Rashtrakutas, Chalukyas, Pallavas and Cholas

The Chalukyas and the Pallavas fought for about a century over the Deccan and the Tamil plains. Knowing who held which city, and when, is the key to this whole topic.

1.1 Who founded the Chalukya power, and where?

The Western Chalukyas ruled as emperors in the Deccan from 543 to 757 CE. The Deccan is the high plateau of peninsular India. Pulakeshin I began the rise. He was a small chieftain from Pattadakal, in Bijapur district.

In 543 he took the hill fort of Vatapi, now Badami, and fortified it. He then seized the land between the Krishna and Tungabhadra rivers. His son Kirtivarman I (566–597) won the Konkan coast.

1.2 What did Pulakeshin II achieve?

Pulakeshin II ruled from about 610 to 642. He won parts of Gujarat and Malwa. He also stood up to Harsha, the ruler of Kannauj. The border between the two kings was fixed on the Narmada river.

About 624 he took Vengi from the Vishnukundins. He gave it to his brother Kubja Vishnuvardhana, who became the first Eastern Chalukya ruler.

1.3 What is the Aihole inscription?

The Aihole inscription is a long praise poem for Pulakeshin II. It is cut on the Meguti Jain temple at Aihole. The Jain poet Ravikirti, his court poet, is its author. The temple is dated to 634 CE.

The poem is best known for its account of Pulakeshin II’s success against Harsha. It is the main proof of that clash. Remember that it is a court poem, so it praises its king.

1.4 How did the war with the Pallavas go?

The Pallavas of Kanchi were the Chalukyas’ great rivals. In 641–647 the Pallavas ravaged the Deccan and captured Vatapi. The Chalukyas recovered by 655.

Vikramaditya I (655–680) took Kanchi about 670. Vikramaditya II (733–746) captured Kanchi again in 742, but he spared it.

1.5 What is the Virupaksha temple at Pattadakal?

Pattadakal is a UNESCO World Heritage site, listed in 1987. Its Virupaksha temple was built about 740 by Queen Lokamahadevi. She built it to mark her husband’s victory over the kings of the South.

1.6 How did Chalukya rule end, and return?

The Rashtrakutas replaced the Chalukyas of Badami in 757. The line returned about 975 when Taila founded the second Western Chalukya dynasty. Its capital was Kalyani. Taila’s great success was to subdue the Paramaras of Malwa.

2.1 Who were the Rashtrakutas, and when did they rule?

The Rashtrakutas ruled the Deccan and nearby lands from about 755 to 975 CE. They were probably Dravidian farmers at first. Their home was Lattalur, now Latur. They spoke Kannada.

They defeated the Chalukyas of Badami. Their empire became the second greatest power in India. It stretched from Malwa in the west to Kanchi in the south-east. A Muslim traveller ranked their king among the four great rulers of the world.

2.2 What did Krishna I build?

Krishna I (about 756–773) built the rock temple of Kailasa at Ellora. It is cave 16. UNESCO listed Ellora in 1983. The Brahmanical caves there were cut between the 7th and 10th centuries.

2.3 Which Rashtrakuta kings were famous for war?

Dhruva I beat the Gangas of Gangavadi and held the Pallavas back. He also defeated the kings of Bengal and the Pratiharas, who were fighting over Kannauj.

Indra III came to the throne in 914 and captured Kannauj. This was the peak of Rashtrakuta power. Krishna III went further. He raided in the north about 940 and held Kanchi and much of the Tamil plains from 948 to 966.

2.4 What did Amoghavarsha I contribute?

Amoghavarsha I (about 814–878) loved learning. He wrote part of the Kavirajamarga. It is the earliest known Kannada poem.

2.5 How did the Rashtrakutas fall?

Khottiga Amoghavarsha IV (968–972) failed to protect the capital. Its sack shook faith in the dynasty. The emperor fled to the Western Ghats. Taila I Chalukya won the succession about 975.

3.1 Where did the Pallavas come from?

The Pallavas ruled from the early 4th to the late 9th century CE. They began as local lords under the Satavahanas in the Deccan. They moved into Andhra and then to Kanchi. Their family tree and dates are much disputed.

They took up Tamil ways quickly. They backed Buddhism, Jainism and the Brahmin faith. They also supported music, painting and writing.

3.2 What did Mahendravarman I do?

Mahendravarman I ruled from about 600 to 630. He was born a Jain and became a Shaiva. He is known for a new style of Dravidian architecture, called the Mahendra style.

He also wrote plays. The farce Mattavilasa-prahasana, “The Delight of the Drunkards”, dates from about 620. His reign was one long fight with Pulakeshin II.

3.3 What did Narasimhavarman I do, and why is Mamallapuram named so?

Narasimhavarman I followed Mahendravarman. He won back some of the land the Pallavas had lost to the Chalukyas. He took the title Mamalla, or Mahamalla, meaning “great wrestler”.

The town of Mamallapuram is generally said to take its name from this title. Scholars still debate how much of the town he built.

3.4 What is at Mamallapuram?

Mamallapuram was a busy port. It has the Shore Temple, temples carved from single granite blocks, and the Varaha cave. UNESCO listed them together in 1984. They date to the 7th and 8th centuries.

3.5 How did Pallava rule end?

The Pallavas could not stand up to the pressure of the Chalukyas. Their lands passed to the Chola kings about 880.

The answer is (d) Pallava. Mahendravarman I ruled from about 600 to 630 and began a new style of Dravidian architecture.

The answer is (a) Pallava. The Pallavas carved the Mahabalipuram sanctuaries in the 7th and 8th centuries.

4.1 Who were the early Cholas?

The Cholas were Tamil rulers whose line is older than the early Sangam poems, about 200 CE. They began in the Kaveri river valley. Their oldest capital was Uraiyur, now Tiruchchirappalli.

Under the Cholas, village self-government, tax collection and irrigation were well organised.

4.2 How did the Cholas rise again?

Vijayalaya (about 850–870) began taking Pallava land. Aditya I (about 870–907) carried this further. Parantaka I (907 to about 955) was called the destroyer of Madurai, the Pandya capital. He united the Chola and Pandya lands between 926 and 942.

The Rashtrakuta king Krishna III then seized Tondaimandalam, the region around Kanchi.

4.3 What did Rajaraja I achieve?

Rajaraja I (985–1014) was an able administrator. He protected Vengi and took Gangavadi, destroying the western Gangas. By 996 he had conquered Kerala and won northern Sri Lanka.

With the loot he built the great Brihadishvara temple at Thanjavur. By 1014 he held the Lakshadweep and Maldive islands as well.

4.4 What did Rajendra I achieve?

Rajendra I (1014–44) did even more. He finished the conquest of Sri Lanka and overran the Deccan about 1021. In 1023 he sent an army north to the Ganges. It brought Ganges water to his new capital, Gangaikondacholapuram.

He also won parts of the Malay Peninsula and the Malay Archipelago.

4.5 Which Chalukyas did the Cholas fight?

Rajaraja I invaded the south Deccan about 993. Chola raids on the plateau went on until about 1021. Later, Rajadhiraja beat the Western Chalukya king Someshvara I in 1046. He was killed fighting the Chalukyas at Koppam in 1054.

4.6 How did the Chola line end?

Kulottunga I (1070–1122) was a Chola on his mother’s side and a Chalukya on his father’s side. He joined both crowns. After 1216 the Hoysalas took land in the Chola country. Chola feudatories broke away. The Pandyas then conquered the Chola country in 1257. The dynasty ended in 1279.

The answer is (c) Rajendra I (Chola). He conquered parts of the Malay Peninsula and the Malay Archipelago.