Chalukyas, Pallavas and the Kalabhra Revolt

At a Glance

• Chalukya capital Vatapi (Badami)
• Pallava capital Kanchi
• Pulakeshin II AD 609 to 642
• Narasimhavarman AD 630 to 668; Vatapikonda
• Kalabhras About 75 years in the sixth century
• Exam link UPSC Prelims, Ancient History: Gupta Age and Post-Gupta Kingdoms

Where Does It Fit?

This is the thirteenth topic of the category on the Gupta age and post-Gupta kingdoms. The previous topic covered Nalanda and Harsha’s Buddhism, and this one covers the Deccan and south. The next topic covers brahmanisation, land grants and peasant protest. Previous topic: Nalanda and Buddhism in Harsha’s Age. The later history of these dynasties is in Pallava Dynasty of South India, Chalukya Dynasty (Badami and Kalyani Branches) and Rashtrakuta Dynasty of the Deccan.

Which States Arose in the Deccan and South?

In short: about two dozen states arose between AD 300 and 600, and by the seventh century three major powers emerged.

The period AD 300 to 750 is the second historical phase of the regions south of the Vindhyas. Between AD 300 and 600 about two dozen states arose in areas that earlier owed allegiance to distant centres, known from their land charters. By the beginning of the seventh century the Pallavas of Kanchi, the Chalukyas of Badami and the Pandyas of Madurai were the three major states. In north Maharashtra and Vidarbha, the Vakatakas, brahmanas themselves, succeeded the Satavahanas and are known from many copperplate land grants; their politics was linked more to north India, as shown by Prabhavati Gupta’s marriage, and they transmitted brahmanical ideas to the south. The Ikshvakus arose in the Krishna-Guntur region, left monuments at Nagarjunakonda and Dharanikota and began land grants there. The Pallavas supplanted them; the word pallava means creeper, a Sanskrit form of the Tamil tondai, and the Pallavas were possibly a local tribe in Tondainadu. They set up their capital at Kanchi, which became a town of temples and Vedic learning. The Kadambas, founded by Mayurasharman at Banavasi, and the Western Gangas, with early capital at Kolar, were contemporaries. The Satavahana background is in Satavahanas – Political History.

How Did the Chalukya-Pallava Struggle Unfold?

The Chalukyas set up their kingdom in the early sixth century in the western Deccan, with their capital at Vatapi, modern Badami, and ruled for about two centuries until AD 757, when their feudatories, the Rashtrakutas, overthrew them. Their claim of descent from Brahma, Manu or the Moon and from Ayodhya was for legitimacy; they seem to have been a local Kanarese people accepted in the ruling varna. The main interest of political history from the sixth to the eighth century is the long struggle between the Pallavas and the Chalukyas, with the Pandyas a poor third, for plunder, prestige and the doab between the Krishna and the Tungabhadra. Pulakeshin II (AD 609 to 642) is known through the Aihole inscription, a eulogy by the court poet Ravikirti, valuable though exaggerated. He subdued the Kadamba capital Banavasi, made the Gangas of Mysore his vassals, and checked Harsha on the Narmada, as in Harsha and his Times. He nearly reached Kanchi, and the Pallavas bought peace by ceding northern provinces. About AD 610 he conquered the area between the Krishna and Godavari, Vengi, where an eastern Chalukya branch arose. His second invasion failed: the Pallava king Narasimhavarman (AD 630 to 668) occupied Vatapi about AD 642, when Pulakeshin II was probably killed, and took the title Vatapikonda. Vikramaditya II (AD 733 to 745) overran Kanchi three times and routed the Pallavas in AD 740, but the Rashtrakutas ended Chalukya hegemony in AD 757.

What Was the Kalabhra Revolt?

Very little is known of the tip of the peninsula after the eclipse of the Cholas, Cheras and Pandyas, except for a revolt led by the Kalabhras in the sixth century. They seem to have been a tribal people who captured power, particularly at the Cholas’ cost, and ruled for seventy-five years. Their rule also affected the Pallavas and neighbours. They are called evil rulers who overthrew many kings. The revolt appears to be a powerful peasant protest against landed brahmanas: they ended the brahmadeya rights of brahmanas in many villages, despite repeated warnings that those who attack land grants are condemned to hell for sixty thousand years. They seem to have been Buddhist, since they patronised Buddhist monasteries. It could be put down only through the joint efforts of the Pandyas, Pallavas and the Chalukyas of Badami, and tradition says that by the last quarter of the sixth century the Kalabhras had imprisoned the Chola, Pandya and Chera kings. The confederacy against them shows the revolt was against the existing social and political order. The Pallava founder Simhavarman is credited with rescuing dharma from the evils of Kali, which apparently refers to suppressing the Kalabhras. As an analytical point, the evidence for the Kalabhras comes from hostile later sources, so the extent of their rule and nature of their revolt remain debated. The agrarian background of the revolt is in Brahmanisation, Land Grants and Peasant Protest in the Peninsula, and the earlier Tamil kingdoms in Sangam Age – The Three Early Kingdoms of the Deep South.

Why Is This Topic Important?

• Dynasty lists Prelims favourites
• Inscription Aihole
• Agrarian protest Kalabhra theme

What Came Next?

The next topic describes brahmanisation, land grants and peasant protest in the peninsula. Next topic: Brahmanisation, Land Grants and Peasant Protest in the Peninsula.

Key People and Terms

• Vatapi Badami, Chalukya capital
• Aihole inscription Ravikirti’s eulogy of Pulakeshin II
• Vatapikonda Conqueror of Vatapi
• Kalabhras Tribal rulers of the sixth century
• Brahmadeya Village granted to brahmanas
• Vengi Krishna-Godavari region

Exam Corner

Mains Angle

Questions ask about the Chalukya-Pallava struggle and the Kalabhras. These points add depth.

• Rivalry Doab
• Sources Aihole
• Protest Kalabhras