He beautified Kalyana so that it surpassed in splendour all other cities of the earth.[१]
But in the midst of his victories and his prosperity, Ahavamalla was tormented by a deep sorrow. For he had no heir. At last he formed the resolution to lay aside for a while at princely pomp and to perform, together with his queen, severe penance in order to obtain a son through S'iva's favour. He, therefore, made over the kingdom to the care of his ministers and retired to a temple of S'iva. There the royal couple slept on the bare ground and entirely gave themselves up to devotional practices and to the service of the temple. The king gathered flowers for the worship of his guardian deity with his own hands and the queen swept the floor of the temple and smeared it with cowdung. After they had spent some time in this manner, the king, one morning when engaged in his prayers, heard a heavenly voice, which announced to him that S'iva, pleased with his faith and penance, was willing to grant him three sons, the second of whom would surpass in valour and virtues all the princes of the olden times. "Two sons, the voice added, will be born to thee by virtue of the merit acquired by thy works, but the second will come to thee by my favour alone." The
the same way Kuntala aud Karnata are used as synonyms to designate the kingdom of the Chalukyas.-Regarding the wars of Ahavamalla compare Jour. As. Soc. IV. 13 and Lassen J. A. IV. 105. The inscriptions support Bilhana's statement that Ahavamalla conquered the Chola king who had made an inroad into Kuntala, but they assert that the latter was slain. From Bilhana's statement it would appear, that there was more than one Chola war. The defeat of Bhoja is also mentioned in the inscriptions. But Dahala does not occur in the list of conquests, though it includes many countries of Central, Eastern,, and Northern India.
- ↑ II. 1-25. The word he made' might be also taken to indicate that he founded Kalyana. But this was not the case, as the town existed long before his time, compare e. g. Ind. Ant. I. 209.
