The period between AD 750 and AD 1200
is referred to as an early medieval period of
Indian History. It was earlier treated by
historians as a ‘dark phase’. It was so because
during this time the whole country was divided
into numerous regional states which were busy
fighting with each other. But recent studies have
indicated that, though politically divided, India
witnessed a growth of new and rich cultural
activities in the fields of art, literature and
language. In fact, some best specimens of temple
architecture and Indian literature belong to this
period. Thus, far from being ‘dark’ it may be
treated as a bright and vibrant phase of Indian
history.
The political developments after
Harshavardhan, can be best understood if we
divide the period from AD 750 to AD 1200 in
two parts (a) AD 750–AD 1000; (b) AD 1000–
AD 1200. The first phase was marked by the
growth of three important political powers in
India. These were Gurjara Pratiharas in north
India, Palas in eastern India and Rashtrakutas
in South India. These powers were constantly
fighting with each other with an aim to set up
their control on Gangetic region in northern
India. This armed conflict among these three
powers is known as ‘Tripartite struggle’. In the
second phase we notice the breakup of these
powers. It resulted in the rise of many smaller
kingdoms all over the country. For example, in
northern India, the disintegration of the
Pratihara Empire brought to the forefront
various Rajput states under the control of
different Rajput dynasties such as the
Chahmanas (Chauhans), Chandellas,
Paramaras. etc. These were the states which
fought and resisted the Turkish attacks from
northwest India led by Mahmud Ghaznavi and
Mohammad Ghori in the 11th and 12th
centuries, but had to yield ultimately as they
failed to stand united against the invaders.
MAJOR DYNASTIES
The Pallava dynasty emerged in South India
at a time when the Satavhana dynasty was on
the decline, Shivaskandavarman is said to have
been the founder of the Pallava dynasty. During
their reign, the Pallava rulers made Kanchi their
capital and extended the kingdom from the
Krishna in the south to a region further north of
the Arabian Sea. The chronology of the Pallava
kings is vague, but texts suggest that they were
most powerful between 330 and 550. The
noteworthy rulers during this period were:
Simhavarama I, Sivaskkandavarma I,
Veerakurcha, Shandavarma II, Kumaravishnu
I, Simhavarma II, and Vishnugopa. Vishugopa
is said to have been defeated in battle by
Samudragupta after which the Pallavas become
weaker and the Cholas and the Kalahari
repeatedly attacked their kingdom and robbed
it of its wealth and territories. It was
Simhavishnu, the son of Simhavarma II, who
eventually crushed the Kalabhras’ dominance in
575 and re-established his kingdom. There also
seems have been an enmity between the Pallava
and Pandya kingdoms. However, the real
struggle for political domination was between
the Pallava and Chalukya realms. The Pallava
history between 600 and 900 is full of accounts
of wars between the Pallava and the
Chaluakaya rulers.
In 670, Parameshwaravarma I came to the
throne and restricted the advance of the
Chlukyan king Vikramaditya I. However, the
Chalukyas joined hands with the Pandya king
Arikesari Maravarma, another promients enemy
of the Pallavas, and defeated Parameshwaravarma
I. Parameshwaravarma I died in 695 and
was succeeded by Narasimhavarma II, a peaceliving
ruler. During his reign, clashes between
the Pallavas and chalukyas were few. He is also
remembered for building the famous
Kailashanatha temple at Kanchi. He died
grieving his elder son’s accidental death in 722.
His youngest son, Parameshwaravarma II, came
to power in 722. He was a patron of arts and
had little interest in fighting. He proved to be a
very soft opponent to his contemporary
Chalukya king, Vikramaditya II, who had the
support if the Ganga king, Yereyqppa. He died
in 730 with no heirs to the throne, which left the
Pallava kingdom in a state of disarray.
Nandivarma II came to power after some
infighting for the throne among relatives and
officials of the kingdom. He waged war against
the Pandyas and crushed them at a time when
they got no support from the Chalukyas; Instead,
the Chalukyan king Deertivarma (son of
Vidramaditya II) waited for the defeat of
Pandyas at the hands of Pallavas, and
immediately afterword waged war against the
war-torn Pallava army and defeated it. However,
Nandivarma married the Rashtrakuta princess
Reetadevi, and reestablished the Pallava
kingdom. He was succeeded by Dantivarma
(796-846) who ruled for 54 long years.
Dantivarma was defeated by the Rastrakut king,
Dantidurga, and subsequently by the Pandyas.
He was succeeded by Nandivarma III in 846.
Accounts in the Tamil book Nandikkalubalakom
say that the Pallava kings who followed were
powerful. Nandivarma III was succeeded by
Nrupatungavarma, who had two brothers,
Aparajitavarma and Kampavarma. The Chola
king provoked Aprajita varma into waging a civil
war in the Pallava kingdom. Subsequently,
Aprajita Varma captured the throne but had to
pay heavy costs to the Cholas for their help.
Later, incompetent kings and political instability
reduced the Pallavas to petty kingdom. This
brought the Cholas to formidable position in the
south Indian political stage.
THE CHALUKYAS
History of the Chalukyas, the Karnataka
rulers, can be classified into three eras: 1) the
early western era (6th -8th century), the
Chalukyas of Badami; 2) the later western era
(7th - 12th century), the Chalukyas of Kalyani;
3) the eastern chalukya era (7th - 12th century),
the chalukyas of Vengi. The Chinese traveler,
Hieun Tsang, gives an elaborate account of the
Chalukyas in his travelogue. Pulakesin I (543-
567) was the first independent ruler of Badami
with Vatapi in Bijapur as his capital. Kirthivarma
I (566-596) succeeded him at the throne. When
he died, the heir to the throne, Prince Pulakesin
II, was just a baby and so the king’s brother,
Mangalesha (597-610), was crowned the
caretaker ruler. Over the years, he made many
unsuccessful attempts to kill the prince but was
ultimately killed himself by the prince and his
friends. Pulakesin II (610-642), the son of
Pulakesin I, was a contemporary of
Harshavardhana and the most famous of the
Chalukyan kings. He increased the size of his
kingdom by annexing the entire Andhra
kingdom. His reign is remembered as the greatest
period in the history of Karnataka. He defeated
Harshavardhana on the banks of the Narmada.
In the north, pulakeshin II subdued the Latas,
Malavas, and Gurjara. He also annexed the three
kingdoms of Maharashtra, Konkan, and
Karnataka. After conquering the Kosalas and the
Kalingas, and eastern Chalukyan dynasty was
inaugurated by his brother Kubja
Vishnuvardana. This dynasty absorbed the
Andhra country by defeating the Vishnukundin
king Vidramendravarman III. Moving south,
pulakeshin II allied himself with the Cholas,
Keralas, and Pandyas in order to invade the
powerful Pallavas. By 631, the Chalukyan empire
extended from sea to sea. However, Pulkeshin II
was defeated and probably killed in 642, when
the Pallavas, in retaliation for an attack on their
capital, captured the chalukyan capital at
Badami.
The Chalukyas rose to power once again
under the leadership of Vikramaditya I (655-681),
who defeated his contemporary Pandya,
Pallava, Cholas and Kerala rulers to establish the
supremacy of the Chalukyan empire in the
region. He was succeeded by his son
Vinayaditya(681-696), who was an able
administrator. He had many victories to his
account, prominent among them credit against
Yashovarma being the once (king of Kanauj). He
was succeeded by his son Vijayaditya (696-733),
who was succeeded by his son Vikramaditya II
(733-745) who defeated the Pallava king
Nandivarma II to capture a major portion of the
Pallava kingdom. However, Vikramaditya II’s
son, Kirtivarma II (745), was disposed by the
Rastrakuta ruler, Bhantidurga, who established
the Rashtrakuta dynasty as a force to reckon with
in Karnataka’s Political scenario.
