The destruction of Chalukya power under Pulakesi by Narasimhavarma led to a decade of chaos in the Chalukya territories, before Pulakesi’s son Vikramaditya I restored stability. This soon led to the Telugu Chodas and Banas shifting their allegiance to the Chalukyas.
It is possible that the Nolambas were the governors appointed by the Pallavas for a section of their territory during that period. There is no evidence that they belonged to the Pallava royal family but they used the Pallava royal emblems of Khatvanga (Nolamba Kattanga) and Samudraghosha (Kaduvaparaghosana).
The khatvanga is a skull made from a forearm or leg and the samudraghosha, a special type of drum used by the Pallavas. Their inscriptions indicate that they belonged to the Pallava dynasty, that they were of royal blood, or that they were Pallava governors, and trace their origins to Trilochana or Trinayana Pallavas, who defeated and killed the Chalukya Vijayaditya.
Although they were never major powers, their importance lay in their location—they, along with the Telugu Chodas, Vaidumbas, and Banas, acted as a rift separating the Tamil kingdoms (Chola/Pallava), the Eastern Chalukyas, the Chalukya Rashtrakutas, and the Western Ganga.
As part of the Dravidian Carnatic wars every army had to pass through Nolamba territory. The word Nolamba is of uncertain origin. The following possible sources are proposed for it.
1.The Kolhapur plates of Silaharagandaraditya dated 1115 AD mention a Nolamba descended from Nigumbha/Nikumbha, son of Kumbhakarna. This means that the Nolambas imitated the already established arrows that traced their origin to Banasura.
2.Kannada nol indicates forward. From the fact that Chalukyas or Pallavas had to advance through Nolambavadi for any battle, it is clear that Nolambalu was the first contact with the invading force. Nolumbus, in this sense progenitors or penetrators
3.Tamil Nulai means creep, an indication that they have come further from their tyranny.
4.Tamil Nulai also means to impress – They were Pallava vassals who impressed the Gangas and others as chief vassals under them. Like the root words Kulai or Varitransforming Kulambu and Varambu, Nulai transforms into Nulambu.
We must remember that they invented a name based on the Kannada Knoll, which refers to the Banas or the Penetrators, who are supposed to be the founders of Banasura.
Mangala Nolambadhiraja (735-785 AD):
Mangala Nolambaraju appears as a petty vassal who received praise from his overlords from Karnatu for defeating the Kiratas. Chalukya Vikramaditya II, as part of his Pallava invasion, invaded Nolambavadi and the province was given to the Western Gangas to rule. Mangala’s successor calls himself a Ganga vassal, indicating that he was defeated by Mangala or his son Vikramaditya II. It is important to note that the term Nolambavadi clearly indicates the presence of the Nolambs in that region for a long time.
Simhapota Kali Nolambaraju Kolliarasa (785-805 AD)
Rashtrakuta Dhruva III defeated Ganga Sivamara II and captured him in 778. Shivamara’s brother Duggamara Eireyappa ruled in his place. Simhapota’s first military exploit was to confront Duggamara on Shivamara’s orders. It is not known who won but the Nolambula feudatories were transferred to the Rashtrakutas as soon as the Rashtrakutas invaded the Gangavadi. Next was his fight against Alupachitravahanu II who rebelled against the Rashtrakutas. He has the titles of Pallavanvaya, Pallavakulatilakprithvivallabha and Panchamahasabda. One of his daughters, Madhavi, married into the Western Ganga family.
Parameswara Pallavadhiraja or Charuponnera (805-830 AD)
The death of Rashtrakuta Govinda III in 814 and the accession of Balaraja Amoghavarsha led to a rebellion among the Rashtrakuta feudatories. Three southern feudatories – the Nolambals under Charuponnera, the Gangus under Rachamalla and the Banas under Mahabali Bana rebelled and Charuponnera’s son Polalchora was married to Rachamalla’s daughter Jayabbe. A massive Bana invasion of the Ganga 6000 was defeated by a counter-attack on Bana and Pallava territories. When the war was at its critical stage Charuponnera died and his son Polalchora became king. Apart from this, Charuponnera led a massive invasion into the Telugu Choda territories and captured vast areas of their lands.
Polalchora I (830-875 AD)
Polalchora appears to have led the Ganga struggle, killed the Bana hero Aggalarasa, and led an invasion directly into Pallava territory. Kanchi was also besieged and vast tracts of Pallava territory were included in the Gangavadi. In recognition, Ganga handed over 6000 to the Nolambas, which invited the wrath of the Banas. On the other hand, the addition of Ganga 6000 made Nolumbus a major vassal under the Ganges. Polalchora may have been killed by Vengichalukya king Gunaga Vijayaditya.
Mahendra I (875-897)
Mahendra was born to Jayabbe, the daughter of Polalchora and Ganga Rachamalla. He married the sister of Ganga Nitimarga Ereyappa. The Baragur Edict of 878 is the oldest of his edicts. This date should be considered significant as it hints at the identity of Nolamba Mangi who was killed by the Eastern Chalukya Gunaga Vijayaditya. Mahendra advanced to Dharmapuri and destroyed both the Telugu Chodas and Mahabali’s arrows.
Around 878-883, Vijaya Narasimha Vikramavarma, a representative of the cadet branch of the Vaidumbas and Gangulas under Ereyammarasa, Bana king Veeramaditya I Banavidyadhara Jayamerubhupa, Vijaya Narasimha Vikramavarma, prominent in Soremadi, A powerful invasion of the Confederacy under D. . The defeat of Banas at Soremudi completely changed the face of the war. The Telugu Chodas, under Mahendra Vikrama, sided with Nolamba Mahendra I in this struggle because the Vaidumbus were a big threat to them. They seem to have occupied vast areas of Chola territory.
Marasimha was the son of Sivamara II
founded a separate branch of the Gangas, which lost importance as the main branch of the Ganges rose under Rachamalla and Nitimarga. This cadet branch had to migrate to Pallava territory. This line is very close to Banas. The head of the cadet branch, Prithvipati I married his daughter Kunduva to Bana Jayamerubhupa. It is not known how Prithvipati was related to Vijaya Narasimha Wickramavarma.
Also, it is important to note that the Pallava civil war (869-885) between Nripatunga and Aparajita created a situation of anarchy and feudalism and tried to preserve their position. The arrows, the Vaidumbus and Prithvipati, all sided with Aparajita. The civil war ended with the defeat of the Nripatunga faction with the support of Varaguna II Pandya and the establishment of Arajita on the throne. Although he was on the winning side, Prithvipati lost his life in the war.
An alternative view is that the war was fought in the first half of the century against 885 with Charuponnera and Rachamalla I on one side and Bana Vikramaditya and Ganga Prithvipati I on the other. After leading an invasion into Bana territory, Mahendra led his forces into the Pallava Empire, advancing as far as Amayyur/Ambur in 885 AD. As part of the same invasion, Vaidumbaereyammarasa’s son – Allagiparamendi is killed.
It can also be inferred that Prithvipati’s presence at Sripurambiam was mandatory, due to which he had to withdraw his forces from Soremadi leading to the defeat of his allies. It is also assumed that the Telugu Choda King Mahendra Vikrama also died in Sripurambiam. Thus this battle can be seen as an attempt to keep the Gangas and Nolambs from joining Sripurambiam. After this, for unknown reasons, Mahendra directly invaded Talakad, the capital city of the Ganges. Having some early successes, he was forced to turn east to stop the Vaidumba invasion instigated by the Ganges.
He seems to have taken his head again and turned to the west. But Ganga Rajamalla II, with the help of his brother Butuga and Butuga’s son Nitimarga, recaptured Gangavadi and killed Mahendra around 897, taking the title Mahendrantaka.
Nannigasrayayayappadeva (897-933)
He ascended the throne when the Ganga forces marched right into Nolambavadi taking Surur, Nandagiri, Midigesi, Suli Shailendra, Tipperu and Penjera. Ayyappa entered Asandhi Nadu but was defeated at Kanikatte. However, Ganga Rachamalla II seems to have decided to give up the fight and made Ayyappa his vassal as the ruler of Asandhinad.
By 900, relations between the two lines had normalized. It was hardly necessary – the Eastern Chalukyas under Bhima, the Cholas under Parantaka and the Rashtrakutas under Krishna II displayed their strength and the Nolambas guarded the Talakaduki gate. His daughter Polabbarasini was married to Ayyappa.
However, by 903 AD, the Ganga kingdom was conquered by the Rashtrakutas, who were ruled by the Rashtrakuta general Damapayya from Manne, the ancient capital of the Western Ganges. It was natural that the Nolambs were also suppressed and not much was known about Ayyappa for the next twenty years. By 919, the Rashtrakutas had retreated and Ayyappa issued edicts in his personal capacity. During the reign of Indra III, Ayyappa’s son Anniga invaded the Rashtrakuta territories and attacked Padugal. They appear to have been subdued again in the reign of Govinda IV as the Nolambs appear as chiefs of Kogali 500 and Maseyavadi 140.
Wars with the Eastern Chalukyas increased after the accession of Vijayaditya II. The death of Chalukya Bhima led to civil war in the territories of the Eastern Chalukyas and Ayyappa shouldered Tadapa and joined the fight. Ayyappa’s Dharmapuri inscription states that he defeated or killed Amma I, while Ayyappa, who was part of the Rashtrakuta invasion force, was killed by the Chalukya Bhima II, probably at Tumbepadi. However, Bhima did not advance, but returned to Vengi to consolidate his position.
All Bira Nolamba (934-940)
Born to Ganga princess Pollabarisi and Ayyappa, Anniga began his career under his father around 920 AD. The death of Ganga Nitimarga II led to a civil war in the Ganga territories between Bootuga II and Rachamalla III. After all, Nanniya, son of Prithvipati II and great-grandson of Prithvipati I, who died at Sripurambiam, invaded Gangavadi with the help of Ganga. He was defeated by Rachamalla III at Kottamangala near Heggadadevanakote. The Gangas again appear to have forgiven the Nolambas, but by 936 began to regard him as independent. However, Rashtrakuta Krishna III, Butuga’s father-in-law, advanced and defeated Rachamalla and Annigala by 937. A part of Nolambavadi was taken over by the Rashtrakutas. He was succeeded by his brother Irivanolamba Dilipa and not by his son Irulachora, who may have died before his father or his uncle Dilipa did not care to go near the Rashtrakutas.
Irivanolamba Dilipa (941-968)
By the time of Dilipa, the Banas had been driven out of their territory by the Cholas and the Nolambas and the Cholas shared a common border. It should be noted that Nolumbus lost Dharmapuri by the time of Dilipa. The armies of Nolumbus and Banas appear to have been part of the Rashtrakuta force that invaded Chola territory, killed the Chola crown prince Rajaditya at Takkolam, took Thanjavur and erected a victory pillar at Rameswaram. In later times, there was a reorganization of territories – the Banas were given Ganga 6000 and the Vaidumbas were moved to the Chittoor region by Krishna III.
Kattanemalla Chaladankakara Nanni Nolamba (969-975)
Not much is known about his reign except the fact that after the death of Krishna III the Rashtrakuta empire sank into a quagmire and the Nolumbus, who tried for their independence, were crushed by Ganga Marasimha II. Nanni seems to have allied himself with Nolamba Taila II in this battle. By 970, the defeat of Nolumbus was complete and Marasimha assumed the title of Nolambakulantaka. It is clear from the Sravanabelagola edict commemorating the death of Marasimha that the Nolambs were permanently driven out of their territory. He killed a scion of Rajaditya of the Chalukya family and then fell. Although there were successors to the name after that, they were not a force to be reckoned with for some time.
Although he claimed rule over Nolambavadi and Gangavadi, it is clear that he was a mere vassal without much authority. During his reign, the Nolambas and Chalukyas regained some southern territories under Jayasimha II, who married Jagadekamalla’s sister Revaladevi.
Jagadekamallairmadinolamba Pallava Permanadi (1037-1044)
Nothing is discernible from his reign and he was succeeded by his brother Trailokyamalla Nanni Nolamba.
Trailokyamalla Nanni Nolamba II Pallava Permanadi (1044-1054)
He was an active commander of his master Avahamallasomesvara I. The invasion of the Chola dynasty conquered the entire Nolamba territories and their capital city of Kampili was destroyed. They seem to have shifted to Kampili after their traditional capital city of Hemavati (Henjeru, Madakasira) fell into the hands of the Cholas / came very close to the Chola borders.
The Manimangalam inscription of Rajendra II states that Nanni was killed in the Nolamba War.
His death, it is possible, ended the Nolambas as a force to be reckoned with and the rest of the family would have disappeared from history as Chalukya governors. After that the Chalukyas may have borne the title Nolamba and the title may have slowly faded away, for we know of the first Trailokyamallanolamba Pallava Permanadi Jayasimhadeva who claims to be the son of Somesvara. Also note the fact that the Chalukyas surrendered. Whenever Vengi was not on the throne, Vengichalukya visited Vijayaditya via Nolambavadi. He is confirmed to be ruling Nolambavadi in 1062 and as early as 1022 the Nolambas may have been asked to move north to accommodate Vijayaditya.
Vira Mahendra Nolambaraja II (975-981)
Mahendra succeeded his grandfather Nanni Nolamba and succeeded Marasimha on the Ganga throne in 977 at the hands of Taila II, all of which changed with the death of Panchaladeva. Both his father Polalchora and possibly his grandfather Nanni Nolamba may have fallen in battle. Marasimha. The Nolambas again advanced from the north with the help of the Chalukyas, taking Nolambavadi and entering the Gangetic territories. He appears to have followed his master Taila II into the Chola country as part of an invasion force. He died young and his mother died and his brother Irivanolamba II succeeded him during the reign of the Kadamba princess.
Irivanolamba II Ghateyankakara (981-1024)
Slowly, the Cholas began to expand and by 990 entered Nolamba territory. By 1002, the southern part of Nolambavadi was incorporated into the Chola territories. Some descendants of the Nolamba family switched their allegiance to the Cholas, while the Nolambas ruled the northern regions under Chalukya vassals. Nothing is known of Iriva before 1010, his first edict. By marrying his daughter Mahadevi to Iriva, the Chalukya Satyasraya continued the succession of the Nolambas and Kadambas to the Chalukya crown.
