Chalukya Dynasty: R. Mahalakshmi Jawaharlal Nehru University, India

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inscriptions of the Badami Chalukyas also

Chalukya dynasty speak of them as belonging to the race of
R. MAHALAKSHMI Manavya or Manu, the primordial man, and
Jawaharlal Nehru University, India descendants of Hariti. Another origin myth
found in the inscriptions of the Chalukyas
The Chalukyas were a dynasty that rose to of Vengi refers to Brahma again as the pro-
prominence in the mid-6th century in the genitor of the race. Interestingly, they are
western Deccan, with their epicenter at referred to as kings of Ayodhya at first, and
Badami in the Malaprabha river valley. Until only later moving to the Deccan. This move
the middle of the 8th century they held sway was attributed to Visnuvardhana, who under-
over the western Deccan, having defeated the took a campaign along the Daksinapatha to
early Rashtrakutas and the chiefdoms in the avenge his father’s defeat and death, when
region. They carried the title of Daksina- on a similar mission, at the hands of the Pal-
pathapati or “Lords of the Southern Route,” lava sovereign (Padigar 2010 xxxiv). The
a term indicating control over the arteries naming of the capital as Vatapi (Badami) pro-
of trade and passage in southern India. While vides a clear indication of the brahmanical
there were other dynasties carrying the same influences over these rulers by harking to
name ruling in Vengi and Lata contempora- the legend of the sage Agastya who according
neously, as well as those at Kalyana and to the Sanskrit epic Ramayana killed the two
Vemulavada at a later period, all these dynas- demon brothers Vatapi and Ilvala who lived
ties claimed common ancestry from the Cha- in southern India (Hiltebeitel 1999: 469).
lukyas of Badami (Dikshit 1980: 2). It is estimated that the Badami Chalukyas
The legendary origins of the Chalukyas can issued about 150 records, and corroboration
be traced from the accounts of the later Cha- of their presence and military exploits is avail-
lukyas. Bilhana, the Kashmiri court poet of able through the records of their contempor-
the later Chalukyan king Vikramaditya VI aries like the Pallavas. While tradition invokes
(1076–1126), composed the Vikramankade- Jayasimha I and then Ranaraga as the earliest
vacarita, a mahakavya in eighteen cantos, historical figures, the first ruler to issue
describing the life and times of his patron inscriptions was Pulakesin I (543/4–566),
(Sastri 1975: 347). Here, when Brahma the who proclaimed his power by performing
creator god was performing his morning wor- the asvamedha or horse sacrifice (Sastri
ship, Indra, the king of the gods, approached 1975: 148). His son Kirtivarman I defeated
him with a complaint that the gods were not the Kadambas of Banavasi among other
receiving offerings from mortals. Brahma dynasties, another son Mangalesa conquered
took water into his cupped right hand, or chu- Revatidvipa or Goa, under a branch of the
lika, and created a fiery warrior – the epony- Kadambas, and his grandson Pulakesin II
mous Chalukya, who was followed by two defeated the Vishnukundins and the powerful
great heroes, namely Harita and Manavya Pushyabhuti ruler Harsha of Kanauj (Sastri
(Bhandarkar 1975: 57). This story is found 1975: 148–149). The last established his
in the records of the Chalukyas of Kalyana brother Vishnuvardhana in the eastern Dec-
and the Chaulukyas. The copper-plate can, with the political center at Vengi.
The Encyclopedia of Empire, First Edition. Edited by John M. MacKenzie.

© 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Published 2016 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
DOI: 10.1002/9781118455074.wbeoe404
2
Pulakesin II’s reign also marked the begin- The cave and structural stone temples of the
ning of a longstanding conflict with the Palla- Chalukyas of Badami are masterpieces of
vas of Kanchi. The numerous records and South Indian architecture. The earliest temple
hero stones or viragal mark the sites of con- may be the Ravana Phadi cave at Aihole in
flict across this region (Nagaraju 1995: 11). c.550 CE with spectacular sculptures of Natar-
Administrative structures were well laid out aja and the Saptamatrka, although it is at
under the Chalukyas, with the village adminis- Badami that the best iconographic specimens
tered by the great men or mahajanas. We know can be seen (Huntington 1985: 283–284).
of offices of the sasana sancarin or bailiff, bhata Patronage of temples by royalty reveals that
or constabulary, kosadhyaksa or treasury offi- they were initially non-sectarian in their reli-
cers, adhikari or officers, and rahasyadhikrata gious beliefs, as numerous temples dedicated
or hearers of royal orders. Rashtra and vishaya to Visnu and Siva, and Buddhist caityas and
along with the grama were territorial units of Jaina basadis, were built. However, the Chalu-
administration (Sastri 1975: 167). While tradi- kyas did claim in their inscriptions, and this is
tionally the oft-repeated term in inscriptions – borne out by the numerous sculptures in tem-
gamunda/gavuda – has been understood as ples, that they were nurtured by the “mothers”
referring to village headmen, analysis has or matrka. Also, the use of the Varaha image as
revealed that these were perhaps landlords their lancana or seal indicates that they were
who held a high socioeconomic status in their following the Puranic ideal of kingship, as
villages and hence exercised regulatory powers, represented in the myths of Visnu’s incarna-
at times even being co-opted by the state. Some tion as a great boar rescuing the earth goddess
villages, particularly in the fertile areas, have (Kumari 2014: 70–71, 117–118).
many gavundas mentioned as ratifiers of land The decline of the Badami lineage has been
transactions and donations (Veluthat 2010: attributed to the rise of the Rashtrakuta king
327). Agriculture was the backbone of the Dantidurga, who defeated Kirtivarman II in
economy, and there are numerous records 752–753 (Sastri 1975: 156). The Chalukyas
attesting to the colonization of forest lands of Vengi continued to have a presence in the
and the granting of these for paddy cultivation eastern Deccan, and by the late 10th century
to brahmanas and religious institutions. We matrimonial alliances between them and the
also hear of professionals engaged in temple Cholas were common. As a result, the eastern
service, such as garland makers and sculptors, Chalukya Rajendra II claimed a legitimate
receiving cultivable land. The construction of right to the Chola throne in 1070, since his
tanks by rulers indicates the state’s active sup- wife, mother, and grandmother were Chola
port to intensification and expansion of agri- princesses, assuming the title of Kulottunga I.
culture. The references in inscriptions to the The agrarian development and processes of
gold coin gadyana or pon, and numerous change initiated by the Vengi Chalukyas laid
others such as dharana, visa, hana, pana, the foundations for the Kakatiya Empire in
and bele, seem to indicate thriving commerce the 11th century (Talbot 2001: 24–26, 35).
in the region. However, there are very few At Kalyana, the Chalukyas found a new lease
numismatic finds of the Badami Chalukyas of life under Taila II (973–997), and ruled
(Chattopadhyaya 1977: 28–30). Other forms the western Deccan until the middle of the
of subsistence such as herding and cattle raid- 12th century when they were overrun by the
ing are known from records and hero stones or Kalachuri king Bijjala, and later in 1190 by
viragallu erected in memory of those who lost the Hoysala Ballala II (Sastri 1975: 197–199).
their lives in raids (Padigar 2010: lxiv–lxxv). The abiding influence of the early Chalukyas
3
lay in their patronage and use of Kannada and Kumari, N. 2014. “Structures of Patronage, Social
Telugu languages in their records, gradually Transactions and Sacred Landscape: Brahmani-
leading to the development of distinctive lan- cal Iconography in the Western Deccan,
c. 550–750 CE.” PhD Thesis, Centre for Histori-
guage cultures in the western and eastern Dec-
cal Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University,
can respectively (Nagaraju 1995: 8–9). New Delhi.
Nagaraju, S. 1995. “Emergence of Regional Identity
SEE ALSO: Chola (Cola) Empire; Harsha and Beginnings of Vernacular Literature: A Case
Empire; Hoysala Empire; Kadamba Kingdom; Study of Telugu.” Social Scientist, 23(10/12):
Kakatiya Kingdom; Pallavas of Kanchi; 8–23.
Vishnukundina Empire Padigar, S. V. 2010. “Introduction.” In S. V. Padi-
gar (Eds.), Inscriptions of the Chalukyas of
Badami. Bangalore: ICHR.
REFERENCES Sastri, K. A. N. 1975. A History of South India.
Delhi: Oxford University Press. First pub-
Bhandarkar, R. G. 1975. Early History of the Dek- lished 1955.
kan. Delhi: Bharatiya Publishing House. Talbot, Cynthia. 2001. Precolonial India in Prac-
Chattopadhyaya, B. D. 1977. Coins and Currency tice. Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Systems of South India c. AD 225–1300. Delhi: Veluthat, K. 2010. “Landed Magnates as State
Munshiram Manoharlal. Agents.” In The Early Medieval in South India:
Dikshit, D. P. 1980. Political History of the Chalu- 325–331. Delhi: Oxford University Press.
kyas of Badami. New Delhi: Abhinav
Publications.
Hiltebeitel, A. 1999. Rethinking India’s Oral and FURTHER READING
Classical Epics: Draupadi Among Rajputs, Mus-
lims and Dalits. Chicago: University of Chi- Adiga, M. 2005. The Making of Southern
cago Press. Karnataka: Society, Polity and Culture in the
Huntington, S. 1985. The Art of Ancient India: Early Medieval Period, AD 400–1030. Hyderabad:
Buddhist, Hindu, Jain. New York: Weatherhill. Orient Blackswan.

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inscriptions of the Badami Chalukyas also

The Encyclopedia of Empire, First Edition. Edited by John M. MacKenzie.

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