Vinayaditya

Vinayaditya ruled the Chalukya kingdom from 681 to 696. He was the son of Vikramaditya I and the successor of the Chalukya kingdom. Similar to his forefathers, he took up titles such as "Shri-Prithivi-Vallabha", "Satyasraya", "Yuddhamalla" and "Rajasraya". He carried campaigns against the Pallavas, Kalabhras, Haihayas, Vilas, Cholas, Pandyas, Gangas and many more. He levied tribute from the kings of Kavera, Parasika (Iran), Sinhala (Ceylon). He acquired the banner called Palidhvaja by defeating the Lord of the entire Uttarapatha. (The name of the Lord of Uttarapatha is not known or mentioned anywhere).

campaigns of Vinayaditya Inscriptions speak of many victories to Vinyaditya. He had fought alongside his father against the Pallavas. According to the Jejuri record of 684, he defeated the Pallavas, Kalabhras, Keralas (Cheras, the rulers of western Tamil Nadu and central Kerala ) and the Kalachuris of central India. From the Kolhapur plates of 678, it can be seen that he defeated the kingdoms of Lanka and Kamera, which according to Dr. S. Nagaraju was Khmer or Cambodia. The Vakkaleri plates confirm the Chalukya levying tribute on Kamera, Lanka and Parasika (Persia).

According to Dr. Sircar, it is very possible that the chiefs of Lanka and Persia may have sought protection from the Chalukya, considering the unstable political situation in those countries. During this time, Persia was under Islamic invasion. Vinayaditya sent an expedition to the north under the command of his son Vijayaditya. According to some accounts, Vijayaditya was captured and held prisoner and after a period of incarceration, escaped and returned to the Chalukyan kingdom to be crowned the monarch of the empire. Vinayaditya sent an ambassador to the Chinese court in 692. Vijayaditya succeeded his father in 696. During the later years of the reign of his father, Vikramaditya I, Crown Prince Vinayaditya is described by historian Durga Prasad Dikshit as commanding the Chalukya army against a confederacy of the southern powers. Dikshit interprets Chalukya inscriptions as indicating that Vinayaditya defeated the Pallavas, Cholas, Pandyas and Cheras under the leadership of Parameśvaravarman I, bringing about a temporary lull in the Pallava–Chalukya conflict.

Dikshit states that Chalukya records of Vinayaditya and his successors emphasize this victory over the southern confederacy, which he identifies as consisting of the Pallavas, Cholas, Pandyas and Cheras led by Parameśvaravarman I. Historian K. V. Ramesh suggests that after the Pandya ruler Arikesari Maravarman revolted against Chalukya supremacy, Vikramaditya I dispatched his crown prince Vinayaditya at the head of a punitive expedition into the Pandya kingdom. According to Ramesh, Vinayaditya successfully suppressed the revolt and restored Chalukya authority in the far south. According to K. V. Ramesh, the Alampur praśasti records that, acting on the orders of his father Vikramaditya I, the crown prince Vinayaditya marched south against the Pandya ruler. Ramesh translates the inscription as stating that Vinayaditya defeated the Pandya king, captured his capital at Madurai, occupied Kumari-dvipa (Cape Comorin), and took the Pandya ruler prisoner. Ramesh further states that the campaign formed part of Vikramaditya I's wider operations against the Pallavas and the three Tamil kingdoms. According to M. S. Nagaraja Rao, after the capture of Kanchipuram, Paramesvaravarman I escaped to Andhra, where the Pallava chiefs are believed to have revived a confederacy under the leadership of the Kanchi ruler. Rao suggests that Crown Prince Vinayaditya fought against this confederacy while assisting his father Vikramaditya I. Citing a viragal (hero stone) discovered at Hiremadhure in Challakere Hobli, which records the death of Sri Dasiamman, the servant of a Konguni chieftain, during Vikramaditya's capture of Kanchi, Rao interprets the inscription as referring to a battle between the Chalukya princes and a confederacy of Pallava chiefs. He further suggests that the engagement may have ended in favour of the Chalukyas. M. S. Nagaraja Rao discusses the identification of Kamēra, a place mentioned in the records of Vinayaditya. Earlier scholars had identified Kamēra with the Kaveri region, interpreting it as a locality associated with the river. Rao rejects this interpretation, noting that the inscriptions describe Kamēra as a dvīpa (island country) alongside regions such as Pārasika (Persia) and Ceylon, indicating a maritime territory beyond the Indian mainland. He suggests that Kamēra may instead be identified with Khmer (Cambodia), observing that the term "Khmer" survives among the inhabitants of Cambodia. Rao further argues that the early Chalukyas maintained a powerful navy and that, after suppressing Pallava influence, Vinayaditya extended Chalukya influence over Kamēra and other island territories by receiving tribute from them.

Rule Vinayaditya converted a village named Hadagile in Beluvala-300 into a dana-shala (charity-house) in year 683.