Vinayaditya of Podana
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Vinayaditya (r. c. 750-775 CE) alias Yuddhamalla I, was an Indian ruler from the Vemulavada Chalukya dynasty. He was most probably a vassal of the Rashtrakuta king Dantidurga, and his capital was likely located at Podana (modern Bodhan); his successors moved the capital to Vemulavada.
| Chalukyas of Vemulavada (750–1161 CE) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
A Vemulavada inscription states that Vinayaditya ruled over the Sapadalaksha country, which could not be governed by others.[1] The Sanskrit term "Sapadalaksha" (or "Savalakhkhe" in vernacular, literally "125,000 [villages or revenue units]") has been used to describe several distinct regions in the early medieval Indian records, including the Sapadalaksha area in present-day Rajasthan.[2]
Some scholars, including N Venkataramanayya identify the Sapadalaksha of the Vemulavada inscription with the Sapadalaksha of present-day Rajasthan.[3][4] According to this theory, Vinayaditya probably accompanied his overlord Dantidurga during the Rashtrakuta campaigns against the Gurjara-Pratiharas, and controlled a part of Rajasthan during the Rashtrakuta occupation of that territory.[3] The Vemulavada inscription also credits Vinayaditya with conquering the reputedly inaccessible Chitrakuta fort, although other records of the dynasty, such as the Vikramarjuna Vijayam and the Parbhani copper-plate inscription, do not mention this conquest.[1] According to Venkataramanayya, it is possible that the conquered fort was the modern Chittor Fort (originally called "Chitrakuta"), located in the ancient Sapadalaksha region.[5]
However, other scholars, including Madhusudan Dhaky and Jaisetty Ramanaiah, identify the Sapadalaksha of the Vemulavada inscription with Kosavalam Savalakhe, a historical region in present-day Telangana.[6][7] This region was centered around Podana (modern Bodhan), which was probably Vinayaditya's capital.[7] The Vemulavada inscription states that Vinayaditya had his elephants bathed in a reservoir filled with oil, at Podana. Pampa's Vikramarjuna Vijayam similarly states that he had 500 elephants bathed in several dirghikas (ponds) filled with oil.[1]