Early History of the Dekkan down to the Mahomedan Conquest c17: Section X. The Early Châlukyas

Early History of the Dekkan down to the Mahomedan Conquest c17

Language: English

Section X. The Early Châlukyas

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WE will next proceed to an account of the princes who belonged to the dynasty called Chalikya, Chalukya, or Châlukya¹ A large number of inscriptions on copper-plates and stone tablets have amply elucidated the history of this dynasty. The legendary origin of this family is thus given by Bilhana, the author of the Vikramânkadevacharita, or life of Vikramâditya a prince of the later or restored Châlukya line On one occasion when Brahmadeva was engaged in his morning devotions, Indra came up to him and complained of the sinfulness of the world in which no man performed the sacrificial rites or gave oblations to the gods Brahmadeva looked at his *chuluka* or the hand hollowed for the reception of water in the course of his devotional exercise, and from it sprang a mighty warrior who became the progenitor of the Châlukya race Some time after, two great heroes of the name of Hârıta and Mânavya were born in the family and they raised it to very great distinction The original seat of the dynasty was Ayodhyâ, and in the course of time a branch of it established itself in the south '

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¹ Dr Fleet draws a distinction between Chalukya and Châlukya and asserts that "this last form belongs only to the restored dynasty commencing with Taila II" and that "it does not occur in any of the genuine early inscriptions" But it does belong to the earlier dynasty also, and is found in genuine early inscriptions The best way to determine the point whether the first syllable was च or चा is to refer to verses containing the name, the metre of which will show the quantity unmistakably The inscriptions of the earlier dynasty are in prose, we must therefore refer to the versified grants of the Râshṭrakûṭas which speak of the dynasty supplanted by them In the Râdhanpur grant of Govinda III (Ind ant, Vol VI, p 65), we have ख्यातात्तच्चलुक्यकुलादनून &c, in verse 3 In the Navasârî grant edited by me (Jour B B R A S, Vol XVIII, p 257), we have चालुक्यवंशजसखे स्वयमेव लक्ष्मो &c In three of the five grants of the eastern branch of the early dynasty edited by Dr Hultzsch we have चालुक्यानां कुलम् (South Indian Inscriptions, Vol I, pp 44, 47 & 57) The form चल्लुक्य is also frequently used The distinction between च and चा and the difference in sense in consequence of the lengthening of the vowel which Dr Fleet points out have place in the pure Sanskrit of Pâṇini and of the Brâhmaṇas, but there is no room for them in names that came into use in the Prakrit period long after Sanskrit became a dead language Chalukya was some vernacular name which was Sanskritized into the various forms we actually find

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'As stated in the opening lines of all the copper-plate grants of this family, the Châlukyas belonged to the Gotra or race of Mânavya and were the descendants of Hârıtı . They were under the guardianship of the Seven Mothers and were led to prosperity by the god Kârtıkeya They obtained from Nârâyana a standard with a boar represented on it, and fighting under that standard they subjugated all kings . The Yevur tablet and the Mıraj plates, referred to above, agree with Bilhana in representing Ayodhyâ as the original seat of the family But since these were almost contemporaneous with the poet, all the three represent only the tradition that was current in the eleventh century . The first prince who raised the family to [49] distinction in the south was Jayasimha He fought several battles with the reigning princes, and, among them, those belonging to the Râshtrakûta famıly, if the Yevur tablet is to be trusted, and acquired the have been a Kalachuri prince, as the name Śaṁkaragana frequently occurs in the genealogy of the dynasty Mangalîśa is said to have carried his arms to both the eastern and the western seas On the coast of the latter he conquered what is called Revatîdvîpa, or the Island of Revatî A copperplate grant by a governor of this island was found near Goa,⁴ from which it would appear that Revatî was very probably the old name of Reḍî⁵ situated a few miles to the south of Vengurlem In an inscription in a cave-temple at Bâdâmî, it is stated that the temple⁶ was caused to be excavated by Mangalîsa He there placed an idol of Vishṇu, and on the occasion of its consecration granted a village, out of the revenues of which a ceremony called Nârâyaṇabalı was to be performed and sixteen Brâhmans to be fed every day, and the residue to be devoted to the maintenance of recluses This inscription is dated in the twelfth year of some reign when 500 years of the Saka era had elapsed The reign in the [50] twelfth year of which the cavetemple was consecrated is taken to be the reign of Mangalîsa On this supposition Mangalîsa began to reign in 489 Śaka, but I have elsewhere⁷ brought forward what I consider to be very strong arguments to show that Mangalîsa could not have come to the throne so early as that, and the only criticism⁸ that I have seen on my observations seems to me to be very unsatisfactory and serves only to confirm my statement The reign referred to, therefore, is that thus reigned from 489 Śaka or A D 567 to 513 Śaka or A D 591, that is, for twenty-four years

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⁴ Jour B B R A S, Vol X, pp 365-6

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⁵ Revatî should, according to the usual rules, be corrupted to Revaḍı or Re a-ḍı and then to Reḍî

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⁶ Ind Ant, Vol III, p 305

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⁷ Jour B B R A S, Vol XIV, pp 23-25

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⁸ Ind Ant, Vol X, 57-58

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In the latter years of his reign Mangalîśa seems to have been engaged in intrigues to keep his brother's son Pulakesi off from the succession and to place his own son on the throne But Pulakesi, who had grown to be a prince of remarkable abilities, baffled all his intrigues, and by the use of energy and counsel he neutralized all the advantage that Mangalisa had by the actual possession of power, and in the attempt to secure the throne for his son, Mangalisa lost his own life and his kingdom

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Pulakesi, the son of Kîrtivarman, succeeded His full title was Satyâsraya Śrî Prithvî-Vallabha Mahârâja From a copper-plate¹⁰ [51] grant executed in the third year of his reign and in 535 Śaka, he appears to have come to the throne in 533 Śaka or A D 611 After Mangalîsa's death, the enemies whom his valour had kept in subjection rose on all sides A prince of the name of Appâyika and another named Govinda who very probably belonged to the Râshṭrakûṭa race, since that name occurs frequently in the genealogy of that family, attacked the new Châlukya king The former, who had horses from the northern seas in his army, fled away in fear when opposed by the powerful forces of Pulakesi, and the latter surrendered to him and becoming his ally was received into favour and rewarded¹¹ He then turned his arms against the Kadambas, attacked Banavâsî, their capital, and reduced it The prince of the Ganga family which ruled over the Chera¹² country situated about the modern province of Maisur, and the head of the Alupa¹³ race which probably held the province of Malabâr, became his allies He then sent his forces against the Mauryas of the Konkan, who were vanquished without any difficulty With a fleet of hundreds of ships he attacked Purî,¹⁴ which was the mistress of the western sea, and reduced it The kings of Lâṭa, Mâlava, and Gûrjara were conquered and became his dependents About this time, there was a powerful monarch in Northern India whose name was Harshavardhana He was king of Kanoj, but in the course of time made himself the paramount sovereign of the north He then endeavoured to extend his power to the south of the Narmadâ, but was opposed by Pulakesi, who killed many of his elephants and defeated his army Thenceforward, Pulakesi received or assumed the title of Paramesvara or lord paramount This achievement was by the later kings of the dynasty considered the most important, and that alone is mentioned in their copper-plate grants in the description of Pulakesi II Pulakeśi appears to have kept a strong force on the banks of the Narmadâ to guard the frontiers Thus, by his policy as well as valour, he became the supreme lord of the three countries called Mahârâshṭrakas containing ninety-nine thousand villages The kings of Kosala and Kalinga¹⁵ trembled at his approach and surrendered to him After some time he marched with a large army against the king of Kâñchîpura or Conjeveram and laid siege to the town He then crossed the Kâverî and invaded the country of the Cholas, the Pâṇḍyas, and the Keralas But these appear to have become his allies After having in this manner established his supremacy throughout the south, he entered his capital and reigned in peace The date of the inscription from which the greater [52] portion of this narrative is taken is 556 Śaka, corresponding to A D 634 so that Pulakeśi's career of conquest had closed before A D 634

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¹⁰ Ind Ant, Vol VI, p 73

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¹¹ Ind Ant, Vol VIII, p 242, line 8 of the inscription From the words *cha*, *ekena* and *aparena* it is clear that two persons are here meant But Dr Fleet in his translation makes both of them one, which is a mistake, and the translation, I must say, is unintelligible

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¹² Ind Ant, Vol I, p 363, and Vol VII, p 168

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¹³ The name of the royal family seems to be preserved in the name of the modern town of Alupai on the Malabâr Coast

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¹⁴ The town is called the Lakshmî of the Western Ocean It was probably the capital of the Maurya king of the Konkan and afterwards of the Śilâhâras

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¹⁵ For the position of these countries, see Sec III para 2

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It was in the reign of this king that Hwan Thsang, the Chinese Buddhist pilgrim, visited India In the course of his travels through the country he visited Mahârâshṭra, which he calls Mo-ho-la-ch'a He saw Pulakeśi, whom he thus describes "He is of the race of Ts'a-ti-li (Kshatriyas), his name is Pu-lo-ki-she His ideas are large and profound and he extends widely his sympathy and benefactions His subjects serve him with perfect self-devotion "¹⁶ About Pulakeśi's having withstood the power of Harshavardhana which we have before mentioned on the authority of inscriptions, Hwan Thsang speaks in these words "At present the great king Śîlâditya (Harshavardhana) carries his victorious arms from the east to the west, he subdues distant peoples and makes the neighbouring nations fear him, but the people of this kingdom alone have not submitted Although he be often at the head of all the troops of the five Indies, though he has summoned the bravest generals of all the kingdoms, and though he has marched himself to punish them, he has not yet been able to vanquish their opposition From this we may judge of their warlike habits and manners "[^17 The Chinese traveller visited Mahârâshṭra about the year A D 639, that is, five years after the inscription referred to above was incised The kingdom, according to him, was six thousand *li* (1200 miles) in circuit and the capital was thirty *li*, and towards the west was situated near a large river The soil, climate, and the character and general condition of the people of Mahârâshṭra are thus described by him "The soil is rich and fertile and produces abundance of grain The climate is warm The manners are simple and honest The natives are tall and haughty and supercilious in character Whoever does them a service may count on their gratitude, but he that offends them will not escape their revenge If any one insult them they will risk their lives to wipe out that affront If one apply to them in difficulty they will forget to care for themselves in order to flee to his assistance When they have an injury to avenge they never fail to give warning to their enemy, after which each puts on his cuirass and grasps his spear in his hand In battle they pursue the fugitives but do not slay those who give themselves up When a general has lost a battle, instead of punishing him corporally, they make him wear women's clothes, and by that force him to sacrifice his own life The state maintains a body of dauntless champions to the number of several hundreds Each time they prepare for combat they drink wine to intoxicate them, and then one of these men, spear in hand, will defy ten thousand enemies If they kill a man met upon the road the law does not punish them Whenever the army commences a campaign these braves march in the van to the sound of the drum. Besides, they intoxicate many hundreds of naturally fierce elephants. At the time of their coming to [53] blows they drink also strong liquor. They run in a body trampling everything under their feet. No enemy can stand before them. The king, proud of possessing these men and elephants, despises and slights the neighbouring kingdoms."

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¹⁶ Ind Ant, Vol VII, p 290

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¹⁷ Ind Ant, Vol VII, p 291

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Pulakesi II. appears undoubtedly to have been the greatest prince of this dynasty, and his fame reached even foreign countries. He is represented in an Arabic work to have sent an embassy to Chosroes II., king of Persia, who reigned from A.D. 591 to A.D. 628, in the thirty-sixth year of that prince's reign, and must have received one from him, either before or after.¹⁸ During his reign the power of the Châlukyas was established over a very large extent of country. His younger brother Vishṇuvardhana, otherwise called Vishamasiddhi, seems to have for some time been appointed to rule over the Sâtârâ and Paṇḍharpur districts, since a copper-plate inscription of his found at Sâtârâ records the grant of a village situated on the southern bank of the Bhîmâ.¹⁹ Vishṇuvardhana afterwards obtained the province of Vengî between the lower Kṛishṇâ and the Godâvarî, where he founded another flourishing branch of the Châlukya dynasty.

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¹⁸ Arch. Sur. W. India, No. 9, pp. 90-92.

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¹⁹ Jour. B. B. R. A. S., Vol. II, p. 11.

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Pulakesi's second brother Jayasiṁha must have been his brother's viceroy in the district about Nâsik. For, in a copper-plate grant found in the Igatpurî *tâluka* of the district, Nâgavardhana, the son of Jayasiṁha, assigns the village of Balegrâma, which has been identified with the modern Belgâm Tarhâḻâ about twelve miles to the north-east of Igatpurî, for the worship of the god Kâpâlikesvara ²⁰ The district in which the village was situated is in the grant called Goparâshṭra Similarly, Pulakesi's eldest son Chandrâditya ruled over the province which contained the Sâvantvâḍî district In a copper-plate grant, Vijayabhaṭṭârikâ, the queen of Chandrâditya, who is styled Prithvivallabha and Mahârâja or great king, assigns to certain Brâhmans a field along with the adjoining *Khajjana* (modern Khâjana) or marshy land in the village of Kocharem situated on the coast about seven miles to the north of Vengurlem In another grant found at Nerur, she assigns a field in the fifth year of *svarâjya* or "one's own reign " Now the reign referred to by this expression must be her husband's, so spoken of to distinguish it from that of his brother Vikramâditya, the second son of Pulakesi, who succeeded his father at the chief seat of government Chandrâditya was a king, as the titles above given show, and it is proper that his crowned queen should speak of his reign as *svarâjya* or her reign It is not necessary that charities such as those recorded in these grants should, like political offices or rights, be conferred by the reigning prince alone The religious merit arising from them is sought [54] by women as much as by men, and hence a woman like Vijayabhaṭṭârikâ might, during the lifetime of her husband, give a field The fact of her doing so does not necessitate the supposition that she was a ruler or a regent when she made these grants, as has been thought She was simply the crowned queen of a reigning monarch at that time Another son of Pulakesi named Âdityavarman seems to have ruled over the district near the confluence of the Krishnâ and the Tungabhadrâ,²¹ as a copper-plate grant of his issued in the first year of his reign was found in the Karnul District An undated grant of Pulakesi found at Chiplun in Southern Konkan has recently been published In it he sanctions the grant of the village of Âmravâṭaka made by his maternal uncle Srivallabha Senânandarâja "the ornament" of the Sendraka race²² This appears to be a family of minor chiefs with whom the Châlukyas were connected A similar grant was made by the next king at the request of the Sendraka chief Devasakti²³ Inscriptions of Sendrakas are found in Gujarât also, where probably they went when the power of the Châlukyas was established in that province The name Sendraka is probably preserved in the modern Marâṭhâ name Sinde

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²⁰ Jour B B R A S, Vol II, p 4, first translated by Bâl Sastri and then by me (Jour B B R A S, Vol XIV), and last of all by Dr Fleet (Ind Ant, Vol IX, p 123)

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²¹ Ind Ant, Vol X, p 244, and Jour B B R A S, Vol XVI, p 223

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²² Epigraphia Indica, Vol III, p 51

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²³ Jour B B R. A S, Vol XVI, p 228 See also below

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Pulakesi was succeeded by his second son Vikramâditya In the grants he is called Pulakesi's *priyatanaya* or favourite son, so that it appears that Pulakesi had arranged that Vikramâditya should succeed him at the principal seat of government, and had assigned an outlying province to his eldest son Chandrâditya At the beginning of this reign as of the previous ones there was a disturbance, but it did not come from the princes or chiefs more to the north who seem to have now been permanently humbled, but from the far south The Pallava king of Kâñchî or Conjeveram and the rulers of the Cholas, the Pâṇḍyas, and the Keralas threw off the yoke which Pulakeśi had but loosely placed over them, and rebelled Vikramâditya, who was a man of abilities and daring adventure, broke the power of the Cholas, Pâṇḍyas, and Keralas He defeated the Pallava king, captured his capital Kâñchî, and compelled him, who had never before humbled himself before anybody, to do him homage On the back of his horse Chitrakaṇṭha and sword in hand he is said to have repelled all the enemies that attacked him In this manner he acquired again the whole of the dominions ruled over by his father, and became the paramount sovereign of the country "between the three seas "²⁴

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²⁴ Ind Ant, Vol. VI, pp 86, 89, 92, Jour B B R A S, Vol III, p 203, and Ind Ant, Vol IX, pp 127, 130-131

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During the reign of Vikramâditya I a branch of the Châlukya dynasty was founded in southern Gujarât or the country called Lâṭa in ancient times Vikramâditya seems to have assigned that province to a younger brother named Jayasiṁhavarman Dharâsraya, [55] who thus was another son of Pulakeśi II ²⁵ Śryâśraya Śîlâditya son of Jayasiṁha made a grant of land while residing at Navasârî in the year 421,²⁶ and another in 443 while encamped at Kusumeśvara with his victorious army ²⁷ In both of these Śryâśraya is called Yuvarâja or princeregent and not a king Another son of Jayasiṁha named Vinayâditya Yuddhamalla Jayâśraya Mangalarâja issued a similar charter in the Śaka year 653 ²⁸ Pulakeśi, who represents himself as the younger brother of Jayâsraya Mangalarasarâja and as meditating on his feet, granted a village in the year 490 ²⁹ Both are styled kings From all this it appears that Jayasımhavarman though made sovereign of southern Gujarât dıd not rule over the province hımself but made his son Śrı âsraya hıs regent He held that position for more than twenty-two years, and does not appear to have become king in his own right, as he is not mentioned in Pulakesı's grant Pulakesı, however, seems from his date to be his younger brother Śryâśraya died before his father, Jayâsraya succeeded the latter as king and he was succeeded by Pulakesı The dates 421, 443, and 490, the era of which is not given, would if referred to the Gupta era be equivalent to 739, 761, and 808 of the Christian era respectively, while Jayâsraya's 653 Śaka is 731 A D But Vinayâdıtya the sovereign of the main branch who is mentioned in the grant of 443 died about 697 A D,³⁰ and Jayasımha whose Yuvarâja was Śry âśraya will have to be supposed to have lived to 761 A D *i e*, 81 years after the death of his brother Vikramâdıtya, while the interval between Pulakesı and his immediate predecessor Jayâśraya will become 77 years, as Śaka 653 of the latter corresponds to 731 A D The Gupta era will, therefore, not do, and we must with the late Paṇḍıt Bhagvânlâl refer the dates to the Traıkûtaka era of the use of which we have at least two instances Thus Śryâsraya's dates will be 670 and 692 A D, of Jayâsraya 731 A D and of Pulakesı 739 A D, and there will be no incongruity But the original dates themselves 421 and 490 show the distance of time between Śryâsraya and Pulakesı to be 69 years, and if we take the later date of the former it will be reduced to 47 years Even this is too much and the only way to account for it is by supposing that the two youngest sons of Jayasiṁha Dharâsraya were born of a young wife married when he was advanced in years In Pulakeśi's grant it is stated that he vanquished an army of Tâjikas which had destroyed the Saindhava,³¹ Kachchhella,³² Saurâshṭra, Châvoṭaka,³³ Maurya,³⁴ Gurjara³⁵ and other kings, and on its way to Dakshiṇâpatha to conquer the southern kings had come to Navasârî to reduce that country first Thereupon Valla [56] bhanarendra, who must have been Vijayâditya or Vikramâditya II the reigning sovereign of the main branch, conferred upon him the titles of "Pillar of Dakshiṇâpatha" (Dakshiṇâpathasâdhâra), "Ornament of the family of Chaluka" (Chalukakulâlaṁkâra), "Beloved of the earth" (Pṛithivîvallabha), the "Repeller of the unrepellable" (Anivartakanivartayitri) and "Support of men in the world" (Avanijanâśraya) As "*Tâjika*" is a name applied to Arabs, from which the name "*Tâjika*" of a branch of astrology borrowed in the first instance from the Arabs is derived, the allusion in this grant is to an Arab invasion And we have a mention of such invasions between the years 711 A D and 750 A D by Mahammad Kasim and his successors ³⁶ Navasârî was the capital of the Châlukyas of Lâṭa or southern Gujarât A copper-plate grant of the Gujarât Châlukyas found at Kherâ and translated by Prof Dowson contains the names of three princes, *viz*, Jayasimharâja, Buddhavarmarâja, and Vijayarâja ³⁷ Scholars and antiquarians have understood the first of these to be the same as Jayasimha the founder of the Châlukya dynasty of the Dekkan But I think the prince meant is Jayasimhavarman, the brother of Vikramâditya I and founder of the Gujarât branch of the dynasty, for nothing has hitherto been discovered connecting the early Châlukya princes with Gujarât The grant, however, appears to me to be a forgery ³⁸ The Buddhavarman mentioned in it, if he existed at all, must have been another son of Jayasimhavarman, besides the two spoken of above, and he and his son Vijayarâja must have ruled over another part of Gujarât If the grant is to be regarded as genuine, the date 394 will have to be referred to the Gupta era

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²⁵ Jour B B R A S, Vol XVI, p 2

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²⁶ Ibid pp 2 & 3

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²⁷ Transactions VII Or Congr, p 226

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²⁸ Jour B B R A S, p 5

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²⁹ Transactions VII Or Congr, p 230

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³⁰ See below

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³¹ King of Sindh

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³² Very likely king of Kachchha

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³³ King of Anahilpattan of the Châpotkaṭa race

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³⁴ King of the Maurya race, probably ruled over some part of the Konkan and the coast of southern Gujarât

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³⁵ King of the Gurjara race, ruled over the Broach District

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³⁶ Elphinstone's Hist of India

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³⁷ Jour R A S, Vol I, p 268

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³⁸ My reasons are these — (1) Its style is unlike that of the Châlukya grants (2) It does not contain the usual invocation to the Boar incarnation (3) It simply gives the three regulation names, *i e*, so many as are prescribed, in the legal treatises (4) There is a uniform mode of naming the three princes, by adding the suffix *râja*, a mode not to be met with in the genuine Châlukya grants (5) None of the three princes has a title or *Biruda* as all Châlukya princes from Pulakes'i I downwards had

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After Vikramâditya I, his son Vinayâditya came to the throne One of his grants is dated S'aka 611, which was the tenth year of his reign,³⁹ another in 613 S'aka and in the eleventh year, and a third in 616 S'aka and the fourteenth year ⁴⁰ There is also an inscription of his on a stone tablet, the date occurring in which is 608 Śaka and the seventh year of his reign.⁴¹ From these it appears that Vinayâditya came to the throne in 602 Śaka corresponding to A. D. 680, in which year his father Vikramâditya must have ceased to reign. His latest is A. D. 694, but his reign terminated in A. D. 696 as is seen from his son's grants referred to below. During his father's life-time, Vinayâditya assisted him in his wars with the southern kings and won his love by destroying the forces of the Pallava king and of the other three, *i.e.*, Chola, Pâṇḍya, and Kerala, and tranquilizing the country. Between the eleventh and fourteenth years of his reign (A. D. 692—A. D. 695) he succeeded in making the Pallavas, [57] Kaḷambhras, Keralas, Haihayas, Viḷas, Mâlavas, Cholas, Pâṇḍyas, and others as steadfast allies of the Châlukya crown as the Gaṅga family of Chera and the Alupas whose loyalty was for the first time secured by Pulakeśi II.⁴² The kings of Kâvera, or Kerala as it is read in some of the grants, of the Pârasîkas, who were probably the Syrians settled on the coast of Malabâr, and of Siṁhala were made tributaries. He also seems, like his grandfather, to have fought with and defeated some paramount sovereign of Northern India whose name is not given, and to have acquired all the insignia of paramountcy, such as a certain standard called *Pâlidhvaja*, the drum called *Ḍhakkâ*, and others. These events must have taken place after 616 Śaka, since they are not mentioned in his grant of that year, but in those of his successors.⁴³ A

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³⁹ *Ind Ant*, Vol VI, p 86

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⁴⁰ *Ibid*, pp 89, 92

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⁴¹ Ind. Ant., Vol. VII, p. 112.

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⁴² This fact is not mentioned in the grant of the eleventh year of his reign (Ind. Ant., Vol. VI, p. 89), while it does occur in that of the fourteenth year (p. 92) and in those of his successors.

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⁴³ Ind. Ant., Vol. IX, pp. 127 and 131.

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The submitted image is entirely blank, so there is no text or content to transcribe.

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ing in which is 608 Śaka and the seventh year of his reign⁴¹ From these it appears that Vinayâditya came to the throne in 602 Śaka corresponding to A D 680, in which year his father Vikramâditya must have ceased to reign His latest is A D 694, but his reign terminated in A D 696 as is seen from his son's grants referred to below During his father's lifetime, Vinayâditya assisted him in his wars with the southern kings and won his love by destroying the forces of the Pallava king and of the other three, *i e*, Chola, Pâṇḍya, and Kerala, and tranquilizing the country Between the eleventh and fourteenth years of his reign (A D 692—A D 695) he succeeded in making the Pallavas, [57] Kaḷambhras, Keralas, Haihayas, Viḷas, Mâlavas, Cholas, Pâṇḍyas, and others as steadfast allies of the Châlukya crown as the Ganga family of Chera and the Alupas whose loyalty was for the first time secured by Pulakesi II⁴² The kings of Kâvera, or Kerala as it is read in some of the grants, of the Pârasîkas, who were probably the Syrians settled on the coast of Malabâr, and of Siṁhala were made tributaries He also seems, like his grandfather, to have fought with and defeated some paramount sovereign of Northern India whose name is not given, and to have acquired all the insignia of paramountcy, such as a certain standard called *Pâlidhvaja*, the drum called *Ḍhakkâ*, and others These events must have taken place after 616 Śaka, since they are not mentioned in his grant of that year, but in those of his successors⁴³ A chief of the name of Mahârâja Pogilli of the Sendraka family was a feudatory of his in the south about Maisur ⁴⁴

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⁴¹ Ind Ant, Vol VII, p 112

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⁴² This fact is not mentioned in the grant of the eleventh year of his reign (Ind Ant, Vol VI, p 89), while it does occur in that of the fourteenth year (p 92) and in those of his successors

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⁴³ Ind Ant, Vol IX, pp 127 and 131

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⁴⁴ Ind Ant, Vol XIX, p 143

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Vinayâditya was succeeded by his son Vijayâditya He appears to have assisted his grandfather in his campaigns against the southern kings and his father in the expedition into the north At one time he was captured by his enemies, though they had been defeated and were retreating Notwithstanding he was in their custody he succeeded in averting anarchy and disturbance in his own country, and when he got off, established his power everywhere and bore all the insignia of supreme sovereignty There is an inscription at Bâdâmî in which it is stated that during his reign, idols of Brahmâ, Vishnu, and Mahesvara were put up at Vâtâpîpura in Saka 621 and the third year of his reign One of his grants was issued in Saka 622 on the full-moon day of Âshâdha and in the fourth year of his reign, another in Saka 627 and in the tenth year, and a third in Saka 651 on the full-moon day of Phâlguna and in the thirty-fourth year of his reign ⁴⁵ On a comparison of all these dates it follows that his reign began in 618 Saka after the full-moon day of Âshâdha corresponding to A D 696 The first two of these grants, and another which bears no date, were found at Nerur in the Sâvantvâdî state ⁴⁶ Vijayâditya had a long reign of thirty-six years

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⁴⁵ Ind Ant, Vol VII, p 112

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⁴⁶ Ind Ant, Vol IX, pp 127 and 131, and Jour B B R A S, Vol III, p 203, et seq

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After Vijayâditya, his son Vikramâditya II ascended the throne A grant of his, engraved on a stone tablet, is dated in 656 Saka and in the second year of his reign,⁴⁷ wherefore he must have come to the throne in 655 Saka or A D 733 Soon after his coronation he had to turn his arms against his hereditary enemy the Pallava king The name of the prince who reigned at the Pallava capital at this time was Nandipotavarman Vikramâditya marched against him in haste and encountered him in the Tudâka country Nandipotavarman was defeated and had to fly away from the battle-field [58] The Châlukya king got a good deal of spoil in the shape of large quantities of rubies, elephants, and instruments of martial music He then entered the city of Kâñchî, but did not destroy it In that city he gave a good deal of money to Brâhmaṇs and to the poor and helpless, and restored to the temples of Râjasimheśvara and other gods the gold which, it appears, had been taken away by some previous king He then fought with the Cholas, the Pâṇḍyas, the Keralas, and the Kaḷabharas, and reduced them ⁴⁸ Vikramâditya married two sisters belonging to the family of the Haihayas The elder of these was called Lokamahâdevî and she built a temple of Śiva under the name of Lokeśvara, at Paṭṭadakal in the Kalâdgi district The younger's name was Trailokyamahâdevî, and she built another in the vicinity dedicated to the same god under the name of Trailokyeśvara The latter was the mother of Kîrtivarman the next king ⁴⁹ Vikramâditya reigned for fourteen years

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⁴⁷ Ind Ant, Vol VII, p 107

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⁴⁸ Ind Ant, Vol VIII, p 26

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⁴⁹ Ind Ant, Vol X, p 165 Epigraphia Indica, Vol III, p 5

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His son Kîrtivarman II began to reign in 669 Śaka or A D 747, since a grant of his, made in the eleventh year of his reign, bears the date 679 Śaka⁵⁰ He assisted his father in his wars with the Pallavas On one occasion he marched against the Pallava king with his father's permission The ruler of Kâñchî, too weak to face him in the battle-field, took refuge in a fortress His power was broken by the Châlukya king, who returned to his country with a large spoil During the reign of this prince the Châlukyas were deprived of their power in Mahârâshṭra, and the sovereignty of the country passed from their hands into those of the Râshṭrakûṭa princes The main branch of the dynasty became extinct, but it had several minor offshoots, and one of these in the person of Tailapa succeeded in the course of time in regaining supreme power From this time forward, therefore, we do not meet with any copperplate grants issued by the Châlukyas, but Râshṭrakûṭa plates belonging to this intervening period are met with from Râdhanpur in Northern Gujarât to Sâmangaḍ near Kolhâpur and Nâgpur in the Central Provinces The grant of Kîrtivarman II, from which the above account of that prince is taken, does not allude to the fact of his disgrace, but he must have lost possession of the greater portion of his kingdom before Śaka 679, the date of the grant The name of the Râshṭrakûṭa monarch who first humbled the Châlukyas was Dantidurga, and the work begun by him was completed by his successor Kṛishṇa In a copper-plate grant of the former found at Sâmangaḍ he is spoken of as having become paramount sovereign after having vanquished Vallabha⁵¹ The date occurring in the grant is 675 Śaka Before that time, therefore, the Châlukyas must have lost their hold over Mahârâshṭra In the Yevûr tablet and the Mîraj plates the Châlukyas are spoken of as having lost sovereign power in the reign of Kîrtivarman II We will therefore here close our account of the early Châlukyas

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⁵⁰ Ind Ant, Vol VIII, p 27

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⁵¹ Jour B B R A S, Vol II, p 375

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[59] During the period occupied by the reigns of these early Châlukya princes, the Jaina religion comes into prominence Ravikîrti, the Jaina who composed the Aihole inscription and represents himself as a poet, was patronized by Pulakesi II Vijayâditya gave a village for the maintenance of a Jaina temple to Udayadevapandita or Niravadyapaṇḍita, the house pupil of Śrîpûjyapâda, who belonged to the Devagana sect of the Mûlasamgha, *i e* of the Digambara Jainas Niravadyapaṇḍita is spoken of as a spiritual adviser of Vijayâditya's⁵² father, *i e* Vinayâditya Vikramâditya II repaired a Jaina temple and gave a grant in connection with it to a learned Jaina of the name of Vijayapaṇḍita, who is represented to have silenced his opponents in argument and is styled the only disputant ⁵³ But Jainism in those days, as at present, probably flourished in the Southern Marâṭhâ Country only If the Pûjyapâda who was the preceptor of Niravadvapaṇḍita was the famous grammarian of that name, he must have flourished some time before 618 Śaka, the date of Vinayâditya's death, *i e* about 600 Śaka or 678 A D All that is known about Pûjyapâda and his relations to other Digambara writers is not inconsistent with this date But another date two hundred years earlier has also been assigned to Pûjyapâda

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⁵² Ind Ant, Vol VII, p 112

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⁵³ Ind Ant, Vol VII, p 197

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No inscription has yet come to light showing any close relations between the Buddhists and the Châlukya princes But that the religion dıd prevaıl, and that there were many Buddhıst temples and monasterıes, ıs shown by the account gıven by Hwan Thsang Stıll there ıs lıttle questıon that ıt was ın a condıtıon of declıne Wıth the declıne of Buddhısm came the revıval of Brâhmanısm and especıally of the sacrıfıcıal relıgıon The prevalence of the relıgıon of Buddha had brought sacrıfıces ınto dıscredıt, but we now see them rısıng ınto ımpcrtance Pulakesı I ıs mentıoned ın all the ınscrıptıons ın whıch hıs name occurs as havıng performed a great many sacrıfıces and even the Asvamedha I have elsewhere⁵⁴ remarked that the names of most of the famous Brâhmanıcal wrıters on sacrıfıcıal rıtes have the tıtle of *Svâmın* attached to them, and that ıt was ın use at a certaın perıod, and was gıven only to those conversant wıth the sacrıfıcıal lore The perıod of the early Châlukyas appears to be that perıod Amongst the Brâhman grantees of these prınces we have Nandısvâmın, Lohasvâmın, and Bhallasvâmın,⁵⁵ Dâsasvâmın the son of Jannasvâmın and grandson of Revâsvâmı-Dîkshıta,⁵⁶ Devasvâmın, Karkasvâmın, Yajñasvâmın, Nâgammasvâmın, another Devasvâmın, Gargasvâmın, Rudrasvâmın,⁵⁷ Prabhâkarasvâmın, Kesavasvâmın,⁵⁸ &c There are others whose names have not thıs tıtle attached to them Among these names there are three borne by the great commentators on sacrıfıcıal sûtras and rıtes, vız Karkasvâmın, Devasvâmın, and Kesavasvâmın [60] Though ıt would be hazardous to assume that these wrıters were exactly the persons who are mentioned in the grants with those names, still it admits of no reasonable doubt that they are to be referred to the period when the Châlukyas reigned in Mahârâshṭra, and probably flourished in the Dekkan or the Telugu and Kanarese countries For the revival of Brahmanism was carried on vigorously in the Southern India The ritual of the sacrifices must during the previous centuries have become confused, and it was the great object of these writers to settle it by the interpretation of the works of the old Ṛishis

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⁵⁴ Report on MSS for 1884, pp 31, 32

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⁵⁵ Ind Ant, Vol VI, p 77

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⁵⁶ Ind Ant, Vol IX, 128

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⁵⁷ Ind Ant, Vol IX, p 131

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⁵⁸ B B R A S, Vol XVI, pp 237, 239

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And the Purânic side of Brahmanism also received a great development during this period Temples in honour of the Purânic triad, Brahmâ, Vishṇu, and Maheśvara with a variety of names were constructed in many places The worship of Śiva in his terrific form seems also to have prevailed, as the Nâsik grant of Nâgavardhana assigning a certain village to the worship of Kâpâlikeśvara, or the god wearing a garland of skulls, would show

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Cave architecture came to be used for the purposes of the Purânic religion about the time of the early princes of the dynasty, as we see from the cavetemple at Bâdâmî dedicated to the worship of Vishṇu by Mangalîsa The Châlukyas, like their predecessors in previous times, were tolerant towards all religions

Linked texts (20)

Aṣṭādhyāyī — Pāṇini, Sanskrit
Paḷḷivāḍa grant of Viṣṇuvardhana II — Sanskrit
Indian Antiquary
Nāsik
South Indian Inscriptions
Kāñchī
Badami
Aihole
Pur
Radhanpur
Vikramāṅkadevacarita — Bilhaṇa, Sanskrit
Vokkaleri plates of Kīrttivarmma II, Śaka 680 (or 679) (ed. Rice 1879) — Sanskrit
Nerūr plates of Vijayāditya, Śaka 627 — Sanskrit
Nerur plates of Vijayaditya, Saka 622 — Sanskrit
Copper-plate grant of the Western Chalukya dynasty, dated Saka 614 — Sanskrit
Harihar plates of Vinayāditya, Śaka 616 (expired) / 617 — Sanskrit
No. XXVIII. Western Chālukya copper-plate grant of Vikramāditya I — Sanskrit
Togurshode plates of Vinayāditya, Śaka 612 — Sanskrit
Paṭṭadakal pillar inscription of the time of Kīrtivarman II — Sanskrit
Heggere inscription of Biṭṭi Deva Sāmanta — Kannada