Indra Varma is considered to be the first ruler of the Vishnukundin dynasty. He might have carved out a small principality for himself probably as a subordinate of the Vakataka

Vakataka

The Vākāṭakas were a royal Indian dynasty that originated from the Deccan in the mid-third century CE. Their kingdom is believed to have extended from the southern edges of Malwa and Gujarat in the north to the Tungabhadra River in the south as well as from the Arabian Sea in the western to the...

s sometime about the last quarter of the fourth century CE. Not much information is known about the next two kings, Madhav Varma I and his son Govinda Varma. They might have kept intact the inheritance or extended their sway to some extent.