BSSEI NET HISTORY WORKSHOP:

UNIT 3- Emergence of Regional Kingdoms in Early Medieval

India:

1. The Rashtrakutas-
The political history of the Deccan between c. 753-975 CE was marked
by the ascendancy of the Rashtrakutas. The term ‘Rashtrakuta’ means
designated officers-in charge of territorial divisions called ‘Rashtra’.
They were feudatories under the Chalukyas of Badami.

• Origin: According to K. A. Nilakanta Sastri, the Rashtrakutas

belonged to the Satyaki Branch of Yaduvamsha.
The origins of the dynasty can be traced to the Kannada-speaking
area. One of the titles used by the Rashtrakuta rulers was
LATTALURA-PURAVESHVARA (Lord of the great city of
Lattalura, i.e., Latur on the Maharashtra-Karnataka Border. In
625 CE, they migrated from Latur to Ellichpur and served as the
feudatories of the Chalukyas.

• CHRONOLOGY of the Rashtrakuta Rulers:

1. Dantidurga
2. Krishna I
3. Govinda II
4. Dhruva
5. Govinda III
6. Amoghavarsha Nriputunga I
7. Krishna II
8. Indra III
 9. Amoghavarsha II
10. Govinda IV
11. Amoghavarsha III
12. Krishna III
13. Khottiga
14. Karka II

• DANTIDURGA (735-756):
1) The founder of the Rashtrakuta kingdom.
2) Defeated Chalukya King KIRTIVARMAN in 752-53.
3) Made an alliance with Nandivarman Pallavamalla, the ruler
of Kanchi, Dantidurga gave his daughter REVA in marriage
with Nandivarman.
4) A.S. Altekar in his book THE RASHTRAKUTAS and
THEIR TIMES argues that Dantidurga (he whose elephant
is his fortress) as a feudatory chief helped Pulakesin II, the
Chalukya king, to resist the invasion of the Arabs in the early
8th century.
5) Defeated Pariharas, annexed Malwa.
6) Adopted the title- MAHARAJADHIRAJA.

• KRISHNA I (756-774):
1) Gave final blow to the Chalukyas of Badami, attacked the
Gangas of Mysore, and defeated the Chalukyas of Vengi.
2) Defeated the Ganga ruler Sripurusha in 768 CE.
3) Conquered Southern Konkan and established the SILHARA
family there as a feudatory power.
 4) Against the Eastern Chalukya Kingdom of Vengi, Krishna I
dispatched an expedition under the crown prince Govinda II
to whom Vijayaditya I, the ruler of Vengi, made his
submission without a fight.
5) Built the KAILASA TEMPLE at ELLORA in
DRAVIDIAN style. From the Baroda Copperplate Inscription
of KARKA II, we come to know that the Kailasanath temple
was built by Krishna I.

• GOVINDA II (774-780):
1) Cooperated with Nandivarman Pallavamalla in assisting
SIVAMARA II, the son of Sripurusha to gain the Ganga
throne against the opposition of his brother, Duggamara
Ereyappa.
2) He was dethroned by his younger brother Dhruva, who not
only defeated Govinda II, but also his allies like the Pallava,
the Ganga, and the rulers of Vengi and Malwa.

• DHRUVA (780-793):
1) First sovereign Rashtrakuta ruler.
2) Adopted several titles- ‘NIRUPAMA’,
‘KALIVALLABHA’, ‘DHARAVARSHA’,
‘SHRIVALLABHA’.
3) After ascending the throne, he punished the allies of Govinda
II.
4) Imprisoned SHIVAMARA II.
5) Levied a tribute of elephants from PALLAVAMALLA.
6) Defeated the Vengi ruler VISHNUVARDHANA IV and
married his daughter SILAMAHADEVI.
 7) He was the first Rashtrakuta ruler to decisively intervene
in the tripartite struggle being waged for the supremacy
of North India and defeated both the Pratihara King
VATSARAJA and the Pala King DHARMAPALA.
8) After his successful campaigns in the North, he added the
emblem of Ganga and Yamuna to his imperial insignia.

• GOVINDA III (793-814):

1) Adopted many titles- ‘NRIPATUNGA’, ‘ATISHOY-
DHABAL’, ‘MAHARAJASANDA’,
‘VEERNARAYANA’.
2) Dhruva abdicated and made Govinda III his successor. But
Govinda’s brother KAMBHA wanted to dethrone him. To
gain support, Govinda released SHIVAMARA II from prison,
but SHIVAMARA II betrayed him by joining hands with
KAMBHA.
3) Govinda attacked GANGAVADI and once again imprisoned
SHIVAMARA II.
4) Defeated the confederacy of 12 rulers but used his victory
with moderation.
5) Reinstated KAMBHA as the viceroy of GANGAVADI.
6) INDRA, a younger brother of Govinda who had stood by him,
was rewarded with the viceroyalty of LATA.
7) Defeated the Pala King DHARMAPALA and his protégé
CHAKRAYUDHA, the ruler of KANAUJ.
8) Wrested Malwa from the Pratihara ruler NAGABHATTA II
and assigned its rule to one of his officials, UPENDRA of the
PARAMARA dynasty.
 9) From the NESARIKA Copperplate inscription (805 CE), we
come to know that Govinda III defeated DHARMAPALA.
SANJAN inscription of AMOGHAVARSHA I states that
both the Pala and the Pratihara rulers were crushed by
GOVINDA III.
10) In 802 CE Govinda fixed his camp at SRIBHAVANA
on the banks of the Narmada, where AMOGHAVARSHA I
was born.
11) Defeated Dantivarman, the Pallava ruler of Kanchi.
12) In Kanchi, he received the submission offered by an
embassy from CEYLON.
13) The rulers of Vengi VISHNUVARDHANA IV and his
successor VIJAYADITYA II (who adopted the title of
‘NARENDRAMRIGARAJA’ or ‘LION Among KINGS’)
felt the impact of his power. GOVINDA III created trouble
for VIJAYADITYA II by supporting his half-brother
BHIMA SALUKI’s rival claims to the throne of VENGI.

• AMOGHAVARSHA I (814-78):
1) Follower of JAINISM.
2) Built the capital city- MANYAKHET/ MALKHED.
3) His military commander BANGKEYA suppressed the revolt
of his son KRISHNA II.
4) Arabian Traveller SULAIMAN visited his court in 851 CE.
5) According to SULAIMAN, AMOGHAVARSHA’s kingdom
was among the four greatest empires of the world, the other
three being- the ROMAN empire, the CHINESE empire and
the empire of the CALIPH of BAGHDAD.
 6) He is compared to VIKRAMADITYA in giving patronage to
men of letters like- JINASENA (the author of
ADIPURANA, PARSHAVABUDAYA),
MAHAVIRACHARYA (who wrote
GANITASARASAMGRAHA) and SAKTAYANA the
author of AMOGHAVRITTI).
7) According to the SANJAN copperplate inscription, he was a
devotee of the GODDESS MAHALAKSHMI.
8) He wrote the 1st KANNADA POETRY-
KAVIRAJAMARG. He also wrote PRASNOTTAR
MALIKA and RATNAMALIKA.

• KRISHNA II (878-914):
1) Resisted the aggression of the Pratihara ruler BHOJA.
2) Defeated the ruler of Vengi, VIJAYADITYA III and
imprisoned his successor BHIMA.
3) He gave his daughter in marriage with the Chola ruler
ADITYA I. ADITYA’s son KANNAR was KRISHNA’s
grandchildren. After ADITYA’s death his son PARANTAKA
ascended the throne. With the help of KANNAR, KRISHNA
II invaded the CHOLA territory. But he was defeated near
BALLAL/ TIRUBALLAM, NORTHERN ARCOT district.

• INDRA III (914-922):

1) Known as RATTA-KANDARPA.
2) Arab Traveller Al-Masudi visited India during his time. Al-
Masudi called INDRA III the greatest king of India.
3) Defeated Pratihara king MAHIPALA I.
4) Plundered the capital city of KANAUJ,
• The next significant ruler was KRISHNA III (939-67):
1) With the help of BHUTUGA, the ruler of GANGAVADI, he
invaded the CHOLA kingdom.
2) His armies reached RAMESHWARAM, where he built a
pillar of Victory and KRISHANESWARA temple.
3) Title- SAKALA-DAKSHINA-DIG-ADHIPATI.

• DECLINE:
1) Under the rule of KHOTTIGA, the PARAMARA king
MUNJA invaded the RASHTRAKUTA kingdom.
2) In 974-75, the Chalukya TAILA overthrew the last
Rashtrakuta ruler KARKA II and founded the
CHALUKYA KINGDOM of KALYANI.

• ADMINISTRATION of the RASHTRAKUTAS:

1) The empire was divided into several provinces called Rashtras
under the control of the Rashtrapati.
2) The rashtras were further divided into districts called the
Vishayas, governed by Vishayapatis.
3) Next subdivision was Bhukti (consisting of 50 to 70 villages)
under the charge of Bhogpatis.
4) Each village was headed by the village headmen who in turn
was helped by the village elders called Grama Mahajana or
Grama Mahattara.
5) Law and order was the responsibility of Kostapala or Kotwal.
6) Hereditary revenue officer came to be known as Nav
Gavundas or Desa Gramakutas.
2. The Chalukyas of Kalyani:
The Chalukyas of Kalyani ruled most of the Western Deccan,
South India, between 10th and 12th centuries.

• CHORONLOGY of the CHALUKYA rulers of

KALYANI:
1. Tailapa/ Taila II
2. Irivabedemga Satyasraya
3. Vikramaditya V
4. Jaya Simha II
5. Somesvara I
6. Somesvara II
7. Vikramaditya VI
8. Somesvara III
9. Jagadekamalla
10. Jagadekamalla II
11. Tailapa III
12. Somesvara IV

• TAILA II:
1) Initially he governed from TARDAVADI, as a feudatory
of the Rashtrakuta ruler KARKA II.
2) He defeated his overlord KARKA II in 973 CE and
established the CHALUKYA dynasty with its capital at
KALYANI (Karnataka). This dynasty came to be known
as LATER CHALUKYA or CHALUKYAS of
KALYANI, while the EARLY CHALUKYAS being the
CHALUKYAS of BADAMI.
 3) Defeated the GANGAS, and conquered NORTH
MYSORE.
4) Defeated the PARAMARA king MUNJA.
5) Opened the long-drawn phase of wars against the
CHOLAS of THANJAVUR, by attacking UTTAMA
CHOLA.
6) KANCHAGARA-BELLAGALLU Inscription (981 CE)
mentions his feudatory VIRA NOLAMBA PALLAVA
PERMANADI and his queen REVALADEVI.
7) MAHAMANDALESHVARA SOMAPERMANDI was
also one of his feudatories who governed from
KORRAPALA.

• IRIVABEDEMGA SATYASRAYA:
1) Taila II’s son SATYASRAYA was also known as
SOLLINA or SOLLIGA.
2) He had to face two Chola invasions led by RAJENDRA
CHOLA. The Chola armies plundered the entire
CHALUKYAN territory, captured BANAVASI and a
good part of RAICHUR DOAB, and sacked
MANYAKHETA. Another Chola army moved towards
VENGI and forced SATYASRAYA to withdraw his
forces from Vengi.

• JAYASIMHA II:
1) SATYASRAYA was succeeded in 1008 by his nephew
VIKRAMADITYA V who after a short and uneventful
reign was followed by his brother JAYASIMHA II in
1015 CE.
 2) Had to fight on many fronts- The PARAMARA BHOJA
of MALWA, wanting to avenge the fate of MUNJA,
invaded the Chalukya Kingdom and for some years
occupied LATA (Gujarat).
3) But it was the CHOLA RAJENDRA who was his most
formidable enemy. After many successive defeats of the
CHALUKYAN forces, the TUNGABHADRA was
tacitly recognised as the boundary between the two
kingdoms.

• SOMESVARA I:
1) He shifted the capital from MANYAKHET to
KALYANI.
2) Inscriptions found in SANIGARAM village shows that
BETA I, PROLA I, BETA II, PROLA II were his
feudatories.

• SOMESVARA II:
1) Adopted the title- BHUVANAIKAMALLA.
2) An inscription from SIVAPURAM in the
MARKAPURAM taluk of PRAKASAM district
mentions his chief queen KANCHALADEVI and another
queen MAILALADEVI.
3) An epigraph from ALAMPUR mentions a mahasamanta
named VADDARAVULA DANDANAYAKA
NARANAMAYYA.

• VIKRAMADITYA VI:
1) Greatest ruler of this dynasty.
 2) He ended his elder brother SOMESVARA II’s rule in a
civil war with the help of SEUNA CHANDRA II, the
YADAVA ruler.
3) GADAG inscriptions states that he set aside the
SAKA era and introduced the CHALUKYA-
VIKRAMA era.
4) In 1085, he invaded KANCHI and snatched some
CHOLA territories in ANDHRA.
5) Fought numerous wars against the HOYSALAS of
DWARSAMUDRA, the KAKATIYAS of
WARRANGAL, the YADAVAS of DEVAGIRI and the
KADAMBAS of GOA, who were the feudatories of the
Chalukyas.
6) He was a great patron of men of letters. BILHANA, the
author of VIKRAMANKADEVACHARITA adorned
his court.
7) He also patronised VIJNANESVARA, the
commentator of the MITAKSHARA commentary on
the Smritis (mainly YAJNAVALKYA SMRITI).

• DECLINE:
1) After VIKRAMADITYA VI’s death in 1126 CE, the
empire gradually petered away.
2) Between 1150-1200 CE, there were many hard-fought
battles between the CHALUKYAS of KALYANI and
their feudatories.
3) JAGADEKAMALLA II lost his control over VENGI.
4) His successor TAILAPA III was defeated by
KAKATIYA PROLA in 1149 CE. The KAKATIYAS,
 SEUNAS and HOYSALAS attacked the Chalukya
kingdom during the reign of TAILAPA III.
5) BIJJALA of KALACHURI family occupied
KALYANI in 1157 CE and TAILAPA III fled in
ANNEGERI where he died in 1162 CE.
6) SOMESVARA IV re-established his dynastic power in
1183 CE. But he lost his empire by 1189 CE. The
SEUNAS captured the northern portions of the Chalukya
territories and the rest of the empire fell into the hands of
the KAKATIYAS and the HOYASALAS.