In the later part of his reign, Gangeya achieved military successes at his eastern and northern frontiers. In his 1037-38 CE Piawan rock inscription, Gangeyadeva assumes the imperial titles
Paramabhattaraka Maharajadhiraja Parameshvara. He also assumed the famous historical title
Vikramaditya. The Persian writer
Al-Biruni mentions him as the ruler of the Dahala country, and names his capital as "Tiauri" (Tripuri).
Eastern campaign Gangeyadeva invaded the
Utkala region in the east, where he is said to have "raised his own arm as a pillar of victory" on the eastern coast. In this campaign, he was probably assisted by the dynasty's
Ratnapura branch, whose ruler Kamalaraja is said to have vanquished the ruler of Utkala. The defeated ruler was probably the
Bhaumakara king Shubhakara II. The Kalachuri records claim that Gangeyadeva also defeated the ruler of the
Dakshina Kosala region. The defeated king was probably Yayati II of the
Somavamshi dynasty. However, Yayati also claims to have defeated the king of Chedi and to have devastated his Dahala country. Thus, it appears that neither side gained a decisive victory in this war. Gangeyadeva's son Karna assumed the title
Tri-Kalingadhipati ("Lord of three
Kalingas") in an inscription issued a year after the death of Gangeyadeva. It is possible that Karna inherited this title from his father, who might have assumed it after his successful campaign in the east (that is, the Kalinga region).
Northern conquests According to a fragmentary
Chandela inscription discovered at
Mahoba, Bhoja and "Kalachuri-Chandra" worshipped the Chandela king
Vidyadhara like scared pupils. Historians identify "Kalachuri-Chandra" (literally "Moon of the Kalachuris") with Gangeyadeva. According to one theory, Bhoja, aided by Gangeyadeva, invaded the Chandela kingdom, but Vidyadhara forced them to retreat. However, some scholars such as
K. M. Munshi believe that the Mahoba inscription is merely a boastful exaggeration. Later, Gangeyadeva expanded his kingdom in the north, as the Chandelas were weakened by
Ghaznavid invasions. He seems to have achieved significant success against the Chandelas, as even the Chandela records describe him as
jita-vishva ("world-conqueror"). A fragmentary
Mahoba inscription of the Chandelas claims that their king
Vijayapala broke the pride of Gangeyadeva in a battle. Gangeyadeva seems to have extended his control over the sacred cities of
Prayaga and
Varanasi, in the
Ganga-
Yamuna valley. According to the Kalachuri records, he died in Prayaga. The writings of the Muslim chronicler Baihqui indicate that Varanasi was under Gangeyadeva's control in 1033-1034 CE. Varanasi had earlier been under the Pala rule, at least until 1016 CE (the Sarnath stone inscription from
Mahipala is dated to this year). According to the Muslim chronicle, when
Ahmad Niyaltigin (the Ghaznavid governor of
Punjab) invaded Varanasi in 1033 CE, the city was under the rule of Ganga (that is, Gangeya-deva). The Ghaznavids plundered the city until noon, when they retreated, probably on the approach of the Kalachuri army. Kalachuri inscriptions also credit Gangeyadeva with successful campaigns in
Anga and Kira. Anga was ruled by the
Palas. Kira (or Kara) is identified with the
Kangra Valley. The Kangra Valley was held by the Ghaznavids, and Kalachuri claim of success in Kira appears to be a reference to Gangeyadeva's repulsion of the Ghaznavid attack. The colophon of a
Ramayana manuscript states that it was copied in
Tirhut (in present-day
Bihar), during the reign of Gangeyadeva. The manuscript describes the king as
garuda-dhvaja, an epithet that seems to suggest that the king was a devotee of the god
Vishnu, whose
vahana is the mythical bird
Garuda. English scholar
Cecil Bendall wrongly read the term as
gauda-dhvaja, based on which some scholars such as
R. C. Majumdar wrongly theorized that the epithet indicated the Kalachuri king's conquest of the
Gauda region in present-day
Bengal. Historian
V. V. Mirashi theorizes that the Gangeyadeva mentioned in the colophon was not a Kalachuri king at all: he belonged to a
Rashtrakuta branch. == Last days ==