History of South India: Pallavas and Chalukyas
After the Gupta age, there was a political vacuum in North India which was to a certain extent filled by Harsha. but during this period it was South India under the Pallavas and the Chalukyas that witnessed great progress in all fields.
The Pallavas:
The Pallavas ruled South India since the 3rd Century a.d. but their Origins are not very clear. the Imperial phase of the Pallavas starts from the sixth-century a.d.. the Pallava rule is significant in many ways.
- it was the first Imperial dynasty in South India.
- this period witnessed the rise of Tamil as the major language and the Pallavas contributed to the development of the Tamil personality.
- they were the founders of local autonomous self-governing Institutions and rural administration.
- The Pallavas played a major part in the colonization of Southeast Asia.
Mahendraverman:
He was the first ruler of the Imperial phase of the Pallavas. he wrote the Famous Sanskrit book Mattavilasa Prahasana. Initially a Jain excavated Rock-cut temples in the area of Trichinopoly, Chingalput, and Arcot districts. He was converted to Saivism by the Saiva Saint, Appar. He was a great musician and painter as well. he composed the Sankirtajali Raaga and the modes and scales of music. He decorated The Rock cut caves at Sittanavasal with paintings and assumed the title Chitrakarapuli ( Tiger among Painters).
Narasimhavarman:
NarasimhavarmanThe son of Mahendravarman was perhaps the greatest of Pallava rulers. he made a Supreme by defeating and clearing the Chalukya King Pulakeshin II. he also sent a successful Naval expedition to seal on and the Tamil started migrating to that territory. it was during his reign that Huien Tsang visited India in 642 AD. He also built a new beach town called Mamallapuram( Mahabalipuram) which he adorned with Rock-cut Caves.
After Narasimhavarman, the Pallava Chalukya conflict Started again and successful rulers from both sides were engaged in major wars for the control of the fertile Krishna- Tungabhadra doab, which sapped the energy of both sides. The same kind of conflict covering generations was witnessed for the same territory between the Bahamanis and the Vijaynagar almost 700 years later. The Pallava rule lasted till the end of the ninth century when the last ruler Dantivarman was defeated and killed by Chola King Aditya Chola Hori established Chola authority in Tamilnadu.
Pallava polity and administration:
Though the Pallavas had a monarchy With The King as the supreme had they had a decentralized administrative setup. they were The pioneer of local self-government in India, which was later refined and perfected by the Chola. local autonomous Institutions were created which were called assemblies and they were given a lot of power for administering the territory.
There were three categories of villages: secular villagers which had a mixed caste population and were controlled by the king; Agrahara villages which were donated to brahmins, and so brahmins administered these villages; the third category was the Devadana group where villagers were donated for the maintenance of temples and these villages were also administered by brahmins. the Agrahara and Devadana villages were exempted from taxation.
The Assembly of secular villages was called the and that of the Agrahara and they were Dana villages it was called the Sabha. they elected their own representatives to run the village administration. the assemblies used to perform all important functions- maintain law and order, assess and collector land revenue, settle disputes, maintain irrigation canals and temples, and religious endowments. the Gramabhojaka was the government’s representative in these assemblies who only supervised their work.
The chalukyas of Badami:
The Chalukyas were the dominant power in the Deccan from the 6th century to the 8th-century ad at Badami and Vengi ( where they were there till the 12th-century a.d.) and later at Kalyani from 10th to 12th-century a.d.. however it was the Chalukyas of Badami who was the most powerful. it was founded by Jayasimha and it attained its Zenith during the reign of Pulakesin II.
Pulakeshin II:
He succeeded in ascending The Throne as a result of the civil war. he normalized the law and order and then conquered one Kingdom after another. the Gangas of Mysore, Kadambas of Vanavasi Maurya of Konkan, And other small kingdoms were defeated. but his two remarkable achievements were the defeat of Mahendra Verman in Kanchi and then King Harsha of Kannauj was by his Prestige reached its height. he again attempted to run over the country but was defeated, pursued upon his capital, and killed by the new Pallava king Narasimhavarman.
After Pulakesin’s death, the continuous conflict with the Pallavas weakened The Kingdom and his Successors could not arrest the downfall enabling the Rashtrakutas to run over them in 758 AD.
The Chalukyas had two branches namely the Western Chalukyas of Kalyani and the Eastern Chalukyas of Vengi. the Western Chalukyas of Kalyani who are said to be the descendants of the Chalukyas of Badami started their rule in 973 AD under Taila II And his dynasty was involved in constant Warfare with the Cholas and the Eastern Chalukyas of Vengi.
The Chalukyas followed a policy of religious toleration as all faiths flourished in harmony during their Reign. they also evolved a new style of architecture. the name of Pulakeshin II spread abroad as well as seen by the reception given to the envoy of king Khusrau of Persia by the king. The painting of this event is beautifully presented in the Ajanta caves.