The Pallava dynasty was an Indian dynasty that existed from
275 CE to 897 CE, ruling a portion of southern
India. They gained
prominence after the eclipse of the Satavahana
dynasty, whom the
Pallavas served as feudatories. Pallavas became a major power during the reign of Mahendravarman
I (571–630 CE) and Narasimhavarman I (630–668 CE) and dominated the Telugu and northern parts of the Tamil region
for about 600 years until the end of the 9th century. … constant
conflict with both Chalukyas of Badami in the north and the Tamil kingdoms of Chola and Pandyas in the south. Pallava was finally defeated by
the Chola ruler Aditya I in the 9th century CE.
Pallavas
are most noted for their patronage of architecture, the finest example being
the Shore Temple,
a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Mamallapuram. The Pallavas, who left behind magnificent sculptures
and temples, established the foundations of medieval South Indian
architecture.. The Pallava script gave rise to several other southeast Asian
scripts. Chinese traveller Xuanzang visited Kanchipuram during Pallava rule and extolled their benign
rule.
Kailasanathar
Temple, Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu, 685–705 is highlight.
The
Pallavas were instrumental in the transition from rock-cut architecture to
stone temples. The earliest examples of Pallava constructions are rock-cut
temples dating from 610–690 and structural temples between 690–900. .. temple
of Nalanda Gedige in Kandy, Sri Lanka is another. The famous Tondeswaram temple of Tenavarai and the ancient Koneswaram
temple of Trincomalee were patronised and structurally developed by
the Pallavas in the 7th century. The Pallava period beginning with Simhavishnu
(575 AD – 900 AD) was a transitional stage in southern Indian society with
monument building, foundation of devotional (bhakti) sects of Alvars and Nayanars, the flowering of rural brahmanical institutions of
Sanskrit learning, and the establishment of chakravartin model of
kingship over a territory of diverse people;
The Chalukya
dynasty ([tʃaːɭukjə])
was a Classical Indian royal
dynasty that ruled large parts of southern and central India between the 6th and the 12th centuries.
During this period, they ruled as three related yet individual dynasties. The
earliest dynasty, known as the "Badami Chalukyas", ruled from Vatapi
(modern Badami)
from the middle of the 6th century. The Badami Chalukyas began to assert their
independence at the decline of the Kadamba kingdom of Banavasi and rapidly rose to prominence during the reign
of Pulakeshin II. After the death of Pulakeshin II, the Eastern
Chalukyas became
an independent kingdom in the eastern Deccan. They ruled from Vengi until about the 11th century. In the western
Deccan, the rise of the Rashtrakutas in the middle of the 8th century eclipsed the
Chalukyas of Badami before being revived by their descendants, the Western
Chalukyas, in the late
10th century. These Western
Chalukyas ruled from Kalyani (modern Basavakalyan) until the end of the 12th century.
The
rule of the Chalukyas marks an important milestone in the history of South India and a golden age in the history of Karnataka. The political atmosphere in South India shifted from
smaller kingdoms to large empires with the ascendancy of Badami Chalukyas. A
Southern India-based kingdom took control and consolidated the entire region
between the Kaveri and
the Narmada rivers.
The rise of this empire saw the birth of efficient administration, overseas
trade and commerce and the development of new style of architecture called
"Chalukyan architecture". Kannada literature,
which had enjoyed royal support in the 9th century Rashtrakuta court found
eager patronage from the Western Chalukyas in the Jain and Veerashaiva traditions. The 11th century saw the patronage
of Telugu literature under
the Eastern Chalukyas. A theory that they were descendants of a 2nd-century
chieftain called Kandachaliki Remmanaka, a feudatory of the Andhra
Ikshvaku (from
an Ikshvaku inscription of the 2nd century) was put forward. The Kandachaliki feudatory call
themselves Vashisthiputras of the Hiranyakagotra. The
Chalukyas, however, address themselves as Harithiputras of Manavyasagotra in
their inscriptions, which is the same lineage as their early overlords,
the Kadambas of
Banavasi. This makes them descendants of the Kadambas. …temples for the Hindu
god Shiva. Their style of architecture is called "Chalukyan
architecture" or "Karnataka Dravida architecture". Nearly a
hundred monuments built by them, rock cut (cave) and structural, are found in
the Malaprabha river
basin in modern Bagalkot
district of northern
Karnataka. The building material they used was a reddish-golden Sandstone found locally. These cave temples are basically
excavations, cut out of the living rock sites they occupy. They were not built
as their structural counterparts were, rather created by a special technique
known as "subtraction" and are basically sculptural. Though they
ruled a vast empire, the Chalukyan workshops concentrated most of their
temple building activity in a relatively small area within the Chalukyan
heartland – Aihole, Badami, Pattadakal and Mahakuta in
modern Karnataka state.
Their
temple building activity can be categorised into three phases. The early
phase began in the last quarter of the 6th century and resulted in many cave
temples, prominent among which are three elementary cave temples at Aihole
(one Vedic, one Jain and one Buddhist which is incomplete),
followed by four developed cave temples at Badami (of which cave 3, a Vaishnava
temple, is dated accurately to 578 CE). These cave temples at Badami are
similar, in that, each has a plain exterior but an exceptionally well finished
interior consisting of a pillared verandah, a columned hall (mantapa) and a cella (shrine, cut deep into rock) which
contains the deity of worship. In Badami, three caves temples are Vedic and one in Jain. The
Vedic temples contain large well sculpted images of Harihara, Mahishasuramardhini, Varaha, Narasimha, Trivikrama, Vishnu seated on Anantha (the snake) and Nataraja (dancing Shiva).
The
second phase of temple building was at Aihole (where some seventy structures
exist and has been called "one of the cradles of Indian temple
architecture and Badami. Though the exact dating of these temples has been
debated, there is consensus that the beginnings of these constructions are from
c. 600.These are the Lad Khan
Temple (dated by
some to c. 450 but more accurately to 620) with its interesting
perforated stone windows and sculptures of river goddesses; the Meguti Jain
Temple (634) which shows progress in structural design; the Durga Temple with
its northern Indian style tower (8th century) and experiments to adapt a
Buddhist Chaitya design to a brahminical one (its stylistic framework
is overall a hybrid of north and south Indian styles.[103]); the Huccimalli Gudi Temple with a new inclusion, a vestibule, connecting the sanctum to the hall. Other dravida style
temples from this period are the Naganatha Temple at Nagaral; the Banantigudi
Temple, the Mahakutesvara Temple and the Mallikarjuna Temple at Mahakuta; and
the Lower Sivalaya Temple, the Malegitti Sivalaya Temple (upper) and the
Jambulingesvara Temple at Badami. Located outside the Chalukyan
architectural heartland, 140 km south-east of Badami, with a structure
related to the Early Chalukya style is the unusual Parvati Temple at Sanduru which dates to the late 7th century. It is
medium-sized, 48 ft long and 37 ft wide. It has
a nagara (north Indian) style vimana (tower)
and dravida (south Indian) style parts, has no mantapa (hall) and consists of an antarala (vestibule) crowned with a barrel-vaulted tower (sukhanasi). The
"staggered" base plan of the temple became popular much later, in the
11th century. The structural temples at Pattadakal, built in the 8th
century and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, marks the culmination and mature phase of Badami
Chalukyan architecture. The Bhutanatha group of temples at Badami are also from
this period. There are ten temples at Pattadakal, six in
southern dravida style and four in the
northern nagara style. Well known among these are the
Sangamesvara Temple (725), the Virupaksha Temple (740–745) and the
Mallikarjuna Temple (740–745) in the southern style. The Papanatha temple (680)
and Galaganatha Temple (740) are early attempts in the nagara – dravida fusion
style. Inscriptional evidence suggests that the Virupaksha and the
Mallikarjuna Temples were commissioned by the two queens of King
Vikramaditya II after his military success over the Pallavas of
Kanchipuram. Some well known names of Chalukyan architects are Revadi
Ovajja, Narasobba and Anivarita Gunda. The government, at higher levels, was closely
modelled after the Magadhan and Satavahana administrative machinery. The empire was
divided into Maharashtrakas (provinces), then into
smaller Rashtrakas (Mandala), Vishaya (district), Bhoga (group
of 10 villages) which is similar to the Dasagrama unit used by
the Kadambas.
At the lower levels of administration, the Kadamba style prevailed fully. The
Sanjan plates of Vikramaditya I even mentions a land unit
called Dasagrama. In addition to imperial provinces, there were
autonomous regions ruled by feudatories such as the Alupas, the Gangas, the Banas and the Sendrakas. Local assemblies and
guilds looked after local issues. Groups of mahajanas (learned brahmins)
looked after agraharas (called ghatika or "place of
higher learning") such as at Badami which was served by
2000 mahajans and Aihole which was served by 500 mahajanas.
Taxes were levied and were called the herjunka – tax on loads,
the kirukula – tax on retail goods in transit,
the bilkode – sales tax, the pannaya – betel
tax, siddaya – land tax and the vaddaravula – tax levied to
support royalty
Both Shaivism and Vaishnavism flourished during the Badami Chalukya period,
though it seems the former was more popular. The Badami kings were followers of Vedic Hinduism and dedicated temples to popular Hindu
deities in Aihole. Sculptures of deities testify to the popularity of Hindu
Gods such as Vishnu, Shiva, Kartikeya, Ganapathi, Shakti, Surya and Sapta
Matrikas ("seven
mothers"). The Badami kings also performed the Ashwamedha ("horse sacrifice"). The worship
of Lajja Gauri,
a fertility goddess is known. Jainism too was a prominent religion during this period.
The kings of the dynasty were however secular and actively encouraged Jainism. One of the Badami Cave temples is dedicated to the
Jain faith. Jain temples were also erected in the Aihole complex, the temple at
Maguti being one such example. .
Sage Bharata's Natyashastra, the precursor to Bharatanatyam, the classical dance of South India, was popular and
is seen in many sculptures and is mentioned in inscriptions. Some women
from the royal family enjoyed political power in administration. Queen
Vijayanka was a noted Sanskrit poet, Kumkumadevi, the younger sister of
Vijayaditya (and queen of Alupa King Chitravahana) made several grants and had
a Jain basadi called
Anesajjebasadi constructed at Puligere, and the queens of
Vikramaditya II, Lokamahadevi and Trailokyamahadevi made grants and possibly
consecrated the Lokesvara Temple (now called Virupaksha temple) but also and
the Mallikarjuna temple respectively at Pattadakal. The Chalukya era may be
seen as the beginning of the fusion of cultures of northern and southern India,
making way for the transmission of ideas between the two regions. This is seen
clearly in the field of architecture. The Chalukyas spawned
the Vesara style of architecture which includes elements of the
northern nagara and southern dravida styles. During this period, the expanding Sanskritic culture
mingled with local Dravidian vernaculars which were already popular. Dravidian languages maintain these influences even today. This
influence helped to enrich literature in these languages. The Hindu legal
system owes much to the Sanskrit work Mitakshara by Vijnaneshwara in
the court of Western Chalukya King Vikramaditya VI. Perhaps the greatest work
in legal literature, Mitakshara is a commentary
on Yajnavalkya and is a treatise on law based on earlier writings and
has found acceptance in most parts of India. .. during the Western Chalukya
rule that the Bhakti movement
gained momentum in South India, in the form of Ramanujacharya and Basavanna,
later spreading into northern India.
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