History of the Deccan

The Vakataka power was followed by that of

the Chalukyas of Badami who played an important role in the history of the

Deccan and south India for about two centuries till A.D, 757, when they were

overthrown by their feudatories, the Rashtrakutas. The Chalukyas claimed their

descent either from Brahman or Manu or Moon They boast that their ancestors

ruled at Ayodhya, but all this was done to claim legitimacy and respectability’

Really they seem to have been a local Kanarese people, who were improvised into

the ruling varna under brahmanical influence.

The Chalukyas set up their kingdom towards

the beginning of the sixth century A.D. in the western Deccan. They established

their capital at Vatapi, modern Badami, in the district of. Bijapur which forms

a part of Karnataka. Later they branched off into several independent ruling

houses, but the mam branch continued to rule at Vatapi for two centuries in

this period no other power in the Deccan was as important as the Chalukyas of

Badami until we come to Vijayanagar in late medieval times.

On the Tipns of the Sdtavahana power in the

eastern part of the peninsula there arose the Ikshvakus m the KrishnaGuntur

region. They seem to have been a local tribe who adopted the exalted name of

the Ikshvakus in order to demonstrate the antiquity of their lineage. They have

left behind many monuments at Nagarjunakonda and Dharanikota They started the

practice of land grants in the Krishna Guntur region, where several of their

copperplate charters have been discovered The Ikshvakus were supplanted by the

Pal lavas. The term pal lava means creeper, and is a Sanskrit version of the

Tamil word today, which also carries the same meaning.

Toridainadu or the land

The Pallavas were possibly a local tribe

who established their authority m the Toridainadu or the land of creepers. But

it took them some time to be completely civilized because in Tamil the Word pal

lava is also a synonym of robber. The authority of the Pallavas extended over

both southern Andhra and northern Tamil Nadu. They set up their capital at

Kanchi, identical with modem Kanchipuram which became a town of temples and

Vedio learning under them, the early Pallavas came into conflict with the

Kadambas, who had founded their rule in northern Karnataka in the fourth

century A D They claim to be brahmanas, and they rewarded their fellow caste

men generously.

The Kadamba kingdom was founded by

Mayurasarman It is said that he came to receive education at Kanchi, but he was

driven out unceremoniously. Smarting under this insult the Kadamba chief set up

his camp in a forest, and defeated the Pallavas possibly with the help of the

forest tribes.