Conquest of the Hoysala kingdom of Dwarasamudra
The Khalji Dynasty is deemed to be at its highest during 1310, when it had its needle on the entirety of North India and two of the most important kingdoms of Deccan. The Delhi Sultanate had gathered enough wealth, by a number of conquests, attacks, and plunders, that could last for the next two centuries. Further, continuous tributes were received by the Deccan kingdoms of Yadava and Kakatiya rulers, but the fire in the eyes of Alauddin Khalji was not subdued and that’s why he needed more and more regions to be subdued under the Delhi Sultanate. The spread of Islam was also an important goal and expansion was thought to be a step toward achieving the goals. This can be verified as the royal families of the subdued kingdoms were often forced to convert to Islam.
It was after the conquest of Warangal that an invasion was ordered by Alauddin Khalji to the kingdom of Dwarasamudra on advice of Malik Kafur who predicted much more wealth in the region. The wealth and prosperity of this southern region of the Indian subcontinent could be seen by the great developments of forts and the formulation of temples. Later it was noticed that much of the wealth was available in the form of Gold.
The reasons of Expedition
1310 was the period when the Delhi Sultanate under the Khalji dynasty was capable enough to acquire and capture any kingdom it desired and in his conquest of Devagiri and conquest of Warangal, his general Malik Kafur had learned and explored about the region south of Warangal. The region was considered highly prosperous. After his return to Delhi, Malik Kafur expressed his desire to lead a conquest of the Hoysala kingdom of Dwarasamudra and his desire was appreciated by Alauddin Khalji. The motive in the mind of Malik Kafur was the plunder and loot of the region. However, according to some chronicles like Amir Khusrau, the objective of the conquest was the spread of Muslim rule in India and establish the “rule of Sharia”.
The army led by Malik Kafur left Delhi in November 1310, and it was in a very powerful position due to the support led by the Yadava and Kakatiya kingdoms.
The attack on Dwarasamudra
The march on Dwarasamudra started in November 1310 and the Delhi army reached Devagiri in February 1311. Just after leaving Devagiri, they got assistance from Ramachandra's general Parasuram Deva who was instructed and ordered to provide the best support to the Delhi army. Parsuram Deva helped the Delhi army and Malik Kafur to seek out a strategy against the Hoysalas of Dwarasamudra. By the assistance of Parsuram Deva, Malik Kafur came to know of an existing rivalry between the Pandya brothers Vira and Sundara, which could be taken advantage of. Further there was the information about the Hoysala king Veera Ballala III, who had left his capital to plunder cities in the Pandya territory but returned when he heard about the presence of the Delhi army in Deccan.
There could have been a situation where the advantage of the absence of the king could have been taken, but now the king had returned and was even more cautious than prior. The other strategy that the Malik Kafur came up with was the attack on Dwarasamudra before the king could get adequate time for the preparation of an ideal army. It was not possible for the Delhi army too to reach the destination in such a short time and therefore Malik Kafur hand-picked and created a special force of 10,000 soldiers who under his leadership led an attack on Dwarasamudra. After this the army reached Dwarasamudra within the period of 12 days.
After this 12-day journey, Malik Kafur and the rest of the Delhi army surrounded the local fort which was surrounded by water. During this time, the advisors of the king Ballala asked and requested him to urge the war, keeping the respect and prestige of the kingdom at priority but he did not come to any of the direct conclusions and did not wage a direct fight except for some small conflicts.
King Ballala sent his men to get the information about the invading army and was eventually shocked when he came to know about the strength and power of the invading army and also when he came to know that the rival army had already subdued the kings of Devagiri and Warangal. He also learnt that invaders were planning to attack his fort the next day.
Balak Deva Nayaka and other envoys were taken out of the fort the next morning by King Ballala for taking out the truce. Malik Kafur offered the following terms to the Hoysalas: they were given the option to either accept the Islam or to pay tribute to the Delhi Sultanate. The Hoysalas agreed to pay the tribute. This event represents the ideology of the Hindu rulers of the medieval era that a Hindu king could easily give up everything but could not leave his religion.
Malik Kafur sent two of his Hindu representatives to the king to carry out the truce without any misunderstanding on the request of the king. King Ballala accepted the terms and told the messengers that he was ready to give up all of his belongings except the sacred thread; again representing the respect persuaded by the Hindu kings towards their religion. Further he promised to pay an annual tribute to the Delhi Sultanate in future. Kafur too agreed on the terms and in return agreed to leave Dwarasamudra without any violence. The same day, King Ballala sent his envoys Balak Deva Nayak, Main Deva, Jitmal and others outside the fort. They bowed in front of the royal canopy and presented 36 elephants as offerings. Horses were also sent by the king after a few days. Finally, after a few days the king himself came and bowed before the royal canopy, surrendering all of his treasures.
After reaching Kanchipuram on the midnight of 15th March 1311, Malik Kafur ordered the massacre of its sleeping inhabitants, smashed the idol at the temples and plundered the golds and gems. The devotees who came to protect their deity were killed and the temple razed to ground. Later he went to Madurai, set fire to the temple, and departed to Delhi with the loot.
Aftermath
The army led by Malik Kafur paused in Dwarasamudra for 12 days waiting for the rest of the army to catch up. He left the Hoysala kingdom after an easy win by March 1311.
Malik Kafur was not less farsighted than Alauddin Khalji. Just after the siege of Dwarasamudra, he immediately started planning the attack on the Pandya Kingdom.
While retreating for the Pandya kingdom and after reaching the southern area of Dwarasamudra, Kanchipuram on the midnight of 15th March 1311, Malik Kafur ordered the massacre of its sleeping inhabitants, smashed the idol at the temples and plundered the golds and gems. With rich booty he departed to Delhi.
For the Pandya kingdom, he already had the insider information of the rivalry between two brothers and now had the assistance of King Ballala to raid the Pandya territory. When King Ballala visited Delhi after the plunder of the Pandya territory, Alauddin was pleased and impressed by his loyalty and granted the king of Hoysalas a robe of honour, a crown, a chhatr, and a gift of 1 million tankahs (coins).
After a few years post-siege, the Hoysala ruler withheld the payment of tribute. During the rule of Mubarak Shah, a force was sent to Dwarasamudra and was defeated by one of the officers of Ballala, Katari Saluva and forced to retreat.
The entire siege of Dwarasamudra represents the strength and power of the army of Delhi Sultanate and further the impression towards the religion of the Hindu kings.
