A History of South India from Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar c6.8

c6.8

The next period (c. A.D. 600-950) is one of relatively large states each with a notable record of its own in war and peace. In the Deccan at first the Chālukyas of Bādāmi rise and spread their power over the entire country between the two seas, though the Telugu country along the east coast and the province of Lāṭa in the north-west develop into virtually independent kingdoms under collateral branches of the royal line. The Chālukyas hold their own against Harshavardhana and confine his empire to the north of the Vindhyas; they wage successful war against other neighbours in the North, and the Pallavas in the South, and the many fine stone temples, rock-cut and structural, found at Aihole, Bādāmi and Pattadakal attest their devotion to religion and architecture; doubtless some of the additions to the caves and paintings at Ajanta must also be ascribed to this period. By the middle of the eighth century, the power of the Chālukyas declines, and from among their numerous feudatories the Rāṣṭrakūṭas rise into eminence and establish a new empire with Mānyakheta (Malkhed) as its centre. In administration, and in its relations with its neighbours in the north and south, this empire generally continues the tradition of the Chālukyas of Bādāmi, except for the fact that it keeps up an almost perpetual feud with the Chālukyas of Vengi, the rulers of the eastern Deccan. The splendid rock-cut temple of Kailāsa at Ellora is perhaps the most remarkable monument of the Rāṣṭrakūṭas.