Mangalesha (IAST: Maṅgaleśa, r. ) was a king of the Chalukya dynasty of Vatapi in Karnataka, India. He succeeded his brother Kirttivarman I on the throne, and ruled a kingdom that stretched from southern Gujarat in north to Bellary-Kurnool region in the south, in the western part of the Deccan region. It included parts of present-day Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh.
Mangalesha expanded the Chalukya power in present-day Gujarat and Maharashtra after defeating the Kalachuri king Buddharaja. He also consolidated his rule in the Konkan coastal region of Maharashtra and Goa after conquering Revati-dvipa from the rebel Chalukya governor Svamiraja. His reign ended when he lost a war of succession to his nephew Pulakeshin II, a son of Kirttivarman I.
Mangalesha was a Vaishnavite, and constructed a Vishnu temple during the reign of his brother Kirttivarman I. He was tolerant of other sects, as evident by the Mahakuta Pillar inscription, which records his gift to a Shaivite shrine.
Names and titles
The name "Mangalesha" literally means "prosperous lord". Several variants of this name appear in the dynastic records, including Mangaleshvara, Mangalisha, Mangalaraja, and Mangalarnava ("ocean of auspiciousness"). The 578 CE Badami inscription calls him Mangalishvara.
His regal titles included Shri-prithvi-vallabha, Prithvi-vallabha, Maharaja, Rana-vikranata ("puissant in war"), and Uru-rana-vikranta ("puissant like Uru in war").
Early life
Mangalesha was a son of the Chalukya king Pulakeshin I. His Mahakuta Pillar inscription refers to Pulakeshin's wife Durlabha-devi as his "father's wife", which suggests that Durlabha-devi was his step-mother.
Mangalesha succeeded his elder brother Kirttivarman I, who was probably his half-brother, and who was survived by at least three underage sons. The inscriptions of the later Chalukyas of Kalyani claim that Mangalesha "took upon himself the burden of administration" because Kirttivarman's son Pulakeshin II was a minor. However, these inscriptions also wrongly claim that Mangalesha returned the kingdom to Pulakeshin II when Pulakeshin II grew up, praising the Chalukya lineage for such exemplary behaviour. This claim is contradicted by Pulakeshin II's own Aihole inscription, and appears to be a late attempt to gloss over Pulakeshin II's overthrow of Mangalesha. It is possible that Mangalesha initially ruled as a regent, but later decided to usurp the throne.
Historian K. V. Ramesh theorizes that Mangalesha administered the kingdom during the lifetime of Kirttivarman, who remained pre-occupied with military campaigns. According to Ramesh, Kirttivarman and Mangalesha may have taken turns in alternately administering the kingdom and leading military campaigns.
Period
Mangalesha's own inscriptions are not dated in any specific calendar era, which makes the determination of his exact regnal period uncertain. Kirttivarman's last extant inscription is dated 578 CE (year 500 of the Shaka era), so Mangalesha's reign must have started sometime after this year. J. F. Fleet assigned the beginning of Mangalesha's reign to 597-598 CE based on his reading of the Mahakuta Pillar inscription, but this view is no longer considered correct.