HISTORY OF KADAMBAS

05 Jan 2024 HISTORY OF KADAMBAS

UPSC MAINS SYLLABUS GS1 PAPER: Indian Culture – Salient aspects of Art Forms, Literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times

WHY IN THE NEWS? 

Recently, a 10th century Kadamba inscription written in Kannada and Sanskrit was found in Goa. It is in the literary style of the Talangre inscription of ancient ruler Jayasimha I. Thus the history of Kadambas holds significance in context of upcoming prelims. 

HISTORY OF KADAMBAS: 

1. Kadambas of Goa were the subordinates of Chalukyas of Kalyani. 
2. The Chalukyan emperor Tailapa II  who was a Rashtrakuta feudatory ruling from Tardavadi (Bijapur district) overthrew Karka II & re-established the Chalukya rule in the western Deccan and recovered most of the Chalukya empire.
3. He appointed Kadamba Shasthadeva as mahamandaleshwar of Goa for his help in overthrowing the Rashtrakutas. 
4. Shashthadeva later conquered the city of Chandrapur (at the southern bank of Zuari river) from the Shilaharas and established the Goan Kadamba dynasty in 960 CE.
5. Later  he conquered the port of Gopakapattana (present Goa) which served as capital. 
6. A Jain Sanskrit text, Dvayāśraya mentions the extension of his capital and that Port Gopakapattna had trade contacts with Zanzibar, Bengal, Gujarat and Sri Lanka. 
7. In 1310 CE it was looted by Alauddin Khilji’s general Malik Kafur enroute to capturing Dwarasamudra  (Karnataka).

ADMINISTRATION OF KADAMBAS: 

1. The Kings of Kadambas assumed titles like Konkanadhipati, Saptakotisha Varaveera, Gopakapura varadhishva, and Panchamahashabda. 
2. Administrative titles: 
   1. Pradhana – Prime minister
   2. Sarva karyakarta – Chief secretary
   3. Tantrapala or Sabhakarya Sachiva – Secretary of Council
   4. Rahasyadhikritha – Private secretary
   5. Dharma dhyaksha – Chief justice
   6. Rajjukas – Revenue officers
   7. Deshamatya – Physician
   8. Lekhakas – Writers and scribes
3. They introduced the Kannada language to Goa where it exercised a profound influence on the local Konkani language. 
4. The Nagari, Kadamba, Halekannada and Goykanadi scripts were also very popular.

PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE : ARCHITECTURE OF CHALUKYAS: 

1. The Western Chalukyas (of Badami) King Mangalesha (597-609 CE) built Badami caves in the 6th century CE:
   • Mangalesha was son of Pulakesin 1 and brother of Kirtivarman 1 (Badami caves shows portrait of Kirtivarman 1)
   • It was built in Red Sandstone hill
   • It depicts various Avatars of Vishnu: Varaha, Narasimha etc
   • The largest cave depicts God Vishnu residing on Sheshanaga
   • Kadambas patronized Shavism, Vishnavism as well as gave grants to Jains
2. Pulakesin 2 (609-642 CE) built temples of Aihole (Ayyavole) temples in 634 CE:
   • The Lad khan temple at Aihole is one of the earliest stone temple.
   • At Hucci, he built Marigudi temple for Goddess Durga (shows the spread of Shaktism).
   • The Meguti Jain temple shows early development of Mandapa style. 
   • There are stucco pillars with big capital which are distinct from Nagara style. 
3. Virupaksha Temple at Pattadakal at bank of Malaprabha river: 
   • It was built by Queen Loka Mahadevi to commemorate victory of her husband Vikramaditya 2 at the conquest of Kanchipuram from Pallavas in 730 CE
   • It shows early features of Dravidian architecture
   • It has a kannada inscription which mentions the sculptor of the temple as Tribhuvacharya
   • The Greek geographer Ptolemy who wrote “Geography of India” termed the place Pattadakal as “Perti gal”. 
4. In later stage of the development, the Papanatha temple shows Shikhara in “Rekha prasad” style thus reflecting “Nagara features”. 
5. The Chalukyan inscriptions calls the Architects as “Sutradhars” 

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PRELIMS 2024 PRACTISE QUESTION:

Q1: The Kings of which of the following dynasties in the ancient India assumed pompous titles such as Konkanadhipati, Saptakotisha Varaveera, Gopakapura varadhishva, and Panchamahashabda? 

a. Vakatakas

b. Pallavas

c. Chalukyas

d. Kadambas

ANSWER: d

Q2: Consider the following statements regarding the Chalukyas architecture & identify the incorrect statement: 

A. The Badami caves were built under King Mangalesha in 6th century CE

B. The Lad Khan temples was built by King Pulakesin 2 who was contemporary of Chinese traveller Xuanzang

C. The Virupaksha temple at Pattadakal was built by Queen Loka Mahadevi in 8th century to commemorate victory of King Vikramaditya 2 over Pallavas of Kanchi

D. The Virupaksha temples are situated at the bank of the Godavari river

ANSWER: D

Suyash Rai

Qualified B.Tech in Civil ENGINEERING 
Currently working as Content developer at Argasia Education Pvt Ltd