The Battle of Vijayawada was fought in 1068 between the Chola army under

Virarajendra Chola Virarajendra Chola (1002 CE – 1070 CE) was a Chola emperor, who spent a major part of his life as a subordinate to two of his elder brothers Rajadhiraja I and Rajendra II, he is the son of Rajendra I. During his early reign he granted the ...

and the

Western Chalukya The Western Chalukya Empire ruled most of the western Deccan, South India, between the 10th and 12th centuries. This Kannadiga dynasty is sometimes called the ''Kalyani Chalukya'' after its regal capital at Kalyani, today's Basavakalyan in the ...

army commanded by

Vikramaditya VI Vikramaditya VI (r. 1076 – 1126 CE) became the Western Chalukya King after deposing his elder brother Someshvara II, a political move he made by gaining the support of Chalukya vassals during the Chola invasion of Chalukya territory.Sen ( ...

near the present-day city of

Vijayawada Vijayawada, formerly known as Bezawada, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and is a part of the state's Capital Region. It is the administrative headquarters of the NTR district. Its metropolitan region comprises NT ...

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. The war resulted in the recovery of

Vengi Vengi (or Venginadu) is a delta region spread over the Krishna and Godavari River, (also called Godavari and Krishna districts), the region is also known as Godavari Delta, that used to house world famous diamond mines in the Medieval period. The ...

by the Cholas.

Causes

In 1066, during the reign of the

king

Someshvara I Someshvara I (; ) was a king of the Western Chalukyas. Also known as "Ahavamalla" or "Trilokamalla", Someshvara succeeded his father Jayasimha II to the throne. His several military successes in Central India made him a formidable ruler of a ...

had invaded the Chola Empire penetrating as far as the capital

Gangaikonda Cholapuram Gaṅgaikoṇḍa Chōḻapuram is a village located near to Jayankondam, Ariyalur district, Tamil Nadu, India. It became the capital of the Chola dynasty in c. 1025 by Chola emperor Rajendra I, and served as the capital for around 250 years. ...

and threatening the city before being repulsed. The Chola Emperor

reacted by leading a huge force into the Western Chalukya kingdom. Virarajendra proposed a showdown at Kudal-Sangamam at the junction of the Krishna and the Tungabhadra, but when Someshvara I failed to turn up, Virarajendra ravaged the country and defeated the

Nolamba The Nolamba dynasty the area they held sway over is referred to as ''Nolambasa-37'' of Henjeru (Hemavathi), ''Nolambalige'' (''Nolambavadi''-32000), etc. R. Narasimhacharya states that the Nolambas were a native Kannada dynasty. Officers and kings ...

Kadava Kadava was the name of a Tamil ruling dynasty who ruled parts of the Tamil country during the thirteenth and the fourteenth century. Kadavas were related to the Pallava dynasty and ruled from Kudalur near Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu. Hiranyavarman, t ...

and Vaidumba feudatories of Someshvara I and besieged the city of

which the Cholas had earlier lost to the Western Chalukyas.

Sastri Sastri is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * A. Seshayya Sastri (1828–1903), Indian administrator, Diwan of Travancore 1872–1877 and Diwan of Pudukkottai 1878–1894 * Bapudeva Sastri (1821–1900), Indian scholar in Sanskrit ...

, p 268

Events

The Western Chalukya garrison led by Jananatha and Rajamayan fought a decisive battle with the Cholas but facing the prospect of imminent defeat, fled into the jungles of the north with the Chola army in hot pursuit.

, p 270 Virarajendra pursued the fleeing Western Chalukya forces beyond the

Godavari River The Godavari (IAST: ''Godāvarī'' �od̪aːʋəɾiː is India's second longest river after the Ganga river and drains into the third largest basin in India, covering about 10% of India's total geographical area. Its source is in Trimbakeshw ...

. After conquering

Kalinga Kalinga may refer to: Geography, linguistics and/or ethnology * Kalinga (historical region), a historical region of India ** Kalinga (Mahabharata), an apocryphal kingdom mentioned in classical Indian literature ** Kalinga script, an ancient writ ...

and Sakkarakkottam, Virarajendra crowned

Vijayaditya VII Vijayaditya (696–733 CE) followed his father, Vinayaditya of Vatapi, Vinayaditya on to the Chalukya throne. His long reign was marked by general peace and prosperity. Vijayaditya also built a number of temples. He fought against the Pallav ...

as the king of Vengi and returned home.

References

Bibliography

* {{coord missing, Andhra Pradesh 11th century in India History of Andhra Pradesh

1068 in Asia Western Chalukya Empire Vijayawada