Vira Someshwara ( kn, ವೀರ ಸೋಮೇಶ್ವರ) (1234–1263) was a king of the

Hoysala Empire The Hoysala Empire was a Kannada people, Kannadiga power originating from the Indian subcontinent that ruled most of what is now Karnataka, India, Karnataka between the 10th and the 14th centuries. The capital of the Hoysalas was initially loca ...

. The preoccupation of Vira Narasimha II in the affairs of Tamil country resulted in neglect of northern territories and he had to face

Seuna The Seuna, Sevuna, or Yadavas of Devagiri (IAST: Seuṇa, –1317) was a Medieval Indian dynasty, which at its peak ruled a kingdom stretching from the Narmada River, Narmada river in the north to the Tungabhadra river in the south, in the west ...

incursions south of the Tungabhadra river.

Influence in Tamil country politics

During the time period 1225–1250, the

Hoysalas The Hoysala Empire was a Kannadiga power originating from the Indian subcontinent that ruled most of what is now Karnataka between the 10th and the 14th centuries. The capital of the Hoysalas was initially located at Belur, but was later moved ...

consolidated their domination over the South Deccan by asserting complete influence on the

Cholas The Chola dynasty was a Tamil thalassocratic empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated to the 3rd century BCE d ...

and the Pandyas. Someshwara was actually given the honorific ''Mamadi'' ("uncle") by the kings of Tamil country.

Magadai Magadai or Magadai Mandalam was a Tamil kingdom that flourished during the 13th and 14th centuries near the modern-day Aragalur. Aragalurudaiya Ponparappinan Rajarajadevan, alias Magadesan, was the Bana chief who ruled this region around 1197. Th ...

Mandalam was conquered by Veera Somesvara in 1236. He allied himself with Chola Rajendra III but made friendship with the Pandyas when the Chola king tried to invade Pandya territory in 1238. Later having defeated Rajendra Chola III, Vira Someshwara again fought for the cause of the Cholas against the Pandyas. After 1235 CE, Someswara founded his capital in southern city of Kannanur, 5 miles to the north of

Srirangam Srirangam, is a neighbourhood in the city of Tiruchirappalli in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. A river island, Srirangam is bounded by the Kaveri River on one side and its distributary Kollidam on the other side. Considered as the first amon ...

, and called it Vikramapura. In 1236-37 CE, he set up several minor shrines in the Jambukeswaram temple on the

Srirangam island Srirangam Island is a river island in the city of Tiruchirappalli, in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The island is formed by the Kaveri and Kollidam Rivers. Geography The Kaveri River diverges at the Upper Anaicut, a dam at the island's western ...

, called Vallaliswara, Padumaliswara, Vira Narasingeswara, and Somaleswara named based on his close family members. The Bhojeswara Posaliswara temple was raised by him in Kannanur and he signed his inscriptions in

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

as Malaparoluganda (Lord among the Malepas, i.e., the hill tribes on the Western Ghats), the Hoysala family title since their beginning in bold

characters. In 1254 Someshwara divided his kingdom between his two sons, Ramanatha who ruled from Kannanur and

Narasimha III Narasimha III (r. 12631292). During his rule over the Hoysala Empire, internal feud between the king and his brother Ramanatha ruling from Kannanur came to the forefront. He also had to face invasions from the Seuna who attacked his regal capit ...

who ruled from

Halebidu Halebidu (IAST: Haḷēbīḍ, literally "old capital, city, encampment" or "ruined city") is a town located in Hassan District, Karnataka, India. Historically known as Dorasamudra (also Dwarasamudra), Halebidu became the regal capital of the ...

, their original capital. Like his father Narasimha II, Someshwara stayed back at Kannanur with Ramanatha where he was killed in a war with

Sadayavarman Sundara Pandyan I Jatavarman Sundara I, also known as Sadayavarman Sundara Pandyan, was a emperor of the Pandyan dynasty who ruled regions of Tamilakkam (present day South India) between 1250–1268 CE.Sethuraman, p124 He is remembered for his patronage of the ...

of the Pandyan Dynasty.

References

Sources

* Dr. Suryanath U. Kamat, A Concise history of Karnataka from pre-historic times to the present, Jupiter books, MCC, Bangalore, 2001 (Reprinted 2002) OCLC: 7796041 * K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, History of South India, From Prehistoric times to fall of Vijayanagar, 1955, OUP, New Delhi (Reprinted 2002), 1263 deaths Hoysala kings Hindu monarchs Year of birth unknown 13th-century Indian monarchs 13th-century Hindus {{India-royal-stub