas of Kannauj or the Imperial Pratiharas, was a prominent medieval Indian dynasty which ruled over the Kingdom of Kannauj. It initially ruled the Gurjaradesa until its vi ...

king named Lalla. He subsequently served

kings

Khottiga Khottiga or Amoghavarsha IV (r. 967–972 CE), who bore the title ''Nityavarsha'', was a Rashtrakuta Emperor. During his reign, the Rashtrakutas started to decline. The Paramara King Siyaka II plundered Manyakheta and Khottiga died fighting ...

and

Karka II Karka II (r. 972 – 991 CE)Altekar (1934), p131 was a Rashtrakuta Emperor who succeeded his uncle Khottiga Amoghavarsha. By this time the once great Rashtrakuta empire was in decline and the weaknesses created by the earlier plunder of Manya ...

as governor of multiple southern

provinces. He defeated Nanni Nolamba, ruler of the Pallavas of Nolambavadi and assumed the title of "Nolambantaka" (ender of the family of Nolambas). Chamundaraya was his loyal and able prime minister, who helped him conquer several territories. When his

overlord

was killed by his rebellious feudatory

Tailapa II Tailapa II (r. c. 973-997) also known as Taila II and by his title ''Ahavamalla'', was the founder of the Western Chalukyas, Western Chalukya Empire in peninsular India. Tailapa claimed descent from the earlier imperial Chalukyas of Vatapi (Bad ...

, Marasimha II tried to continue the

Rashtrakuta Empire The Rashtrakuta Empire was a royal Indian polity ruling large parts of the Indian subcontinent between the 6th and 10th centuries. The earliest known Rashtrakuta inscription is a 7th-century copper plate grant detailing their rule from Manapu ...

by crowning

Indra IV Indra IV (died 20 March 982) was the last Rashtrakuta Emperor from 973 until his death. He was a nephew of the feudatory king of Western Ganga Dynasty of Talakad. After Tailapa II captured Manyakheta, the Ganga Maharaja Marasimha II crowned In ...

as emperor at

Bankapur Bankapura is a panchayat town in Haveri district in the state of Karnataka, India. It is in Shiggaon taluk, is just 2.5 km from the Pune-Bangalore national highway NH-4, 22 km from Haveri town. Bankapura is about 45 km from Hubli ...

in 973. One of his discovered inscription includes the Śravaṇa Beḷgoḷa epitaph of Marasimha II.

Death

He starved himself to death by the Jain ritual of

Sallekhana (IAST: ), also known as ''samlehna'', ''santhara'', ''samadhi-marana'' or ''sanyasana-marana'', is a supplementary vow to the ethical code of conduct of Jainism. It is the religious practice of voluntarily fasting to death by gradually redu ...

, in 975. The death of Marasimha is considered as a prelude to the decline and fall of the Ganga Kingdom. His death sparked a civil war in the Western Ganga Kingdom, and his former prime minister

Chavundaraya ''Cāmuṇḍarāya'' or Chavundaraya (Kannada ''Cāmuṇḍarāya, Cāvuṇḍarāya'', 940–989) was an Indian people, Indian Jain ruler. He served in the court of the Western Ganga dynasty of Talakad (in modern Karnataka, India). A perso ...

helped Marasimha's eldest son Rachamalla ascend the throne, and Rachamalla came to the throne as Rachamalla IV Satyvakya.

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

"Gangas of Talakad"
by S. Srikanta Sastri {{S-end Western Ganga kings 10th-century Indian monarchs Heads of state who died by suicide Suicides in India Suicides by starvation Royalty who died by suicide