Durvinita


Durvinita is seen as the most successful ruler of the Western Ganga dynasty. Son of the previous ruler, Avinita, Durvinita's accession to the throne was disputed by his brother, who had gained the support of the Pallavas and Kadambas. There are Nallala and Kadagattur inscriptions that refer to this dispute. However, Durvinita managed to grab the throne by virtue of his valour.

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.

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 latter 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.

Religion and literature

The early Gangas were worshipers of the Hindu god Vishnu. However Durvinita had a Jaina guru called Pujyapada and his court was adorned with several Jain scholars. This tolarance was common among later Ganga kings, who actually took to Jainism in the later centuries. Durvinita was an able warrior as well as a man of letter and the fine arts. Kavirajamarga, the 850 CE Kannada classic hails him as one of the early writers in Kannada language prose, though his Kannada writings are not available. The renowned Sanskrit poet Bharavi is known to have visited the Western Ganga court during this period. Durvinita wrote a commentary on the fifteenth canto of Bharavi's Kiratarjuniya. He translated into Sanskrit Vaddakatha or Brihatkatha written originally by Gunadya in the Prakrit language. He also authored a writing called Sabdavatara. His prowess in the battle field, knowledge of war instruments and arms, political science, medicine, music and dance has been eulogized in the Nallala grant inscription.

Legacy

Durvinita is mentioned as a notable Kannada prose writer in one of the works of Amoghavarsha.