Everything about Chalukyas totally explained
The
Chalukya dynasty (
Kannada: ಚಾಲುಕ್ಯರು ) was an
Indian royal dynasty that ruled large parts of
southern and
central India between the 6th and the 12th centuries. During this period, they ruled as three closely related, but individual dynasties. The earliest dynasty is known as the
Badami Chalukyas who ruled from their capital
Badami from the middle of the 6th century. The Badami Chalukyas began to assert their independence at the decline of the
Kadamba kingdom of
Banavasi and rapidly rose to prominence during the reign of
Pulakesi II. After the death of Pulakesi II, the
Eastern Chalukyas became an independent kingdom in the eastern
Deccan. They ruled from the capital
Vengi until about the 11th century. In the western Deccan, the rise of the
Rashtrakutas in the middle of 8th century eclipsed the Chalukyas of Badami before being revived by their descendants, the
Western Chalukyas in late 10th century. These Western Chalukyas ruled from
Basavakalyan till the end of the 12th century.
The rise of the Chalukyas marks an important milestone in the history of
South India and a golden age in the history of
Karnataka. The political atmosphere in South India shifted from smaller kingdoms to large empires with the rise of Badami Chalukyas. For the first time in history, a South Indian kingdom took control and consolidated the entire region between the
Kaveri and the
Narmada rivers. The rise of this empire also saw the birth of efficient administration, rise in overseas trade and commerce and the development of new style of architecture called
Vesara. Around the 9th century, it also saw the growth of
Kannada as a language of literature in the
Jaina
Puranas,
Veerashaiva Vachanas and
Brahminical traditions. The 11th century saw the birth of
Telugu literature under the patronage of the Eastern Chalukyas.
Origin of Chalukyas
Natives of Karnataka
While opinions vary regarding the early origins of the Chalukyas, the consensus is that the founders of the empire were native to the
Karnataka region. According to one theory, the Chalukya were descendants of the "
Seleukia" tribe of
Iraq and that their conflict with the
Pallava of Kanchi was, but a continuation of the conflict between ancient Seleukia and "
Parthians", the proposed ancestors of
Pallavas. However, this theory has been rejected as it seeks build lineages based simply on similar sounding clan names. Another theory that they were descendants of a 2nd century chieftain called Kandachaliki Remmanaka, a feudatory of the
Andhra Ikshvaku (from an Ikshvaku inscription of 2nd century) was put forward but this has failed to explain the difference in lineage. The Kandachaliki feudatory call themselves
Vashisthiputras of the
Hiranyakagotra where as Chalukya inscriptions address themselves as
Harithiputras of
Manavyasagotra, which incidentally is the same as their early overlords, the Kadambas of Banavasi. This makes them descendants of the Kadambas. The Chalukyas took control of the territory formerly ruled by the
Kadambas.
Another record of Eastern Chalukyas conforms to the northern origin theory and claims one ruler of Ayodhya came south, defeated the Pallavas and married a Pallava princess. She had a child called Vijayaditya who is claimed to be the
Pulakesi I's father. However, there's inscriptional evidence that the father of Pulakesi I was Ranaranga. While the northern origin theory has been dismissed by many historians, it's suggested that a southern migration is a distinct possibility which needs examination. The complete absence of any inscriptional reference to their family connections to
Ayodhya and their subsequent Kannadiga identity may have been due to their earlier migration into present day Karnataka region where they achieved success as chieftains and kings. Hence, the place of origin of their ancestors may have been of no significance to the kings of the empire who may have considered themselves natives of the Kannada speaking region. There is controversy even regarding the caste to which the early Chalukyas belonged. Evidence in the writings of 12th century Kashmiri poet Bilhana suggests the Chalukya family belonged to the
Shudra caste while other sources claim they were of
Kshatriya caste.
The Chalukya inscriptions are in
Kannada and
Sanskrit. Their inscriptions call them
Karnatas and their names use indigenous Kannada titles such as
Priyagallam and
Noduttagelvom. The names of some Chalukya kings end with the pure Kannada term
arasa (meaning "king" or "chief"). The
Rashtrakuta inscriptions speak of Chalukyas of Badami as
Karnataka Bala (Power of Karnataka). Scholars have proposed that the word
Chalukya originated from
Salki or
Chalki which is a Kannada word for an agricultural implement.
Sources of history
Inscriptions are the main source of information about the Badami Chalukya history. Important among them, the
Badami cave inscriptions (578) of Mangalesa,
Kappe Arabhatta record of 700, Peddavaduguru inscription of
Pulakesi II, the
Kanchi Kailasanatha inscription and
Pattadakal Virupaksha Temple inscriptions of
Vikramaditya II all in
Kannada provide more evidence of the Chalukya language. The earliest inscription of the Badami cliff dated 543 of Pulakesi I, the
Mahakuta Pillar inscription (595) of
Mangalesa and the
Aihole inscription dated 634 of Pulakesi II are examples of Sanskrit inscriptions written in old
Kannada script.
The reign of the Chalukyas saw the arrival of Kannada as the predominant language of inscriptions along with Sanskrit, in areas of the Indian peninsula outside what is known as
Tamilaham (Tamil country). Several coins of the early Chalukyas with Kannada legends have been found indicating usage of Kannada at the highest administrative levels. Inscriptions of the Chalukyas have been translated and recorded by historians of the Archaeological Survey of India.
Foreign notes
Hiuen-Tsiang, a
Chinese traveller had visited the court of
Pulakesi II. At the time of this visit, as mentioned in the
Aihole record, Pulakesi II had divided his empire into three
Maharashtrakas or great provinces comprising of 99,000 villages each. This empire possibly covered present day
Karnataka,
Maharashtra and
coastal Konkan. Hiuen-Tsang, impressed with the governance of the empire observed that the benefits of king's efficient administration was felt far and wide. Later, Persian emperor
Khosrau II exchanged ambassadors with Pulakesi II.
Legends
Vidyapati Bilhana, the famous poet in the court of
Vikramaditya VI of the
Western Chalukya dynasty of Kalyana, mentions a legend in his work,
Vikramankadeva Charita:
» Indra once requested
Brahma to create a hero who would put an end to Godlessness in the world and punish the wicked. Agreeing to his request, Brahma looked into his
Chuluka (hollow of the hands) while performing the
Sandhya, and lo! From there sprang a mighty warrior. He was called "Chalukya" and he became the eponymous ancestor of the line. In it were born two great heroes, Harita and Manavya who raised the Chalukyas into distinct position. This story is repeated and elaborated in the Ramastipundi grant of Vimaladitya of the
Eastern Chalukya family.
Another legend in the Handarike inscription of Vikramaditya VI claims that the Chalukyas were born in the interior of the Chuluka (hollow of the palm) of the sage Haritipanchashikhi when he was pouring out libations to the Gods. The Chalukyas claimed to have been nursed by the
Sapta Matrikas (the seven divine mothers). It was a popular practice to link South Indian royal family lineage to a Northern kingdom in ancient times.
According to a Western Chalukya inscription of Vikramaditya VI, the Chalukyas originally hailed from
Ayodhya where fifty-nine kings, and later sixteen more, of this family ruled from
Dakshinapatha (South India) where they'd migrated.
Periods in Chalukya history
The Chalukyas ruled over the central Indian plateau of
Deccan for over 600 years. During this period, they ruled as three closely related, but individual dynasties. These are the
Chalukyas of Badami, who ruled between the 6th and the 8th century, and the two sibling dynasties of
Chalukyas of Kalyani or the
Western Chalukyas and the
Chalukyas of Vengi or the
Eastern Chalukyas.
Chalukyas of Badami
In the 6th century, with the decline of the
Gupta dynasty and their immediate successors in northern India, major changes began to happen in the area south of the
Vindyas— the Deccan and
Tamilaham. The age of small kingdoms had given way to large empires in this region. The Chalukya dynasty was established by
Pulakesi I in 550. Pulakesi I took Vatapi (
Badami in
Bagalkot district,
Karnataka) under his control and made it his capital. Pulakesi I and his descendants are referred to as
Chalukyas of Badami. They ruled over an empire that comprised the entire state of
Karnataka and most of
Andhra Pradesh in the Deccan. Pulakesi II whose precoronation name was Ereya was perhaps the greatest emperor of the Badami Chalukyas. Also known as
Immadi Pulakesi, he's considered one of the great kings in Indian history. His queen was Kadamba Devi, a princess from the dynasty of
Alupas. They maintained close family and marital relationship with the
Alupas of
South Canara and the
Gangas of
Talakad. Pulakesi II extended the Chalukya Empire up to the northern extents of the
Pallava kingdom and halted the southward march of
Harsha by defeating him on the banks of the river
Narmada. He then defeated the
Vishnukundins in the southeastern Deccan. Pallava
Narasimhavarman however reversed this victory by attacking and occupying the Chalukya capital Vatapi (
Badami) temporarily.
The Badami Chalukya dynasty went in to a brief decline following the death of Pulakesi II due to internal feuds. It recovered during the reign of
Vikramaditya I, who succeeded in pushing the Pallavas out of Badami and restoring order to the empire. The empire reached a peak during the rule of the illustrious
Vikramaditya II who defeated the Pallava
Nandivarman II and captured
Kanchipuram. The last Badami Chalukya king
Kirtivarman I was overthrown by the
Rashtrakuta Dantidurga in 753. At their peak they ruled a vast empire stretching from the
Kaveri to the
Narmada.
Chalukyas of Kalyani
The Chalukyas revived their fortunes in 973 after over 200 years of dormancy when much of the Deccan was under the Rashtrakutas. While the popular theory is that the Kalyani Chalukyas belonged to the Badami Chalukya line, objections have been raised by some historians indicating they may have been unrelated to the Early Chalukya family. However, it has also been noticed that the Badami Chalukyas had titles like Satyashraya, which is also the name of a Kalyani Chalukya prince and that they used titles ending with
Yuddamalla,
Rajamalla which was seen commonly in other Chalukya families of the area. The reign of the Kalyani Chalukyas was a golden age in
Kannada literature and
Sanskrit literature.
Tailapa II, a Rashtrakuta feudatory ruling from Tardavadi–1000 (
Bijapur district) overthrew
Karka II and re–established the Chalukyan kingdom and recovered most of the Chalukya empire. This dynasty came to be known as the
Western Chalukya dynasty or
Later Chalukya dynasty.
The Western Chalukyas ruled for another 200 years and were in constant conflict with the
Cholas and their cousins the
Eastern Chalukyas of Vengi.
Vikramaditya VI is widely considered the greatest ruler of the dynasty. His fifty year reign is called
Chalukya Vikrama Era. The Western Chalukyas went into their final dissolution in c. 1180 with the rise of the
Hoysala Empire,
Kakatiya and
Seuna.
Eastern Chalukyas
Pulakesi II (608 – 644) conquered the eastern
Deccan, corresponding to the coastal districts of
Andhra Pradesh in 616, defeating the remnants of the
Vishnukundina kingdom. He appointed his brother
Kubja Vishnuvardhana as Viceroy. After the death of Pulakesi II, the Vengi Viceroyalty developed into an independent kingdom. Eastern Chalukyas of Vengi outlived the main
Vatapi dynasty by many generations. A claim has been made that the Eastern Chalukyas were originally of Kannada descent and another that they were Maratha Kshatriyas. Initially they encouraged Kannada language and literature though after a period of time local factors took over and they gave importance to
Telugu language. Telugu literature owes its growth to the Eastern Chalukyas.
Art and Architecture
The period of Badami Chalukya dynasty saw art flourish in South India. It brought about some important developments in the realm of culture, particularly in the evolution and proliferation of a new style of architecture known as
Vesara, a combination of the South Indian and the North Indian building styles. Sage Bharata's dance
Natyasastra was in an advanced state of development.
One of the richest traditions in Indian architecture took shape in the Deccan during this time and is called as
Karnata Dravida style as opposed to traditional Dravida style. The Vesara style influenced the Eastern Chalukyas. This is evidenced by the presence of similar style temples in
Alampur in
Kurnool district of present day
Andhra Pradesh. The Kalyani Chalukyas further refined the Vesara style with an inclination towards
Dravidian concepts, especially in the sculptures. They built fine monuments in the
Tungabhadra -
Krishna river doab in present day Karnataka.
Badami Chalukyas
The most enduring legacy of the Chalukya dynasty is the architecture and art that they left behind. More than one hundred and fifty monuments attributed to the Badami Chalukya, and built between 450 and 700, remain in the
Malaprabha basin in
Karnataka.
The rock-cut temples of
Pattadakal, a
UNESCO World Heritage Site,
Badami and
Aihole are their most celebrated monuments. This is the beginning of
Chalukya style of architecture and a consolidation of South Indian style.
In Aihole, the Durga temple (6th century),
Ladh Khan temple (450),
Meguti temple (634),
Hucchimalli and
Huccappayya temples (5th century),
Badami Cave Temples (600) are examples of early Chalukyan art. The majestic temples at Pattadakal were commissioned by
Vikramaditya II (740). Here the
Virupakshaand
Mallikarjuna (740),
Sangameswara (725) and a
Jain temple are in the Dravidian style while
Jambulinga,
Kasivisweswara and
Galaganatha (740) are in the Northern
nagara style. The
Papanatha (680) temple shows an attempt to combine the Northern and Southern styles.
According to some art critics, the Badami Chalukya style is a
prayaga (confluence) of formal trends of architecture, the
dravida and
nagara. The temples were a result of religious enthusiasm and intensity of purpose. Aihole is considered "one of the cradles of Indian temple architecture"
Literature
The rule of the Chalukyas is a major event in the history of
Kannada and Telugu languages. During this time, writing epic narratives and poetry in Sanskrit was very popular. However, during the 9th - 10th century, Kannada language had already seen some of its greatest writers. The three gems of
Kannada literature,
Adikavi Pampa,
Sri Ponna and
Ranna belonged to this period. In the 11th century, Telugu literature was born under the patronage of the Eastern Chalukyas with Nannaya Bhatta as its first writer. Famous writers in Sanskrit from this period were
Vijnaneshwara who achieved fame by writing
Mitakshara a book on Hindu law.
Somesvara III was a great scholar and king compiled an
encyclopedia of all arts and sciences called
Manasollasa.
From the period of the Badami Chalukya however no major Kannada literary work has been recovered, though many works have been referenced in later centuries. The
extant Kappe Arabhatta record of 700 in
tripadi (three line) metre is considered the earliest work in Kannada poetics. The literary work
Karnateshwara Katha, which was quoted later by Jayakirti, belonged to the period of Pulakesi II with the great king himself as the hero. Other Kannada writers of this time were Syamakundacharya of 650 who wrote
Prabhrita, the celebrated Srivaradhadeva also called Tumubuluracharya of 650 (who wrote
Chudamani, a commentary on
Tattvartha-mahashastra in 96,000 verses), King
Durvinita, and others. The
Aihole inscription (634) of Pulakesi II written by court poet Ravi Kirti in old Kannada script and Sanskrit language is considered as an excellent piece of poetry. In Sanskrit, a few verses of a poetess called Vijayanaka has been preserved.
Badami Chalukya Government
Army
The army consisted of infantry, cavalry, elephant corps and a powerful navy. The Chinese traveller
Hiuen-Tsiang mentions the Chalukya army had hundreds of elephants which were intoxicated with liquor prior to battle. It was with their navy that they conquered
Revatidvipa (
Goa) and
Puri on east coast of India. Rashtrakuta inscriptions use the term
Karnatabala referring to their powerful armies. Taxes were levied and called
Herjunka,
Kirukula,
Bilkode and
Pannaya.
Land governance
The empire was divided into
Maharashtrakas (provinces), then into smaller
Rashtrakas (
Mandala),
Vishaya (district),
Bhoga (group of 10 villages) which is similar to the
Dasagrama unit used by the
Kadambas. At the lower levels of administration, the Kadamba style fully prevailed. The Sanjan plates of
Vikramaditya I even mentions a land unit called
Dasagrama. There were many autonomous regions ruled by feudatories like
Alupas,
Gangas,
Banas, Sendrakas etc. Local assemblies looked after local issues. Groups of
mahajanas (learned brahmins), looked after agraharas (like
Ghatika or place of higher learning) like the ones at Badami (2000
mahajans) and Aihole (500
mahajanas).
Coinage
The Badami Chalukyas minted coins that were of a different standard compared to the northern kingdoms. The coins had
Nagari and Kannada legends. They minted coins with symbols of temples, lion or boar facing right and the lotus. The coins weighed 4 grams and were called
honnu in
old Kannada and had fractions such as
fana and the
quarter fana, whose modern day equivalent being
hana (literally means, money). A gold coin called
Gadyana is mentioned in some record in
Pattadakal which later came to be known a
varaha which was also on their emblem.
Religion
The rule of the Badami Chalukya was a period of religious harmony. They were themselves initially followers of
Vedic Hindusim, as seen in the various temples dedicated to many popular Hindu deities with Aihole as the experimental laboratory. Pattadakal is the location of their grandest architecture. The worship of Lajja Gauri, the fertility goddess was equally popular. Later from the time of
Vikramaditya I took an inclination towards Shaivism and sects like
Pashupata,
Kapalikas and
Kalamukhas existed. However, they actively encouraged Jainsm and attested to by one of the Badami cave temples and other Jain temples in the Aihole complex. Ravikirti, the court poet of
Pulakesi II was a Jain. Buddhism was on a decline having made its ingress into Southeast Asia, as confirmed by Hiuen-Tsiang.
Badami,
Aihole and Kurtukoti, Puligere (Laksmeshwara in
Gadag district) were primary places of learning.
Society
The
Hindu caste system was present and prostitution was recognised by the government. Some kings had concubines (
Ganikas) who were given much respect,
sati was perhaps absent as widows like Vinayavathi and Vijayanka are mentioned in records. Devadasis' were present in temples. Sage Bharata's
Natyashastra the precursor to
Bharatanatyam, the dance of South India was popular as seen in many sculptures and mentioned in inscriptions. Women enjoyed political power in administration. Queens Vijayanka, a noted Sanskrit poetess, Kumkumadevi, the younger sister of Vijayaditya and Lokamahadevi, queen of
Vikramaditya II who fought wars stand as examples.
In popular culture
The Chalukya era may be seen as the beginning in the fusion of cultures of northern and southern India making way for the transmission of ideas between the two regions. This is clear from an architectural point of view in that the Chalukyas spawned the
Vesara style of architecture which includes elements of the northern
nagara and southern
dravida styles. The expanding Sanskritic culture mingled in a region where local
Dravidian vernaculars were already popular.
Dravidian languages maintain these influences even today. This influence also helped enrich literature in these languages. The Hindu legal system owes much to the Sanskrit work
Mitakshara by
Vijnaneshwara in the court of Chalukya
Vikramaditya VI. Perhaps the greatest work in legal literature,
Mitakshara is a commentary on
Yajnavalkya and is a treatise on law based on earlier writings and has found acceptance in most parts of India. An Englishman Colebrooke later translated into English the section on inheritance giving it currency in the British Indian court system. It was during the Chalukya rule that the
Bhakti movement gained momentum in south India in the form of
Ramanujacharya and
Basavanna later spreading to north India.
A yearly celebration called
Chalukya utsava, a three-day festival of music and dance organised by the
Government of Karnataka is held every year at
Pattadakal,
Badami and
Aihole. The event is a celebration of the glorious achievements of the Chalukyas in the realms of arts, crafts, music and dance. The program which starts at Pattadakal and ends in Aihole is inaugurated by the
Chief Minister of Karnataka. Singers, dancers, poets and other artists from all over the country take part in this event. In the
February 26,
2006 celebration, 400 art troupes from different parts of the country had taken part. Colorful cut outs of the
Varaha the Chalukya emblem,
Satyasraya Pulakesi (Pulakesi II), famous sculptural masterpieces like
Durga, Mahishasura-mardhini (Durga killing demon
Mahishasura) were seen everywhere. The program at Pattadakal is named
Anivaritacharigund vedike after the famous architect of the Virupaksha temple,
Gundan Anivaritachari. At Badami it's called
Chalukya Vijayambika Vedike and at Aihole,
Ravikirti Vedike after the famous poet and minister in the court of
Pulakesi II. RaviKirti is the author of the Aihole inscription of 634 which is considered as a masterpiece in medieval Sanskrit poetry written in
Kannada script. Souvenirs with
Sri Vallabha and
Satyasraya written on, were available (these were the titles taken commonly by the kings of the Badami dynasty) and CDs and DVDs detailing the history, culture etc. of the region were sold.
Immadi Pulakeshi, a
Kannada movie of the 1960s starring
Dr. Rajkumar celebrates the life and times of the great king.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Chalukyas'.
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