Western Chalukya Empire

This article is about the Western Chalukya Empire. For other dynasties, see Chalukya (disambiguation).

Western Chalukya Empire Kalyani Chalukya
975–1184
Greatest extent of the Western Chalukya Empire, 1121 AD
Status	Empire (Subordinate to Rashtrakuta until 973)
Capital	Manyakheta Basavakalyan
Common languages	Kannada Sanskrit
Religion	Hinduism Jainism
Government	Monarchy
King
• 957–997	Tailapa II
• 1184–1189	Someshvara IV
History
• Earliest records	957
• Established	975
• Disestablished	1184
Preceded by Succeeded by Rashtrakuta dynasty Hoysala Kingdom Kakatiya dynasty Seuna (Yadava) dynasty

The Western Chalukya Empire (/tʃəˈluːkjə/ chə-LOO-kyə) ruled most of the western Deccan Plateau in South India between the 10th and 12th centuries AD. This Kannada-speaking dynasty is sometimes called the Kalyani Chalukya after its regal capital of Kalyani in present-day Basavakalyan, Bidar district, Karnataka, and the Later Chalukya from its theoretical relationship to the sixth-century Chalukya dynasty of Badami. It is known as the Western Chalukyas to distinguish it from the contemporaneous Eastern Chalukyas of Vengi. Before the rise of the Chalukyas, the Rashtrakuta Empire of Manyakheta controlled most of the Deccan Plateau and central India for over two centuries. In 973, seeing confusion in the Rashtrakuta Empire after an invasion of their capital by the ruler of the Paramara dynasty of Malwa, Tailapa II (a feudatory of the Rashtrakuta dynasty ruling from Bijapur) defeated his overlords and made Manyakheta his capital. The dynasty quickly gained power and grew into an empire under Someshvara I, who moved the capital to Kalyani.

For over a century, the Western Chalukyas and the Chola dynasty of Thanjavur fought to control the fertile region of Vengi. During these conflicts, the Eastern Chalukyas of Vengi (distant cousins of the Western Chalukyas but related to the Cholas by marriage) took sides with the Cholas. During the rule of Vikramaditya VI in the late 11th and early 12th centuries, the Western Chalukyas ruled most of the Deccan between the Narmada River in the north and the Kaveri River in the south. As a prince during the rule of Someshvara I, he led successful military campaigns as far east as present-day Bihar and Bengal. The other major ruling families of the Deccan, the Hoysala Empire, the Seuna dynasty, the Kakatiya dynasty and the Kalachuris of Kalyani, were subordinate to the Western Chalukyas and gained independence when Chalukya power waned during the second half of the 12th century.

The Western Chalukya architecture is known today as a transitional style, an architectural link between the early Chalukya dynasty and the later Hoysala Empire. Most of its monuments are in the districts bordering the Tungabhadra River in central Karnataka. Notable examples are the Kasivisvesvara Temple in Lakkundi, the Mallikarjuna Temple in Kuruvatti, the Kalleshvara Temple in Bagali and the Mahadeva Temple in Itagi. This was an important period in the artistic development of South India, especially in literature, since the Western Chalukya kings encouraged writers in Kannada and Sanskrit.

History

1028 Kannada inscription at the Praneshvara temple in Talagunda, Shivamogga district

1057 Kannada inscription of King Someshvara I at Kalleshwara Temple, Hire Hadagali in Bellary district

Mahadeva Temple at Itagi in Koppal district, Karnataka

Knowledge of Western Chalukya history has been obtained by studying the numerous Kannada-language inscriptions left by kings (scholars Sheldon Pollock and Jan Houben have said that 90 percent of Chalukyan royal inscriptions are in Kannada) and contemporary documents, such as Ranna's 982 Gada Yuddha in Kannada and Bilhana's 1120 Vikramankadeva Charitam in Sanskrit. The earliest record dates to 957, during the rule of Tailapa II, when the Western Chalukyas were a feudatory of the Rashtrakutas and Tailapa II governed from Tardavadi in present-day Bijapur district, Karnataka. The genealogy of the empire's kings is debated. One theory, based on contemporary literature and inscriptions and use by the Western Chalukyas of titles and names commonly used by the early Chalukyas, suggests that the Western Chalukya kings belonged to the same family line as the sixth-century Chalukya dynasty. Other Western Chalukya inscriptions indicate that they were a distinct line, unrelated to the early Chalukyas.

Records suggest a rebellion by a local Chalukya King, Chattigadeva of Banavasi province (c. 967), in an alliance with local Kadamba chieftains. The unsuccessful rebellion paved the way for his successor, Tailapa II. Tailapa II re-established Chalukya rule and defeated the Rashtrakutas during the reign of Karka II by timing his rebellion to coincide with confusion in the Rashtrakuta capital, Manyakheta, by the invading Paramaras of Central India in 973. After overpowering the Rashtrakutas, Tailapa II moved his capital to Manyakheta and consolidated the Chalukya empire in the western Deccan by subjugating the Paramaras and other rivals and extending control to the land between the Narmada and Tungabhadra Rivers. Some inscriptions indicate that Balagamve, in Mysore territory, may have been a power centre until the rule of Someshvara I in 1042.

Competition between the kingdom of the western Deccan and those of Tamil country came to as head in the 11th century over the fertile river valleys in the doab of the Krishna and Godavari Rivers known as Vengi (present-day coastal Andhra Pradesh). The Western Chalukyas and the Chola dynasty fought a number of wars for control of this strategic region. The Cholas gained power during the reign of King Rajaraja Chola I and crown prince Rajendra Chola I. Chola emperor Rajaraja Chola I conquered parts of Chalukya territory in present-day southern Karnataka by subjugating the Western Ganga dynasty of Gangavadi. The Eastern Chalukyas of Vengi were cousins of the Western Chalukyas, but became increasingly influenced by the Cholas through their marital ties with the Tamil kingdom. This was against the interests of the Western Chalukyas, who involved themselves politically and militarily in Vengi. King Satyashraya succeeded Tailapa II to the throne and protected his kingdom and his northern territories in Konkan and Gujarat from the Cholas, although his control of Vengi was shaky. In 1007, the Chola crown prince Rajendra Chola I invaded the Western Chalukyas and fought the Western Chalukya emperor Satyashraya at Donur in the Bijapur district of Karnataka. According to an inscription, Rajendra Vidyadhara invaded the Western Chalukya empire with an army of 900,000 soldiers. The invading troops advanced to Donur on their way to Manyakheta, where they were met by the Chalukya army under Satyashraya. Tanjore temple and Hottur inscriptions indicate that Rajendra Chola I destroyed the Western Chalukya capital and conquered Gangapadi and Nolambapadi. Satyashraya's successor, Jayasimha II, fought a number of battles with the Cholas in the south c. 1020–21 to choose the Vengi king. Jayasimha II subdued the Paramaras and the rebellious Yadava king Bhillama c. 10124.

Jayasimha's son Someshvara I, whose rule historian Sailendra Nath Sen considers brilliant, moved the Chalukya capital to Kalyani c. 1042. Hostilities with the Cholas continued: both sides won and lost battles, although neither lost significant territory in the struggle to install a puppet on the Vengi throne. Vikramaditya VI (son of Someshwara I) invaded the Chola Empire in 1066, threatening its capital Gangaikonda Cholapuram before being repulsed. In the 1068 Battle of Vijayawada between Someshvara I and Chola emperor Virarajendra Chola, Someshwara I and his son Vikramaditya VI were defeated and lost Vengi. After the battle, the incurably-ill Someshwara I drowned himself in the Tungabhadra River (Paramayoga). Despite conflicts with the Cholas in the south, Someshvara I maintained control of the northern territories in Konkan, Gujarat, Malwa and Kalinga during his rule. His successor, his eldest son Someshvara II, feuded with his younger brother Vikramaditya VI, an ambitious warrior who had been governor of Gangavadi in the southern Deccan when Someshvara II was king. Before 1068, as a prince, Vikramaditya VI invaded Bengal and weakened the ruling Pala Empire. This incursion led to the establishment of dynasties such as the Sena and Varman dynasties in Bengal and the Nayanadeva dynasty in Bihar. When Someshvara I died in April 1068, his son Someshvara II succeeded him as king of Chalukya. A dispute soon developed between him and his younger brother, resulting in a civil war for control of the empire; the brother proclaimed himself Vikramaditya VI of Western Chalukya. Vikramditya's request for assistance to king Virarajendra Chola was well received, and Virarajendra later said that he recognised Vikramaditya VI as king of Western Chalukya. Virarajendra married his daughter to Vikramaditya VI and forged an alliance, ending the long feud between the empires. Vikramaditya VI won the loyalty of the Chalukya feudatories: the Hoysala, the Seuna and the Kadambas of Hangal. In 1075, Vikramaditya overthrew Someshawara II and became the Western Chalukya emperor. From 1075 to 1076, during the Chola reign of Kulottunga I, a war began with the incursion of Vikaramaditya's forces into Chola territory and the armies met in Kolar district. In the Chola counter-attack popularly known as the Nangili episode, the Chalukyan army was driven from the rocky roads of Nangili to the Tungabhadra via Manalur. Vikramaditya reportedly retreated hastily and fled.

The fifty-year reign of Vikramaditya VI, the most successful of the later Chalukya rulers, was an important period in Karnataka history and is known by historians as the "Chalukya Vikrama era". Vikramaditya VI controlled his powerful feudatories in the north (Kadamba Jayakesi II of Goa, Silhara Bhoja, and the Yadava King) and south (Hoysala Vishnuvardhana) and dealt with the imperial Cholas, whom he defeated in Vengi in 1093 and 1118. He retained this territory for many years, despite hostilities with the Cholas. Victory in Vengi reduced the Chola influence in the eastern Deccan and made him emperor of territories stretching from the Kaveri River in the south to the Narmada River in the north, earning him the titles Permadideva and Tribhuvanamalla (Lord of Three Worlds). Contemporary scholars praised Vikramaditya VI's military leadership, interest in fine arts, and religious tolerance. Literature flourished, and Kannada and Sanskrit scholars were at his court. The poet Bilhana, who immigrated from Kashmir, eulogised the king in Vikramankadeva Charita. Vikramaditya VI was also a devout king, indicated by a number of inscriptions recording grants made to religious scholars and centres.

Coin of King Somesvara I Trailokyamalla (1043-1068)

South Asia
1175 CE

KARAKHANID
KHANATE

QARA KHITAI

GHURID
EMPIRE

KUMAON

CHAULUKYAS

CHAHAMANAS

LATE
GHAZNAVIDS

PARAMARAS

WESTERN
CHALUKYAS

KAKATIYAS

SHILA-
HARAS

CHOLAS

CHERAS

PANDYAS

KADAMBAS

HOYSALAS

GAHADAVALAS

GUHILAS

KACHCHAPA-
GHATAS

CHANDELAS

KALACHURIS
(TRIPURI)

KALACHURIS
(RATNAPURA)

SENAS

KARNATAS

NAGVANSIS

KAMARUPAS

EASTERN
GANGAS

GUGE

MARYUL

LOHA-
RAS

SOOMRA
EMIRATE

MAKRAN
SULTANATE

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Main South Asian polities in 1175, on the eve of the Ghurid Empire invasion of the subcontinent

War with the Cholas exhausted both empires, giving their subordinates an opportunity to rebel. In the decades after Vikramaditya VI's death in 1126, the empire decreased in size as their feudatories expanded in autonomy and territory. A number of battles between the Chalukyas and their feudatories (who were also at war with each other) were fought between 1150 and 1200. By the time of Jagadhekamalla II, the Chalukyas had lost control of Vengi and his successor, Tailapa III, was defeated by the Kakatiya king Prola in 1149. Tailapa III was taken captive and released, reducing Western Chalukya prestige. Seeing decadence and uncertainty seeping into Chalukya rule, the Hoysalas and Seunas encroached on the empire. The Hoysala Narasimha I defeated and killed Tailapa III but could not overcome the Kalachuris, who also vied for control of the region. In 1157 the Kalachuris of Kalyanis under Bijjala II captured Kalyani and occupied it for twenty years, forcing the Chalukyas to move their capital to Annigeri in present-day Dharwad district.

The Kalachuris were originally immigrants to the southern Deccan from central India and called themselves Kalanjarapuravaradhisavaras. Bijjala II and his ancestors governed as Chalukya commanders (Mahamandaleshwar) over the Karhad-4000 and Tardavadi-1000 provinces (an overlapping region in present-day Karnataka and Maharashtra), with Mangalavada or Annigeri as their capital. Bijjala II's 1157 Chikkalagi record calls him Mahabhujabala Chakravarti ("emperor with powerful shoulders and arms"), indicating that he was no longer a subordinate of the Chalukyas. His successors could not hold Kalyani; their rule ended in 1183 when the last Chalukya scion, Someshvara IV, made a final bid to regain control of the empire by recapturing Kalyani. The Kalachuri king Sankama was killed by Chalukya general Narasimha in that conflict. The Hoysala Veera Ballala II became ambitious and clashed several times with the Chalukyas and the other claimants for the empire. He defeated the Chalukya Someshvara IV and Seuna Bhillama V, bringing large parts of the Krishna River valley under Hoysala domain, but was unsuccessful against the Kalachuris. The Seunas, under Bhillama V, were also expanding when the Chalukyas regained Kalyani. Their ambitions were stemmed with defeat by the Chalukya general Barma in 1183, but they had vengeance in 1189.

Someshvara IV's effort to rebuild the Chalukya empire failed, and the dynasty was ended by Seuna rulers who drove Someshvara IV into exile in Banavasi 1189. After the fall of the Chalukyas, the Seunas and Hoysalas continued warring over the Krishna River region in 1191. Two empires fell at this time: the Chalukyas of the western Deccan and the Cholas of Tamilakam. The kingdoms of their feudatories fought for over a hundred years, with the Pandyas seizing parts of the former Chola empire.

Administration

The Mallikarjuna group of temples in Badami, Bagalkot district, Karnataka

The Western Chalukya kingship was hereditary, passing to the king's brother if the king did not have a male heir. Its administration was decentralised; feudatory clans such as the Alupas, Hoysalas, Kakatiya, Seuna, and southern Kalachuri ruled their provinces, paying an annual tribute to the Chalukya emperor. Excavated inscriptions record titles such as Mahapradhana (chief minister), Sandhivigrahika, and Dharmadhikari (chief justice). Positions such as Tadeyadandanayaka (commander of the reserve army) were specialised; all ministerial positions included the role of Dandanayaka (commander), indicating that cabinet members were trained as army commanders in addition to general administrative skills.

The kingdom was divided into provinces such as Banavasi-12000, Nolambavadi-32000 and Gangavadi-96000, each name including the number of villages under its jurisdiction. Large provinces were divided into smaller provinces with a smaller number of villages, such as Belavola-300. Large provinces were called Mandala; under them were Nadu, further divided into Kampanas (groups of villages) and a Bada (village). A Mandala was under a member of the royal family, a trusted feudatory or a senior official. Tailapa II was in charge of Tardavadi province under Rashtrakuta rule. Chiefs of Mandalas were transferable, based on political developments; an official named Bammanayya administered Banavasi-12000 under King Someshvara III, but was transferred to Halasige-12000. Women from the royal family also administered Nadus and Kampanas. Army commanders were called Mahamandaleshwaras and those who headed a Nadu were known as Nadugouvnda.

The Western Chalukyas minted punch-marked gold pagodas with Kannada and Nagari legends: large, thin coins with varying punch marks on the obverse side. They usually bore several punches of symbols such as a stylised lion, Sri in Kannada, a spearhead, the king's title, or a lotus. Jayasimha II used the legend Sri Jaya, Someshvara I issued coins with Sri Tre lo ka malla, Someshvara II used Bhuvaneka malla, Lakshmideva's coin read Sri Lasha, and Jagadhekamalla II coinage had the legend Sri Jagade. The feudatory Alupas minted coins with the Kannada and Nagari legend Sri Pandya Dhanamjaya. Lakkundi in Gadag district and Sudi in Dharwad district were the principal mints (tankhashaley). Their heaviest gold coin was the gadyanaka, weighing 96 grains. Other coins included the dramma (65 grains), kalanju (48 grains), kasu (15 grains), manjadi (2.5 grains), akkam (1.25 grains), and pana (9.6 grains).

Economy

Mantapa (a pillared hall) in Kalleshvara Temple (completed in 987), Bagali, Davanagere district

Agriculture was the empire's main source of income, with taxes on land and produce. Most of the people lived in villages and farmed staple crops of rice, pulses, and cotton in dry areas and sugarcane in areas with sufficient rainfall, with areca and betel the primary cash crops. There are no records of revolts by the landless against wealthy landlords. If peasants were disgruntled, they commonly migrated in large numbers from the ruler who mistreated them and deprived him of revenue from their labor.

Taxes were levied on mining and forest products, and additional income was raised through tolls on transportation facilities. The state also collected fees from customs, professional licenses, and judicial fines. Records indicate that horses and salt were taxed, in addition to commodities (gold, textiles, and perfumes) and agricultural produce (black pepper, paddy (unmilled rice), spices, betel leaves, palm leaves, coconuts and sugar). Land taxes were based on frequent surveys which evaluated the quality of land and its type of produce. Chalukya records mention black- and red-soil land, wetland, dry land and wasteland in determining taxation.

Key figures in rural inscriptions were gavundas (officials) or Gowdas. The gavundas belonged to two economic strata: the praja gavunda (people's gavunda) and the Prabhu gavunda (lord of gavundas). They represented the people to their rulers, were state appointees for tax collection and the raising of militias, and are mentioned in inscriptions related to land transactions, irrigation maintenance, and village tax collection and council duties.

The organisation of corporate enterprises became common in the 11th century. Almost all arts and crafts were organised into guilds, and work was performed on a corporate basis; records do not mention individual artists, sculptors and craftsman. Only in regions ruled by the Hoysala Kingdom did individual sculptors etch their names below their work. Merchants organised themselves into guilds which transcended political divisions, allowing their operations to be largely unaffected by wars and revolutions. Their only threat was the possibility of theft from brigands when their ships and caravans traveled to distant lands. Powerful South Indian merchant guilds included the manigramam, the nagarattar, and the anjuvannam. Local guilds were known as nagaram, and the nanadesis were traders from neighbouring kingdoms. The wealthiest, most influential and celebrated South Indian merchant guild was the ainnurruvar (also known as the 500 svamis of Ayyavolepura in Aihole), who conducted extensive land and sea trade.

Wealthy traders paid import and export taxes. The edicts of the Aihole svamis mention trade ties with foreign kingdoms such as Chera, Pandya, Maleya (Malaysia), Magadh, Kaushal, Saurashtra, Kurumba, Kambhoja (Cambodia), Lata (Gujarat), Parasa (Persia) and Nepal. Travelling by land and sea, these merchants traded primarily precious stones, spices, perfumes and other specialty items, such as camphor. Business flourished in precious stones such as diamonds, lapis lazuli, onyx, topaz, carbuncles and emeralds. Commonly-traded spices were cardamom, saffron, and cloves, and perfumes included the by-products of sandalwood, bdellium, musk, civet and rose. These items were sold in bulk or on streets by town merchants. The Western Chalukyas controlled most of South India's west coast, and by the 10th century had established extensive trade ties with the Tang Empire of China, the empires of Southeast Asia and the Abbasid Caliphate in Baghdad; by the 12th century, Chinese fleets were frequenting Indian ports. Exports to Song-dynasty China included textiles, spices, medicinal plants, jewels, ivory, rhinoceros horn, ebony, and camphor, which also reached western ports such as Dhofar and Aden. The final destinations for those trading with the west were Persia, Arabia and Egypt. The trade center of Siraf, a port on the eastern Persian Gulf, served an international clientele of merchants (including those from the Chalukya Empire) who were feasted by wealthy local merchants. Indicative of Indian merchant importance in Siraf are records describing dining plates reserved for them. Siraf received aloe wood, perfumes, sandalwood and condiments. The most valuable imports to South India, monopolised by Arabs and local Brahmin merchants, were Arabian horses. Traveller Marco Polo recorded in the 13th century that horse breeding was unsuccessful in India due to differing climatic, soil and grassland conditions.

Culture

Religion

See also: Ramanuja, Allama Prabhu, and Akka Mahadevi

Statue of Basava

12th-century hero stone with a Kannada inscription in the Kedareshvara Temple, Balligavi

The 10th-century fall of the Rashtrakuta Empire to the Western Chalukyas and the defeat of the Western Ganga dynasty by the Cholas in Gangavadi were setbacks to Jainism. The growth of Virashaivism in the Chalukyas and Vaishnava Hinduism in the Hoysala region paralleled decreased interest in Jainism, although the succeeding kingdoms remained religiously tolerant. Two sites of Jain worship in the Hoysala territory continued under patronage: Shravanabelagola and Kambadahalli. The decline of Buddhism in South India began in the eighth century with the spread of Adi Shankara's Advaita philosophy. The only remaining places of Buddhist worship during Western Chalukya rule were in Dambal and Balligavi.

Although the origin of Virashaivism has been debated, the movement grew through its association with Basava in the 12th century. Basava and other Virashaivans preached a faith without a caste system. In his vachanas (a form of poetry), Basava appealed to the masses in simple Kannada and wrote: "Work is worship" (kayakave kailasa). Also known as the Lingayats (worshipers of the lingam, the symbol of Shiva), the Virashaivas questioned societal norms such as the belief in rituals and reincarnation and supported the remarriage of widows and the marriage of older women. This gave more social freedom to women, but they were not accepted into the priesthood. Ramanujacharya, the head of the Vaishnava monastery in Srirangam, traveled to the Hoysala territory and preached the way of devotion (bhakti). He later wrote Sribhashya, a commentary on Bādarāyaṇa's Brahma Sutras, and a critique of Adi Shankara's Advaita philosophy. Ramanujacharya's stay in Melkote resulted in the Hoysala king Vishnuvardhana's conversion to Vaishnavism, which his successors also followed.

The impact of these religious developments on culture, literature, and architecture in South India was profound, and significant works of metaphysics and poetry based on the teachings of these philosophers were written. Akka Mahadevi, Allama Prabhu, and a number of Basava's followers, including Chenna Basava, Prabhudeva, Siddharama and Kondaguli Kesiraja, wrote hundreds of vachanas in praise of Shiva. The Hoysala court scholars Harihara and Raghavanka were Virashaivas. This tradition continued into the Vijayanagar Empire with the writers Singiraja, Mallanarya, Lakkana Dandesa and others. The Saluva, Tuluva and Aravidu dynasties of the Vijayanagar empire were followers of Vaishnavism, and a Vaishnava temple with an image of Ramanujacharya is in the Vitthalapura area of Vijayanagara. Scholars in the following Kingdom of Mysore wrote Vaishnavite works supporting Ramanujacharya's teachings. King Vishnuvardhana built a number of temples after his conversion from Jainism to Vaishnavism.

Society

Main article: Western Chalukya society

A kirtimukha sculpture in the Kedareshvara Temple, Shimoga district

The rise of Veerashaivaism was revolutionary, challenging the prevailing Hindu caste system which retained royal support. The social role of women largely depended on their economic status and level of education in this relatively-liberal period, and freedom was more available to women in royal and affluent urban families. Records describe participation by women in the fine arts, such as the Chalukya queen Chandala Devi's and the Kalachuris of Kalyani queen Sovala Devi's skill in dance and music. Compositions by thirty female vachana poets included the work of 12th-century Virashaiva mystic Akka Mahadevi, known for her devotion to the bhakti movement. Contemporary records indicate that royal women were involved in administrative and martial affairs, such as the princess Akkadevi (sister of King Jayasimha II), who defeated feudal rebels. Inscriptions emphasise public acceptance of widowhood, indicating that sati (a widow's self-immolation) was voluntary. Jains would ritually fast to death to achieve salvation.

In the Hindu caste system, Brahmins enjoyed a privileged position as providers of knowledge and local justice. These Brahmins were normally involved in careers revolving around religion and learning, but a few were successful in martial affairs. They were patronised by kings, nobles and wealthy aristocrats, who persuaded learned Brahmins to settle in towns and villages with grants of land and houses. The relocation of Brahmin scholars was calculated as in the interest of the kingdom, since they were seen as detached from wealth and power and their knowledge was a useful tool to educate and teach ethical conduct and discipline in local communities. Brahmins were also involved in solving local problems by functioning as neutral arbiters.

Brahmins, Jains, Buddhists and Shaivas were vegetarian, but meat consumption was popular in other communities. Marketplace vendors sold the meat of domestic animals such as goats, sheep, pigs and fowl and exotic meat, including partridge, hare, wild fowl and boar. People attended indoor wrestling matches (kusti), watched animals such as cocks and rams fight, or gambled. Horse racing was a popular outdoor pastime. Festivals and fairs were frequent, with entertainment by traveling troupes of acrobats, dancers, dramatists and musicians often provided.

Schools and hospitals are mentioned, which were built near temples. Markets were open-air town halls where people gathered to discuss local issues. Choirs, primarily singing devotional hymns, were maintained at temple expense. Young men were trained to sing in choirs in schools attached to monasteries, such as the Hindu mathas, the Jain palli and the Buddhist viharas. These institutions provided advanced education in religion and ethics, and were equipped with libraries. Instruction was in Sanskrit and the local language. Schools of higher learning were known as brahmapuri, ghatikas or agraharas. The teaching of Sanskrit was a near-monopoly of the Brahmins, who received royal endowments. Inscriptions record that four to eighteen subjects were taught.

Literature

Main article: Western Chalukya literature in Kannada

Grill work in the Tripurantkesvara temple, Balligavi, Shimoga district

The Western Chalukya era had substantial literary activity in Sanskrit and its native Kannada. In a golden age of Kannada literature, Jain scholars wrote about the lives of the Tirthankaras, and Virashaiva poets expressed their closeness to God in a poetic form known as Vachana sahitya. Nearly three hundred contemporary Vachanakaras (Vachana poets), including thirty women, have been recorded. Early works by Brahmin writers were about the epic Ramayana and Mahabharata, the Bhagavata Sampradaya sect, and the Vedas and Puranas. Secular literature explored subjects such as romance, erotica, medicine, mathematics, and astrology for the first time.

Notable Kannada scholars included Ranna, the grammarian Nagavarma II, the minister Durgasimha and the Virashaiva social reformer Basava. Ranna, patronised by king Tailapa II and Satyashraya, is one of the "three gems of Kannada literature". He was given the title of "emperor among poets" by King Tailapa II and wrote five major works. Ranna's 982 Champu Saahasabheema Vijayam (or Gada yuddha) is a eulogy of his patron, King Satyashraya (whom he compares to Bhima), describing the duel between Bhima and Duryodhana on the eighteenth day of the Mahabharata war. He wrote Ajitha purana in 993 about the life of Ajitanatha, the second Tirthankara.

Nagavarma II, poet laureate of King Jagadhekamalla II, contributed to Kannada literature on a number of subjects. His poetry, prosody, grammar and vocabulary include Kavyavalokana on poetics, Karnataka-Bhashabhushana on grammar and Vastukosa, a Sanskrit-Kannada lexicon. Several works on medicine were produced during this period, notably Jagaddala Somanatha's Karnataka Kalyana Karaka.

A popular Kannada vachana by Akka Mahadevi

Vachanas developed during this time, written by mystics who expressed their devotion to God in simple poems with universal appeal. Basava, Akka Mahadevi, Allama Prabhu, Channabasavanna and Siddharama are the best-known authors.

Vikramankadeva Charita (an 18-canto mahakavya by the Kashmiri poet Bilhana) recounts the life and achievements of Bilhana's patron, Vikramaditya VI, describing his accession to the Chalukya throne after overthrowing his elder brother Someshvara II. The Indian mathematician Bhāskara II (born c. 1114 in Bijjada Bida in present-day Bijapur district) flourished during this time. His Siddhanta Siromani (c. 1150) consists of the Lilavati, Bijaganita on algebra, Goladhaya on the celestial globe and Grahaganita on the planets.

Manasollasa or Abhilashitartha Chintamani, by King Someshvara III (1129), is an early Sanskrit encyclopedia which covers subjects including medicine, magic, veterinary science, evaluating precious stones and pearls, fortifications, painting, music, games, and amusements. Not ranking its topics by importance, it provides insight into the contemporary state of knowledge. Someshwara III also wrote Vikraman-Kabhyudaya, a biography of his father Vikramaditya VI with background information about Karnataka.

At the court of Vikramaditya VI, Sanskrit scholar Vijnaneshwara became known in legal literature for his Mitakshara. Mitakshara, a commentary on the Yājñavalkya Smṛti, is a treatise on law based on earlier writings. Henry Thomas Colebrooke translated it into English to inform the British Indian court system about inheritance law. Literature related to music and musical instruments includes Sangita Chudamani, Sangita Samayasara and Sangita Ratnakara.

Architecture

Main article: Western Chalukya architecture

A Western Chalukya Dravidian vimana on the Siddesvara temple in Haveri, Karnataka

The Western Chalukya Empire was an important period in the development of Deccan architecture, a conceptual link between eighth-century Badami Chalukya architecture and 13th-century Hoysala architecture. Its architecture is sometimes called "Gadag style" for the ornate temples built in the Tungabhadra-Krishna River doab of Karnataka's present-day Gadag district. The empire's temple-building culminated in the 12th century with over a hundred temples built across the Deccan, more than half in present-day central Karnataka. It is also known for ornate stepwells which were ritual bathing places, several of which are well-preserved in Lakkundi. The stepwell designs were later incorporated by the Hoysalas and the Vijayanagara empire.

Ornate pillars in the Saraswati shrine of the Trikuteshwara Temple, Gadag

The Kasivisvesvara Temple in Lakkundi, the Dodda Basappa Temple in Dambal (both in Gadag district), the Mallikarjuna Temple, Kuruvatti (Bellary district), the Kalleshvara Temple, Bagali (Davangere district), the Siddhesvara Temple in Haveri (Haveri district), the Amrtesvara Temple in Annigeri (Dharwad district), the Mahadeva Temple in Itagi (Koppal district), the Kaitabheshvara Temple at Kubatur, and the Kedareshvara Temple, Balligavi are notable examples of later Chalukya architecture. The 12th-century Mahadeva Temple, with its sculptures, is an example of decorative detail. An inscription outside the temple calls it the "Emperor of Temples" and says that it was built by Mahadeva, a commander in the army of king Vikramaditya VI. The Kedareswara Temple (1060) in Balligavi is an example of transitional Chalukya-Hoysala architecture. The Western Chalukyas built temples in Badami and Aihole during their early temple-building activity, including the Mallikarjuna Temple, the Yellamma Temple and the Bhutanatha group in Badami.

The Brahma Jinalaya in Lakkundi dates to the mid-to-late 11th century.

The vimana of their temples (the tower over the shrine) is a compromise in detail between the plain stepped style of the early Chalukyas and the decorative finish of the Hoysalas. Western Chalukya architects developed lathe-turned pillars and soapstone as basic building and sculptural material (features of later Hoysala temples), and popularised the use of decorative kirtimukha (demon faces) in their sculpture. Notable Hoysala architects included Chalukyan architects who were natives of places such as Balligavi. The wall decor and general sculptural idiom were Dravidian, sometimes called "Karnata dravida" (a notable tradition in Indian architecture).

Language

Old Kannada inscription from 1112 at Mahadeva Temple in Itagi, Karnataka ascribed to King Vikramaditya VI

The local language Kannada was mostly used in Western (Kalyani) Chalukya inscriptions and epigraphs. Some historians assert that ninety percent of their inscriptions are in the Kannada language while the remaining are in Sanskrit. More inscriptions in Kannada are attributed to Vikramaditya VI than any other king prior to the 12th century, many of which have been deciphered and translated by historians of the Archaeological Survey of India. Inscriptions were generally either on stone (Shilashasana) or copper plates (Tamarashasana). This period saw the growth of Kannada as a language of literature and poetry, impetus to which came from the devotional movement of the Virashaivas (called Lingayatism) who expressed their closeness to their deity in the form of simple lyrics called Vachanas. At an administrative level, the regional language was used to record locations and rights related to land grants. When bilingual inscriptions were written, the section stating the title, genealogy, origin myths of the king and benedictions were generally done in Sanskrit. Kannada was used to state terms of the grants, including information on the land, its boundaries, the participation of local authorities, rights and obligations of the grantee, taxes and dues, and witnesses. This ensured the content was clearly understood by the local people without any ambiguity.

In addition to inscriptions, chronicles called Vamshavalis were written to provide historical details of dynasties. Writings in Sanskrit included poetry, grammar, lexicon, manuals, rhetoric, commentaries on older works, prose fiction and drama. In Kannada, writings on secular subjects became popular. Some well-known works are Chandombudhi, a prosody, and Karnataka Kadambari, a romance, both written by Nagavarma I, a lexicon called Rannakanda by Ranna (993), a book on medicine called Karnataka-Kalyanakaraka by Jagaddala Somanatha, the earliest writing on astrology called Jatakatilaka by Sridharacharya (1049), a writing on erotics called Madanakatilaka by Chandraraja, and an encyclopedia called Lokapakara by Chavundaraya II (1025).

See also

• Balligavi
• Chola dynasty
• Kulottunga I
• Vikramaditya VI

References

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