Hinduism: Details about 'Chalukyas'
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The Chalukya Dynasty was an Indian royal dynasty that ruled large parts of southern and central India between 550 and 750 from Badami in Bagalkot district, Karnataka state, and again between 973 and 1190 from Manyakheta initially and later from Kalyana in Bidar district. While historians have varied versions of the origin of the Chalukyas, well known historians like Prof. K. A. Nilakanta Sastri , Sri. N. Laxminarayana Rao and Prof. S. C. Nandinath have emphatically asserted that the Chalukyas were Kannadigas and very much the natives of Karnataka. Their inscriptions are in Kannada and Sanskrit. The names of some Chalukya kings end with the Kannada term arasa. arasa itself means king or chief. The Rashtrakuta inscriptions speak of Chalukyas of Badami as Karnataka Bala. They claim that the Chalukyas were decendents or were related to the Kadambas of Banavasi. The Chalukyas took control of the territory formerly ruled by the Kadambas.The famous Badami cave inscriptions of 7th century AD, in Kannada provide more evidence of the Chalukya's language. Huien-Tsang, a Chinese traveller speaks of Pulkeshi as king of Maharashtra and a kshatriya. This must have been a terminology describing the entire territory between Kaveri and Narmada.Aihole inscription mentions Pulkeshi as king of three Maharashtras consisting of 99,000 thousand villages.The Solanki(chale/chalukya), one among of 96 Maratha clans are descendants of the Chalukya clan of Kshatriyas whose oldest known area of residence may be in present-day Karnataka.
Early HistoryThe dynasty was established by Pulakesi I in 550. Pulakesi I took Vatapi (now the town of Badami in Bagalkot district, Karnataka) under his control and made it his capital. His sons established the frontiers of his empire to extend over most of what is now the Indian state of Karnataka. Pulakesi IIPulakesi II, who ascended the throne in 608, is certainly the most famous and most recognized ruler of the Chalukya dynasty. Pulakesi II started out consolidating his kingdom by conducting minor campaigns against the Alupas, Gangas and others. He clashed successfully with the Pallava empire in Tamil Nadu, and also conquered the Cheras and the Pandyas. In 609, he appointed his brother Kubja Vishnuvardhana as the Viceroy of Vengi, who subsequently declared his independence and established the Eastern Chalukya Empire. His most famous military success came in c. 615, when he clashed with Harshavardhana, the famous ruler of Northern India, who already had the title Uttarapatheshvara (Lord of the North). Pulakesi II won the war and came to a treaty with Harshavardhana, a treaty which marked the Narmada River as the border between the Chalukya Empire and that of Harshavardhana. With this conquest, Pulakesi's control extended completely over Southern India, including Maharashtra and parts of Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. However, the war depleted the treasury sufficiently that Pulakesi stopped his expansionary campaigns. He received the title Dakshinapatheshvara (Lord of the South) at around the same time. Pulakesi went on to exchange ambassadors with the Shah of Persia - his reception of the Persian ambassador is depicted in one of the paintings in the Ajanta caves. The Chinese traveller Hsuan Tsang, who visited India in the 7th century, wrote admiringly of Pulakesi and his Empire. The clashes with the Pallava empire continued intermittently during his rule. Pulakesi was finally defeated by the Pallava king Narasimhavarman in 642. He died in the battle after around 36 years of rule. The Chalukya Empire was restored in 655 by Vikramaditya I; the clashes with the Pallava Empire continued until Vikramaditya II won a comprehensive victory against the Pallavas in 740. The Chalukya Empire was again overthrown in 750 by the Rashtrakutas. The Kalyani ChalukyasThe Chalukyas of Kalyani played an important role in shaping the history of Karnataka during the eleventh and twelfth centuries A. D. They were the descendants of the famous Chalukyas of Badami and were able to emerge from the obscurity of two centuries when the Rashtrakuta power declined. During the 970s, Tailapa II, a scion the Chalukya dynasty, overthrew the Rashtrakutas and recovered most of the Chalukya empire, except for Gujarat. Kalyani was the capital of the empire, and the Chalukyas of this period are known as the Kalyani Chalukyas. This time around, the Chalukyas kept clashing intermittently with the Chola empire in Tamil Nadu. The Cholas and the Chalukyas had always existed in constant warfare, spaced by periods of uneasy peace. Tailappa II son was Satyashraya. A later ruler Ayyana had to fight a pitched battle with Rajendra Chola at Masangi. Though he initially suffered reverses he was was able to drive the Cholas back. Someshwara I (1043 - 68AD) shifted the capital from Manyakheta to Kalyani (Kalpana) and developed it into a great City. He was involved in several battles with Chola king Rajadhiraja who was killed eventually in the battle of Koppal in 1054AD. In 1064 Virarajendra Chola proceeded against Someshvara I and defeated him at Kudala Sangama.While they fought the Cholas to the south, he also invaded the kingdom of Malwa and occupied it. The kingdom of Malwa had to make peace with the Chalukyas of Kalyani. Vikramaditya VI was the most distinguished ruler of the Kalyani Chalukya dynasty and scholars have considered his rule as a brilliant period in the history of Karnataka. He is considered as one of the most powerfull kings in Indian history. He marked his accession to the throne by founding the new era called Chalukya Vikram Era. During this era, architecture and Kannada literature flourished. Art and LiteratureThe Kalyani Chalukyas patronized great Kannada poets like Ranna.Ranna was the first poet to write under the Chalukyas of Kalyani. He was patronized by King Sathyashraya. Ajitapurana and Sahasabhimavijaya are his famous works.Other well known Kannada scholars of this time were Chandraraja, Shridharacharya, Kirtivarma, Nayasena, Nagavarma & Brahmashiva. Devara Dasimayya, the Vachanakara, belonged to this period. Even ministers like Durgasimha and army commanders like Chavundaraya II wroteimportant works. The Chalukya rulers of Kalyani gave encouragement to Sanskrit scholars like Vadiraja. Bilhana immortalized the name of his patron Vikramaditya VI through his Vikramankadeva Charitha. Vijananeshvara became famous by writing Mitakshara. Someshwara III himself complied an encyclopedia of all arts and sciences. Jagadekamalla wrote Sangithachudamani. According to Percy Brown the buildings of later Chalukya style in Bellary, Dharwad and Hyderabad Karnataka areas constitute a link between the early Chalukyan and the Hoysala temples. None of them is stellate. The Kalyani style of architecture reaches its maturity and culmination in the 12th century. Kasi Vishveshvara at Lakkundi, Mallikarjuna at Kuruvatii and Mahadeva at Itagi are the finest examples produced by the later Chalukya architects. The 12th Century Mahadeva Temple at Itagi in Koppal District with splendid sculptures is said to be one of the finest examples in the country in respect of magnificence and decorative details. The exquisite carvings on walls, pillars and towers speak volumesabout the Chalukyan taste and culture. An inscription dated 1112AD in the temple premises describes the temple as Emperor among temples and being constructed by Mahadeva Dandanayaka (army general) of king Vikramaditya VI. The Chalukya dynasty went into decline after Vikramanka's death. In 1190, the Empire succumbed to the Hoysalas of Dvarasamudra and the Yadavas of Yadugiri. LegacyThe most enduring legacy of the Chalukya Dynasty is the architecture and art that they left. The rock-cut temples of Pattadakal,Badami and Aihole, and the some of the celebrated paintings and sculptures of the Ellora and Ajanta caves are examples of the art that the Chalukya Empire patronized. Over a hundred and fifty templeswere built by the Badami Chalukyas in Aihole alone. These temples are considered thebeginings of rock cut Hindu architecture. The Kalyani Chalukyas built over fifty templesin Dharwad, Gadag and Haveri regions of Karnataka.They evolved a new style, which is known as the Chalukyan architecture. It has been described as belonging to the vesara style, a combination of the South Indian or Dravida and the North Indian or Nagara Styles. "The Chalukya art zone of Karnataka has been described by K. V. Soundara Rajan as "The Prayaga of coalescing formal trends in temple styles…" Moreover, the building activities of the period were, as Percy Brown observes, "clearly the result of an enthusiasm which was religious in origin and in intensity of purpose."- History of Karnataka, Mr. Arthikaje. "In Karnataka history, Chalukyan period is considered as golden age. Besides political expansion it represented efficient administration, social security, spread in education and other cultural activities increase in trade and commerce, growth in literature, art and architecture. It also brought in unique religio-social reformation of Basaveswara which gave birth to Veerashaivism".- Dr. Jyotsna Kamat. Kannada inscriptions from this empire from the Bombay-Karnataka region have been deciphered and recorded by historians of Archeological Survey of India - South Indian inscriptions (vol 9, 11,15,17 and 18). An yearly celebration called Chalukya utsava, a three-day festival of music and dance organized by the government of Karnataka is held every year at Pattadkal, Badami and Aihole.Official reports are that the stage at Pattadkal would be named as Anivaritachari Gunda vedike, Chalakya Vijayambika vedike in Badami and at Aihole, the utsav vedike would be named after Ravikeerti. List of Chalukya rulersChalukyas of Badami
Chalukyas of Kalyani
See also前期チャールキヤ朝kn:ಚಾಲುಕ್ಯ Chalukya 遮娄其王朝
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