Nidanayurveda at 17:44, 7 October 2025

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{{Short description|10th-century monarch in Telangana, India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2019}}
'''Arikesari II''' ({{Abbr|r.|reigned}} {{Circa|930-955}}) was a ruler of the [[Chalukyas of Vemulavada|Vemulavada Chalukya]] dynasty of present-day [[Telangana]], India. A [[Rashtrakuta]] vassal, he played an important role in dethroning the Rashtrakuta emperor [[Govinda IV]] and enthroning [[Amoghavarsha III]] as the new emperor. He was the patron of [[Adikavi Pampa|Pampa]], one of the earliest notable [[Kannada language|Kannada]]-language poets.
{{Chalukyas of Vemulavada}}
== Early life ==

Arikesari was a son of his predecessor [[Narasimha II of Vemulavada|Narasimha II]].{{sfn|N Venkataramanayya|1953|p=30}} A verse in the ''Vikramarjuna Vijayam'', composed by the Chalukya court poet [[Adikavi Pampa|Pampa]], states that Arikesari had Indra's shoulder as his cradle. According to one theory, this may mean that Arikesari's mother Jakavve was a daughter of the Rashtrakuta king [[Indra III]]. While this is plausible, no direct evidence supports this hypothesis.{{sfn|N Venkataramanayya|1953|p=25}}

According to the Parbhani copper plate inscription, Arikesari II married two Rashtrakuta princesses - Revakanirmadi (the daughter of Indra III) and Lokambika.{{sfn|N Venkataramanayya|1953|p=25}}

== Rebellion against Govinda ==

Arikesari's father Narasimha had served the Rashtrakuta king [[Indra III]] as a feudatory.{{sfn|N Venkataramanayya|1953|p=25}} After Indra's death around c. 928–929, his eldest son Amoghavarsha II succeeded him, but the younger son [[Govinda IV]] usurped the throne shortly after.{{sfn|N Venkataramanayya|1953|pp=32-33}} Govinda subjugated the [[Chalukyas of Vengi]], whose former feudatories, such as the Chalukyas of Mudugonda, rose against him.{{sfn|N Venkataramanayya|1953|pp=33-34}} Govinda dispatched an army led by his general Rajamayya against Mudugonda, forcing its Chalukya ruler Vijayaditya (alias Bijja) to flee.{{sfn|N Venkataramanayya|1953|p=34}} The records of Arikesari's family state that he gave shelter to Vijayaditya, and protected him from Govinda-raja (that is, Govinda IV).{{sfn|N Venkataramanayya|1953|p=31}} The Vengi Chalukyas, led by Bhima II, ultimately expelled the Rashtrakuta invaders, killing Rajamayya in the process.{{sfn|N Venkataramanayya|1953|p=35}}

Govinda, displeased with Arikesari for having given asylum to Vijayaditya, sent an army led by Pandyaraya against Vemulavada.{{sfn|N Venkataramanayya|1953|p=37}} Arikesari's Vemulavada inscription and his court poet [[Adikavi Pampa|Pampa]]'s ''Vikramarjuna Vijayam'' state that he defeated a large army headed by the ''maha-samanta'' ("great feudatory") sent by the emperor Gojjiga (identified with Govinda IV).{{sfn|N Venkataramanayya|1953|p=31,37}}

Arikesari formed an alliance with Govinda's paternal uncle Baddega-deva (later Amoghavarsha III), a rival claimant to the Rashtrakuta throne.{{sfn|N Venkataramanayya|1953|p=37}} Baddega had been living in the [[Kalachuris of Tripuri|Tripuri Kalachuri]] kingdom ruled by Yuvarajadeva, whose sister was the grandmother of Baddega.{{sfn|N Venkataramanayya|1953|pp=32-33}} Baddega was also supported by the [[Western Ganga dynasty|Ganga]] prince Butuga, who wanted to dethrone his own brother Rajamalla III from the Ganga throne.{{sfn|N Venkataramanayya|1953|p=33}}

According to the Vemulavada records, Arikesari gave asylum to Baddega against Govinda's wishes.{{sfn|N Venkataramanayya|1953|p=31}} Baddega and his son [[Krishna III]] arrived at Vemulavada, where they were probably joined by other enemies of Govinda.{{sfn|N Venkataramanayya|1953|pp=37-38}} Subsequently, Baddega's forces defeated Govinda's army in a battle, and Baddega ascended the Rashtrakuta throne, assuming the title Amoghavarsha.{{sfn|N Venkataramanayya|1953|p=38}} The Vemulavada dynasty's records state that Govinda invaded Vemulavada because Arikesari gave shelter to Baddega: Arikesari not only repulsed the imperial invasion, but also dethroned the emperor, and handed over the empire to Baddega.{{sfn|N Venkataramanayya|1953|p=31}}

== Conflict with Bappuva ==

The records of Arikesari's family state Arikesari single-handedly repulsed an invasion by an ''ankakara'' of Bappuva, the younger brother of Kakkala.{{sfn|N Venkataramanayya|1953|p=31}} The identity of Bappuva and Kakkala is not certain, but they were most probably enemies of Arikesari's overlord [[Amoghavarsha III]], and Arikesari appears to have defeated them on the orders of the emperor. Some earlier scholars identified Kakkala as the Rashtrakuta king Kakkala II ([[Karka II]]), but this is not correct, as Kakkala II ascended the Rashtrakuta throne much later, in 972.{{sfn|N Venkataramanayya|1953|pp=38-39}}

A [[Shilahara]] grant inscription mentions one Karkara, who was overthrown by Amoghavarsha III. However, there is no concrete evidence to suggest that this Karkara was same as Kakkala: he is not known to have had a brother named Bappuva.{{sfn|N Venkataramanayya|1953|p=39}}

The 940 Deoli inscription states that [[Krishna III]], the son and successor of Amoghavarsha III, killed a chief named Bappuka. The name "Bappuka" may be a variant of "Bappuva", but this Bappuka is not known to have had a brother named Kakkala. Therefore, his identification as Arikesari's enemy is not certain either.{{sfn|N Venkataramanayya|1953|p=39}}

== Cultural activities ==

Arikesari's court poet [[Adikavi Pampa|Pampa]] composed the [[Kannada language|Kannada-language]] text ''[[Vikramarjuna Vijaya]]''. The text contains Pampa's version of a ''[[Mahabharata]]'' story with the legendary warrior [[Arjuna]] as its hero: the poet identifies Arjuna with his patron Arikesari.{{sfn|Siba Pada Sen|1979|p=343}}

== Legacy ==

=== Vemulavada inscription ===

Arikesari is attested by an undated [[Sanskrit]]-language inscription issued during his reign, discovered at Vemulavada.{{sfn|Kolluru Suryanarayana|1993|p=10}} The inscription states that his minister Peddanarya built a [[Surya|sun]] (Aditya) temple at Vemulavada, and that Arikesari granted a pice of land to this temple, at the request of Baddiga-deva (his overlord [[Amoghavarsha III]]).{{sfn|N Venkataramanayya|1953|p=41}} The land was donated The donated land was used to build a feeding house for the pilgrims visiting the temple.{{sfn|Kolluru Suryanarayana|1993|p=10}} The temple mentioned in the inscription does not exist anymore.{{sfn|Jaisetty Ramanaiah|1989|p=4}}

According to the inscription, Peddanarya was Arikesari's ''tantra-pala'' (minister of the army); his father Nagamarya was the ''tantra-pala'' of Arikesari's overlord Amoghavarsha.{{sfn|N Venkataramanayya|1953|pp=40-41}} The inscription also mentions another office named Gunamkusha, who held the office of ''sandhi-vigrahi'' (minister of war and peace) in Arikesari's administration.{{sfn|N Venkataramanayya|1953|p=40}}

The inscription provides Arikesari's genealogy, starting from his ancestor [[Vinayaditya of Podana|Vinayaditya Yuddhamalla]]. It describes the achievements of the dynasty's rulers, and the political events from Arikesari's reign.{{sfn|Kolluru Suryanarayana|1993|p=10}}

The inscription states that Arikesari bore the titles ''Pambarankusham'', ''Ammana-gandhavaranam'', ''Gandhebha-Vidyadharam'', ''Arudha-Sarvajnan'', ''Udatta-narayanan'', ''Nodutti-gevlon'', ''Guna-nidhi'', ''Gunarnava'', ''Sharanagata-vajrapanjara'', ''Priyagalla'', ''Tribhuvana-malla'', and ''Samanta-Chudamani''. The title ''Tribhuvana-malla'' was later assumed by the [[Chalukyas of Kalyani|Kalyani Chalukya]] kings.{{sfn|N Venkataramanayya|1953|p=40}}

=== Kurikyala inscription ===
[[File:10th century Bommalagutta Jain bas-reliefs and inscription, Telangana - 12.jpg|thumb|Kurikyala inscription, [[Bommalagutta]] ]]

Another undated inscription from Arikesari's reign was found at the Kurikyala (or Kurkyala) village in Karimnagar district. This inscription features [[Sanskrit]], [[Kannada language|Kannada]] and [[Telugu language|Telugu]] languages. It records the construction of a Jain shrine ([[basadi]]) by Jinavallabha, the younger brother of Arikesari's court poet [[Adikavi Pampa|Pampa]]. The inscription states that Jinavallabha commissioned a shrine named Tribhuvana-tilaka, a tank named Kavita-gunarnava, and a garden named Madana-vilasa; he also installed the images of the first and the last Jain [[tirthankara]]s at the shrine. In addition, it provides information about the origin and genealogy of Pampa's family.{{sfn|Kolluru Suryanarayana|1993|p=14}}

=== Successors ===

Arikesari had two sons: Vagaraja and Bhadradeva (alias Baddega-Narasinga; son of Lokambika), who were half-brothers.{{sfn|N Venkataramanayya|1953|p=42}} Vagaraja (r. c. 941–950) and Bhadradeva (r. c. 941–946) appear to have ruled simultaneously for a few years, and after them, the throne was occupied by Bhadradeva's son [[Arikesari III]] (r. c. 946–968).{{sfn|Kolluru Suryanarayana|1993|p=6}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

=== Bibliography ===

{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |author=Jaisetty Ramanaiah |title=The Chalukya and the Kakatiya Temples: A Study |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yqwyAAAAIAAJ |year=1989 |publisher=Bharatiya Vidya Prakashan |isbn=978-81-217-0058-0 }}
* {{cite book |author=Kolluru Suryanarayana |title=Inscriptions of the Minor Chalukya Dynasties of Andhra Pradesh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d4PCyXslrNsC&pg=PA10 |year=1993 |publisher=Mittal |isbn=978-81-7099-216-5 }}
* {{cite book |author=N Venkataramanayya |title=The Chālukyas of L(V)ēmulavāḍa |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f8k7_1PaFCsCx |publisher=Archaeological Department, Government of Hyderabad |year=1953 |oclc=958874923 }}
* {{cite book |editor=Siba Pada Sen |title=Historical biography in Indian literature |url=https://archive.org/details/dli.bengal.10689.12220 |year=1979 |publisher=Institute of Historical Studies |oclc=7682686}}
{{refend}}

[[Category:Chalukya kings of Vemulavada]]
[[Category:9th-century Indian monarchs]]

Arikesari II - Revision history

Nidanayurveda at 17:44, 7 October 2025