Pariksha SaathiLesson 7 of 10 · Ancient and Medieval Indian History
Early Medieval Kingdoms: Tripartite Struggle, Rajputs, Chalukyas, Pallavas and Cholas
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The tripartite struggle and the Palas
After Harsha, Kannauj became the symbol of power in north India, and from the eighth to the tenth century three dynasties fought for it: the Palas of Bengal and Bihar, the Gurjara-Pratiharas of western India and the Rashtrakutas of the Deccan. The Pala founder Gopala was chosen king around 750 AD to end matsyanyaya, the anarchy in which the strong swallowed the weak. Dharmapala placed his nominee Chakrayudha on the throne of Kannauj and founded Vikramashila university and the Somapura Mahavihara at Paharpur (now in Bangladesh). Devapala granted villages to Nalanda for a monastery built by Balaputradeva, the Shailendra king of Suvarnadvipa. The Palas were Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhists, and the monk Atisha Dipankara went from Vikramashila to Tibet.
Pratiharas and Rashtrakutas
The Pratihara Nagabhata I checked the Arabs, who had conquered Sindh in 712 AD, and Nagabhata II took Kannauj. Mihira Bhoja was the greatest Pratihara; the Arab merchant Sulaiman praised his cavalry and called him an enemy of the Arabs. The poet Rajashekhara lived at the court of Mahendrapala I. The Rashtrakutas were founded by Dantidurga, who overthrew the Chalukyas of Badami in the eighth century; their capital was later Manyakheta (Malkhed). Krishna I built the rock-cut Kailasa temple at Ellora, and Dhruva and Govinda III defeated both the Palas and the Pratiharas. Amoghavarsha I, a patron of Jainism to whom the Kannada Kavirajamarga is credited, was counted by Sulaiman among the four great kings of the world. Indra III sacked Kannauj, and Krishna III defeated the Cholas at Takkolam in 949 AD.
Rajput dynasties
From the eighth century Rajput clans rose in Rajasthan, Gujarat and central India. The Agnikula legend of Chand Bardai's Prithviraj Raso traces four clans, the Pratiharas, Chauhans, Paramaras and Chalukyas (Solankis), to a sacrificial fire at Mount Abu. The Chauhans ruled from Ajmer; their greatest king, Prithviraj III, fought Muhammad Ghori. The Paramaras ruled Malwa from Dhar, where Raja Bhoja was a scholar-king. The Chandelas of Bundelkhand built the Khajuraho temples, including the Kandariya Mahadeva. The Solankis of Gujarat built the Sun temple at Modhera, and Vimal Shah, a minister of Bhima I, built the Jain Vimal Vasahi temple at Dilwara, Mount Abu. The Tomaras founded Dhillika (Delhi), and the Gahadavalas ruled Kannauj until Jaichand's fall.
Chalukyas of Badami and the Pallavas
Pulakeshin II, the greatest Chalukya of Vatapi (Badami), stopped Harsha on the Narmada and defeated the Pallava Mahendravarman I, as told in the Aihole inscription (634 AD) by the Jain poet Ravikirti. But the Pallava Narasimhavarman I took Vatapi in 642 AD, Pulakeshin II died, and the victor took the title Vatapikonda. Chalukya temples at Aihole, Badami and Pattadakal mix the Nagara and Dravida styles; Queen Lokamahadevi built the Virupaksha temple at Pattadakal to mark her husband Vikramaditya II's victory over the Pallavas. The Pallavas of Kanchipuram were great builders: Mahendravarman I, author of the Sanskrit farce Mattavilasa Prahasana, began rock-cut temples; Narasimhavarman I (Mamalla) carved the Pancha Rathas at Mamallapuram; and Narasimhavarman II (Rajasimha) built the Shore Temple there and the Kailasanatha temple at Kanchipuram.
The Cholas
Vijayalaya founded the imperial Chola line around 850 AD by taking Thanjavur. Rajaraja I (985 to 1014 AD) conquered northern Sri Lanka and the Maldives and built the Brihadeshwara (Rajarajeshwara) temple at Thanjavur. His son Rajendra I (1014 to 1044 AD) sent an army to the Ganga, took the title Gangaikonda Chola and built a new capital, Gangaikonda Cholapuram; his navy attacked the Srivijaya kingdom of Malaya and Sumatra, and the Bay of Bengal became a Chola lake. Chola temples have tall vimanas, as at the Airavateshvara temple of Darasuram, and their bronze Nataraja is world-famous.
Chola village self-government
The kingdom was divided into mandalams (provinces), valanadus, nadus and villages. The ur was the assembly of ordinary villages, the sabha or mahasabha that of Brahmin villages (brahmadeya), and the nagaram that of merchants; work was done through committees called variyams, for tanks, gardens, justice and so on. The Uttaramerur inscriptions of Parantaka I (919 and 921 AD) set out how sabha members were chosen: a candidate had to own tax-paying land and a house, be between 35 and 70 years old and know the Vedas, and names written on palm leaves were drawn from a pot, the kudavolai system.
Mahmud of Ghazni and Muhammad Ghori
Mahmud of Ghazni raided India 17 times between 1000 and 1027 AD for its wealth, defeating the Hindu Shahi kings Jayapala and Anandapala and plundering Nagarkot, Thanesar, Mathura and Kannauj; in 1025 AD he sacked the Somnath temple. The scholar Al-Biruni, author of Kitab-ul-Hind, and the poet Firdausi were at his court. Muhammad Ghori came to conquer: he took Multan in 1175 AD, was beaten near Mount Abu by the Chalukyas of Gujarat in 1178 AD, lost the first battle of Tarain to Prithviraj Chauhan in 1191 AD, won the second in 1192 AD and defeated Jaichand at Chandawar in 1194 AD. His general Qutbuddin Aibak held Delhi and Bakhtiyar Khalji overran Bihar and Bengal; after Ghori's death in 1206 AD, Aibak founded the Delhi Sultanate.
Key facts
- Tripartite struggle for Kannauj: Palas (Bengal), Gurjara-Pratiharas (western India) and Rashtrakutas (Deccan), from the 8th to the 10th century.
- Pala firsts: Gopala elected to end matsyanyaya; Dharmapala founded Vikramashila and Somapura Mahavihara (Paharpur); Atisha Dipankara went to Tibet.
- Rashtrakutas: founded by Dantidurga, capital Manyakheta; Krishna I built the Kailasa temple at Ellora; Kavirajamarga is credited to Amoghavarsha I; Krishna III won at Takkolam (949 AD).
- Rajput monuments: Khajuraho (Chandelas), Modhera Sun temple (Solankis), Dilwara Vimal Vasahi temple at Mount Abu (Vimal Shah, minister of Bhima I).
- Aihole inscription (634 AD) by Ravikirti records Pulakeshin II's victory over Harsha; Narasimhavarman I took Vatapi in 642 AD and was called Vatapikonda.
- Pallava monuments: Pancha Rathas (Narasimhavarman I), Shore Temple and Kailasanatha temple, Kanchipuram (Narasimhavarman II Rajasimha).
- Rajaraja I built the Brihadeshwara temple, Thanjavur; Rajendra I built Gangaikonda Cholapuram and led a naval expedition to Srivijaya.
- Uttaramerur inscriptions (919 and 921 AD, Parantaka I): sabha members aged 35-70, owning land and a house, chosen by kudavolai (palm leaves drawn from a pot).
- Mahmud of Ghazni: 17 raids (1000-1027 AD), Somnath sacked 1025 AD; Al-Biruni wrote Kitab-ul-Hind; Firdausi was his court poet.
- Muhammad Ghori: Tarain I 1191 (lost to Prithviraj Chauhan), Tarain II 1192 (won), Chandawar 1194 (defeated Jaichand); died 1206.
Quick revision
Tripartite struggle for Kannauj: Palas, Pratiharas, Rashtrakutas; Gopala ended matsyanyaya; Dharmapala founded Vikramashila; Mihira Bhoja greatest Pratihara; Krishna I built Kailasa at Ellora; Agnikula clans; Khajuraho by Chandelas; Aihole inscription 634 AD; Vatapi taken 642 AD; Shore Temple by Rajasimha; Rajaraja I Brihadeshwara; Rajendra I Gangaikonda Cholapuram, Srivijaya; Uttaramerur 919 and 921 AD, kudavolai; Mahmud 17 raids, Somnath 1025; Tarain 1191 and 1192.