212 



Hindu Inseripttem, 



The circumstances of his usurping the throne of the Chalukyas, 

 and driving them from Kalyan, have already been stated, together 

 with the little that has been gathered of his son's contests with them. 

 He would probably have transmitted his throne to his posterity, had 

 not the growing sect of the Lingayats at this time arrived at such a 

 pitch of power and enthusiasm, under their celebrated founder Basava, 

 as to cost Vijala his kingdom and his life. 



The history of this revolution is contained in two works, called the 

 Basava Purana,* and the Vijala Cheritra, or i^ijalenkin Kavya, the 

 one the text-book of the Lingayats, the other of the Jains. But in 

 both there is such a preponderance of supernatural agency, and so 

 much legendary lore intermixed with historical facts, that it is difli- 

 cult to separate the truth from the fable. 



The Bijalenkin Kavya opens with a description of Bijala reigning 

 at Kalyan, over the Karnatakdes, in which were numerous Jain, 

 Vishnu, and Siva temples. His ensigns were the Lion, the Bull, and 

 the Goose; his troops consisted of 196,000 horse, 10,000 elephants, 

 and more than a lakh of foot soldiers. He had 1000 hill-forts, 1000 

 in the plain, and 1000 along the shore, and he was of the Somvansa 

 of the race of Pandu. f 



Basava was born atBagavadi,| in the Mudibahal Parganah, a few 

 miles N. of the lirishna, according to local tradition, though the Puran 

 ascribes that honour to the neigiibouring village of Ingleswar, His fa-- 

 ther's name was Madhu Bhatta, or Madiga raya, an Araddhya, or Saivak 

 Brahman; his mother was named Madalambiki,§ and he had a sister 

 named Padmavati, who is described as having been very beautilxil. 

 The family seem to have left Bagavadi and gone to Kalyan, where 

 Basava formed an alliance with the chief minister by marrying his 

 daughter, named Gangamba,|l soon after which, Vijala having seen 

 the beautiful Padmavati, became enamoured of, and married her* 

 and in consequence of these connexions her brother was appointed 

 minister and general (Danda Nayak adipati), in succession, to his 



* There are at least five diflteirent versions of this work, two of which are Kanarese, two 

 Sanscrit, and one Telugu. The two Kanarese versions are by Bhima Kavi and Yellendrs^ 

 Sadaksharapa, of which the former is most frequently met with, and has been here 

 jpoUowed, The Telugu version is by Som Aiaddhya, and the two Sanscrit ones are by 

 ghenkar Araddhya and Buslingapa. 



t "Vijala Cheritra, Book I. t Local tradition. 



i Liocal traditiou and Vijala Kavya,, !| B«isava Pvirana, 



