Chalukyas of Badami

History glossary

Also called: Chalukyas of Vatapi, Early Chalukyas, Badami Chalukyas · Topic: Southern Dynasties: Chalukyas, Pallavas, Cholas · NCERT: Class 7, Ch 3 "Empires and Kingdoms: 6th to 10th Centuries"; Class 9, Ch 5 "State and Society up to 1000 CE"

Meaning

The Chalukyas of Badami (also called the Chalukyas of Vatapi or Early Chalukyas) were a dynasty that ruled the western Deccan from their capital Vatapi (modern Badami, Karnataka) from c. 543 to 753 CE. Their strongest king, Pulakeshin II, stopped Harsha from moving south at the Narmada river. Their temples at Aihole, Badami and Pattadakal became the first models for later temple building in South India.

They matter because in the 7th century they made the Deccan one of the two main power centres of India. They also left behind some of the earliest stone temples and inscriptions in the South.

Explanation

Rise: from local chief to Deccan power

  • Pulakeshin I founded the dynasty in the mid-6th century. NCERT dates the Badami Chalukyas to c. 543–753 CE.
  • He began as a small chief at Pattadakal in the Bijapur area. His reign began in 543 CE. He captured the hill fort of Vatapi and built walls around it. [3]
  • From Vatapi he took the land between the Krishna and the Tungabhadra rivers, up to the Western Ghats. [3]
  • The fort came first and the empire came after.
  • A strong hilltop base gave him safety.
  • From there he could expand across the Deccan within one lifetime.

Pulakeshin II: the high point (c. 610–642 CE)

  • Pulakeshin II was the grandson of Pulakeshin I. Chalukya power was at its highest under him. [3]
  • He first had to win a civil war.
  • His first years went into fighting for the throne.

  • After he won, he took back lost land and made disobedient under-chiefs obey again. [3]

  • He stopped Harsha at the Narmada.

  • He also won parts of Gujarat and Malwa. The Narmada became the border between him and Harsha of Kannauj. [3]

  • So early 7th-century India had two big powers: Harsha north of the Vindhyas, and Pulakeshin II south of them.

  • He created the Eastern Chalukya branch.

  • Around 624 CE he took the Vengi country (coastal Andhra) from the Vishnukundins.

  • He gave it to his brother Kubja Vishnuvardhana, who became the first Eastern Chalukya ruler. [3]

  • The Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang praised his rule. He wrote that the people obeyed him "with perfect submission".

  • In the end Pulakeshin II was defeated by the Pallavas, the rival dynasty of Kanchi.

How the state worked

  • There was a king at the top and village assemblies below. This was the usual southern pattern (NCERT Class 9).
  • The king ruled the kingdom.

  • The villages ran their own daily affairs through their assemblies.

  • The Chalukyas gave agraharams.

  • An agraharam was land or a village given to a settlement of Brahmins.
  • The Pallavas made similar grants called Brahmadeya.

  • Some agraharams grew large. At Aihole and Badami they became centres of learning.

  • Temple building was part of royal policy.

  • Aihole and Badami were where builders tried out new temple forms.
  • Pattadakal shows the finished result. These buildings became the prototypes (first models) for later temples in the peninsula. [2]

Fall and later branches

  • In the mid-8th century the Rashtrakuta king Dantidurga overthrew the Chalukyas in the Deccan.
  • Britannica gives the first Chalukya period as 543 to 757 CE, and a second period as c. 975 to c. 1189. [3] For the exam, use NCERT's 543–753 CE.
  • Western Chalukyas of Kalyani: This was a 10th-century revival of the family. Their capital was Kalyani (modern Basavakalyan), and their rule again reached the Narmada.

  • In the 12th century, Someshvara III wrote the Manasollasa. It is an encyclopaedia of royal life that covers astronomy, music, medicine, cooking and games.

  • Eastern Chalukyas of Vengi: This branch was started by Kubja Vishnuvardhana around 624 CE. [3]

  • They supported Hindu, Jain and Buddhist worship.
  • Telugu and Kannada literature grew under them.
  • Marriage alliances pulled Vengi into the Chola sphere.
    • Vengi was fertile land, so it was worth fighting for.
    • It became the prize in long Chola–Western Chalukya wars.
    • The Western Chalukyas grew weak after these wars. The Kakatiyas and Hoysalas took their place.

Time, place and evidence

  • Period: c. 543–753 CE (NCERT). Britannica ends this first period in 757 CE. [3]
  • Key rulers: Pulakeshin I (founder; reign began 543 CE) and Pulakeshin II (c. 610–642 CE). [3]
  • Region: The western Deccan, between the Krishna and Tungabhadra rivers. [3]
  • Main sites: The monument towns of Badami, Aihole, Nagaral and Pattadakal are in Bagalkot district of Karnataka, along the Malaprabha river. [2]
  • Badami (Vatapi): This was the first Chalukya capital. It has Brahmanical and Jain cave temples cut into the rock, dated to the 6th–7th centuries. [3]
  • Aihole (Aryapura / 'Ayyavole'): This was an older centre. It has more than 100 Hindu, Buddhist and Jain temples.

  • Pattadakal: It became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987. It has nine Hindu temples and one Jain sanctuary. [2]

    • Its temples mix the Nagara style (northern style, with a curved tower) and the Dravida style (southern style, with a stepped pyramid tower) at one site. [2]
    • Queen Lokamahadevi ordered the Virupaksha temple around 740 CE to mark her husband's victory. [2]

  • How we know:

  • Aihole inscription: This is a Sanskrit prashasti (a poem in praise of a king, carved in stone) of Pulakeshin II. The court poet Ravikirti wrote it. It is on a 7th-century Jain temple on Meguti Hill, Aihole.
    • It is a key source, but it exaggerates. Other inscriptions contradict some of its claims.
  • Xuanzang's account: The Chinese pilgrim's report on Pulakeshin II's rule.
  • The temples themselves: Cave temples and stone temples show the dynasty's religion, its patrons and how temple styles developed.

Don't confuse with

  • Eastern Chalukyas of Vengi: This was a branch in coastal Andhra, started by Kubja Vishnuvardhana around 624 CE. The Badami Chalukyas ruled from Vatapi in Karnataka.
  • Western Chalukyas of Kalyani: This was a 10th-century revival with its capital at Kalyani (Basavakalyan). The Manasollasa (Someshvara III) belongs to them, not to the Badami line.
  • Rashtrakutas: They replaced the Badami Chalukyas. Their king Dantidurga overthrew the Chalukyas in the mid-8th century.
  • Brahmadeya vs agraharam: Both were land grants to Brahmins. Brahmadeya is the term used for the Pallavas, and agraharam is the term used for the Chalukyas.

Prelims Hooks

  • Pulakeshin I founded the Badami Chalukyas. NCERT dates the dynasty to c. 543–753 CE. [3]
  • Pulakeshin II (c. 610–642 CE) fixed the Narmada as his border with Harsha of Kannauj. [3]
  • The Aihole prashasti is by Ravikirti, on a 7th-century Jain temple on Meguti Hill. Trap: it is a Jain temple, not a Shaiva one.
  • Pattadakal: UNESCO site since 1987, with nine Hindu temples and one Jain sanctuary. It is on the Malaprabha river in Bagalkot district, Karnataka. [2]
  • Virupaksha temple, Pattadakal: built by Queen Lokamahadevi, c. 740 CE. [2]
  • Order of events: Pulakeshin I takes Vatapi (543 CE), then Vengi goes to Kubja Vishnuvardhana (c. 624 CE), then Virupaksha temple (c. 740 CE), then Dantidurga ends the dynasty (mid-8th century).

Mains Points

  • India had two powers after the Guptas.
  • Pulakeshin II stopped Harsha at the Narmada.
  • This shows that no single empire held all of India in the 7th century, and that the Vindhyas worked as a real political wall.

  • It is useful for the GS-I theme of "rise of regional kingdoms".

  • Inscriptions are evidence, but biased evidence.

  • Ravikirti's Aihole prashasti is the best source on Pulakeshin II.
  • Court poets were paid to praise the king, and other inscriptions contradict parts of it.

  • A good answer uses it but also says it must be checked against other sources.

  • Temples, land grants and learning went together.

  • Aihole and Badami were the testing ground, and Pattadakal was the finished form. Pattadakal mixes Nagara and Dravida styles, and its temples set the model for later peninsular temples. [2]
  • Lokamahadevi's Virupaksha temple shows that temples could also mark a military victory. [2]
  • Agraharam grants turned Aihole and Badami into centres of learning, so religion, politics and education grew together.

Related concepts

Read more

Sources

  1. 1Class 7, Ch 3 "Empires and Kingdoms: 6th to 10th Centuries"; Class 9, Ch 5 "State and Society up to 1000 CE" (primary)
  2. 2Group of Monuments at Pattadakal / Evolution of Temple Architecture – Aihole-Badami-Pattadakal — andwhc.unesco.org · tier 2
  3. 3Chalukya dynasty; Pulakeshin II; Badamibritannica.com · tier 3