The Western Chalukya Empire governed much of South India's western Deccan. The Kalyani Chalukya was named for its regal capital of Kalyani, today's Basavakalyan in Karnataka, and the Later Chalukya because of its theoretical link to the Badami Chalukya dynasty of the sixth century. To distinguish it from the contemporaneous Eastern Chalukyas of Vengi, a distinct dynasty, it is usually referred to as the Western Chalukyas. This article will explain to you about the Western Chalukyas which will be helpful in Ancient History preparation for the UPSC Civil service exam.

Western Chalukyas

• The Kalyani Chalukya Empire is another name for the Western Chalukya Empire.
• The Chalukyas of Badami were restored two centuries later, about 972-73AD, after Dantidurga destroyed them.
• The Chalukyas of Kalyani are thought to share the same genealogy as the preceding powerful Chalukyas (though this is disputed).
• Tailapa-II, a Rashtrakuta feudatory, formed this dynasty.
• They were at conflict with the Cholas and the eastern Chalukyas of Vengi for 200 years.
• The two Southern Indian empires, the Western Chalukyas and the Tanjore Chola dynasty, fought numerous deadly conflicts for control of the rich Vengi area.
• Examination of numerous excavated Kannada language inscriptions left by the kings and study of important contemporary literary documents in Western Chalukya literature such as Gada Yuddha (982) in Kannada by Ranna.
• Vikramankadeva Charitam (1120) in Sanskrit by Bilhana has provided knowledge of the Western Chalukyas history.
• During this time, the Hoysalas, the Seuna Yadavas of Devagiri, the Kakatiya dynasty, and the Southern Kalachuris of Kalyani were all subservient to the Western Chalukyas.
• They obtained independence only after the influence of the Chalukyas diminished in the later part of the 12th century.
• The Hoysala Empire eventually defeated them in the 12th century.
• This empire contributed much to contemporary Kannada and Sanskrit literature.

Western Chalukyas

Western Chalukya - Rulers

Western Chalukyas - Administration

• The kingdom of the Western Chalukyas had been hereditary, going to the king's brother if the king died without a male heir.
• The kingdom was split into provinces such as Banavasi, Nolambavadi, and Gangavadi, each with its own name and number of villages under its administration.
• The administration was extremely decentralised, with feudatory clans such as the Alupas, Hoysalas, Kakatiyas, Seunas, southern Kalachuri, and others allowing the ability to administer their independent regions while paying an annual tribute to the Chalukya ruler.
• Titles such as Maha Pradhan (Chief Minister), Sandhivigrahika (chief justice), and Dharmadhikari (chief minister) were used.
• The kingdom was split into provinces, with names like Banavasi, Nolambavadi, and Gangavadi representing the number of villages under its jurisdiction.
• The main provinces were known as Mandalas, which were then subdivided into Nadu, which was further subdivided into Kampanas (groups of villages), and eventually a Bada (village).
• Nadus and Kampanas were also overseen by women from the royal family.

Western Chalukyas - Society

• The development of Veerashaivism was revolutionary, challenging the dominant Hindu caste structure, which had royal support.
• In that comparatively liberal age, women's social roles were heavily influenced by their economic position and amount of education.
• Women from royal and prosperous metropolitan households had more independence.
• Women's engagement in the fine arts is documented in records, such as Chalukya queen Chandala Devi's and Kalachuri queen Sovala Devi's ability in dance and singing.
• Records show that schools and hospitals were established around temples. People congregated in open-air town halls to discuss and ponder local concerns at marketplaces.
• Choirs that sing religious songs were supported at the cost of the temple.

Western Chalukyas - Economy

• Agriculture had been the empire's principal source of revenue, with taxes levied on land and crops.
• The majority of people lived in villages and worked growing basic crops such as rice, lentils, and cotton in dry regions and sugarcane in wet areas, with areca and betel being the main income crops.
• The Gavundas (officials) or Goudas were prominent persons in country inscriptions.
• The Gavundas were divided into two economic classes: the Praja Gavunda (people's Gavunda) and the Prabhu Gavunda (lord of Gavundas).
• They fulfilled two functions: representing the people before the rulers and acting as state appointees for tax collection and militia recruiting.
• They were referenced in inscriptions concerning property sales, irrigation upkeep, village tax collection, and village council responsibilities.
• Trade relations with foreign kingdoms such as Chera, Pandya, Maleya (Malaysia), Magadh, Kaushal, Saurashtra, Kurumba, Kambhoja (Cambodia), Lata (Gujarat), Parasa (Persia), and Nepal are mentioned in the Aihole Svamis' edicts.
• Using both land and sea channels, these merchants mostly traded in valuable stones, spices, and fragrances, as well as other specialty commodities like camphor.

Western Chalukyas - Coinage

• The Western Chalukyas issued punch-marked gold pagodas with Kannada and Nagari inscriptions on the obverse side of big, thin gold coins with multiple varied punch marks.
• They frequently carried many punches with symbols like a stylised lion, Sri in Kannada, a spearhead, the king's title, a lotus, and others.
• Somesvara II used Bhuvaneka malla, Lakshmideva's currency bore the legend Sri Lasha, and Jagadhekamalla II coinage bore the legend Sri Jagade.
• The feudatory Alupas struck coins depicting the Kannada and Nagari tale Sri Pandya Dhanamjaya.

Western Chalukyas - Coinage

Western Chalukyas - Architecture

• The reign of the Western Chalukya dynasty is significant in the development of Deccan architecture.
• This period's architecture served as a conceptual connection between the Badami Chalukya architecture of the ninth century and the Hoysala style prevalent in the thirteenth century.
• The art of the Western Chalukyas is known as the "Gadag style" by art historians, after the quantity of elaborate temples they erected in the Tungabhadra River-Krishna River doab region of present-day Gadag district in Karnataka.
• The dynasty's temple construction achieved maturity and culmination in the twelfth century, with over a hundred temples constructed across the Deccan, with more than half of them located in present-day central Karnataka.
• To their credit, Western Chalukya builders pioneered the use of lathe turned (tuned) pillars and Soapstone (Chloritic Schist) as a fundamental structural and sculptural material, which became a prominent style in subsequent Hoysala temples.
• In their sculptures, they promoted the use of ornamental Kirthimukha (devil faces).
• The finest examples produced by the later Chalukya architecture are the Kasi Vishweshwara Temple at Lakkundi (Gadag district), the Dodda Basappa Temple at Dambal (Gadag district), the Mallikarjuna Temple at Kuruvatii (Davangere district), the Kalleshwara Temple at Bagali (Davangere district), the Siddhesvara Temple at Haveri (Haveri district).

Vishweshwara Temple at Lakkundi

Western Chalukyas - Literature

• The Western Chalukya period saw a lot of literary activity in Kannada and Sanskrit.
• Jain academics wrote on the lives of Tirthankaras during a golden period of Kannada literature, while Virashaiva poets emphasised their closeness to God in pithy poetry called Vachanas.
• Among Kannada scholars, Ranna, grammarian Nagavarma II, and Virashaiva saint Basavanna emerged as the most prominent.
• Ranna was patronised by King Tailapa II, and Satyasraya became one of Kannada literature's "three treasures."
• Nagavarma II, King Jagadhekamalla II's poet laureate (Katakacharya), made several contributions to Kannada literature.
• His works in poetry, prosody, grammar, and vocabulary became standard authorities, and their significance in Kannada language research is widely recognised.
• Some of his extensive contributions are Kavyavalokana in poetics, Karnataka-Bhashabhushana in grammar, and Vastukosa a lexicon (containing Kannada counterparts for Sanskrit terms).

Western Chalukyas - Religion

• Virashaivism was practised by the Western Chalukyas.
• Virashaivism, commonly known as Lingayatism, is a Shaivism-based Hindu sect.
• The emergence of Virashaivism in Chalukya territory corresponded with a general drop in interest in Jainism, despite the fact that Chalukyas were religiously tolerant.
• The fall of Buddhism in South India began with the introduction of Adi Shankara's Advaita philosophy in the eighth century.
• Dambal and Balligavi were the only venues of Buddhist devotion that persisted under the Western Chalukya era.
• Religious struggle is not mentioned in the period's texts or inscriptions, suggesting that the religious transition was seamless.
• The influence of these theological developments on South Indian culture, literature, and architecture was tremendous.
• Over the ensuing centuries, significant works of philosophy and poetry based on the teachings of those thinkers were published.

Conclusion

The Western Chalukya Empire is also known as the Kalyani Chalukya Empire. After Dantidurga destroyed the Chalukyas of Badami, they were reconstructed two centuries later, about 972-73AD. The Chalukyas of Kalyani are assumed to be descended from the same ancestors as the preceding strong Chalukyas (though this is disputed). It is typically referred to as the Western Chalukyas to distinguish it from the contemporaneous Eastern Chalukyas of Vengi, a separate dynasty.