Golden Era of Karnataka:The Chalukyan Era
Hello History geeks!!!, In this article I am going to write about Badami Chalukyas,South Indian Dynasty which ruled modern day Karnataka, and most of Maharashtra and Andhra and how they paved way for art and architecture.There were three Chalukyan dynasties,Badami Chalukyas,Vengi Chalukyas,Kalyani Chalukyas which ruled during different times.The Badami Chalukyas were the first of the Chalukyas ,The founder Pulakeshin I gained independence from the Kadambas of Banavasi and established the Chalukyan Empire with Badami as capital in 543 CE.Pulakeshi I also perfomed ashwamedha yaga and conquered nearby areas.The greatest king of Badami Chalukyas is Pulakeshin II,grandson of Pulakeshin I.He was called “Dakshinapatheshwara”(The lord of the south).Pulakeshin II gave eastern deccan to his younger brother called Kubja Vishnuvardhana,which later became the Vengi Chalukya.The language used in the kingdom was Kannada.There are numerous inscriptions available which were written during Chalukyan Era.
Pulakeshin defeated vardhana dynasty king Harsha in Battle of Narmada and thus stopped the invasion of northern kingdoms forever.Pulakeshin attacked Kanchipuram many times but Pallavas were effective in defending Kanchipuram,Pulakeshin II died in the battle and the capital Badami fell into the hands of Pallavas,Pallavas had reign over Badami for over thirteen years.Vikramaditya I restored the empire and hence was called “Rajamalla”.His successor Vijayaditya ruled for a long time and Chalukyas were prosperous again and built many temples.The next emperor of Chalukyas was Vikramaditya II ,he defeated the pallavas and plundered their capital Kanchipuram and engraved a victory pillar in Kailasanatha Temple in Kanchi in Kannada .Frequent wars with neighbouring Tamil dynasties was common.He defeated the Tamil kingdoms of the Pandyas,the Pallavas,the Cheras.The Chalukyas ruled large swathes of land from Kaveri in the south to Narmada in the north.As with all the great empires,Chalukyas were weakened and were overthrown.Rashtrakutas who were the feudatories of Badami Chalukyas overthrew the last Badami Chalukyan Kirtivarman II in 753 CE and established the Rashtrakuta dynasty.
The literature flourished during this period,which was a great step in kannada literature.Most of the literature is lost.”Chudamani” a lengthy commentary on logic and mathematics is proof of the advancements of the era.The Aihole Prasasti (634 CE) written by Ravikirit, a Jain court poet, gives a detailed account of Pulakesin’s many military accomplishments.Even the name Karnataka is said to have been given by the Chalukyas.Tripadi form of literature came up during this period.An example of Tripadi is the famous Kappe-Arabhatta Inscription.Even though Kannada was the state language sankrit literature recieved patronage.”Karnateshwara katha”(Translated as The Story of the Lord of Karnata pradesha) is written highlighting the achievements of Pulakeshin II.A poetess named Vijayanka was famous but the remains of her work is just few verses.Jainism also flourished during Chalukyan period and many poets in the court were Jains.
The art,architecture and literature reached heights during Chalukyan era.The Chalukyans were great patrons of art ,they developed “vesara” style of architecture also called “karnata-dravida” style,which is mix of both dravidian style and nagara style of architecture.The style reached its peak during Rashtrakutas and can be seen in ajanta cave temples.The main temples,monuments are found in Aihole,Pattadakal and Badami.The sculptors during Chalukyan period were scientific,they conducted experiments in Aihole and the successful experiments were implemented in Pattadakal,Hence Aihole is called as Cradle of Indian Temple Architecture.Among the temples found in Aihole,the notables ones are Surya Temple(Ladh Khan temple),Huchhmalligudi,Durga Temple,Jain temple.
Here are some photos from my previous visit,although the photos cannot accurately describe the architectural beauty of these temples.
Pattadakall(in Kannada ,“Patta” means throne, “kall” meaning stone) was used for coronation of kings,where the results of the experiments of Aihole can be seen,An UNESCO World Heritage Site,has finest temples of the time.Important Temples are Virupaksha Temple,Sangameshwara Temple,Mallikarjuna Temple,Galaganatha Temple,Kadasiddeshawara Temple,Jambulinga Temple,Paapanatha Temple,Naganatha Temple,Chandrashekhara Temple.Few of them are built in Dravdian style ,few of them are built in Nagara Style of Architecture.Here are few pictures from my collection.
And the next place where Chalukyan architecture shines bright is vatapi,modern day Badami,Karnataka.Badami is known for cave temples,there are four cave temples.The inscription is cave temple date back to 6th century.The cave temples are carved out on a Badami stone on a hill cliff.Each of the four temple includes verandah,an inner mantapa and gharbhagriha carved deep inside.
The first cave temple is dedicated to Shiva,It has carving of Nataraja,or the dancing shiva.The eighteen arms express Natya mudras.Shiva along with his gana is also carved.The cave has many carvings of members of the gana.It has carvings of couples,yaksha and an apsare.There is also erotic carving of maithuna.
Second Cave is dedicated primarily to Lord vishnu,Cave is on a higher level than cave 1.Varaha avatar of Vishnu is carved,Vishnu as Trivikram is also main attraction of this cave.The legend of Samudra Manthana is also carved.A number of fresco paintings are also found although they are largely faded.
Third Cave is dedicated Vishnu,One of the earliest known Hindu temples in deccan region.The temple has large carving of vishnu seated on Sesha The Serpeant.Cave 3 gives insights to the culture,clothings of the people.
Fourth Cave ,is dedicated to Jain Thirthankaras,which shows the cultural acceptance of other faiths during the era.The carvings of Parshavanatha,Bahubali and Mahavira are also carved.The cave is filled with carvings of thirthankaras.
There are more temples neaby to cave temples,These are the Bhoothanath group of temples dedicated to Bhoothanatha.Part of these were completed during Badami Chalukya rule,where as the remaining was completed during Kalyani Chalukyas during 11th Century.
These temples built during the Badami Chalukyan era contributed greatly to the art and architecture of Karnataka.Those of which can be seen today even after 1500 years.Even though great amount of sculptures,Idols were lost due to the Muslim Invasion.The Museums in Badami and Aihole hold the remains of an era,they speak great volumes of a bygone era,A golden era indeed.
