Mangalesha

Mangalesha (IAST: Maṅgaleśa, r. c. 592 – c. 610 CE) was a king of the Chalukya dynasty of Vatapi in Karnataka, India. He succeeded his brother Kirttivarman I on the throne, and ruled a kingdom that stretched from southern Gujarat in north to Bellary-Kurnool region in the south, in the western part of the Deccan region. It included parts of present-day Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh.

Mangalesha expanded the Chalukya power in present-day Gujarat and Maharashtra after defeating the Kalachuri king Buddharaja. He also consolidated his rule in the Konkan coastal region of Maharashtra and Goa after conquering Revati-dvipa from the rebel Chalukya governor Svamiraja. His reign ended when he lost a war of succession to his nephew Pulakeshin II, a son of Kirttivarman I.

Mangalesha was a Vaishnavite, and constructed a Vishnu temple during the reign of his brother Kirttivarman I. He was tolerant of other sects, as evident by the Mahakuta Pillar inscription, which records his gift to a Shaivite shrine.