Paper I · 10 History of Telangana & the Statehood Movement · 10.1 Ancient Telangana
10.1.4 After the Satavahanas: Ikshvakus, Vishnukundins and the Vemulawada and Mudigonda Chalukyas
Between the Satavahanas and the Kakatiyas, Telangana was ruled by the Ikshvakus of the Krishna valley, the Vishnukundins who began at Indrapalanagara, the Badami Chalukyas and Rashtrakutas, and two local Chalukya houses: the Vemulawada Chalukyas (Bodhan, Vemulawada; patrons of Pampa and Jainism) and the Mudigonda Chalukyas (Khammam–Warangal area).
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Core facts
- Ikshvakus (c. 3rd – early 4th century CE): capital Vijayapuri (Nagarjunakonda, on the Krishna, now in Andhra Pradesh). Also called Sriparvatiyas.
- Founder Vasishthiputra Chamtamula (Santamula): performed Ashvamedha.
- Greatest Virapurushadatta: peak of Buddhism.
- Last Rudrapurushadatta: his 18th-year inscription was found at Phanigiri (Suryapet).
- Vishnukundins (c. 5th–6th century CE): first capital Indrapalanagara (Tummalagudem, now Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district).
- Emblem lion; family deity Sriparvatasvami; official language Sanskrit.
- Greatest ruler Madhavavarman II (Janashraya): 11 Ashvamedhas.
- Govindavarman: Tummalagudem plates; the queen's Buddhist vihara at Indrapalanagara.
- Keesaragutta (Medchal-Malkajgiri): Vishnukundin temples (Ramalingeswara) and fort.
- Vemulawada Chalukyas (c. 750–973 CE): vassals of the Rashtrakutas; capitals Bodhan (Podana), then Vemulawada (Rajanna Sircilla); their land was called Sapadalaksha.
- Greatest Arikesari II; his court poet Pampa (Kannada Adikavi) wrote Vikramarjuna Vijaya and Adipurana (941 CE).
- Kurkyala inscription (c. 945 CE) at Bommalagutta (Karimnagar district), by Jinavallabha (Pampa's brother), has the earliest Telugu kanda verses.
- Mudigonda Chalukyas (c. 9th–12th century): vassals of the Eastern Chalukyas of Vengi; capital Mudigonda (Khammam district); founder Kokkiraju; ended by the Kakatiyas.
Explained
1. The Ikshvakus
- Feudatories of the Satavahanas (rank Mahatalavara) who became independent in the Krishna valley. TOSS: they ruled about 100 years.
- Territory: Guntur–Krishna–Palnadu area (Andhra Pradesh) and the Nalgonda, Khammam and Mahabubnagar side of Telangana (inscriptions and coins at Phanigiri, Nelakondapalli, Yeleswaram).
- Claimed descent from the solar Ikshvaku line of Ayodhya (and so from the Buddha's family). They married cross-cousins (mother's brother's daughter), a southern custom.
| Ruler | Key facts |
|---|---|
| Vasishthiputra Chamtamula (founder) | Vedic king; Ashvamedha, Vajapeya, Agnishtoma; gave land, cows and gold; devotee of Skanda (Mahasena) |
| Madhariputra Virapurushadatta (greatest) | Married into the Saka royal house of Ujjain; royal women built Buddhist monuments: his aunt Chamtisiri built the Mahachaitya at Nagarjunakonda; Bodhisiri (an upasika) built a chaitya; called "the Ashoka of the South" by some books |
| Ehuvala Chamtamula | First Sanskrit inscriptions of the dynasty; Hindu temples at Nagarjunakonda (to Kartikeya, Pushpabhadraswami, and others); his general Elisiri built a Kartikeya temple (books link the town Yeleswaram to his name) |
| Rudrapurushadatta (last) | Inscription at Phanigiri of his 18th regnal year (Dharmachakra pillar set up by the king's chief physician); dynasty ended by the Pallava Simhavarman (Manchikallu inscription, Andhra Pradesh) |
- An Abhira king, Vasusena, held Vijayapuri for a time (his inscription is at Nagarjunakonda).
- Contributions: some of the earliest brick Hindu temples of the Deccan (Nagarjunakonda); Buddhist monasteries for monks from Sri Lanka and other lands; Prakrit, then Sanskrit inscriptions.
2. The Vakatakas (brief)
- A central Indian dynasty (founder Vindhyashakti, 3rd century CE). Their power reached northern Telangana (Adilabad side); the early Vishnukundins were their subordinates, and Vishnukundin kings married Vakataka princesses.
3. The Vishnukundins
- Rose in Telangana in the late 4th or 5th century and spread to coastal Andhra. Dates vary between books (TOSS: 4th to 6th centuries; some books: about 358–569 CE; others about 420–624 CE).
- Capitals (in order, as most books give them): Indrapalanagara (Tummalagudem, Valigonda area, Yadadri Bhuvanagiri) → Amarapura (Amaravati) → Denduluru (near Eluru, Andhra Pradesh). TOSS also lists Eleswaram, Keesaragutta and Vinukonda.
- About 10 kings are known from a small number of inscriptions (TOSS counts ten), but the order is disputed because names repeat.
| Ruler | Key facts |
|---|---|
| Indravarman (founder) | Began as a feudatory (of the Vakatakas, most books); held the Nalgonda–Bhuvanagiri area |
| Govindavarman I | Tummalagudem plates (set I, year 37): granted Penkapara (and Enmadala) to the Buddhist sangha of the vihara built by his chief queen Paramabhattarika Mahadevi at Indrapura (Indrapalanagara); TOSS: married a Prithvimula princess; the Chaitanyapuri (Hyderabad) Prakrit inscription mentions a Govindaraja vihara |
| Madhavavarman II (Janashraya) | Greatest king; 11 Ashvamedhas and many other sacrifices; married a Vakataka princess; took the empire to the east coast; TOSS: moved the capital from Indrapalanagara to Amarapura (Amaravati) and built the Ramalingeswara temple at Keesaragutta |
| Vikramendravarman I | Son by the Vakataka queen; known as a poet |
| Indrabhattarakavarman | Credited with setting up ghatikas (Vedic colleges) |
| Vikramendravarman II | Tummalagudem plates (set II, year 11): gift to the same vihara after defeating the Pallava Simhavarman; Chikkulla plates (Andhra Pradesh) have the earliest Telugu phrase "vijaya rajya samvatsarambul" (TOSS) |
| Madhavavarman III | TOSS: the poet Gunasvami wrote the Sanskrit metre work *Janashraya Chhandovichhiti* in his time (other books link it with a king titled Janashraya) |
| Later kings | Lost Vengi to the Badami Chalukya Pulakeshin II (early 7th century), who placed Kubja Vishnuvardhana at Vengi (start of the Eastern Chalukyas) |
- Features: Sanskrit inscriptions; Vedic revival (Ashvamedha, Hiranyagarbha); ghatikas; rock-cut cave temples (Undavalli, Mogalrajapuram, Bhairavakona, in Andhra Pradesh); lion on coins; coins found at Bhuvanagiri, Phanigiri, Eleswaram, Keesaragutta and Sultanabad in Telangana.
- Keesaragutta (Keesara, Medchal-Malkajgiri district): hill with hundreds of Shiva lingas, a fort wall and temple remains of the Vishnukundin period; the Ramalingeswara temple is still in worship.
4. Badami Chalukyas and Rashtrakutas in Telangana (brief)
- Badami (Western) Chalukyas (6th–8th century): ruled western Telangana. The Navabrahma temples at Alampur (Jogulamba Gadwal district, on the Tungabhadra) were built in their time.
- Rashtrakutas (from Dantidurga, c. 753 CE; capital Manyakheta): overlords of the Vemulawada Chalukyas. They ended in 973 CE, when Tailapa II founded the Kalyani (Western) Chalukya kingdom, which then ruled much of Telangana until the Kakatiyas rose.
5. Vemulawada Chalukyas
- A branch of the Chalukya family that claimed descent from Satyashraya Ranavikrama (a Badami Chalukya prince). Kingdom: Sapadalaksha ("1,25,000"), roughly old Karimnagar, Nizamabad and Adilabad districts.
- Sources: Kollipara plates (Arikesari I), Vemulawada inscription (Arikesari II), Parbhani plates (Arikesari III, 966 CE), Kurkyala inscription, and Pampa's Vikramarjuna Vijaya.
| Ruler | Key facts |
|---|---|
| Vinayaditya Yuddhamalla (founder; TOSS: Vikramaditya Yuddhamalla) | Helped Dantidurga; ruled from Bodhan |
| Arikesari I | Helped Rashtrakuta Dhruva; fought the Eastern Chalukya Vishnuvardhana IV; moved the capital to Vemulawada |
| Baddega I | Title Solada-ganda (hero of 42 battles); captured the Eastern Chalukya Bhima I (later freed by the Mudigonda chief Kusumayudha); built the Bhimeswara (Baddegeswara) temple at Vemulawada |
| Narasimha II | Joined Rashtrakuta Indra III's northern campaign; defeated the Pratihara Mahipala; married Jakavve, Indra III's sister |
| Arikesari II (greatest) | Patron of Pampa; helped put Amoghavarsha III on the Rashtrakuta throne against Govinda IV; Vemulawada inscription; temples at Vemulawada |
| Vagaraja / Baddega II | Built the Subhadhama Jinalaya (Jain temple) at Vemulawada for Somadeva Suri |
| Arikesari III (last) | Parbhani plates (966 CE); gifts to Somadeva Suri's Jain temple; dynasty fell with the Rashtrakutas (973) |
- Literature at their court:
| Poet | Work | Language |
|---|---|---|
| Pampa (Adikavi of Kannada) | Vikramarjuna Vijaya (Pampa Bharata; Arikesari II as Arjuna) and Adipurana (life of the first Tirthankara) | Kannada |
| Jinavallabha (Pampa's brother) | Kurkyala inscription on Bommalagutta: Jain temple and Chakreshwari image; verses in Kannada, Sanskrit and Telugu | Trilingual |
| Somadeva Suri | Yasastilaka Champu (959 CE) and Nitivakyamrita | Sanskrit |
| Malliya Rechana | Kavijanashrayam (Telugu prosody; authorship debated) | Telugu |
- Religion: Jainism at its height (Vemulawada, Bodhan, Bommalagutta, Repaka); Shaiva temples (Bhimeswara, Rajeswara) also built. Vemulawada's Sri Rajarajeswara temple complex in Rajanna Sircilla district grew around this early temple centre.
6. Mudigonda Chalukyas
- Another Chalukya branch in the Khammam–Warangal area, called Koravi seema (Koravi = Kuravi, now Mahabubabad district). Capital Mudigonda (Khammam district); also Koravi and Bottu (Khammam).
- Vassals of the Eastern Chalukyas of Vengi, they guarded Vengi's north-west frontier against the Rashtrakutas and Vemulawada Chalukyas.
- Rulers: Kokkiraju (founder), Ranamarda, Kusumayudha I (rescued Eastern Chalukya Bhima I from the Rashtrakutas and Baddega), Bijjaya (TOSS: Bijayitha; helped by Arikesari II against Govinda IV), later Bottu Beta and a line of Kusumayudhas, and Nagatiraju (last).
- Sources: Mogalicheruvu plates, Koravi inscription, Krivvaka inscription.
- End: the Kakatiya Rudradeva and his general Recherla Rudra took their land in the 12th century; the last rulers moved to coastal Andhra.
Common traps
- ✗ "Madhavavarman II was an Ikshvaku king." ✓ He was the greatest Vishnukundin (Janashraya; 11 Ashvamedhas).
- ✗ "Pampa wrote Vikramarjuna Vijaya in Telugu." ✓ In Kannada; the early Telugu verses are in Jinavallabha's Kurkyala inscription.
- ✗ "Vemulawada Chalukyas were vassals of the Eastern Chalukyas." ✓ Vassals of the Rashtrakutas; the Mudigonda Chalukyas served the Eastern Chalukyas.
- ✗ "The Vishnukundins' first capital was Denduluru." ✓ First Indrapalanagara (Telangana); Denduluru came last.
- ✗ "The Phanigiri inscription is of Virapurushadatta." ✓ It is of Rudrapurushadatta, year 18.
- ✗ "Kurkyala inscription is in Vemulawada town." ✓ It is on Bommalagutta near Kurikyala village, Karimnagar district.
- ✗ "Vishnukundin emblem was the boar." ✓ It was the lion; the boar (varaha) is the Chalukya emblem.
- ✗ "Mudigonda is in Nalgonda district." ✓ Mudigonda is in Khammam district.
- ✗ "Baddega I's title Solada-ganda means victor of 12 battles." ✓ Hero of 42 battles.
Quick revision
- Ikshvakus: Vijayapuri; Chamtamula (founder, Ashvamedha), Virapurushadatta (Buddhist peak), Rudrapurushadatta (last; Phanigiri yr-18 inscription).
- Ikshvakus ended by Pallava Simhavarman; Abhira Vasusena held Vijayapuri for a time.
- Vishnukundins: Indrapalanagara (Tummalagudem) → Amarapura → Denduluru; lion emblem; Sanskrit.
- Govindavarman: Tummalagudem plates; queen Paramabhattarika Mahadevi's vihara.
- Madhavavarman II (Janashraya): 11 Ashvamedhas; Keesaragutta Ramalingeswara.
- Pulakeshin II ended Vishnukundin rule; Kubja Vishnuvardhana at Vengi.
- Vemulawada Chalukyas (c. 750–973): Bodhan → Vemulawada; Rashtrakuta vassals; Sapadalaksha.
- Arikesari II: Pampa (Vikramarjuna Vijaya, Adipurana, 941, Kannada).
- Kurkyala inscription (c. 945, Bommalagutta, Jinavallabha): earliest Telugu kanda verses.
- Mudigonda Chalukyas: Mudigonda (Khammam); Eastern Chalukya vassals; ended by Kakatiyas.
Go deeper: Deeper, Mains writing (beyond what TGPSC MPSO / ASO usually asks)
Deeper Advanced
- The "dark age" that was not. Older historians called c. 230–600 CE a "dark age" for Telangana. Finds at Phanigiri (Ikshvaku inscription and coins), Tummalagudem and Chaitanyapuri (Vishnukundin records) and Keesaragutta show continuous states in Telangana in this period.
- Phanigiri inscription. A Brahmi record on an octagonal pillar, in mixed Prakrit and Sanskrit, opening with verses in praise of the Buddha, of Rudrapurushadatta's 18th regnal year records a Dharmachakra pillar set up by the king's chief physician. It extended his known reign from about 11 to 18 years and showed that Ikshvaku rule reached Suryapet. In April 2024 a hoard of 3,730 Ikshvaku-period lead coins was reported from the same site.
- Shift from Buddhism to Vedic kingship. Ikshvaku kings were Vedic while their queens were Buddhist; the Vishnukundins were firmly Vedic (Ashvamedha, ghatikas), though early queens still built viharas. By the 7th century Buddhist sites in Telangana were in decline.
- Language milestones.
- Prakrit (Satavahana) → Sanskrit in inscriptions (Ehuvala Chamtamula of the Ikshvakus; all Vishnukundin records).
- Telugu words in a royal record: Chikkulla plates (Vishnukundin, Andhra Pradesh).
- Telugu verse: Kurkyala inscription (c. 945 CE, Bommalagutta, Karimnagar), with three kanda padyas (some scholars date it 941); cited among the evidence for Telugu's classical language status (2008).
- Two Chalukya houses, two overlords. Vemulawada = vassals of the Rashtrakutas (Manyakheta); Mudigonda = vassals of the Eastern Chalukyas (Vengi). Their wars mirrored the Rashtrakuta–Vengi conflict, yet Arikesari II also helped the Mudigonda prince Vijayaditya.
- Disputed points to handle carefully.
- Vishnukundin dates, capitals and royal order differ between books; the TOSS textbook is the exam reference.
- The Vemulawada founder is named Vinayaditya (most books) or Vikramaditya Yuddhamalla (TOSS).
- Kavijanashrayam: books credit Malliya Rechana; some scholars credit Vemulawada Bhimakavi.
- Statement-level points.
- 11 Ashvamedhas = Madhavavarman II (Vishnukundin). Solada-ganda (42 battles) = Baddega I (Vemulawada).
- Pampa wrote in Kannada, not Telugu; his brother's Kurkyala inscription has the Telugu verses.
- Tummalagudem plates = Vishnukundin (Govindavarman, Vikramendravarman II); Kollipara plates = Vemulawada (Arikesari I).
Mains writing Mains writing
- Frame: From about 230 to 1100 CE Telangana was not a backwater: a chain of regional dynasties built a Sanskrit-Vedic court culture, protected Buddhist and Jain institutions, and produced the first Telugu verse.
- Points to use:
- Political: feudatories becoming kings (Ikshvakus from Satavahanas; Vishnukundins from Vakatakas; Vemulawada under Rashtrakutas; Mudigonda under Vengi).
- Religion: Buddhism (Phanigiri, Indrapalanagara vihara) → Vedic revival (Ashvamedha, ghatikas) → Jain flowering (Vemulawada, Bommalagutta).
- Culture: Prakrit → Sanskrit → Kannada classics (Pampa) and early Telugu verse (Kurkyala).
- Evidence: inscriptions and coins from Telangana sites correct the "dark age" view.
- Way forward / heritage: protect Keesaragutta, Bommalagutta and Phanigiri; publish and digitise copper plates; link these sites in a heritage circuit.
- Model opening line: "The centuries between the Satavahanas and the Kakatiyas, once called Telangana's dark age, are now lit up by inscriptions from Phanigiri, Tummalagudem and Bommalagutta."
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