Durvinita
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Durvinita (529 - 579 CE) is hailed as the most important ruler of the Western Ganga Dynasty. His assession to the throne was disputed as his stepbrother had gained the support of the Pallavas and Kadambas. There are Nallala and Kadagattur inscriptions that refer to this dispute. However, Durvinitha managed to grab the throne by virtue of his valour.
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[edit] Hostilities with Pallavas and Kadambas
During Durvinita's rule, the hostilities between the Pallavas and Gangas came to forefront and several pitched battles were fought by the two kingdoms. Durvinita defeated the Pallavas in the battle of Anderi. Though the Pallavas sought the assistance of the Kadambas to the north to tame Durvinita, the Gummareddipura inscription hails that Durvinita overcame his enemies at Alattur, Porulare and Pernagra. It is possible that these victories enabled him to extend his power over Kongudesa and Tondaimandalam regions of Tamil country. He may have also made Kittur his capital.
[edit] Ties with Chalukyas
Durvinita was a clever king. In order to keep the Pallavas at bay, he gave his daughter to Chalukya Vijayaditya or from the Nagara record to Pulakesi II, though the later is unlikely owing to the difference in their eras. The Chalukyas were an emerging power at this time. When the Pallavas attacked the Chalukyas, he fought on the Chalukya side and cemented a long lasting friendship with the Chalukyas that lasted through the rule of both the Badami Chalukyas, Rashtrakutas and Kalyani Chalukyas, covering a period of over 600 years.The Gummareddipura and the Uttanur plates describe Durvinita as the Lord of Punnata.
[edit] Religion & Literature
The early Gangas were worshipers of Vishnu. However he had a Jaina guru called Pujyapada and his court was adorned with several Jaina scholars. This tolarence was common among later Ganga kings, who actually took up Jainsm. While Durvinita was an able warrior he was also a man of letter and art. Kavirajamarga hails him as one of the early writers in Kannada, though his Kannada works are thought to be extinct. The renowned Sanskrit poet Bharavi is said to have visited the Ganga court during this period. Durvinita wrote a commentary on the fifteenth canto of Bharavi's Kiratarjuniya. He translated into Sanskrit Vaddakatha or Brihatkatha of Gunadya originally written in Prakrit. He also authored a work called Sabdavatara. His prowess in the battle field, knowledge of war instruments and arms, political science, medicine, music and dance has been written about in the Nallala grant.
[edit] References
- Dr. Suryanath U. Kamat, Concise history of Karnataka, 2001, MCC, Bangalore (Reprint 2002)
