The Chalukyan Architecture of the Kanarese Districts c6.s5: The Kalachuris
The Chālukyan Architecture of the Kanarese Districts c6.s5
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The Kalachuris
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The Kalachuris, or Kalachuryas, did not hold the country for long; but the short period during which they did occupy it, about twenty-one years, was a time of great unrest, due, chiefly, to the rebellion of Basava and the establishment of the new Liṅgāyat creed. We are told that the Kalachuris were Jains, but that Bijjala showed considerable favour and partiality towards the Śaivas. Basava was born of Brāhman parents of the Śaiva cult, who, by his peculiar ideas regarding the worship of Śiva, and his remarkable abilities, attracted considerable attention. He had a beautiful sister whom Bijjala married, and this led to Basava being eventually appointed minister and general, into whose hands Bijjala entrusted all the affairs of the state. The powers and honours thus thrust upon him soon turned his mind from allegiance to his master to thoughts of self-aggrandizement and a desire to usurp full sovereign power. At the same time he arrogated to himself divine authority, believing, or, at least, asserting himself to be an incarnation of Nandi, the sacred bull of Śiva. He abolished the distinction of caste among his followers. The principal, if not sole, object of worship, was the *liṅga*, and the followers of this new form of religion wore miniature *liṅgas* in silver boxes suspended from their necks. "The chief characteristics of their faith and practices are adoration of the *liṅga* and of Śiva's bull Nandi, hostility to Brāhmans, disbelief in the transmigration of the soul, contempt for child marriage, and approval and habitual practice of the remarriage of widows. They are found chiefly in the Kanarese country; their vernacular is Kanarese; and it is due almost to them that this beautiful, highly polished, and powerful language has been preserved, in later times, amidst the constant inroads of the Marāṭhās from the north. They now constitute about thirty-five per cent. of the total Hindu population in the Belgaum, Bijāpūr and Dhārwār Districts."¹ The Liṅgāyats were particularly hostile towards the Jains, and, wherever they could, they appropriated their temples as well as those of the orthodox Hindus.
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¹ Bombay Gazetteer, Vol. I part II. p 477.
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Bijjala, becoming alarmed, attempted to arrest Basava, who, however, escaped, and, gathering adherents, completely defeated the king who had advanced against him. The death of the latter was brought about either by poison or open assassination. Basava's triumph was short-lived, for, dreading the punishment of the young king, he fled pursued by the latter, and, in despair, threw himself into a well and perished. Such is the Jaina account. The Liṅgāyats, however, assert that he was absorbed into the *liṅga* at the temple of Sanga-mēśvara at the junction of the Kṛiṣhṇa and Malaprabhā rivers. The new sect found a new and, perhaps, more capable leader in the person of Channabasava, the son of a sister of Basava.
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Bijjala, who had removed his capital from Aṇṇigeri to Kalyāṇa, was succeeded by his son Sōmēśvara, who was, in turn, followed by Saṅkama, his younger brother, with whom the other brothers were associated in the government. But the Chālukya family was not yet extinct, for we find that Sōmēśvara IV., son of Taila III., had gathered sufficient support in the southern districts, during the dissensions at Kalyāṇa, to re-establish Chālukya control for a short period longer. His last date, as given in the inscriptions, is A.D. 1189, and nothing is known of him after that. The next inscriptions, in chronological order, are those of Ballala of the Hoysaḷa family, which range between A.D. 1192 and 1211, which are found, not only in Maisur, but at many places in the Dhārwār district as far north as Gadag and Aṇṇigeri. About the time the Hoysaḷas were encroaching upon the southern districts, the Yādavas of Dēvagiri, on the north, were extending their borders southwards.