South Indian Kingdoms: Pallavas, Chalukyas and the Imperial Cholas

The south after the Sangam age

From the 6th century, the Deccan and the far south saw powerful kingdoms that built some of India's finest temples, encouraged the bhakti movement and reached across the sea to South-East Asia. Three powers dominate the exam: the Pallavas of Kanchi, the Chalukyas (of Badami, then Kalyani), and the Imperial Cholas of Thanjavur. The Rashtrakutas (covered in the previous lesson) and later the Hoysalas, Kakatiyas, Yadavas and Pandyas complete the picture.

The Pallavas (c. 575–897 CE)

Capital: Kanchipuram, a great centre of learning (the Ghatika). Port: Mamallapuram (Mahabalipuram).

Key rulers:

• Simhavishnu – founded the imperial line; defeated the Kalabhras.
• Mahendravarman I (c. 600–630) – began rock-cut temples (e.g. Mandagapattu); wrote the Sanskrit satire Mattavilasa Prahasana; titles Vichitrachitta, Chitrakarapuli. Converted from Jainism to Shaivism under the saint Appar. He was defeated by Pulakeshin II at Pullalur.
• Narasimhavarman I "Mamalla" (c. 630–668) – defeated and killed Pulakeshin II, captured Vatapi (Badami) in 642 and took the title Vatapikonda. Sent a naval expedition to Sri Lanka. Xuanzang visited Kanchi in his reign. Built the rathas (Pancha Pandava rathas) at Mamallapuram.
• Narasimhavarman II "Rajasimha" (c. 700–728) – built the Shore Temple at Mamallapuram and the Kailasanatha temple at Kanchi, the first major structural temples of the south. He sent embassies to China.
• Nandivarman II – built the Vaikunta Perumal temple at Kanchi.

Pallava art: progression from rock-cut (Mahendra style) to monolithic rathas (Mamalla style) to structural temples (Rajasimha style). The great relief at Mamallapuram – Arjuna's Penance or the Descent of the Ganga – is one of the largest open-air reliefs in the world. The Mamallapuram monuments are a UNESCO World Heritage Site (1984).

Religion: the Pallava age saw the rise of the Nayanars (63 Shaiva saints – Appar, Sambandar, Sundarar) and Alvars (12 Vaishnava saints – including the woman saint Andal). Their hymns in Tamil launched the bhakti movement, which later spread across India.

The Chalukyas of Badami (c. 543–753 CE)

Capital: Vatapi (Badami), Karnataka. Founder Pulakeshin I.

Pulakeshin II (c. 609–642) is the greatest Chalukya ruler:

• defeated Harsha on the Narmada, recorded in the Aihole inscription composed by Ravikirti (a Jain poet) in 634 CE;
• defeated Mahendravarman I but was later killed when Narasimhavarman I captured Badami (642);
• exchanged embassies with the Persian king Khusrau II (a scene once wrongly identified in an Ajanta painting);
• Xuanzang visited his kingdom and praised his strength.

Vikramaditya II later took revenge by capturing Kanchi but respected its temples and gave gifts – a sign of cultural respect. The Chalukyas were overthrown by Dantidurga (Rashtrakuta) around 753.

Chalukyan architecture (Vesara style – a blend of Nagara and Dravida):

• Aihole – "cradle of Indian temple architecture"; about 70 temples, including the Lad Khan temple and the Durga temple (apsidal plan).
• Badami – rock-cut cave temples (Vishnu, Shiva, Jain).
• Pattadakal – UNESCO site (1987); both Nagara and Dravida temples; the Virupaksha temple was built by Queen Lokamahadevi to celebrate Vikramaditya II's victory over the Pallavas, and it inspired the Rashtrakuta Kailasa temple at Ellora.

The Eastern Chalukyas of Vengi (Andhra) and the later Chalukyas of Kalyani (973–1189) were related lines. Vikramaditya VI of Kalyani was the patron of Bilhana (Vikramankadevacharita) and Vijnaneshwara (Mitakshara, a commentary on Yajnavalkya Smriti that became the basis of Hindu inheritance law in most of India).

The Imperial Cholas (c. 850–1279 CE)

Founder: Vijayalaya captured Thanjavur around 850 CE.

Key rulers:

• Parantaka I – the Uttaramerur inscriptions (919 and 921) of his reign describe village assembly elections in detail.
• Rajaraja I (985–1014) – conquered the Cheras, Pandyas and northern Sri Lanka (Anuradhapura destroyed, Polonnaruwa made a province), and the Maldives. Built the Brihadeeswara (Rajarajeshwaram) temple at Thanjavur, completed around 1010, with a vimana about 66 m tall – the tallest of its time. Began a land survey for revenue.
• Rajendra I (1014–1044) – completed the conquest of Sri Lanka; led an expedition to the Ganga (defeating the Pala king Mahipala), took the title Gangaikondachola and founded a new capital, Gangaikondacholapuram. His naval expedition to Srivijaya (Sumatra, Malay peninsula), c. 1025, made the Bay of Bengal a "Chola lake". Other title: Kadaramkonda.
• Kulottunga I – united the Chola and Eastern Chalukya lines; sent a large embassy of 72 merchants to China (1077); abolished some tolls (Sungam tavirtta Cholan).

The Brihadeeswara temple, the Gangaikondacholapuram temple and the Airavatesvara temple (Darasuram) together form the UNESCO site "Great Living Chola Temples".

Chola administration and local self-government

Chola administration is famous for village autonomy:

• The kingdom was divided into mandalams (provinces) → valanadus / nadus (districts) → kurrams / kottams → villages.
• Ur – assembly of all taxpaying residents of an ordinary village.
• Sabha (mahasabha) – assembly of brahmana villages (brahmadeyas / agraharas).
• Nagaram – assembly of merchants in trade centres.
• The Uttaramerur inscriptions describe how sabha members were chosen: the village was divided into 30 wards (kudumbus); names of eligible candidates were written on palm leaves and put in a pot, and a young boy picked one – the kudavolai system (lottery). Candidates had to own land, have a house, be aged 35–70, know the Vedas, and not have served in the previous three years. Those guilty of crimes or who had failed to submit accounts (and their relatives) were disqualified.
• Variyams (committees) handled gardens, tanks, justice, gold and other affairs.

Historians note that the system excluded women and lower castes, but it remains a celebrated example of grassroots democracy and is often quoted in discussions of Panchayati Raj.

Chola economy and culture

• Agriculture: irrigation by tanks and the Kaveri canals; land revenue about one-third of produce. Land was measured carefully.
• Trade: merchant guilds like the Ainnurruvar (Five Hundred of Ayyavole) and Manigramam traded across South-East Asia and China.
• Bronze sculpture: the lost-wax Chola bronzes, especially the Nataraja (Shiva as cosmic dancer), are world-famous.
• Literature: Kamban's Ramayana (Ramavataram), Sekkilar's Periya Puranam (lives of the Nayanars), Pugalendi's Nalavenba; the Shaiva canon Tirumurai compiled by Nambi Andar Nambi.
• Temples: the Dravida style with tall vimana, mandapas, gopurams (gopurams became larger later under the Pandyas and Vijayanagara).

Other southern dynasties (brief)

• Hoysalas (Dvarasamudra/Halebid): Chennakeshava temple, Belur and Hoysaleswara temple, Halebid – star-shaped plans, soapstone carving; the Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysalas became a UNESCO site in 2023.
• Kakatiyas (Warangal): Rudrama Devi, a woman ruler visited by Marco Polo; Ramappa temple (UNESCO 2021) with its "floating bricks".
• Yadavas of Devagiri and the later Pandyas of Madurai were conquered by Alauddin Khalji's general Malik Kafur.

Mains practice question

Q. "Chola local self-government was an early experiment in participatory democracy." Critically examine. (150 words)

Framework: ur, sabha, nagaram; Uttaramerur rules (qualifications, lottery, term limits, accountability); merits (local autonomy, accountability, rotation); limits (brahmana dominance in sabhas, exclusion of women and lower castes, royal oversight); relevance to the 73rd Amendment.

Quick self-test

1. Who built the Shore Temple? *(Narasimhavarman II "Rajasimha")*
2. Who composed the Aihole inscription? *(Ravikirti)*
3. Which Chola king took the title Gangaikondachola? *(Rajendra I)*
4. What was the Chola lottery system called? *(Kudavolai)*
5. Which Kakatiya temple is a UNESCO site? *(Ramappa)*