Shantala was the queen of Vishnu Vardhana, the ruler of the Hoysala kingdom. Brought up as a Jain, Shantala believed in ahimsa or non-violence. Her husband, on the other hand, had a single minded ambition, to free Hoysala from the rule of the Chalukya Empire, whatever be the cost. He waged wars and unleashed death and destruction on hapless people.