Veera Ballala II (reigned 22 July 1173–1220) was the most notable king of theHoysala Kingdom. His successes against theYadavas of Devagiri, theSouthern Kalachuris, thePandyas of Madurai and the waningWestern Chalukya Empire, and his domination over the diminishingCholas of Tanjore took the Hoysalas to the peak of their power.^[1][2][3][4] The historian Chaurasia claims that by the end of the 12th century, Ballala II's conquests had made the Hoysalas the most powerful dynasty of Deccan.^[5] According to historian Derrett, Ballala II was "the most outstanding among Hoysala kings", and historian William Coelho in comparing Ballala II to KingVishnuvardhana writes, "he vied in glory with his grandfather".^[6]

His court was adorned with some of the most notable of medievalKannada language poets including the Jain poetsJanna andNemichandra, and the Brahman poetRudrabhatta.^[7][8] According to the historians Chopra et al., during his rule, the Hoysala kingdom consolidated into an independent empire commencing an age of "Hoysala imperialism".^[9] His architectural legacy includes numerous ornate temples, theKedareshwara temple, theVeera Narayana temple and theAmrutesvara temple.^[7] He was ably supported in war and in administrative matters by his son, princeVira Narasimha II, and crowned queen Umadevi. His other queen Cholamahadevi was aChola princess. His daughter Somaladevi was given in marriage to the Chola monarchKulothunga Chola III.^[7]

Ballala II's ascendancy to the Hoysala throne on 22 July 1173 was preceded by his successful rebellion against his weak fatherNarasimha I with the help of somemalnad chiefs, such as the Chengalvas and the Kongalvas.^[10] He later ensured the same chiefs' could not rise against him.^[6] In the late 12th century, the weakening Chalukya throne became the bone of contention between the main vassals, the Yadavas, the Hoysalas and the Kalachuris. Aroundc. 1168, the Kalachuri KingBijjala II had gained control of the Chalukyan capitalBasavakalyan (then called Kalyani, in modernBidar district of Karnataka state). According to historian Kamath, inc. 1171, an ambitious Ballala tasted first victory against Pandya king Kavadeva of the Uchchangi family. This was followed by the annexation ofHangal inc. 1178. But an attempt by him to invade Belvola-300 inc. 1179 led to his defeat by Kalachuri commander Sankama who seized Hangal. According to Chopra et al., inc. 1179, a Kalachuri invasion into the Hoysala territory resulted in a truce with Ballala II agreeing to accept nominal subordination and to help the Kalachuri in their designs against the Chalukyas.[6]^[9][11] However, byc. 1183, the Kalachuris themselves were in serious decline due to the inept rule of the sons of Bijjala II. The last Chalukya scion,Someshvara IV, was back in control of his capital Basavakalyan with help from the Kalachuri commander Brahma.

The real contention now, for the territories in theKrishna-Tungabhadra doab region was between the Yadava KingBhillama V and the Hoysala monarch Ballala II.^[11] Byc. 1189, Basavakalyana had fallen to Bhillama V who nevertheless failed to gain recognition from Chalukya vassals such as theRattas, theKadambas ofBanavasi and theShilahara. Taking advantage of this uncertainty, Ballala II led several expeditions to Banavasi against the exiled Chalukya King Someshvara VI and defeated him byc. 1190. Inc. 1191, the Hoysala monarch gained the upper hand over Yadava Bhillama V in the critical battles of Soratur andLakkundi (in the modernGadag district) where he appears to have spent much time consolidating his gains. Thus, Ballala II was able to push the northern boundaries of the Hoysala empire up to theMalaprabha River andKrishna Rivers.^[11] Byc. 1192, Ballala II had crowned himself the emperor over the entire modern Karnataka region. A record of his datedc. 1196 claims him victorious over several minor ruling families including those of Banavasi, Hangal,Halashi, Nolambavadi (Nolamba dynasty), Bagalkot, and Gulbarga (Yelburgi) indicating he had complete control over the rich Tungabhadra-Krishna River region. Afterc. 1212, he lost all these territories north of the Tungabhadra River to Yadava king Singhana II.[7]

Aroundc. 1216, Maravarman Sundara Pandya ascended the throne at Madurai. To seek revenge for the humiliation of his elder brother Jatavarman Kulashekara by the Chola monarch Kulothunga III, he invaded the Chola territory and drove Kulothunga into exile. Kulothunga III sought the help of the Hoysalas.[12]^{[13][14][15][16]} Ballala II promptly sent his forces under the command of prince Narasimha II who succeeded in repulsing the Pandya and re-establishing the Chola kingdom. With this victory, Ballala II not only assumed imperial titles such asCholarajyapratishtacharya ("Establisher of the Chola kingdom"),Hoysala Chakravarti ("Hoysala emperor") andDakshina Chakravarti ("Emperor of the south"), he also brought under his direct control parts of the richKaveri plains around Srirangam (central Tamil Nadu). A Hoysala army was left standing in Kanchi to pursue hostilities with the Telugu Chodas and their overlords, theKakatiya dynasty.^{[12][13][14][15][16]} In words of historian John Keay, "Gloriously if briefly the Hoysalas were paramount throughout most of the Kannada speaking Deccan, and could pose a arbiters in the lusher lands below the Eastern Ghats".^[17]

Veera Ballala II was a great patron of Kannada literature. Janna, one of the most influential Kannada poets of the 13th century, graced his court and was honored with the titleKavichakravarthi ("Emperor among poets"). His most noteworthy writing and magnum opus, theYashodhara Charitre (c. 1209) deals withJaintenets.^[18][19] Nemichandra was court poet to both Ballala II and theShilahara King Lakshmana ofKholapur. He wroteLilavati Prabandha (aboutc. 1170), the earliest available romantic true fiction in Kannada, and an unfinished Jain epic calledNeminathapurana at the instance of Ballala II's minister.[8]^[20] Rudrabhatta, a noteworthy Brahman writer of the late 12th century was patronized by the king and one of his ministers. He composed theJagannatha Vijaya inc. 1180, the earliest availableVaishnava epic in the Kannada language.^[21][22]

Ballala II's rule saw the proliferation of the temple construction adhering to theVesara architecture, a style first made popular by theWestern Chalukyas.^[23] Some of the best known temples built during his rule were the Kedareshwara temple at Halebidu, the Veera Narayana temple at Belavadi, the Amrutesvara Temple at Amruthapura and the twin ensemble of theChennakeshava and Nageshvara temples at Mosale.^[7][24][25]

Ballala II donated Meruhalli village and other lands in 1174 CE for providing food to Jain monks.^[26] He further gifted two villages to Vajranandi-Siddhantadeva for the same purpose.^[26] Nanjedevaragudda stone inscription of 1192 CE describes the donations by Hoysala rulers and subjects for Jain monks at Abhinava Shantideva temple at Somepur,Hassan district.^[26]

• Chopra, P.N.; Ravindran, T.K.; Subrahmanian, N (2003) [2003].History of South India (Ancient, Medieval and Modern) Part 1. New Delhi: Chand Publications.ISBN 81-219-0153-7.
• Foekema, Gerard (1996) [1996].A Complete Guide To Hoysala Temples. New Delhi: Abhinav.ISBN 81-7017-345-0.
• Kamath, Suryanath U. (2001) [1980].A concise history of Karnataka: from pre-historic times to the present. Bangalore: Jupiter books.LCCN 80905179.OCLC 7796041.
• Keay, John (2000) [2000].India: A History. New York: Grove Publications.ISBN 0-8021-3797-0.
• Majumdar, Ramesh Chandra (1977) [1952].Ancient India. New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.ISBN 81-208-0436-8.
• Narasimhacharya, R (1988) [1988].History of Kannada Literature. New Delhi, Madras: Asian Educational Services.ISBN 81-206-0303-6.
• Rice, E.P. (1982) [1921].A History of Kanarese Literature. New Delhi: Asian Educational Services.ISBN 81-206-0063-0.
• Sen, Sailendra Nath (1999) [1999].Ancient Indian History and Civilization. New Age Publishers.ISBN 81-224-1198-3.
• Sastri, K.A. Nilakanta (2002) [1955].A history of South India from prehistoric times to the fall of Vijayanagar. New Delhi: Indian Branch, Oxford University Press.ISBN 0-19-560686-8.
• Singh, Ram Bhushan Prasad (2008) [1975],Jainism in Early Medieval Karnataka,Motilal Banarsidass,ISBN 978-81-208-3323-4
• Thapar, Romila (2003) [2003].The Penguin History of Early India. New Delhi: Penguin Books.ISBN 0-14-302989-4.

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