Early Cholas

Not much authentic information is available about the Early CholaAs per the traditions, the Chola Country or Cholamandalam was the area bound on the North by the Pennar, South by the Vellaru River, at ..... Kingdom. The main source of its knowledge is the Sangam LiteratureThe scientific analysis of the Sangam literature says that this work was composed in 120-150 years and most of the literature was composed from 100 ...... The other sources are Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, which is a work of an anonymous merchant of Alexandria, works of Ptolemy, Mahavamsa- the Buddhist Text of Ceylon, Pillars of AsokaAshokavardhana or Asoka was governor of Taxila and Ujjain during the reign of his father Bindusara. The Sri Lankan texts represent Asoka as "wading through ....., Hathigumpha description of Kharvela- the Kalinga King and other numerous stone inscriptions found at various parts in the Southern Peninsula.

Karikala CholaThe most significant Early Chola ruler is Karikala Chola, who ruled around 270 BC and is mentioned in the Sangam Literature. The meaning of his .....

The most significant Early Chola ruler is Karikala Chola, who ruled around 270 BC and is mentioned in the Sangam Literature. The meaning of his name "Kari + Kalan" refers to "Slayer of Elephants" but also means "the one with burnt limbs". This indicates a fire accident in his early age, which left his legs charred. One of the Sangam Poems testifies this. Karikala Chola is best known for winning the famous "Battle of Venni" in which both the Pandyas and Cheras were crushed by him. The current location of Venni is near Thanjaur.The "Battle of Venni" was a turning point in his career and he was established as a firm power in the South. Some legends say that he won the whole of Ceylon Kingdom, after the Battle of Venni.

World's earliest water-regulator structure in stone at Kallanai (Grand Anicut)on River Cauvery was built by Karikala Chola. It was constructed mainly to divert the water from Cauvery River for irrigation. This dam stands as a huge mass of 329 meters (1,080 feet) long and 20 meters (60 feet) wide, across the main stream of the Cauvery and is a major tourist attraction today.

Outline of Chola Empire

Contents [hide]

• Early Cholas
• Dark Period
• Medieval Cholas
• Later Cholas

As per the traditions, the Chola Country or Cholamandalam was the area bound on the North by the Pennar, South by the Vellaru River, at Eastern Coast of Bay of Bengal from Nellore and Pudukottai to west until Coorg. Its most ancient capital was Uraiyur, near the Trichurapalli in Tamil Nadu. Therefore, the heartland was the fertile valley of the river Cauvery.

The Chola dynasty is one of the longest ruling dynasties of South India, and it existed from 300 BC until late 13th century AD, though the territorial limits kept varying from time to time. This period of around 1500 years can be divided into 4 parts as follows:

• Early Cholas
• Dark Period
• Medieval Cholas
• Later Cholas

Early Cholas

The Early Cholas refer to the Chola Kingdom of the Sangam Age from 300 BC to 200 AD. Most of the information about this, we have in the form of Sangam Literature, legends and religious texts of Buddhism and Jainism. Most siginificant ruler of the early Cholas is Karikala Chola. Read about Early Cholas Here.

Dark Period

After this early Chola Kingdom fell, there is a dark period, in which they existed but insignificantly.

Medieval Cholas

The rise of the Medieval Cholas is from 850 AD when Vijayalaya Chola of Thanjaur re-established the Chola Power in South India. These Chola Kings ruled till 1070 AD and the Cholamandalam flourished. The important rulers of these Cholas included:

• Vijayalaya Chola
• Aditya Chola I
• Parantaka Chola I
• Rajaraja Chola I
• Rajendra Chola –I
• Rajadhiraja Chola
  
• Rajendra Chola II
  
• Virarajendra Chola
  

Read about Medieval Cholas Here

Later Cholas

From 1070 AD till 1279 AD, is the period assigned to the later Cholas. During this time, the Chola Empire reached its Zenith and became the "Most Powerful Country" of the world. These Cholas colonized the South East Asian Countries and had the most powerful army and navy of the world at that time. The siginificant rulers of Later Cholas were as follows:

• Kulotthunga Chola-I
• Vikrama Chola
• Kulotthunga Chola II
• Rajaraja Chola II
• Rajadhiraja Chola II
• Kulothunga Chola III
• Rajaraja Chola III
• Rajendra Chola III

Read about Later Cholas Here

Chera Kingdom

Contents [hide]

• Satyaputras
• Kerala
• Insignia of Cheras: Bow and Arrow
• First Cheras: Uthiyan Cheralathan
• Second Cheras (Later Cheras)

Not many details are available about the pre-Christian era history of the Chera, Keralaputra and Satyaputra.

Satyaputras

The first historical evidence about Kerala is found in the inscriptions of AsokaAshokavardhana or Asoka was governor of Taxila and Ujjain during the reign of his father Bindusara. The Sri Lankan texts represent Asoka as "wading through ..... who cited four kingdoms viz. Choda (CholaAs per the traditions, the Chola Country or Cholamandalam was the area bound on the North by the Pennar, South by the Vellaru River, at .....), Pada, (Pandya), Ketala Puto (Keralaputra), Satiya Puto (Satyaputra) in the south of his empire. Keralaputra and Satyaputra is mentioned in the Rock Edict II and Girnar Inscription.However, it referred to which territory and which dynasty was mostly unknown. The historians have identified it with the portions of the Malaya Mountains of the Western Ghats and certain lowlands around those areas. Satyaputra are mentioned in the Puranas and Tamil Literature as well. In the Asoka's edicts, they find their place with Cholas, Pandyas and Keralaputra.

This means that Satyaputra had rose to prominent power by the time of Asoka. However, after that, there are not many details available about this dynasty.

Kerala

The word "Kerala" is of Prakrat origin and is not available in Sangam texts. The etymological identity of Kerala and Chera link them but it was not certain that whether the present Kerala was the Chera Kingdom.

However, Pandyas, Cheras and the Cholas were mentioned in surviving Tamil Literature (comprising of Chilappatikaram, Tirukkural etc), complementing their mention in the existing Sanskrit Literature viz. Puranas, Vedas, Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Few historians now believe that ancient Chera Kingdom included the today's Kerala but separated in 389 AD and the Chera Realm was restricted to Tamilnadu (around Coimbatore) and southern parts of Karnataka.

Insignia of Cheras: Bow and Arrow

The Chera Kings adopted the "Bow and arrow" as a crest or cognizance of their dynasty. They released a few coins, which were characterized by a bow device engraved on them. Though the authentic list of the Rajas of Travancore and that of Cochin is from beginning of 13th century & 15th century onwards, yet the Chera Dynasty is considered to be the two dynasties that ruled in two different eras. The First Chera dynasty ruled from 300 BC to 300 AD in the Sangam Era and another dynasty from the 9th century AD onwards. The only source of knowledge of the first Chera dynasty is Sangam Text. Cheras ruled in North Travancore, Cochin and Southern Malabar. Capital of the early Cheras was Vanchi Muthur in Kizhanthur-Kandallur and Karur Vanchi and the later Cheras was Mhodayapuram, Kulashekarapuram.

First Cheras: Uthiyan Cheralathan

First recorded King of the Cheras is Uthiyan Cheralathan, who ruled anytime between 1st to 3rd century AD. He fought numerous battles and in one such battle with Cholas, he was defeated and due to humiliation, he committed suicide that was a common practice those days. The second king of the Chera Dynasty was Imayavaramban Nedum Cheralatan , who died in a battle with Chola Kings. The next important ruler was Senguttuvan, who is hero of a famous Tamil Epic Silapathikaram. Senguttuvan is best known for sending the first embassy to China from South India. His capital was Karur. The navy of Senguvattan was the best navy in the world.

Second Cheras (Later Cheras)

Kulashekhara Alwar, a Tamil King in 800 AD, founded the second Chera Dynasty. He had united the parts of the Modern Kerala and ruled from his capital Mahodayapuram that is today's Kodungallur. Kulashekhara wrote Perumal thirumozhi, one of the most celebrated devotional works of the Tamil Bhakti cult. He renounced the crown to become a Vashnavite saint and lived in Srirangam.

After Kulashekhara Alwar, all kings are insignificant and some of them became saints. The last Chera King was Rama Varma Kulashekhara who ruled from 1090 to 1102 AD. His contemporary Chola ruler was Kulothunga Chola-I with whom he fought a war. His life is shrouded in mystery as after this war, he is supposed to have left India and embraced Islam. This ended the Chera dynasty and the rulers were confined to the area around Travancore.

Pandya Kingdom

Contents [hide]

• Extent of Pandya Empire:
• Capitals and Main Cities:
• Visit of Marcopolo
• Madura, the Later Capital of Pandyas
• Political History of Pandyas
  • First Pandya Empire
  • Sundara Pandyan
  • Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan
  • Invasion of Malik Kafur

Pandya Kingdom refers to the Pandyas of Mahabharata Period about whom, we only know from the traditional legends and epicsRamayan: Created by Maharishi Valmiki. Consists of 24,000 verses in seven books (Kandas) and 500 sargas) and tells the story of Rama. Verses in the ...... Of this ancient Pandya Kingdom was a king known as Sarangdhwaj, had taken
part in the epic war of Mahabharata. This Pandya Kingdom and its landmarks such as Rishabha Mountain, Agastya and Varuna Tirthas, Kumari, Thamiraparni, Gokarni etc. find their place in Mahabharata. The other references, which may or may not be historically correct, link them with the events of Mahabharata. In Mahabharata, the Pandya Kings were allies of the Pandavas.

However, the Pandya Empire was a dynasty, which finds its place in Sangam literatureThe scientific analysis of the Sangam literature says that this work was composed in 120-150 years and most of the literature was composed from 100 ....., and later sources show their rule till 15th century AD. The territory was also known as Pandya Country.

The Pandya kings adopted the fish or a pair of Fishes as their family crest.

Extent of Pandya Empire:

The Pandya country, as per the traditions extended from the Podukottai district to Kanyakumari in south and Achankovil River in Kerala (west) to River Vegai (Madura) in East. The kingdom was ordinarily divided into 5 principalities which were known as "Five Pandyas". The early days capital of Pandyas is Korkai.

Capitals and Main Cities:

• Korkai, which is now an insignificant village in Tamil Nadu, was the commercial capital and important port of the Pandya Kingdom. Korkai has been a cradle of South Indian Civilization and as per traditions; it is considered the home of three brothers who were supposed to have founded the Pandya, Chera and CholaAs per the traditions, the Chola Country or Cholamandalam was the area bound on the North by the Pennar, South by the Vellaru River, at ..... Kingdoms.
  
• Korkai was center of Pearl trade and this trade was the chief source of wealth for the Pandya Kings. Today, Korkai is located 6 kilometers from the coast. The shift is because of the silting up of the delta, which rendered Korkai inaccessible to ships. After Korkai, the commercial capital of the Pandyas was shifted to a new port of at a town Old Kayal, which were about one and half kilometers from the mouth of river Tambraparni and located in present Tinnevely district.
  

Visit of Marcopolo

Marcopolo landed in Pandya Empire (at Kayal) in 13th century and impressed by the wealth and magnificence of the King, Prince as well as people, tagged it as the richest kingdom in existence. However, the same silting process in 14th century caused the abandonment of the Kayal too, and the Portuguese were compelled later to shift their business to a port of Tuticorin, which was free from silting of Delta. The capital of Pandyas was later shifted to Madura (now Madurai).

Madura, the Later Capital of Pandyas

Madura, the later capital of Pandyas was the central seat of Tamil Sangam literature. Today, Madurai is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities. Madura was located on the banks of River Vaigai in Tamil Nadu. As early as 3rd Century BC, Megasthenes visited Madurai and quoted this city as "Methora" in his document Indika. In Sangam literature, Madura finds special place in Mathuraikkanci, a Pathinenmaelkanakku anthology. This work praises a Pandya King Nedunchezhiyan. Similarly Madura has been described by Pliny, Ptolemy and Strabo too.

Political History of Pandyas

No continuous history of the Pandya Kings prior to 12th century AD has been clearly written. In Maurya Period, the Pandya Kingdom was independent. One of the Pandya Kings had sent an embassy to Augustus Caesar. Pandya Kingdom was well known to Greeks and Romans for its pearl trade. Many Roman coins have been found on many places in Pandya Empire, which shows an existence of a well-developed trade between the Romans and Pandyas in the early centuries AD.

First Pandya Empire

Post Sangam period, the first Pandyan empire was established by a King named Kadungon, who defeated Kalabras in 6th century AD. The successors of Kadungon indulged in fighting with the nearby Chera and Chola Kings. Huen TsangHuen Tsang or Xuanzang was a Chinese Buddhist Traveler who belongs to early Tang period of China. He was born in Henan province. He was ....., who visited in 6th century AD traveled up to Kanchi which was southernmost point of his itinerary. He has mentioned the people of this area as Malakottai. Malakottai may refer to the Pandyan kingdom. Huen Tsang mentions that the people in this reason little cared for learning; there were Buddhist Monasteries, which were almost in ruins.

The last Pandya King of this first Pandyan Empire was Maravarman Rajasimha II who ruled from 900-920 AD. He was a contemporary of the Chola King Parantaka Chola IThe foundation of the Chola Kingdom by Vijayalaya and Aditya Chola-I was further enhanced by Parantaka Chola I. His reign was from 907 AD to ....., who overran his kingdom and captured Madura. Parantaka Chola-I after this victory, earned the title of Maduraikonda. Rajsimha II fled to Ceylon after this defeat and returned to Kerala, where he lived in low profile under a Chera King.

The great Rajaraja Chola-I in 1000 AD, reduced the Pandya Empire, akin to the other kingdoms of South, to a tributary and after that, it continued for a century or even long under the Cholas. In the turn of the 13th century, a vassal of Chola Empire named Jatavarman Kulasekaran I ascended to the Madura Throne in 1290, turned rebel to Cholas. The Cholas invaded him and sacked Madurai. Jatavarman Kulasekaran I surrendered to the Chola king Kulothunga with wife and son and acknowledging his surrender, he was returned his capital. But during this, the ancient coronation hall of Pandyas in Madurai was destroyed and it also destroyed the records if any of the previous Pandyas. This was the reason that the history of Pandyas lost in obscurity.

Sundara Pandyan

To take revenge of this assault, younger brother of Kulasekaran, named Maravarman Sundara Pandyan, who came into power in 1216 AD, invaded the Chola Kingdom. The armies of Sundara Pandyan sacked the cities of Thanjaur and Uraiyur of Chola Kings and drove the Chola kings out in exile. His armies marched up to Chidambaram and in memory of this victory, Sundar Pandyan conducted a Thulabaram at the Chidambaram temple and donated wealth equal to his weight. But, victory of Sundar Pandyan over Cholas was followed by a march of the Hoyasala army towards Sri Rangapattam. Kingdom of the Cholas was returned after interference of Hoyasala king Veera Ballala III, but now Cholas accepted suzerainty of the Sundar Pandyan. This was the revival of second Pandyan Empire.

Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan

After Maravarman Sundara Pandyan, we know about his successor Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan (1251-61). He was a mighty conqueror who invaded Ceylon and carried off the great booty. The famous tooth relic of Buddha was also included in this booty. With this victory Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan was called "Second Rama" for plundering the Island of Sri Lanka. He covered the Srirangam temple with Gold. He also conflicted with the Kakatiya Kings of Warangal.

Invasion of Malik Kafur

Early in the 14th century, a dispute arose about the succession of the Pandya throne and one of the claimants appealed to the Sultan of Delhi, Alauddin Khilji for help. This probably resulted in an invasion by the Sultan's forces in 1310 under Malik Kafur. Malik Kafur sacked, looted Madura and marched up to Rameshwaram, where he erected a mosque. After that invasion, the Pandya kings ruled sporadically at undefined territories and a sort of confusion was there. Malik Kafur was followed by two other expeditions from the Delhi SultanateIn 1206, India found a Mohammeden King Qutb-ud-din Aibak ruling not from outside of India but at Delhi itself. Qutb-ud-din ..... in 1314 AD led by Khusrav Khan and in 1323 AD by Ulugh Khan. What happened to Pandyas after that, very little is known. Later Muhammad Bin TughlaqMuhammad Bin Tughlaq 1325-1351 Muhammad Bin Tughlaq is known as a "Man of Ideas" and can be said one of the most striking sultan of medieval ..... created a southern province and placed Sayyid Jalal-ud-Din Ahsan as its governor. In 1333 AD Sayyid declared his independence and created Madurai Sultanate. Madurai Sultanate was replaced by the Nayak governors, who kept on ruling until arrival of British.

Sangam Literature

Contents [hide]

• Earliest Extant Tamil Work: Tolkāppiyam
• Earliest Tamil Work: Agattiyam
• Themes of Sangam Literature
• Classification of Sangam Literature
• Patinenmēlkanakku
• Patinenkīlkanakku
• Impact of Sanskrit on Tamil Literature

The scientific analysis of the Sangam literature says that this work was composed in 120-150 years and most of the literature was composed from 100 AD to 250 AD. This is entire different from what has been mentioned in the Iraiyanar Akapporul and Sangam legend. There are 2289 poems available under Sangam Literature now; many of them are very short having only 3-5 verses. 102 of them are anonymous. The number of poets estimated is 473.

Earliest Extant Tamil Work: Tolkāppiyam

Tolkāppiyam is a work of Tamil Grammar, which is said to be the earliest extant work of Tamil Literature. There are three books in Tolkāppiyam viz. Ezhuttadikaram, Solladikaram and Poruladikaram, and each of them are composed of nine chapters. This work has divided the Tamil Language into two types' viz. Sentamil (Classical Tamil) and Kotuntamil (Spoken Tamil). Sentamil is used in almost all literary works of the Tamil Language.

Earliest Tamil Work: Agattiyam

However, the first work on Tamil Grammar, which is not extant and is lost irretrievably, is Agattiyam. Rishi Agastya wrote it. Tolakappiar who wrote the above-mentioned Tolkāppiyam is said to be a disciple of Rishi Agastya. As per the Tamil traditions, Rishi Agasyta invented the Tamil Language and brought its syntax from the lord Shiva.

Themes of Sangam Literature

On the basisIn a futures market, basis is defined as the cash price (or spot price) of whatever is being traded minus its futures price for the ..... of interpretation and context, the Sangam literature can be described into two types viz. Agam (inner) and Puram (outer). The topics of Agam are related to personal and human aspects such as love and sexual things. The topics of Puram are related to human experiences and emotions such as Heroism, Valor, Ethics and Philanthropy. The poems have also been classified on nature themes which are known as Thinai. The themes are as follows:

• Kurinji (Mountianous Theme).
• Mullai (Forests Theme)
• Marutham (Agricultural Land Theme)
• Neithal (Coastal Theme)
• Paalai (Desert Theme)

The literature was lost and forgotten. The Tamil Scholars S V Damodaram Pillai and U V Swamitha Iyer brought it into light. They printed and published different works such as Tholkappiyam, Nachinarkiniyar urai, Tholkappiyam Senavariyar urai, Manimekalai, Cilappatikaram, Pattupattu, and Purananuru in different parts of the 19th century, all with commentaries.

Classification of Sangam Literature

Broadly, we can divide the Sangam literature in 2 parts viz. Patinenmēlkanakku and Patinenkīlkanakku. Out of them, the Patinenmēlkanakku refers to the oldest surviving Tamil Poetry of the Sangam Age, dating back to 200 BC to 100 BC while the Patinenkīlkanakku refers to the collection of 18 poetic works, which belongs to Post Sangam period, and date back to 100 AD to 500 AD. This classification has been further summarized as follows:

Sangam Literature
Oldest Extant work on Grammar Tolkāppiyam		Oldest conceptual work on Grammar Agattiyam
Published Works
Patinenmēlkanakku (Sangam Period)		Patinenkīlkanakku (Post Sangam Period)
Total 18 Works		Total 18 Works
Ettuttokai (The Eight Anthologies)	Pattuppāttu (The Ten Idylls)	Nalatiyar	Thinaimalai Nurru Aimpathu
Ainkurunūṟu	Tirumurukārruppatai	Nanmanikkatigai	Tirukkural
Akananūru	Kuriñcippāttu	Inna Narpathu	Thirikatukam
Puranānūru	Malaipatukatām	Iniyavai Narpathu	Acharakkovai
Kalittokai	Maturaikkāñci	Kar Narpathu	Pazhamozhi Nanuru
Kuruntokai	Mullaippāttu	Kalavazhi Narpathu	Siruppanchamulam
Narrinai	Netunalvātai	Ainthinai Aimpathu	Muthumozhikkanchi
Paripātal	Pattinappālai	Thinaimozhi Aimpathu	Elathi
Patirruppattu	Perumpānārruppatai	Ainthinai Ezhupathu	Kainnilai
	Porunarārruppatai
	Cirupānārruppatai

Patinenmēlkanakku

This is the collection of the Sangam Period works. Ettutokai is a large volume of the poems which is consisting of more than 2000 poems. These works, which are called "The Eight Anthologies", are on deferent themes such as Narrinai on love, Kuruntokai on love, Aiankurunuru on erotic love etc. So most works of Ettukottai are of Agam style. Most works of Pattuppāttu are of Puram context and they have works on seasons and picturesque nature of Tamil Country. They are based upon the themes of the nature.

Patinenkīlkanakku

Patinenkīlkanakku is the post Sangam work that is of Agam as well as Puram context. Some important points of some of these works is as follows:

• Naaladiyar was composed by JainJain monks and the theme is the transient nature of life and youth. It was work of Nalatiyar.
• Nanmanikkatiga is the collection of 100 songs of Vilambi Naganaar and deals conditions / emotions of 4 types of people who cannot sleep in the night and they are thief, lovelorn, after money, and worrying about losing money.
• Inna Narpathu describes the things which should be avoided by the people. It deals with the things that bring unhappiness such as beautiful but disloyal wife, wealth of a miser, life under a tyrant and a beautiful flower without fragrance.
• Iniyavai Narpathu deals with the things which should not be avoided by a person and seek even in adverse situations such as learning even by begging, advice of learned persons, healthy children, and not coveting other's spouse.
• Kalavazhi Narpathu deals with war and politics.
• Ainthinai Aimpathu deals with human emotions, love, separation, lovers' quarrels.
• Thinaimozhi Aimpathu also deals with the Agam subjects such as love, seperation, lover fights etc.
• Same is with Ainthinai Ezhupathu.
• Same is with Thinaimalai Nurru Aimpathu .
• Thirukkural is the first work in all of the Dravidian literature which deals with the ehics. It was authored by Thiruvalluvar. It is also known as Kural and is a collection of 1330 couplets.
• Thirikatukam deals with herbal medicines.
• Acharakkovai deals with the personal behavior and correct methods to follow.
• Pazhamozhi Nanuru deals with the character of the person.
• Siruppanchamulam deals with the nature and combines the benevolent humans with benevolent neighbors.
• Muthumozhikkanch deals with the right behavior and chastity.
• Elathi deals with human qualities and also narrates some herbal medicines.
• Kainnilai deals with the agam concepts.

Impact of Sanskrit on Tamil Literature

The Tamil language and literature did not flourish in isolation and was influenced by Sanskrit. The AryansMeaning of Veda यः समिधा य आहुती यो वेदेन ददाश मर्तो अग्नये | यो नमसा सवध्वरः || The above Shloka from Rig-Veda 8.19.5 was translated by many scholars. The first ..... had penetrated the whole of the Tamil Land by 6th century AD and Post Sangam literature contains some traces of Aryan Culture. Influence of Sanskrit is more on the five epicsRamayan: Created by Maharishi Valmiki. Consists of 24,000 verses in seven books (Kandas) and 500 sargas) and tells the story of Rama. Verses in the ..... of Tamil Literature, which were written between 1st century AD to 9th century AD. Out of them Silappatikaram, which was written by Ilango Adigal, brother of Senguvattan, a Chera King and who was a JainA Jain is a follower of Jina. A Jina is a victor or Conqueror. The Jains are followers of certain ascetics who obtained omniscience and ..... monk is a highly regarded epic. The other four epics are

• Manimegalai which is a Buddhist Religious Work
• Civaka Chintamani which is a Jain Religious work
• Valayapathi which is also a Jain work of 9th Century
• Kundalkesi which is a Buddhist work of 5th century by Nagasena.

Yadavas of Devagiri

The Yadavas of Devagiri were the descendants of the feudatory nobles of the Western Chalukyan (Chalukyas of KalyaniAbout the Western Chalukya Empire or Chalukyas of Kalyani After the Chalukyas of Badami were destroyed by Dantidurga, they revived after two centuries in around 972-73AD. ..... )Empire.

The most important territory which they had under them was between Devagiri (Modern Daultabad) and Nasik and was known as Sevana or Seuna, though they had influence in modern Maharashtra, North Karnataka and parts of Southern Madhya Pradesh.

• They are known as founders of Marathi Culture.

The name Seuna has been used for them in the Hoyasala and Kakatiya inscriptions and seems to be probably derived from the name of Seunachandra, second ruler of this dynasty.

This dynasty was founded by Dridhaprahara. His son Seunachandra ruled an area of present Khandesh which was known as Seundesa.

Bhillama 1173-1191 AD

The first of Yadavas in this line to achieve importance was Bhillama or Bhillama V, who established the sovereign Seuna Kingdom and founded Devagiri in 1187 AD. His territory was bordered by Parmaras in North, Kaktiya in east, Hoyasals in South and Solankis in west. The mighty Devagari fort which was 184 meters was captured by Alauddin Khilji in 1294 and was later plundered by Malik Kafur again 1307, 1310 and 1318 was an important landmark of his reign. Bhillama was killed in a battle with a Hoyasala Chief in 1191 AD. The second great ruler of this dynasty was Singhana II.

Singhana II

Singhana II (1200-1246 AD) was the most important ruler of the Yadavas Dynasty. He carried out several conquests and expanded the kingdom from the banks of Narmada to Tungabhadra. He invaded Gujarat and other countries and made the Yadavas Kingdom matching in extent the realms of the Chalukyas and the Rastrakutas. Singhana II was a great patron of fine arts and literature.

Sarangadeva, the great author of Sangita Ratnakar was an accountant in the court of Singhana II. His work Sangeet Ratnakara is considered to be one of the most important works on Hindustani as well as Classical Music.

Raja Ramchandra

• The Yadavas of Devagiri, akin to the Hoyasals were destroyed by the Muslim invaders.
• Raja Ramchandra was the last sovereign Hindu Ruler of Deccan.

When Alauddin Khilji, sultan of Delhi crossed the Narmada River, the northern frontier of Yadavas in 1294, the Yadava Ruler Raja Ramchandra (1291-1309 AD) was obliged to surrender and was ransomed his life by a large treasure that included 600 maunds of pearls, two Maunds of Diamonds, rubies, emeralds and sapphires. (^{One maund was around 40 Kilograms, though Maund was officially pegged at 37.3242 kilograms in British India/ independent India}).The Sultan's incursions were again repeated by Malik Kafur in 1309 and Ramchandra again submitted to the invader.After his death, his son in law Harpala revolted against the Muslim Sultan in 1318 and was defeated, then flayed (skinned) alive and was decapitated. This was the miserable end of the Yadavas of Devagiri.

Ramchandra like other Yadava rulers was a patron of art and literature. In his court, the celebrated Sanskrit author Hemadri or Hemadpant served as a Chief Minister. Chaturvarga Chintamani was his encyclopedic Sanskrit work.

Hemadpant introduced Modi script for writing in Marathi from Ceylon and has left some valuable historical sketch of Yadava dynasty.

Temple Architecture of Hoyasala Empire

Contents [hide]

• Chennakesava Temple, Belur
• Hoysaleshwar Temple, Halebid
• Chennakesava Temple, Somanathapura
• Important Features of the Hoyasala Temples

By the 13th century, the power of the Cholas had declined. This was the time for a great and sophisticated culture when marvellous temples were built in Karnataka and parts of Tamil Nadu. Hoyasala influence was at its zenith during the 13th century and the artists of this empire freely borrowed from the Chalukya and CholaAs per the traditions, the Chola Country or Cholamandalam was the area bound on the North by the Pennar, South by the Vellaru River, at ..... traditions and created a style unique in many ways. Hoyasala history is clear from the time of King Vishnuvardhana, who ruled from A.D. 1108 to A.D. 1142. Inscriptions show that the king, his wife and his ministers were generous patrons of temples.

Chennakesava Temple, Belur

Vishnuvardhana, who defeated the imperial Cholas in A.D. 1116, in the memory of establishment of his dynasty and this victory, built a temple for Kesava, or Chennakesava, at Belur, and named it the Vijayanarayana temple. The temple is a classic example of the ornate style of temple art under the Hoysalas. They inherited a rich tradition of temple building from the Chalukyas and the Cholas.

Hoysaleshwar Temple, Halebid

Hoysaleshwar Temple was built between A.D. 1121 and A.D. 1160 in the area of Halebid, known then as Dorsamudra, which was the capital of the Hoysalas. It was also built during the reign of Vishnuvardhana. The temple is Dvikuta, means two shrines which are called "Hoysaleswara" and "Shantaleswara". Shantala was queen of Vishnuvardhana. The temple is best known for sculptures on the outerwalls.

Chennakesava Temple, Somanathapura

Chennakesava Temple, Somanathapura was built by Soma, a commander of the Narsimha III. It is also one of the finest structures of the Hoyasala architecture.

Important Features of the Hoyasala Temples

• The Hoyasala built around 1500 temples at 958 centers between 1000 AD to 1346 AD. The finest temples were commissioned during the times of Vishnuvardhana.
• He was a subordinate to the Western Chalukyas and probably after declaring independence wanted to excel in this art also. This is evident from one of his inscriptions which says "built it from the wealth which he amassed from the sword".
• The Hoyasala temple architecture was heavily influenced by the Western Chalukyas, Cholas as well as Pallavas, though there was a departure from the Chalukyan style.
• This is evident from the fact that in the beginning, the temples were not over decorated, but the later temples have this feature in almost of its totality.

Hoysala Empire

A family or clan named Hoyasala had attained considerable power in the present day Karnataka during the 12th and 13th century. This empire ruled almost all the present day Karnataka between the 11th to mid of the 14th century. Their capital was Belur which was later shifted to Halebidu. This period was a very important era for the development of the art, architecture and religion in the Southern countries. The Hoyasala Empire contributed in the growth of both the Kannada and Sanskrit literature.

The earliest known king of this empire is Nripa Kama II who lived around 1026-1047 AD. He was probably a feudatory of the Western Gang Dynasty and is known to have indulged in futile wars against the Cholas.

However, another early Hoyasala ruler Vinayaditya was a feudatory of Chalukyas of KalyaniAbout the Western Chalukya Empire or Chalukyas of Kalyani After the Chalukyas of Badami were destroyed by Dantidurga, they revived after two centuries in around 972-73AD. ...... Vinayaditya was having family ties with Western Chalukyan King Someshwara I. His son Ereyanaga tried to establish himself as an independent monarch but was not successful. He was succeeded by Veera Ballala-I who was also an unimportant ruler. The first notable great Hoyasala king was Vishnuvardhana, who was also known as Bittiga.

Vishnuvardhana

The period assigned to reign of Vishnuvardhana or Bittiga is 1108-1152 AD. He is best known for taking steps to consolidate the Hoyasala Empire.

He established his capital at Dorsamudra, which is modern Halebidu in Karnataka. Vishnuvardhana was younger brother of Veera Ballala-I. He assumed the title of Talakadagonda and Veera Ganga. He built Nirtinarayana temple at Talakad and Chennakasava temple at Belur. He was originally a JainJain and JainA Jain is a follower of Jina. A Jina is a victor or Conqueror. The Jains are followers of certain ascetics who obtained omniscience and ..... religion enjoyed high favour under his minister Gangaraja's protection. He carried out numerous conquests and defeated the mighty kings of the CholaAs per the traditions, the Chola Country or Cholamandalam was the area bound on the North by the Pennar, South by the Vellaru River, at ....., Pandya and Chera kingdoms. It is said that under the influence of Ramanujacharya, Vishnuvardhana converted to Hinduism and became a Vashnavite. This is evident by a number of Vishnu temples, built during his reign. He died in 1152 and his son Narsimha I ascended the throne. Narsimha I killed the Western Chalukyan ruler Tailapa III. He was succeeded by Veera Ballala II.

Veera Ballala II

Veera Ballala II (1173–1220 AD) was another greatest monarch of the Hoyasala Empire. He put the Chalukyas of Kalyani to en end by defeating Someshwara IV. After this defeat Someshwara IV shifted his capital to Banavasi, and the Kalyani passed to the hands of Yadavas of DevagiriThe Yadavas of Devagiri were the descendants of the feudatory nobles of the Western Chalukyan (Chalukyas of Kalyani )Empire. The most important territory which they ...... With Cholas he had family relationships. The successors of Vera Ballala II were mostly unimportant rulers. The last great King was Veera Ballala III.

Veera Ballala III

Veera Ballala III was the last great ruler of the Hoyasala Empire. His reign was from 1291 AD till 1343 AD. In 1310, the commanders of Sultan Alauddin Khilji had invaded the Deccan devastating most of the countries. By 1318 Devagiri was occupied by Sultan of Delhi and by 1336, almost all Hindu Kingdoms of the south except the Hoyasala Empire were annexed to the Delhi SultanateIn 1206, India found a Mohammeden King Qutb-ud-din Aibak ruling not from outside of India but at Delhi itself. Qutb-ud-din ...... A muslim Madurai Sultanate was also formed in those years. Veera Ballala III campaigned against the muslims. He made Tiruvannamalai as his new capital and founded another capital at the banks of River Tungabhadra at Hosapattana where his able commanders Harihara and Bukkaraya (popularly known as Hakka and Bukka) founded the Vijayanagar Empire in 1336.

Veera Ballala III was killed in one of the battles against the Delhi Sultan in 1343. He was succeded by Harihara Raya I who founded the Sangama Dynasty of the Vijayanagar empire. The following picture shows the dynasties in the 12^th century in India.

Temple Architecture of Chalukyas of Kalyani

Contents [hide]

• Truketshwara Temple, Gadag
• Temples of Lakkundi
• Kasivisvesvara Temple, Lakkundi
• Mahadeva Temple, Itagi
• Doddabasappa Temple, Dambal
• Important features of the Temples of the Western Chalukyas

While the buildings of the Chalukyas of the Badami are centered in and around Pattadakal, Aihole, Badami & Alampur, the buildings of the Western Chalukyas are widely dispersed, which reflect the system of the local government and decentralization in the Western Chalukyan Administration.

The major improvement over the previous Badami Chalukya temple was the "Architectural Articulation" or ornamentation on the outer walls of the shrine. The presence of Figure sculpture such as Heroes of Ramayana and Mahabharata and loving couples (Mithuna) was additional structure of these temples at the earliest period. The Western Chalukyan Temples are either Ekakuta (one mandapa of one shrine) or Dvikuta (a common hall attached to two shrines). The style has characters of both the Northern as well as Dravidian temple architecture. This combination of both of these style is known as Vesara Style, also Central Indian Style, which is represented by the Hoyasala Temples.

Most of the temples of the Western Chalukyas are dedicated to Shiva, some of them dedicated to Vishnu and JainJain TirthankarsTirthankars also. The Hoysalas architecture was clearly influenced by the Western Chalukyan Architecture.

Truketshwara Temple, Gadag

Gadag Style: The Gadag Style refers to the ornate columns in the temples. This style originated in the period of the Western Chalukya King Someshwara I. The finest example of Gadag style is Trikuteshwara Temple at Gadag.

The hall mark of the Gadag Style of Ornate pillars is visible in the Trukuteshwara Temple complex located at Gadag. This temple was created during the reign of Someshwara I in the 11th century. The temple is dedicated to Shiva and has three lingams mounted on a single stone. The ornate pillars are located in an exclusive Saraswati Shrine in the temple complex.

Temples of Lakkundi

Lakkundi is a tiny village in Gadag District of Karnataka. Here, we find 50 temples of the Western Chalukyan Empire, most important of which are Mahadeva Temple and Kahi Visheveshwar Temple. The place is also a source of around 30 inscriptions of the Chalukyas, Kalachuris, Seunas, Kadambas and Hoysalas.

Kasivisvesvara Temple, Lakkundi

Kasivisvesvara Temple, Lakkundi is one of the most ornate temples in Karnataka. This temple was initially built in the Western Chalukyan Empire and later additions were done by Verea Ballala II, the great Hoyasala King. It's a Dvikuta Temple.

Mahadeva Temple, Itagi

About 20 kilometers from Nakkundi is located the Mahadeva Temple of Itagi. It was built by one of the commanders of the Western Chalukya King Vikramaditya VI in 1112 AD. This temple is one of the finest example of "Dravida Articulation" in Nagara style. This is evident from the picture of the Shikhara of the main shrine shown here.

Doddabasappa Temple, Dambal

Doddabasappa Temple located at Dambal in Karnataka is one more example of fine Western Chalukyan Art. This temple is a variant of Dravida style called the karnatadravida Temple style. The temple is built on uninterrupted 24 pointed star shaped floorTrading hall of the Stock Exchange where transactions in securities take place. The trading ring where members and their assistants assemble with their order books ..... plan, which is different from the pre existing 6-12 and 24 interrupted star shaped temples.

Other Western Chalukya Temples are located at Kuknur, Lakmeshwar, Bankarupa etc.

Important features of the Temples of the Western Chalukyas

• The western Chalukya temples show an improvement over the previous experiments. These temples are show a transition from the Nagara to Dravida style and create a new style Karnatadravida.
• The ornate columns are seen as one of the most important features and that is why some of the temples such as "Mahadeva Temple" are called finest in Karnataka after Halebid.
• The Temple plan in most of the plans is star shaped. Most temples are dedicated to Shiva and Nandi at the entrance of the shrine appears as a main feature

Chalukyas of Kalyani

Contents [hide]

• About the Western Chalukya Empire or Chalukyas of Kalyani
• Political History of Chalukyas of Kalyani
  • Tailapa II
  • Satyasraya
  • Someshwara I
  • Vikramaditya VI
  • Eastern Chalukya Empire: Chalukyas of Vengi

About the Western Chalukya Empire or Chalukyas of Kalyani

After the Chalukyas of BadamiThe most important source of history of the Badami Chalukyas Dynasty is the Aihole inscription of Pulakesin II written by his court poet Ravikirti in ..... were destroyed by Dantidurga, they revived after two centuries in around 972-73AD. This was known as Chalukyas of Kalyani and is supposed to have the same genealogy as those of the previous mighty Chalukyas (though this is disputed). This was established by Tailapa-II who was one of the feudatories of the Rastrakuta. For 200 years they remained in conflict with the Cholas and also the eastern Chalukyas of Vengi. The Hoyasala Empire finally destroyed them in 12th century. The empire of Chalukyas of Kalyani is also known as Western Chalukya Empire. This empire has a great contribution in the modern Kannada literature as well as Sanskrit literature.

Political History of Chalukyas of Kalyani

The last ruler of Rastrakuta Dynasty Kakka II (Karaka) was killed by Taila II or Tailapa II the scion of old Chalukya stock in 973 AD. Thus Taila II founded the dynasty of Chalukyas of Kalyani which lasted for 2 centuries. For 200 years they remained in conflict with the Cholas and also the eastern Chalukyas of Vengi. They were finally destroyed by the Hoyasala Empire in 12th century. The empire of Chalukyas of Kalyani is also known as Western Chalukya Empire. This empire has a great contribution in the modern Kannada literature as well as Sanskrit literature.

Tailapa II

Tailapa-II was one of the feudatories of the Rastrakutas. He restored the family of his ancestors to its former glory. Taila reigned for 24 years and during that time was able to recover the ancient territory of his race except the Gujarat region. We know about his reign from the Gadag records. He patronized a Kannada poet Ranna who was one the earliest poets of Kannada language. Ranna, Adikavi Pampa and Sri Ponna together are called three gems of Kannada literature.

Most of the time, Tailapa II kept on fighting with Munja, a Paramara king of Dhara. Munja was finally captured and probably killed in captivity. This was in 995 AD. Two years later Tailpa died and his crown was passed on to his son Satyasraya

Satyasraya

The period of reign of Satyasraya was 997 to 1008 AD. Though, to star with, he adopted the aggressive policy of his father had enmity with the eastern Chalukyas and Cholas. His 11 years reign was disturbed and was finally faced the disastrous consequence of a war with the great CholaAs per the traditions, the Chola Country or Cholamandalam was the area bound on the North by the Pennar, South by the Vellaru River, at ..... Rajaraja-I. Rajaraja-I overran the Chalukya country and looted and killed a large number of men, women and children. Satyasraya was followed by Vikramaditya V and Jaysimha II. The next important king was Someshwara I.

Someshwara I

Someshwara I, who was also known as Ahavamalla or Trilokamalla reigned from 1042 AD to 1068 AD. The contemporary Chola King was Rajadhiraja CholaRajadhiraja Chola (1018-1059 AD)was declared crown prince / Co-regent as early as 1018 AD during time of his father Rajendra Chola I. He ruled with ..... I who became Chola king in the same year i.e. 1042. Someshwara I had established Kalyani as its capital.

He faced the attack of Rajadhiraja Chola-I, who overran initially the Chalukyan capital and demolished the forts and erected the pillars as a memorabilia of the victories, but the Chalukyan counter attack forced them out. Under Someshwara-I , the Chalukya army raided Chola capital Kanchipuram but it was repelled back. Finally in the battle of Koppam, Rajadhiraja Chola was killed. But his younger brother took the command and drove the Chalukyas back. In this attack, brother of Someshwara-I was killed. The reign of Someshwara I is known for numerous wars.

This able king of the Western Chalukya Empire ended his life by drowning himself in the river Tungabhadra, due to his inability to endure a fever. Someshwara I was succeeded by his elder son Someshwara II, but Someshwara II was soon deposed by his younger brother Vikramaditya VI, whose reign is from 1076 - 1126 AD.

Vikramaditya VI

Vikramaditya VI ascended the throne in 1076 AD which marks the beginning of Chalukya-Vikram era. Vikramaditya VI was one of the ablest kings of the Western Chalukyan Empire. He left the maximum number of inscriptions, all in Kannada.

He is the hero of a historical poem (Vikramankadevacharita) by Bilhana, a Kashmir poet and reigned for around half a century in tolerable peace.

Vikramaditya VI captured Kanchi in late in his career and engaged with serious battles with a Hoyasala King of Dorsamudra known as Vishnu. In the capital Kalyani during the times of Vikramaditya VI, a celebrated jurist of the 12th century called Vijñāneśvara lived. Vijñāneśvara has written a treatise on inheritance which is among the most influential legal treatises in Hindu Law outside Bengal. The title of this work was Mitāksarā.

Mitākṣarā is considered to be an important commentary on Yajnavalkya Smriti. Another work by Vijñāneśvara is Dayabhaga, which is also related to Hindu law. Death of Vikramaditya VI was followed by a decline of Chalukya Empire. The Western Chalukya Dynasty ended in 1190, when most parts of its territory were absorbed by Yadavas of DevagiriThe Yadavas of Devagiri were the descendants of the feudatory nobles of the Western Chalukyan (Chalukyas of Kalyani )Empire. The most important territory which they ..... and Hoyasals of Dorsamudra. The last King of Western Chalukyan Empire was Someshwara IV. After his death, the remaining territories of the Western Chalukyan Empire were absorbed by the Great Hoyasala King Veera Ballala II.

Read here about the Temple Architecture of Chalukyas of Kalyani

Eastern Chalukya Empire: Chalukyas of Vengi

The origins of the Chalukyas of Vengi go back to the time of Pulkesin IIPulkesin II (610–642 CE) is the most celebrated ruler of the Chalukyas of Badami. His birth name was Ereya and he was born ..... when he had appointed his brother Kubja Vushnu Vardhana as a Viceroy of Vengi in around 620 AD. This developed as an independent kingdom for a short period and later remained under the control of first Rastrakuta and then Cholas. They contributed to the growth of the Telugu literature.

Rashtrakuta Empire

Contents [hide]

• Dantidurga
• Krishna I
• Govinda II
• Dhruva
• Govinda III
• Amoghavarsha
• Successors of Amoghavarsha
• Legacy of Rashtrakutas
• Kailasanatha temple at Ellora

In the mid of the 8th century, Dantidurga , who was one of the chieftain of ancient Rastrakuta family fought his way to the front and overthrew Kirtivarman II, thus bringing an end to the main branch of Chalukyas. This was the beginning of the Rastrakuta Empire in Deccan.

Dantidurga

Dantidurga's reign is from 735 AD to 756 AD. He is also known as Dantivarman or Dantidurga II. Just after occupying Vatapi, he also carried out several conquests but became unpopular very soon and was deposed by his uncle Krishna I. Dantidurga made Gulbarga his capital and defeated the Karnatbala of the Badami Chalukya (Kirtivarman II). He also defeated the kings of Lata (Gujarat), Malwa, Kalinga, Nagas and assumed the title of Rajadhiraja.

Krishna I

Krishna I is known for completing the establishment of Rastrakuta supremacy over the dominions of Chalukyas. Last Badami Chalukya Kirtivarman II though defeated by Dantidurga, but remained in power till 757 AD when he was destroyed by Krishna I. This is mentioned in the copper plate grant of Govinda III. Krishna I is best known for execution of the most marvelous architectural work in India i.e. Kailas Temple at Ellora. Kailas Temple is the most extensive and most opulent example of rock cut architecture in India.

Govinda II

Krishna I was succeeded by Govinda II, his eldest son. He became unpopular soon and was excessively indulged in the sensual pleasures. He left the administration to his younger brother Dhruva (Nirupama).

Dhruva

Dhruva was an able prince who continued the wars with the neighbors and expanded the frontiers of Rastrakuta empire.

This was the reign of Dhruva, when Rastrakuta emerged as one of the great powers in India.

Govinda III

Dhruva's son Govinda III was also one of the most remarkable princes of this dynasty. The capital of rastrakuta up till now was Nasik and it was shifted to Manyakheta (Malkhed) by Govinda III. Govinda III's conquests were up to Cape Camorin in south, Kannauj in North and Banaras in South. His rein was from 794 to 814 AD.

Amoghavarsha

Govinda III was succeeded by his son Amoghavarsha or Amoghavarsha I or Nrupathunga.

The reign of Amoghavarsha is from 800 to 878 AD (though some scholars says that his reign was 62 years), one of the longest reigns. He was the greatest ruler of the Rastrakuta Empire. He indulged in constant wars with the Eastern Chalukyas of Vengi and remained successful. Amoghavarsha was a patron of the Jains and liberally patronized the Digambara sect of Jains.

His contribution led to rapid progress made by the Digambara JainJain sect in the 9th and 10 th century under Jinasena and Gunabhadra. (As evident from Mahapurana). Both of these Digambar JainA Jain is a follower of Jina. A Jina is a victor or Conqueror. The Jains are followers of certain ascetics who obtained omniscience and ..... monks enjoyed favor of more than one monarchs and much responsible to eclipse Buddhism.

The result was that Buddhism finally disappeared from Deccan in the early 12th century.

Amoghavarsha deeply loved his subjects and many historians have compared him with AsokaAshokavardhana or Asoka was governor of Taxila and Ujjain during the reign of his father Bindusara. The Sri Lankan texts represent Asoka as "wading through ......

Successors of Amoghavarsha

Amoghavarsha was succeeded by Krishna II. Though his period is 878 AD to 914 AD but it seems that he started ruling during his father's reign. He was followed by Indra II, who was succeeded by Amoghavarsha II. Amoghavarsha II was assassinated by his brother Govinda IV, within one year of his rule. Govinda IV reigned till 935 AD. The feudatories of Govinda IV revolted and deposed him. He was succeeded by Amoghavarsha III (also known as Baddiga).

These all rulers were less important and finally, the dynasty came to an end as the last ruler Kakka II (Karaka) was killed by Taila II or Tailpa II the scion of old Chalukya stock in 973 AD.

Thus Taila II founded the dynasty of Chalukyas of KalyaniAbout the Western Chalukya Empire or Chalukyas of Kalyani After the Chalukyas of Badami were destroyed by Dantidurga, they revived after two centuries in around 972-73AD. ..... which lasted for 2 centuries.

Legacy of Rashtrakutas

The reign of Rastrakutas of Manyakheta was from 753 AD to 982 AD. The rastrakutas were great patrons of architecture. The Rastrakuta architecture was a splendid form of Rock cut architecture. Most of the shrines were Buddhist caves such as Ellora and Elephanta at Maharastra.

Kailasanatha temple at Ellora

Ellora cavesEllora caves located near Aurangabad in Maharashtra were initially built by the Rashtrkutas. The caves belonging to the 6th to 10th century AD represent the epitome ....., located 30 km northwest of Aurangabad, make up one of the major cave temple groups in India, belonging to the Rastrakuta period. In Ellora there are Buddhist, Hindu as well as Jain cave temples, spread over a stretch of 2 km. These are not just cave temples but also temples sculpted out of rock and are much richer in style and detail. Caves 1-12 are Buddhist, 13-29 are Hindu and 30-34 are Jain, excavated in that order. Most extensive and sumptuous of them all is the Kailasanatha temple. It was carved out of single solid granite about 100 feet high and the temple measures 150' X 100'. There are four main parts of the temple, and those are the main shrine, the entrance gateway to the west, a Nandi pavilion and cloister all round the courtyard.The architecture style used in Kailasanatha temple was Dravida.

Temple Architecture of Chalukyas of Badami

Contents [hide]

• Ravana Phadi Cave
• Badami Cave Temples
• Virupaksha Temple, Hampi
• Lad khan Temple
• Navbhramha Group of Temples, Alampur
• Temples at Pattadakal

The Badami Chalukya era was an important period in the development of South Indian architecture. Their style of architecture is called "Chalukyan architecture" or "Karnata Dravida architecture". Nearly a hundred monuments built by them, rock cut (cave) as well as structural, are found in the Malaprabha river basin in modern Bagalkot district of northern Karnataka. The building material they used was reddish-golden Sandstone found locally. Though they ruled a vast empire, the Chalukyan workshops concentrated most of their temple building activity in a relatively small area within the Chalukyan heartland – Aihole, Badami, Pattadakal and Mahakuta in modern Karnataka state.

Ravana Phadi Cave

The earliest monument of Chalukyas of BadamiThe most important source of history of the Badami Chalukyas Dynasty is the Aihole inscription of Pulakesin II written by his court poet Ravikirti in ..... is the Ravana Phadi Cave at Aihole, not far from Badami. It was probably made around A.D. 550 and is dedicated to Siva. Ravana Phadi Cave is one of the Earliest Rock Cut Temple located at Aihole, the first capital of the early Chalukyas. At Aihole, they built more than 70 Hindu Temples later.

Badami Cave Temples

Badami cave temples are located at Badami. The red sandstone cliffs of Badami offered a spectacular setting for the excavation of four caves, three Brahmanical and one Jaina (Parshwavanath). The largest and most impressive of these is Cave 3, dedicated to Vishnu. An inscription next to a Varaha depiction states that Mangalesa, a brother of King Kirtivarman, dedicated the cave in A.D. 578. Members of the royal family of Chalukyas patronized many Chalukyan monuments. All of them were created in sixth and 7th century. The architecture is a mixture of the Nagara style and Dravida style. Apart from the above four, there is a fifth natural Buddhist cave in Badami.

Virupaksha Temple, Hampi

Virupaksha Temple is located in Hampi in Karnataka on the banks of the Tungabhadra river. Virupaksha Temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and was created by the Chalukyas of Badami initially in 8th century. The temple was improvised in Vijaynagar Empire. It is in the Virupaksha temple at Hampi that full glory of the Early Chalukyan art can be seen. This temple was was built in 735 AD by a queen of Vikramaditya II. To celebrate the victory over the Pallavas of Kanchipuram.

Lad khan Temple

The Lad Khan temple is the earliest temple of Aihole, which dates back to 5^th century AD. An inscription on this temple says that it was dedicated to Durga. There is a Shiva ling out there. The temple is known as Lad Khan after its owner (in most recent times) at a place used as cattle sheds or houses. This temple has a large porch and is made in a Panchayat hall kind of design with 12 pillars. This was earliest experiment for a pillar based structures in the temple architecture.

Navbhramha Group of Temples, Alampur

The Navabrahma Group of temples is located at Alampur in Andhra PradeshPopulation (2001 Census) : 76210007Males : 38527413Females : 37682594Sex Ratio (Females/1000 Males) : 978Density Of Population (Persons/ Square Km) : 275Urban Population % : 27.08Literacy ...... There are total 9 temples and present a marvelous piece of art of the Chalukyas of Badami outside Karnataka. These temple are based upon the Nagara style and do not reflect the Dravidian style of temple architecture (8 out of 9 are clearly Nagara style). The Alampur temples are the finest example of the Chalukyas of Badami Art. The Nava Bhramma temples are Taraka Bhramma, Swarga Bhramma, Padma Bhramma, Bala Bhramma, Garuda Bhramma, Kumara Bhramma, Arka Bhramma, Vira Bhramma and the Vishwa Bhramma. These temples are all enclosed in a courtyard on the left bank of the river Tungabhadra.

Temples at Pattadakal

Numerous temples at Pattadakal on the bank of river Malprabha, some kilometers from Aihole mark the return of the Chalukya patronage to Karnataka after several years of activity in the Andhra Pradesh. The first temple is Galagnatha Temple which is in Nagara style similar to the Alampur temple.

Important Observations about the temples of Badami Chalukyas

• These temples are a mixture of Northern and Dravida style of temple architecture and represent a transition as well as experimentation in the temple architecture.
• The temples are located on the banks of River Tungabhadra and Malprabaha in Karnataka and Alampur in Andhra Pradesh , which is near Kurnool.
• The largest temple of Chalukyas of Badami is Virupaksha Temple, whose complex encloses 30 sub shrines and a large Nadi mandapa. This was also earliest example of Shiva temples, which have a Nandi pavilion in front of the temple.

Chalukyas of Badami

Contents [hide]

• Pulkesin I
• Kirtivarman I
• Pulkesin IIPulkesin II (610–642 CE) is the most celebrated ruler of the Chalukyas of Badami. His birth name was Ereya and he was born .....    
• Vikramaditya I
• End of Chalukyas of Badami

The most important source of history of the Badami Chalukyas Dynasty is the Aihole inscription of Pulakesin II written by his court poet Ravikirti in Sanskrit language and Kannada script.

The Chalukyas seem to be a race of Rajputs from North who imposed their rule upon the Dravidian inhabitants of the Deccan tableland. The Royal Emblem of Chalukyas of Badami was "Varaha". The earliest reference in this dynasty is of one Jayasimha, who has also been referred to as Vallabha. The first independent king of this dynasty was Pulkesin I.

Pulkesin I

The real founder of Chalukyas of Badami was a chieftain Pulkesin I, who made himself master of a town called Vatapi, which is modern Badami in the Bijapur district of Karnataka in around 543 AD. He is said to have claimed a paramount position by performing the Ashwamedha Yajna. Pulkesin-his descendants and I are called Chalukyas of Badami. Pulkesin I assumed the titles of Satyashraya, Vallabaha and Dharmamaharaja. He had overthrown the Kadamabas.

The Badami Cliff inscription tells that Pulkesin I performed all of the 5 yajnas which make a king paramount and they are Hiranyagarbha, Agnistoma, Vajapeya, Bahusuvarna and Paundarika. Name of meaning of Pulkesin is "Hair of Lion"

Kirtivarman I

The two sons of Pulkesin-I viz. Kirtivarman I and Mangaldesa extended the possessions of the family both eastward and westward. Kirtivarman-I completely subjugated the Kadambs and secured the extension of the Kingdom. GoaGoa : General Information Population (2001 Census):1347668Males:687248Females:660420Urban Population %:49.47Literacy Rate (Census 2001) In %:82Male Literacy In %:88.4Male Literate In Numbers:541032Female Literacy In %:75.4Female Literate In ..... which was then known as Revatidwipa was annexed by Kirtivarman I. His brother Mangaldesa assumed the responsibilities of the government after his death as his son Pulkesin II was too young at the time of his death. Some scholars say that this succession was disputed and Pulkesin II overcame this rivalry. He ascended the throne in 608 AD. For two decades this able prince adopted a career of aggressive conquests in all directions and defeated the Kings of Lata (South Gujarat), Gurjara (Rajputana), Malwa and Kadamabas in the west and Pallavas of Vengi in the east.

Pulkesin II    

Pulkesin II (610–642 CE) is the most celebrated ruler of the Chalukyas of Badami. He defeated the Kadamabas of the Banavasi, Alupas of modern Southern Karnataka, Maurya of Konkan and after a naval war captured Island of Elephanta from the Mauryas of Konkan. He also defeated the Kosala, Kalinga etc. in the east. In down south, he defeated Mahendravarman-I. He also defeated Harsha VardhanaThe period assigned to Harsha or Harsha Vardhana (हर्षवर्धन) reign is 606AD until 648 AD. For Harsha's period, though the historians have the ordinary numismatics ..... on the banks of the Narmada. He also assumed the title of Dakshinpatheshwara around the same time, on the lines of Harsha's title Uttarpatheshwara. Read more about him here.

Vikramaditya I

In 655 AD, one of the five sons of Pulkesin II known as Vikramaditya I attempted to restore the unity of the Kingdom and was successful in throwing Pallavas out of Vatapi. The enmity of the Chalukyas continued by Vikramaditya I and he befriended with other enemies of Pallavas. He advanced to Kanchipuram but was defeated by the Pallavas. During the reign of Vikramaditya I , one branch of the Chalukyas was able to establish itself in Gujarat who in next 100 years offered vigorous oppositions to the Arabs. Vikramaditya I was succeeded by his son Vinayaditya, who continued the expeditions. The reign of Vinayaditya is assigned 680 AD to 696 AD. His reign was generally peaceful. During those times, Persia was politically unstable mostly due to the Arab Invasions.

End of Chalukyas of Badami

The successors of Vinayaditya continued to exist for next half century. The last ruler was Kirtivarman II who was also known as Rahappa. His reign was a short period of 7 years from 746 AD to 753 AD. The Chalukyas of Badami were continuously disturbed by the growing powers of Rastrakuta and Pandyas and finally were destroyed by them. The blunder of Kirtivarman II was to undermine the rising power of Dantidurga, who established the Rastrakuta EmpireIn the mid of the 8th century, Dantidurga , who was one of the chieftain of ancient Rastrakuta family fought his way to the front ......

Click Here to Read about the Temple Architecture of Chalukyas of Badami

Note: Famous writers in Sanskrit from the Western Chalukya period are Vijnaneshwara who achieved fame by writing Mitakshara, a book on Hindu law, and King Somesvara III, a noted scholar, who compiled an encyclopedia of all arts and sciences called Manasollasa. The Karnateshwara Katha, which was quoted later by Jayakirti, is believed to be a eulogy of Pulakesin II.

Changes in Society in Early Medieval India

Contents [hide]

• The rise of Indian Feudalism
• Proliferation of Castes
• Degradation of Marriage & Women
• Development in Science and Literature
• Development of local cultures
• Development of Vernacular Languages
• Development of Regional Art & Culture
• Contribution of Al-Beruni

The social changes in the early medieval India were mainly the product of certain economic developments, such as land grants and large scale transfers of land revenues and land to both secular and religious elements, decline of trade and commerce, loss of mobility of artisans, peasants and traders, unequal distribution of land and power etc.

The rise of Indian Feudalism

From the post-Maurya period, and especially from Gupta times, India's political and administrative developments tended to feudalise the state apparatus. This has been called Indian Feudalism.

Proliferation of Castes

Increasing pride of birth, characteristic of feudal society, and the accompanying self-sufficient village economy, which prevented both spatial and occupational mobility, gave rise to thousands of castes in India during the early medieval Period.

Degradation of Marriage & Women

The women's position is far degraded from that in early eras. Marital institution became rigid. The Smritichandrika and Smrityarthasara gave several rules. Read Here

Development in Science and Literature

During early medieval period, there was a considerable development in the science and literature. However, the quality of the content in them was not of a high order. It was basically of general imitative and reproductive character. Read about it here

Development of local cultures

• The foundation of various kingdoms and fiefdoms whose people were generally confined to them only led the development of localized culture, making India a diverse geographical area.
• The Hunas and other foreign elements were absorbed into the Indian society and cleared the ground for the rise of larger defined units such as Rajputana. Similarly, Bengal, which was earlier divided into two parts viz. Gauda and Vanga, later the whole region was named after Vanga.
• The inhabitants of the different nations differed in customs, clothing and language. For example, the Kavalayamala (8th century) notes the existence of 18 major nationalists and describes the anthropological character of 16 peoples.

Development of Vernacular Languages

• Though the Sanskrit continued to be used by the ruling class at the higher administrative levels, this language later become complex, verbose and ornate. The Apabhramsha started to differentiate into proto-Hindi, Proto-Bengali, Proto-Rajasthani proto-Gujarati, Proto-Marathi, Proto-Assamese, Proto-Ordya, Proto-Maithili languages.
• From the 6^th century onwards, the linguistic variation became very fast because of lack of inter-regional communication and mobility. In the tribal areas, the Brahmanas imposed various forms of Sanskrit on the existing Aryan and Pre-Aryan dialects. The consequential interaction gave rise to regional languages. The migrating Brahmanas also enriched the regional languages. This resulted in the development of regional scripts and regional grammar.

Development of Regional Art & Culture

• In the field of art and architecture, this period ushered in a new age marked by regional styles in sculpture and construction of temples, which became particularly prominent in south India from the eighth century onwards.
• The post-gupta iconography prominently displays a divine hierarchy, which reflects the pyramidal rank in society.
• The Vishnu, Shiva and Durga became the supreme deities, lording over many other divinities of unequal sizes. The Mahayajnas and danas (donations) were gradually replaced by a system known as Puja. Puja was interlinked to the doctrine of Bhakti, which became a distinct feature of medieval religion. Both puja and Bhakti became integral ingredients of tantricism, which arose due to the acculturation of the tribal people through large-scale religious land-grants.

Contribution of Al-Beruni

• Al-beruni, who visited India with the Turkish invader Mahmud Ghazni and his army, has given a vivid account of India society during those times.
• He visited India frequently and stayed in different parts of the country. Assisted by learned scholars of India, he translated from Sanskrit a few Indian works on astronomy, especially the Paulisasiddhanta, Brihatsamhita and Laghujatakam of Varahmihira.
• Probably he was the first to introduce the treasure of the Sanskrit literature to the Islamic world. His Tahkik-i-Hind (Reality of Hindustan) is the most important work in which he gives a good graphic description of India, as he had seen. While narrating the social conditions of India Alberuni observes that the Hindu society was based on caste system. He describes the institution of marriage, the position of women, the Hindu fasts and festivals. He observed that Hindus have numerous books about all the branches of science. He provides us long lists of famous books of Indians astronomy, medicine, alchemy, etc.

Administration and Legacy of Harsha Vardhana

Contents [hide]

• Interest in Literature
• BanabhattaBanabhatta is considered the greatest ornament in the literary circle of Harsha Vardhana. Bana's Kadambari is not only the most celebrated prose romance in Sanskrit, .....
• The religion of Harsha
• Prayag Assembly
• Bhandi
• Simhanada

We know about the administration of Harsha mostly from the accounts of Huen TsangHuen Tsang or Xuanzang was a Chinese Buddhist Traveler who belongs to early Tang period of China. He was born in Henan province. He was ....., who was most impressed by the Civil Administration. The principal source of revenue was the rent of the crown lands, which was 1/6th of the produce. The officials were remunerated by land grants and the tax administration was not so rigid. The crime was rare though unlike the narrations of Fa Hien, the routes were less safe. This evident from the fact that Huen Tsang was stopped and looted by the robbers. The punishments were severe than the Gupta rulers. The nose, ears, hands, feet of the criminals were mutilated and death sentence prevailed.

Interest in Literature

Harsha was a great patron of the literature and was an accomplished calligraphist and author of reputation. He has written three extant Sanskrit Plays viz. Nagananda, Ratnavali and Priyadarsika and one grammatical work. His plays are as follows:

• Nagananda: Nagananda has an enlightening Buddhist legend for its subject and is one of the best works of the Indian Drama. It describes the story of the Jimutavahana's self-sacrifice to save the Nagas.
• Ratnavali: Ratnavali is a great drama, which narrates the story of a princess called Ratnavali and a king called Udayana. Ratnavali is probably the earliest textual references to the celebration of Holi, the festival of colors.
  
• Priyadarsika: Priyadarsika is another great play by Harsha.

Banabhatta

Banabhatta is considered the greatest ornament in the literary circle of Harsha. Bana's Kadambari is not only the most celebrated prose romance in Sanskrit, but also the best work with universal appeal. Similarly Harshacharita, is probably first work of its kind is the biography of his great hero Harsha. The work is not only the first attempt of Biography Indian literature but also an authentic work. There are two more works attributed to Banabhatta viz. Chhandakasthtaka and Parvatiparinaya. Please note that Banabhatta did not complete Kadambari. His work was later finished by his son Bhushanbhatta ^{(or maybe Pulindabhata)} and thus Kadambari is divided into two parts viz. Purvabhaga and Uttarbhaga, ascribed to the father and son respectively.

The religion of Harsha

In Harsha, we find a learned king who was well versed in the doctrine of Sammitiya School, an offshoot of the Vatsiputriya school of Early Buddhism. After the Ganjam conquest, Harsha started showing the favor for the quietest teachings of Buddhism. He favored the Hinyana initially and Mahayana later. We find in him a great devotee of Buddhism, who enforced the Buddhist traditions with utmost strictness. He forbade the slaughter of any living thing. Use of animal flesh was a punishable offense in his reign. The benevolent institutions based upon AsokaAshokavardhana or Asoka was governor of Taxila and Ujjain during the reign of his father Bindusara. The Sri Lankan texts represent Asoka as "wading through .....'s model were established through his empire. Numerous monasteries were erected in the closing years of his empire. Huen Tsang describes about the numbers of the monks occupying the monasteries to be around two Lakh !

Father of Harsha was a Sun Devotee, his remote ancestor Pushyabhuti was a Shiva follower, his brother Rajyavardhana and sister Rajyashri were Buddhism devotees, but Harsha was benevolent of all the three and erected temples also. However, the in the closing part of his reign, his favorite was the faith of Buddhism. We find King Harsha's autograph in Baanskhera inscription of Haryana.

Prayag Assembly

Every five years, Harsha called for an assembly at Prayag. This ceremony began with the worship of Surya, Shiva and Buddha (a testimony to his tolerance to all faiths), and after that he use do charitable distributionReturn to investors of the accumulated income of a trust or mutual fund and distribution of capital gains. . It is told that every Buddhist monk was given 100 pieces of gold, a pearl and cotton clothe. He also used to donate the cloths and ornaments he wore and then asked his sister Gayatri for cloths and ornaments.

Bhandi

Bhandi was a leading noble of Kannauj and on advice of the political leaders of Kannauj; he offered the crown of Kannauj to Harsha after death of Grahavarmana. Bhandi was later described as one of the chief officers of Harsha. When Harsha chased Shashanka for release of his sister, through Bhandi only Harsha could know that his sister has been released and Shashanka has escaped.

Simhanada

Simhanada was the General of the Harsha's army and his Prime Minister. When Harsha was preparing to conquest the South, Simhanada warned him about the dreadful consequences. This was for the first time that Harsha did not pay attention to his seasoned councilor and paid the price for the same when Pulkesin IIPulkesin II (610–642 CE) is the most celebrated ruler of the Chalukyas of Badami. His birth name was Ereya and he was born ..... defeated him.

Out of all the powers of the Deccan, the most dominant power up to some 250 AD was Andhra, the Saatvahana Dynasty. After some 3 centuries of the extinction of the Saatvahana, no specific information is available. During those times, the Maharashtra region was ruled by the Rastrakuta dynasty which up till mid of the 8th century became a powerhouse of Deccan.