a. Vishnuvardhana 1108-1152 CE : Bittideva or Vishnuvardhana was the greatest Hoysala ruler. He was the son of Ereyanga, and he ascended the throne in 1108 CE. He had taken part in many wars during his brother Ballala-I’s reign. He gained a lot of experience in administration, as the Governor of Nanjangud province.

He had ambitions of making the Kingdom independent. He was the first Hoysala King to revolt against the Chalukyas of Kalyana and tried to establish an independent Kingdom. But, he was defeated by Vikramaditya-VL By his ability and might, he became a powerful ruler.

Military achievements of Vishnuvardhana:

1. War with Cholas: The aim of Vishnuvardhana was to defeat and expel the Cholas from Gangavadi. He sent an army to conquer Talakadu, Kolar and Mysore. He completely routed the Cholas from Gangavadi in the battle ofTalakadu in 1114 CE and took the title ‘Talakadugonda’. In commemoration of this victory, he built the Kirtinarayana temple at Talakadu and the Channakeshwara temple at Belur.

According to the Malavalli inscription. Vishnuvardhana himself chased the Cholas and occupied Kolar. Later, he drove back the Cholas uptoKanchi and earned the title Kanchigonda. From there, he raided Madurai and defeated Pandyas. After conquering Pandyas of Uchchangi in 1117 CE in the ‘Battle of Dumme’, he marched up to Rameshwara. He defeated the Nidugal Cholas and Cheras also.

2. Defeated the Kongalavas and Alupas: According to the Belur inscription, Vishnuvardhana defeated the Kongalava King and married his daughter Chandala Devi. While returning, he defeated Rattar of Halasagi and Alupas of South Canara.

Chamarajanagar inscription of 1117 CE, infers that Vishnuvardhana threatened the Todas, destroyed the Pallavas by killing their King Kala and made the Kongas run away.

3. War with the Chalukyas of Kalyana : Vishnuvardhana wanted to free his Kingdom from the yoke of Chalukyan imperialism. But, he was defeated by Vikramaditya – VI in 1118 CE in the battle of Kannegala The Chalukyan sovereign continued till the death of Vikramaditya-VI.

4. Titles of Vishnuvardhana : He had titles like Mahamandaleshwara, Chalukyamani, Mandalika Chudamani, Maleperolganda, Talakadugonda, Kanchigonda, Veeraganga, Nolambagonda, Kaliyaga Partha, Kirthinarayana, Vikramaganga, etc.,

5. Religious Policy : Vishnuvardhana became a great follower of Ramanuja and embraced Sri Vaishnavism. During his rule, Jainism had also attained the highest position. His Queen Shantala and general Gangaraja were devout jains. Gangaraja was given enough grants to renovate all the basadies in Gangavadi.Vishnuvardhana practised religious tolerance towards Basadies and temples at Talakadu, Belur, Melukote, Tonnur, Gadag, Bankapura, etc.

6. Art and Architecture : Vishnuvardhana was a great patron of art and architecture. During his regime, a unique style of temple building began. His period was called ‘the golden age of temple building’ and he laid the foundation for the Hoysala architecture.

Important temples built by him were the Channakeshwara and Kappechanniga temples at Belur, Kirtinarayana temple of Talakadu, Veeranarayana temples at Gadag and Tonnur, Chaluvanarayana temple at Melukote, Mahalakshmi temple of Doddagaddavalli and Gangadhareshwara temple at Shivaganga, etc.,

7. Literature : Vishnuvardhana encouraged literature too. Jain scholar Rajadhitya wrote Kshetragariitha, Vyavaharaganitha, and Leelavathi in Kannada. Nayasena wrote Dharmamrutha, Ramanujacharya wrote Vedanthasara, Vedanthadeepika, and Vedanthasangraha.