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Telugu Historyతెలుగు చరిత్ర

Chalukyas of Vemulavada

A family of Chalukya chiefs who ruled the Sabbi country of northern Telangana, today's Karimnagar district, from their capital Vemulavada (Lembulavataka). They were feudatories of the Rashtrakutas from about 750 to about 970. Their records begin with Vinayaditya-Yuddhamalla, who is said to have bathed his elephants in oil at Podana (Bodhan). Arikesari II (about 930–955) was the patron of the Kannada poet Pampa, and Somadeva Suri wrote his Yasastilaka in 959 in the town of Arikesari's son. Their rule ended when the Chalukyas of Kalyani took Telangana before 973.

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Each bar is a ruling power in its region; time runs left to right. Dashed = approximate dates. Select a bar for details.

70075080085090095010001050Eastern Chalukyas & the Deccan powers (624–1163 CE)Eastern Chalukyas & the Deccan powersTelanganaChalukyas of BadamiChalukyas of MudigondaChalukyas of VemulavadaKakatiyasRashtrakutas of MalkhedTelugu Chodas of KanduruEastern Chalukyas of VengiWestern Chalukyas of KalyaniCoastal AndhraEastern Gangas of KalingaEastern Chalukyas of VengiCholas of TanjoreChalukyas of BadamiEastern Chalukyas of VengiPallavasRayalaseemaPallavasCholas of TanjoreTelugu Cholas of RenaduWestern Chalukyas of KalyaniChalukyas of BadamiBanasVaidumbasNolamba-PallavasRashtrakutas of Malkhed70075080085090095010001050
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Eastern Chalukyas & the Deccan powers 624–1163 CE

Telangana
Chalukyas of Badami (c. 655–753 CE) · Chalukyas of Mudigonda (c. 890–1218 CE) · Chalukyas of Vemulavada (c. 750–973 CE) · Kakatiyas (c. 1052–1162 CE) · Rashtrakutas of Malkhed (c. 753–973 CE) · Telugu Chodas of Kanduru (c. 1060–1160 CE) · Eastern Chalukyas of Vengi (c. 935–973 CE) · Western Chalukyas of Kalyani (c. 973–1163 CE)
Coastal Andhra
Eastern Gangas of Kalinga (c. 537–1434 CE) · Eastern Chalukyas of Vengi (c. 615–973 CE) · Cholas of Tanjore (c. 999–1135 CE) · Chalukyas of Badami (c. 655–680 CE) · Pallavas (c. 670–750 CE)
Rayalaseema
Pallavas (c. 300–900 CE) · Cholas of Tanjore (c. 985–1268 CE) · Telugu Cholas of Renadu (c. 550–800 CE) · Western Chalukyas of Kalyani (c. 1000–1190 CE) · Chalukyas of Badami (c. 654–753 CE) · Banas (c. 700–915 CE) · Vaidumbas (c. 750–1000 CE) · Nolamba-Pallavas (c. 750–974 CE) · Rashtrakutas of Malkhed (c. 750–973 CE)
Kingdoms and empires Uncertain or debated dates Held another region first This page

Reigns

Each bar is one ruler’s reign; time runs left to right. c. = approximate date.

7257507758008258508759009259509751000Vinayaditya-Yuddhamalla I (Chalukya of Vemulavada) · c. 750–775 CE · c. 25 yrsVinayaditya-Yuddhamalla I (Chalukya of Vemulavada)c. 750–775 CE · c. 25 yrsArikesari I · c. 775–800 CE · c. 25 yrsArikesari Ic. 775–800 CE · c. 25 yrsNarasimha I · c. 800–825 CE · c. 25 yrsNarasimha Ic. 800–825 CE · c. 25 yrsYuddhamalla II · c. 825–850 CE · c. 25 yrsYuddhamalla IIc. 825–850 CE · c. 25 yrsBaddega I Soladaganda (Chalukya of Vemulavada) · c. 850–895 CE · c. 45 yrsBaddega I Soladaganda (Chalukya of Vemulavada)c. 850–895 CE · c. 45 yrsYuddhamalla III · c. 895–915 CE · c. 20 yrsYuddhamalla IIIc. 895–915 CE · c. 20 yrsNarasimha II (Chalukya of Vemulavada) · c. 915–930 CE · c. 15 yrsNarasimha II (Chalukya of Vemulavada)c. 915–930 CE · c. 15 yrsArikesari II (Chalukya of Vemulavada) · c. 930–955 CE · c. 25 yrsArikesari II (Chalukya of Vemulavada)c. 930–955 CE · c. 25 yrsVagaraja · c. 955–965 CE · c. 10 yrsVagarajac. 955–965 CE · c. 10 yrsArikesari III (Chalukya of Vemulavada) · c. 966–973 CE · c. 7 yrsArikesari III (Chalukya of Vemulavada)c. 966–973 CE · c. 7 yrs
  1. Vinayaditya-Yuddhamalla I (Chalukya of Vemulavada)c. 750–775 CE · c. 25 yrs
  2. Arikesari Ic. 775–800 CE · c. 25 yrs
  3. Narasimha Ic. 800–825 CE · c. 25 yrs
  4. Yuddhamalla IIc. 825–850 CE · c. 25 yrs
  5. Baddega I Soladaganda (Chalukya of Vemulavada)c. 850–895 CE · c. 45 yrs
  6. Yuddhamalla IIIc. 895–915 CE · c. 20 yrs
  7. Narasimha II (Chalukya of Vemulavada)c. 915–930 CE · c. 15 yrs
  8. Arikesari II (Chalukya of Vemulavada)c. 930–955 CE · c. 25 yrs
  9. Vagarajac. 955–965 CE · c. 10 yrs
  10. Arikesari III (Chalukya of Vemulavada)c. 966–973 CE · c. 7 yrs
Reign · c. = approximate date

Reign years after N. Venkataramanayya (1953), who called his scheme tentative. Only two dates are fixed: 959, when Somadeva finished the Yasastilaka under Vagaraja, and 966, the Parbhani plates of Arikesari III. The rest come from links with Rashtrakuta and Eastern Chalukya kings and twenty-five years a generation (forty-five for Baddega I). The end date is Venkataramanayya's latest date for the Kalyani Chalukya conquest of Telangana. The Early History of the Deccan (1960) counts Bhadradeva II, father of Arikesari III, as a ruler in place of Vagaraja.

Family tree

The rulers and the relatives who explain the succession. Every line rests on a cited statement on a person page; the sources are listed below the tree. Select a card to open that page.

  • parent and child
  • marriage
  • adoption
  • the sources disagree (see below)
  • order of succession
Family tree: Chalukyas of VemulavadaVinayaditya-YuddhamallaIc. 750–775 CE1Arikesari Ic. 775–800 CE2BiragrihaSon of Vinayaditya;friend of the RashtrakutaGovinda III (Kuruvagattainscription)Narasimha Ic. 800–825 CE3BhadradevaYounger son of ArikesariIYuddhamalla IIc. 825–850 CE4Baddega I(Soladaganda)c. 850–895 CE5Yuddhamalla IIIc. 895–915 CE6Narasimha IIc. 915–930 CE7JakavveQueen of Narasimha II;Jatavve in Rice's PampaArikesari IIc. 930–955 CE8RevakanirmadiDaughter of theRashtrakuta Indra IIILokambikaRashtrakuta princess(Parbhani plates)Vagarajac. 955–965 CE9Bhadradeva (BaddegaII)Younger son of ArikesariII; builder of theSubhadhama JinalayaArikesari IIIc. 966–973 CE10

  1. Generation 1

  2. Generation 2

    • 2Arikesari Ic. 775–800 CESon of Vinayaditya-Yuddhamalla I
    • BiragrihaSon of Vinayaditya; friend of the Rashtrakuta Govinda III (Kuruvagatta inscription)Son of Vinayaditya-Yuddhamalla I

  3. Generation 3

    • 3Narasimha Ic. 800–825 CESon of Arikesari I
    • BhadradevaYounger son of Arikesari ISon of Arikesari I

  4. Generation 4

    • 4Yuddhamalla IIc. 825–850 CESon of Narasimha I

  5. Generation 5

  6. Generation 6

    • 6Yuddhamalla IIIc. 895–915 CESon of Baddega I (Soladaganda)

  7. Generation 7

    • JakavveQueen of Narasimha II; Jatavve in Rice's PampaWife of Narasimha II
    • 7Narasimha IIc. 915–930 CESon of Yuddhamalla IIIHusband of Jakavve

  8. Generation 8

    • RevakanirmadiDaughter of the Rashtrakuta Indra IIIWife of Arikesari II
    • 8Arikesari IIc. 930–955 CESon of Narasimha II and JakavveHusband of RevakanirmadiHusband of Lokambika
    • LokambikaRashtrakuta princess (Parbhani plates)Wife of Arikesari II

  9. Generation 9

    • 9Vagarajac. 955–965 CESon of Arikesari II
    • Bhadradeva (Baddega II)Younger son of Arikesari II; builder of the Subhadhama JinalayaSon of Arikesari II and Lokambika

  10. Generation 10

Sources for every line of the tree
  • Vinayaditya-Yuddhamalla I → Arikesari I and Biragriha (parent and child)
  • Arikesari I → Narasimha I and Bhadradeva (parent and child)
  • Narasimha I → Yuddhamalla II (parent and child)
  • Yuddhamalla II → Baddega I (Soladaganda) (parent and child)
  • Baddega I (Soladaganda) → Yuddhamalla III (parent and child)
  • Yuddhamalla III → Narasimha II (parent and child)
  • Narasimha II · Jakavve (marriage)
  • Narasimha II and Jakavve → Arikesari II (parent and child)
    • Arikesari II was the son of Narasimha II and his queen Jakavve. →
      1. Venkataramanayya, Chalukyas of L(V)emulavada (1953), p. 30 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased.
      2. Epigraphia Telanganica I (2023), p. 400, reprinting Venkataramanayya, "The Kurkiyala Inscription" (1974). Cite-only; paraphrased.
  • Arikesari II · Revakanirmadi (marriage)
  • Arikesari II · Lokambika (marriage)
    • He also married Lokambika, a princess of the Rashtrakuta family named in the Parbhani plates of his grandson. →
      1. Venkataramanayya, Chalukyas of L(V)emulavada (1953), p. 93, introduction to the Parabhani plates (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased.
      2. Venkataramanayya, Chalukyas of L(V)emulavada (1953), p. 31 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased.
  • Arikesari II → Vagaraja (parent and child)
    • Arikesari II had two sons, Vagaraja and Bhadradeva, also called Baddega. →
      1. Venkataramanayya, Chalukyas of L(V)emulavada (1953), p. 41 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased.
  • Arikesari II and Lokambika → Bhadradeva (Baddega II) (parent and child)
  • Bhadradeva (Baddega II) → Arikesari III (parent and child)

A line from one parent only means that the cited sources name no other parent.

Panel of three standing nude Jaina figures carved side by side in a shallow niche on the rock, painted red.
Panel of three standing nude Jaina figures carved side by side in a shallow niche on the rock, painted red. · P. Madhusudan (Wikimedia Commons) (opens in a new tab) · CC0 (opens in a new tab)

The Chalukyas of Vemulavada were a line of Chalukya chiefs who ruled the country round Vemulavada, in today’s Karimnagar district of Telangana, for about two centuries. They were feudatories (subordinate rulers) of the Rashtrakutas of Malkhed. They fought in their wars against the Eastern Chalukyas of Vengi and the Gurjara-Pratiharas of Kanauj. They are remembered above all as patrons of letters. The Kannada poet Pampa wrote at the court of Arikesari II, and the Jaina scholar Somadeva Suri under his sons.123

The sources

N. Venkataramanayya wrote the first book on the family in 1953.14 He knew four inscriptions:14

  • the Kuruvagatta stone inscription of the late 8th century14
  • the long Vemulavada pillar inscription of Arikesari II14
  • the Kollipara copper plates of Arikesari I, whose genuineness he doubted14
  • the Parbhani copper plates of Arikesari III, dated 96614

To these he added two literary sources.45 Pampa’s Vikramarjunavijaya opens with a genealogy of its patron’s family (stanzas 15–50) and alludes to his deeds in the body of the poem.45 Somadeva’s Yasastilaka names the Chalukya prince in whose town it was finished.45

Venkataramanayya later edited a further record, the rock inscription of Pampa’s brother Jinavallabha on the Bommala Gutta at Kurikyal (also spelled Kurkyal, the spelling used below for the inscription).6 Epigraphia Telanganica (2023) lists several more.78 Among them are a grant of Arikesari II now in the Karimnagar museum, an inscription of 968 at Repaka, and a pedestal inscription on a Jaina image at Vemulavada.78

RecordKingDatePage
Kuruvagatta inscriptionBiragriha, son of Vinayadityalate 8th or early 9th centuryKuruvagatta inscription
Vemulavada pillar inscriptionArikesari IIabout 930–955Vemulavada inscription
Kurkyal rock inscriptionJinavallabha, under Arikesari IIabout 945Kurkyal inscription
Parbhani copper platesArikesari III7 April 966Parbhani plates

Origins

The Parbhani plates say that the family was born of the Sun.5 All the family’s records except the Kollipara plates begin the genealogy with Vinayaditya-Yuddhamalla.91011 The Kollipara plates add four earlier kings, beginning with Satyasraya-Ranavikrama.91011

Venkataramanayya identified Satyasraya-Ranavikrama with Pulakesin I of Badami.91011 He thought the three names in between were invented to fill the gap, and doubted the record as a whole.91011

J. F. Fleet knew the line only from Pampa.12 He accepted Pampa’s names and lineage, but could not fit the family into either the Chalukyas of Badami or the Eastern Chalukyas.12 One proposal identified Yuddhamalla with a Gujarat Chalukya prince of the same titles.11 Venkataramanayya rejected it on chronological grounds, because the dates do not fit.11

The kings

Vinayaditya-Yuddhamalla I is dated by Venkataramanayya to about 750–775.131415 He is said to have ruled the Sapadalaksha country, bathed his elephants in tanks of oil at Podana and taken the fort of Chitrakuta.131415

Venkataramanayya placed these deeds in the northern campaigns of the Rashtrakuta Dantidurga.131415 He thought that Podana was probably the king’s capital.15 The Early History of the Deccan (1960) identifies Podana with Bodhan.16 His son Arikesari I is credited with conquering Vengi and Trikalinga in the reign of the Rashtrakuta Dhruva (780–793).1718 Another son, Biragriha, was a friend of Govinda III.1718

The next two kings, Narasimha I and Yuddhamalla II, are little more than names.19 Baddega I, called Soladaganda, “the undefeated hero”, fought forty-two battles.2019 In the poets’ image, he seized the Eastern Chalukya king Bhima as if catching a crocodile in water.2019

After the quiet reign of Yuddhamalla III, Narasimha II led the Rashtrakuta Indra III’s armies north against the Gurjara-Pratihara king Mahipala.212223 According to Venkataramanayya, this campaign was about 916.212223

Arikesari II, about 930–955, married two Rashtrakuta princesses.232425 He sheltered a Chalukya prince named Bijja from the anger of the Rashtrakuta king Govinda IV.232425 In Pampa’s words as translated in 1903, he “gave universal sovereignty to Baddegadeva”, Govinda’s uncle Amoghavarsha III.232425

He was followed by his elder son Vagaraja, under whom Somadeva finished the Yasastilaka in 959.262728 Then came his grandson Arikesari III, whose Parbhani plates of 966 acknowledge the Rashtrakuta Krishna III as overlord.262728

Capital and country

The Vemulavada inscription calls Lembulavataka, the modern Vemulavada, the capital of Arikesari II.29 The Parbhani plates call Lembulapataka the capital of Arikesari III.30 Venkataramanayya preferred the form Lemulavada, which he took to be the Telugu name behind the Sanskrit Lembulavataka.31

The Parbhani plates place the granted village in the Repaka Twelve within the Sabbi Thousand.32 Venkataramanayya concluded, in his paper on the Kurkyal inscription, that the Sabbi Thousand corresponded to part, if not the whole, of the Karimnagar district.33

Arikesari II’s records reach beyond it.34 A Kannada inscription of 940 at Chennur, on the Godavari, names a subordinate of his.34 The Kuruvagatta inscription, in the Nagarkurnool taluk of the Mahbubnagar district, lies far to the south.35

Religion and letters

Venkataramanayya found Saivism and Jainism dominant under the family, with worship of the Sun and of Vishnu also known. The Vemulavada inscription names the heads of the town’s four temples: of Rajesvara, of the Sun (Adityagriha), of Baddegesvara and of Nagaresvara.36 The Kollipara plates name a Kalamukha (Saiva sect) monastery at Eleswaram.36

The Parbhani plates and an image inscription at Vemulavada record Jaina temples.237 The Kurkyal inscription records Jaina images, a temple, a tank and a garden made by Pampa’s brother.237 See the temples of Vemulavada and the Bommala Gutta.

Pampa wrote both the Adipurana and the Vikramarjunavijaya at Arikesari II’s court.238 Somadeva wrote the Yasastilaka and the Nitivakyamrita.238

The Kurkyal inscription, in Sanskrit, Kannada and Telugu, contains three Telugu verses in the kanda metre.639 Venkataramanayya called them the earliest of their kind.639 He took them as evidence that Telugu poetry was written in the north-western marches (border lands) of the Telugu country a century before Nannaya’s Mahabharatam.639

The end of the family

Venkataramanayya concluded from inscriptions of the Chalukyas of Kalyani at Uppili and Koraprolu that Telangana passed to their king Taila II between 966 and 973.27 He concluded that the rule of the Vemulavada family had ended by then.27

A century later Vemulavada was the capital of a Kalyani Chalukya governor.40 An inscription there names the mahamandalesvara (great provincial lord) Rajaditya, who governed a one-and-a-quarter-lakh country and the Chabbijoyi seventy-one thousand from his capital Lembulavade.40 It records that he built a temple of Rajadityesvara there and endowed it on 25 December 1083.40

P. V. Parabrahma Sastry suggested that Bhadranga, a chief put to flight by the Kakatiya Prola I, was a descendant of the Vemulavada family still holding power in Sabbi-nadu.41 His reason was that Bhadranga is the Sanskrit form of Baddega.41

Evidence and disagreements

  • Where the family ruled. Writers before 1950 placed Pampa’s patron in the Kannada country.421225 B. Lewis Rice (1898) gave his capital as Lakshmeshwar (then Puligere), because Pampa wrote “the pithy … Kannada of Puligere”.42 Fleet (1896) and D. R. Bhandarkar (1903) placed him in the Jola country of the Dharwar district.1225 The Vemulavada and Parbhani records name Lembulavataka as the capital.2930
  • Sapadalaksha. Venkataramanayya and The Early History of the Deccan identified it with the Sambhar country of Rajputana.1443 N. Lakshminarayana Rao placed it near Karimnagar.1443
  • Pampa’s genealogy. Fleet’s 1896 summary, from Rice’s paper of 1882, makes Narasimha and Bhadradeva one person.44 It calls Arikesari II the son of a Yuddhamalla, and names his mother Chandrananā.44 Rice’s translation of 1898 has Narasimha and Bhadradeva as brothers and the queen Jatavve, “a face like the moon”.2045
  • Bijja. R. G. Bhandarkar and Fleet took the Vijayaditya whom Arikesari II protected to be an Eastern Chalukya king.4612 Venkataramanayya identified him with Bijayita of the Chalukyas of Mudigonda.47
  • The fate of Govinda IV. D. R. Bhandarkar concluded that the rebels killed him.25 Venkataramanayya concluded that he was driven out.48
  • Kalapriya. D. R. Bhandarkar identified it with Mahakala at Ujjain.49 Venkataramanayya and The Early History of the Deccan identified it with Kalpi on the Yamuna.5051
  • The last generations. Venkataramanayya made Vagaraja the elder son and successor of Arikesari II.26 He made Bhadradeva, father of Arikesari III, a younger son who died first.26 The Early History of the Deccan names the last rulers as Bhadradeva II and Arikesari III.52 The printed colophon of the Yasastilaka calls the prince of 959 Vagaraja, the “first son” of Arikesarin.28

Footnotes

  1. N. Venkataramanayya, The Chalukyas of L(V)emulavada (1953), p. 1 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7

  2. Venkataramanayya, Chalukyas of L(V)emulavada (1953), p. 45 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  3. K. A. Nilakanta Sastri and N. Venkataramanayya, “The Chalukyas of Vemulavada”, appendix C to “The Eastern Chalukyas”, in G. Yazdani (ed.), The Early History of the Deccan, Parts VII–XI (1960), p. 504. Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩

  4. Venkataramanayya, Chalukyas of L(V)emulavada (1953), p. 2 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9

  5. Venkataramanayya, Chalukyas of L(V)emulavada (1953), p. 3 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  6. Epigraphia Telanganica I (2023), p. 394, reprinting N. Venkataramanayya, “The Kurkiyala Inscription of Jinavallabha”, Epigraphia Andhrica II (1974), pp. 21–28. Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  7. Epigraphia Telanganica I (2023), p. 87. Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩ ↩2

  8. Epigraphia Telanganica I (2023), p. 90. Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩ ↩2

  9. Venkataramanayya, Chalukyas of L(V)emulavada (1953), p. 5 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  10. Venkataramanayya, Chalukyas of L(V)emulavada (1953), p. 7 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  11. Venkataramanayya, Chalukyas of L(V)emulavada (1953), p. 8 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  12. Fleet, “Dynasties of the Kanarese Districts” (1896), p. 381 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  13. Venkataramanayya, Chalukyas of L(V)emulavada (1953), p. 14 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  14. Venkataramanayya, Chalukyas of L(V)emulavada (1953), p. 16 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  15. Venkataramanayya, Chalukyas of L(V)emulavada (1953), p. 18 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  16. Nilakanta Sastri and Venkataramanayya, “The Chalukyas of Vemulavada” (1960), p. 507. Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩

  17. Venkataramanayya, Chalukyas of L(V)emulavada (1953), p. 10 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩ ↩2

  18. Venkataramanayya, Chalukyas of L(V)emulavada (1953), p. 19 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩ ↩2

  19. Venkataramanayya, Chalukyas of L(V)emulavada (1953), p. 21 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  20. Rice, Pampa Bharata (1898), introduction, p. 2 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  21. Venkataramanayya, Chalukyas of L(V)emulavada (1953), p. 24 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩ ↩2

  22. Venkataramanayya, Chalukyas of L(V)emulavada (1953), p. 25 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩ ↩2

  23. Venkataramanayya, Chalukyas of L(V)emulavada (1953), p. 30 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  24. Venkataramanayya, Chalukyas of L(V)emulavada (1953), p. 31 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  25. Bhandarkar, “Cambay Plates of Govinda IV” (1903), p. 34 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  26. Venkataramanayya, Chalukyas of L(V)emulavada (1953), p. 41 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  27. Venkataramanayya, Chalukyas of L(V)emulavada (1953), p. 42 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  28. Somadeva Suri, Yasastilaka, ed. Pandit Sivadatta and Kasinath Pandurang Parab, Part II (Kavyamala 70, 1903), p. 419, closing colophon (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  29. Venkataramanayya, Chalukyas of L(V)emulavada (1953), p. 84 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩ ↩2

  30. Venkataramanayya, Chalukyas of L(V)emulavada (1953), p. 97, text of the Parabhani plates (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩ ↩2

  31. Venkataramanayya, Chalukyas of L(V)emulavada (1953), author’s preface, p. vii (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩

  32. Venkataramanayya, Chalukyas of L(V)emulavada (1953), p. 93, introduction to the Parabhani plates (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩

  33. Epigraphia Telanganica I (2023), p. 398, reprinting Venkataramanayya (1974). Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩

  34. Gajjala Vasanta Lakshmi (ed.), Epigraphia Telanganica I: Pre-Kakatiya Telangana (2023), p. 81, summarising the Annual Report on Indian Epigraphy for 1959-60, p. 46. Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩ ↩2

  35. Venkataramanayya, Chalukyas of L(V)emulavada (1953), p. 81, introduction to the Kuruvagatta inscription (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩

  36. Venkataramanayya, Chalukyas of L(V)emulavada (1953), p. 43 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩ ↩2

  37. Epigraphia Telanganica I (2023), p. 395, reprinting Venkataramanayya (1974). Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩ ↩2

  38. Venkataramanayya, Chalukyas of L(V)emulavada (1953), p. 46 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩ ↩2

  39. Epigraphia Telanganica I (2023), p. 401, reprinting Venkataramanayya (1974). Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  40. Kannada Inscriptions of Andhra Pradesh (Andhra Pradesh Government Archaeological Series 3, 1961), pp. 5–6, No. 12 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  41. P. V. Parabrahma Sastry, The Kakatiyas of Warangal (1978), p. 46. ↩ ↩2

  42. B. Lewis Rice (ed.), The Pampa Bharata or Vikramarjuna Vijaya of Pampa (1898), introduction, p. 1 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2

  43. Nilakanta Sastri and Venkataramanayya, “The Chalukyas of Vemulavada” (1960), p. 506 and note 1. Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩ ↩2

  44. J. F. Fleet, “Dynasties of the Kanarese Districts”, Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency I, pt. II (1896), p. 380 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2

  45. Rice, Pampa Bharata (1898), introduction, p. 4 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩

  46. Rice, Pampa Bharata (1898), introduction, p. 6, quoting R. G. Bhandarkar (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩

  47. Venkataramanayya, Chalukyas of L(V)emulavada (1953), p. 37 and note 55 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩

  48. Venkataramanayya, Chalukyas of L(V)emulavada (1953), p. 38 and note 57 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩

  49. D. R. Bhandarkar, “Cambay Plates of Govinda IV; Saka-Samvat 852”, Epigraphia Indica VII (1903), p. 30 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩

  50. Venkataramanayya, Chalukyas of L(V)emulavada (1953), p. 29, note 50 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩

  51. Nilakanta Sastri and Venkataramanayya, “The Chalukyas of Vemulavada” (1960), p. 509. Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩

  52. Nilakanta Sastri and Venkataramanayya, “The Chalukyas of Vemulavada” (1960), p. 511. Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩

Photos

Show all (17)

People

Vinayaditya-Yuddhamalla I (Chalukya of Vemulavada)

c. 750–775 CE

Founder of the Chalukya family of Vemulavada in the 8th century. The family's records say that he ruled the Sapadalaksha country, bathed his elephants in tanks filled with oil at Podana (Bodhan) and took the fort of Chitrakuta. N. Venkataramanayya dated him to about 750–775, and thought he served the Rashtrakuta Dantidurga in his northern wars. His sons were Arikesari I, who conquered Vengi, and Biragriha, named in the Kuruvagatta inscription.

Baddega I Soladaganda (Chalukya of Vemulavada)

c. 850–895 CE

Chalukya king of Vemulavada in the later 9th century, a feudatory of the Rashtrakutas. Pampa and the Parbhani plates praise him as the hero of forty-two battles, called Soladaganda ('the undefeated hero'), who seized a king named Bhima 'as if catching a crocodile' in water. Historians identify Bhima with the Eastern Chalukya king Chalukya-Bhima I. N. Venkataramanayya dated his reign to about 850–895.

Pampa (Adi Pampa)

902 CE

Kannada poet, born in 902 into a Brahmana family from the Vengi country that had become Jaina. At the court of the Chalukya king Arikesari II of Vemulavada he wrote the Adipurana and the Vikramarjunavijaya or 'Pampa Bharata' (941). In the second poem he made his patron the epic hero Arjuna. A rock inscription of his younger brother Jinavallabha on the Bommala Gutta at Kurikyal, near Karimnagar, gives his family and the village the king granted him.

Narasimha II (Chalukya of Vemulavada)

c. 915–930 CE

Chalukya king of Vemulavada, a feudatory of the Rashtrakutas, who ruled from about 915 to 930. Pampa and the Vemulavada inscription of his son Arikesari II credit him with victories over the Latas, the 'Seven Malavas' and the Gurjara-Pratihara king Mahipala, and with a pillar of victory at Kalapriya. N. Venkataramanayya held that he won them as the commander of the Rashtrakuta Indra III's northern campaign of about 916.

Arikesari II (Chalukya of Vemulavada)

c. 930–955 CE

Chalukya king of Vemulavada in today's Karimnagar district, a feudatory of the Rashtrakutas, who ruled from about 930 to about 955. He was the patron of the Kannada poet Pampa, who made him the hero of his Vikramarjunavijaya (941). His pillar inscription at Vemulavada gives the family line and records a gift to a Sun temple in his capital, Lembulavataka. He sheltered a Chalukya prince named Bijja from the Rashtrakuta king Govinda IV, and helped bring Govinda's uncle Baddega (Amoghavarsha III) to the throne.

Somadeva Suri

959–966 CE

Jaina scholar and Sanskrit author of the 10th century. He finished his prose-and-verse romance, the Yasastilaka, in 959 at Gangadhara, in the territory of Vagaraja, eldest son of the Chalukya king Arikesari II of Vemulavada. At that time the Rashtrakuta Krishna III was in camp at Melpati. In 966 Arikesari III gave him a village for the Subhadhama Jinalaya, a Jaina temple at Vemulavada.

Arikesari III (Chalukya of Vemulavada)

c. 966–973 CE

Last known Chalukya king of Vemulavada, a feudatory of the Rashtrakuta Krishna III. His Parbhani copper plates of 7 April 966 give a village in the Sabbi Thousand to the Jaina scholar Somadeva Suri for the Subhadhama Jinalaya, a temple built by his father at the capital, Vemulavada. An inscription at Repaka of 968 names him as builder of a Jaina temple. The family's rule ended when the Chalukyas of Kalyani took Telangana in the years up to 973.

Monuments

Bommala Gutta (Kurikyal)

Rocky hill at Kurikyal near Gangadhara, west of Karimnagar. Jaina images are carved on a rock at its summit. Beside them is the inscription of Jinavallabha, younger brother of the Kannada poet Pampa, of about 945. The inscription calls the rock the Siddha-sila. It says that Jinavallabha had the first and last Jinas and the goddess Chakresvari carved there, and built a temple, a tank and a garden nearby.

Temples of Vemulavada

Group of temples at Vemulavada, the capital of the Chalukyas of Vemulavada, round the Rajarajesvara (Rajesvara) temple and its tank. The 10th-century inscription of Arikesari II names four temples there: of Rajesvara, the Sun, Baddegesvara and Nagaresvara. It stands in the Bhimesvara temple, formerly the Baddegesvara. N. Venkataramanayya thought the Rajesvara and Baddegesvara were named after, or built by, kings of the family. Later records of the Chalukyas of Kalyani add temples of Rajadityesvara and Harikesvara.

Inscriptions

Kuruvagatta inscription of Biragriha

c. 793–814 CE

A short undated inscription, with a Sanskrit verse and a Kannada prose passage, cut on a stone in front of an image of the goddess Chaudamba near Kuruvagatta in the old Mahbubnagar district. It praises Biragriha, son of Vinayaditya of the Chalukya family, as a friend of Govinda-vallabha, son of Kalivallabha of the Rashtrakuta family. N. Venkataramanayya identified these two as the Rashtrakuta kings Govinda III and Dhruva. He took the inscription to be the earliest record of the Chalukyas of Vemulavada.

Vemulavada inscription of Arikesari II

c. 930–955 CE

Long Sanskrit inscription, with Kannada titles, on the four faces of a stone pillar beside the sanctum of the Bhimesvara (old Baddegesvara) temple at Vemulavada. It sets out the family line of the Chalukyas of Vemulavada from Vinayaditya-Yuddhamalla to Arikesari II. It describes the northern victories of Narasimha II and Arikesari II's defeat of an army sent against him by Govindaraja. Its editor, N. Venkataramanayya, took Govindaraja to be the Rashtrakuta Govinda IV and thought that this defeat sealed his fate. It records Arikesari's gift of land for a feeding house at a Sun temple in his capital, Lembulavataka. It is undated, and Arikesari reigned about 930–955.

Kurkyal inscription of Jinavallabha

c. 945 CE

A rock inscription of about 945 on the Bommala Gutta, a hill at Kurikyal near Gangadhara in the Karimnagar district. Jinavallabha, younger brother of the Kannada poet Pampa, set it up. Written in Sanskrit, Kannada and Telugu, it records Jaina images, a temple, a tank and a garden made by Jinavallabha. It gives Pampa's family and home in the Vengi country, and confirms that the Chalukya king Arikesari II gave Pampa the village of Dharmavura for his Vikramarjunavijaya. Its three Telugu verses in the kanda metre are among the earliest Telugu verse.

Parbhani plates of Arikesari III

966 CE

A Sanskrit copper-plate grant of the Chalukya king Arikesari III of Vemulavada, a feudatory of the Rashtrakuta Krishna III, dated 7 April 966. It gives the village of Kuttumvritti-Vanikatupalu in the Repaka Twelve of the Sabbi Thousand to the Jaina author Somadeva Suri. The gift was for the Subhadhama Jinalaya, a temple built by the king's father at the capital, Lembulapataka (Vemulavada). It is the only dated grant of the family.

References

Sources (9)
  1. N. Venkataramanayya, The Chalukyas of L(V)emulavada (opens in a new tab), The Archaeological Department, Government of Hyderabad (printed at the G. S. Press, Madras), 1953, pp. 1–46, 73–97. N. Venkataramanayya, The Chalukyas of L(V)emulavada, Hyderabad Archaeological Department. Indian government work 1936–65: paraphrased. [Public domain in India]
  2. B. Lewis Rice (ed.), The Pampa Bharata or Vikramarjuna Vijaya of Pampa: An Ancient Jaina Poem of 941 A.D. (Bibliotheca Carnatica) (opens in a new tab), Mysore Government Central Press, Bangalore, 1898, pp. 1–12; Analysis p. 1. B. Lewis Rice, introduction to the Pampa Bharata. [Public domain]
  3. J. F. Fleet, R. G. Bhandarkar and others (Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency), Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency, Vol. I, Part II: History of the Konkan, Dakhan and Southern Maratha Country (opens in a new tab), Government Central Press, Bombay, 1896, pp. 207, 211–212, 380–381. R. G. Bhandarkar, Early History of the Dekkan; J. F. Fleet, Dynasties of the Kanarese Districts. [Public domain]
  4. Somadeva Suri; ed. Pandit Sivadatta and Kasinath Pandurang Parab, The Yasastilaka of Somadeva Suri, with the commentary of Srutadeva Suri, Part II (Kavyamala 70) (opens in a new tab), Tukaram Javaji, Nirnaya-Sagar Press, Bombay, 1903, pp. 419. Colophon of the Yasastilaka. [Public domain]
  5. E. Hultzsch (ed.), Epigraphia Indica, Vol. VII (1902–03), with Kielhorn's List of Inscriptions of Southern India (opens in a new tab), Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing, Calcutta (scan of the ASI 1981 facsimile reprint), 1903, pp. 30, 33–34. D. R. Bhandarkar, Cambay Plates of Govinda IV. [Public domain]
  6. Dr. P. SREENIVASACHAR, M.A., Ph. D. (London) & Prof. P. B. DESAI, M.A., Andhra Pradesh Government Archaeological Series No. 3. KANNADA INSCRIPTIONS OF ANDHRA PRADESH (opens in a new tab), 1961, pp. 5–6. Paraphrased. [Public domain in India]
  7. Gajjala Vasanta Lakshmi (ed.); Gautam Pingle (gen. ed.), Epigraphia Telanganica, Vol. 1: Pre-Kakatiya Telangana, Dr MCR Human Resource Development Institute, Government of Telangana, 2023, pp. 77–78, 81, 87–91, 394–401. Cite-only; paraphrased. [All rights reserved (cited, not reproduced)]
  8. G. Yazdani (ed.); Part VII by K. A. Nilakanta Sastri and N. Venkataramanayya, The Early History of the Deccan, Parts VII-XI, Oxford University Press, London, published under the authority of the Government of Andhra Pradesh, 1960, pp. 504–512. K. A. Nilakanta Sastri and N. Venkataramanayya, appendix C. Cite-only; paraphrased. [All rights reserved (cited, not reproduced)]
  9. P. V. Parabrahma Sastry, The Kakatiyas of Warangal, Government of Andhra Pradesh, 1978, pp. 46. Paraphrased. [All rights reserved (cited, not reproduced)]

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