Defence Architecture in Early North Karnataka c3: Preface

Defence Architecture in Early North Karnataka c3

Language: English

Preface

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Karnātaka is a land of temples, veeragals and Mahāsati-kals and thus is one of the important regions of art and architecture in India. But its importance as power, can be traced at least from the period of Satavahana rule over the northern part of Karnātaka, the seat of powerful political powers continuously in the following periods such as the Banavāsi Kadambas, the Bādāmi Chālukyas, the Rāṣtrakūṭas, the Kalyāṇa Chālukyas and the last, but at the same time, the greatest the Vijayanagar. Their capitals were respectively at Banavāsi, Bādāmi, Malkhēd, Kalyāṇa and Hampi. Banavāsi was also the capital of the earliest known rulers namely the Chutus, the feudatories of the imperial Sātavāhanas. And in all these places and also in the places which were the Head-quarters of the feudatories of these imperial dynasties, particularly the Kalyāṇa-Chālukyas, are the forts now in ruins built by the imperial kings and their feudatories, designed and constructed in response to the requirements of the times to defend the capitals from external attacks and ensure internal security. In the ancient period from the beginning of the Satavahanas to the end of the Kalyāṇa Chālukyas and the Sēvuṇas the boundary of the region was varying in the north from the Narmadā to the Gōdavari and downwards. Here the term Karnataka is taken to mean the area bound by the present administrative and political boundaries. So far our study is concerned it has been limited to those forts within the present political and administrative boundary of Karṇāṭaka, for all the capitals of the imperial dynasties are within this area.

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Nevertheless these forts are referred to incidentally, with a very few illustrations of the general views of one or two forts of them, no serious attempt has been made to study them in detail, with clearcut objectives. Hence, in order to trace the development of fort architecture and to evaluate the military genius; a systematic and thorough survey of the forts in these places was undertaken by me. The study of these forts based on the field survey forms the subject matter of this Doctoral thesis.

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In view of my training in Diploma in Surveying and the Post-graduate Diploma in Archaeology, from the school of Archaeology, Archaeological Survey of India, and experience in surveying ancient monuments as an officer of Archaeological Survey of India, Dr. A.Sundara, Reader, Department of Studies in Ancient Indian History and Epigraphy, Karnatak University, Dharwad, suggested this topic and has been my guide in my research work thereafter. I owe much for his ever inspiring guidance.

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I am also grateful to the Superintending Archaeologists of Archaeological Survey of India, Sriyuts S.R.Rao, (late) V.K. Mishra and Sri L.K.Shrinivasan for giving the necessary permission to take up the research work and for giving me leave for my field work and writing the thesis, as and when required.

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My thanks are also due to Dr.S.H.Ritti, Professor and Head of the Department of Studies in Ancient Indian History and Epigraphy, Karnatak University, Dharwad and other staff members of this Department, who have always been encouraging, helpful and cooperative.

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I am extremely grateful to Dr.D.R.Bendre, Dr.Betageri Krishnasharma and Dr.Sham.Bha.Joshi for their enlightened suggestions during my discussion on the subject with them.

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I record the kindly and substantial financial help, readily extended by the Indian Council of Historical Research, New Delhi, which was of great help to me especially for my field work. I am heartily grateful to the Council.

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I am immensely thankful to Smt. Swarup Mahishi and Smt. Seema Joshi, for their assistance in various ways during the progress of the work. I also record here the ungrudging help, in correcting the manuscript and the type script, from Sri S.V.P.Halakatti, Research Scholar, Ancient Indian History Department, Karnatak University, Dharwad.