After the Sangam age ended, the Kalabraha’s captured the south and ruled for 250 years till the Pallavas dynasty started. The Pallavas ruled till they were ended by the Imperial Cholas in 10 century AD.
Their origin is widely disputed due to insufficient evidence. However they are believed to be natives of the area. Initially they were feudatories of the Satvahana but later declared independence.
The three lines of Pallavas rulers existed. Initially they issued their charters in Prakrit and later on in Sanskrit.
The third line ended the Kalabraha rule in south and firmly established Pallavas dynasty till it was ended by Imperial Cholas.
The dynasty saw continuous Pallavas Chalukya conflict. The Chalukya would win over territory but lose it in next wars. The Pallavas also engaged in naval expeditions and sent embassies to china. Trade too flourished in the Pallavas era.
The hereditary monarchy was a feature. The king was assisted by council.
The kingdom was divided into kottams and kottams were administered by officials.
A well trained army was maintained.
At village level sabhas and samiti’s maintained village administration.
Land tax was main source of revenue.
The Western Chalukya was an important power in the Deccan ruling an extensive Empire. Pulekasin I was the founder and his capital was at Badami. The eastern Chalukya were at Vengi and Chalukya of Kalyanis were offshoots of Western Chalukya.
Pulekasin II was the most important ruler. He defeated Harsha and checked his ambition to rule the Deccan. He also led a successful expedition against the Pallavas. He was later defeated and the Vatapi capital was plundered by the Pallavas. The last king of Chalukya was defeated by Dandidurga, Founder of Rashtrakutas.
Stage 1: Temples had low flat roof with pillared halls. The walls and pillars are adorned with images of gods and humans.
Stage 2: Dravidian influence is seen. Partly the northern style is continued.
Fig 2: Rashtrakuta empire
Empire was divided into several rashtras. The rashtras into vishayas and further into bhuktis.
The village assemblies played important role. Thus administration wasn’t centralized as chalukyas.
Q.Consider the following pairs :
Place of Pilgrimage: Location
1. Srisailam : Nallamala Hills
2. Omkareshwar : Satmala Hills
3. Pushkar : Mahadeo Hills
Which of the above pairs is/are correctly matched? (UPSC CSAT 2015)
1 only
2 and 3 only
1 and 3 only
1, 2 and 3
Ans . A
The town (as well as the mandal) of Srisailam is reputed for the shrine of Lord Mallikarjuna on the flat top of Nallamala Hills.
Omkareshwar is situated on the Mandhata hills in Madhya Pradesh, known in ancient times as Shivpuri. The temple dates back to the Krita Yuga. River Narmada flows here around the Mandhata hill in the form of an Om (Omkaram).
The Mahadeo Hills are a range of hills in Madhya Pradesh state of central India. But, Pushkar lies in Ajmer, Rajasthan.
Q.Who of the following founded a new city on the south bank of a tributary to river Krishna and undertook to rule his new kingdom as the agent of a deity to whom all the land south of the river Krishna was supposed to belong? (UPSC CSAT 2015)
Amoghavarsha I
Ballala II
Harihara I
Prataparudra II
Ans . C
He was the founder of Vijayanagar Empire.
His initial military exploits established his control over the valley of Tungabhadra River (a tributary of Krishna), and gradually he expanded his control to certain regions of Konkan and Malabar Coast.
By that time Hoysalas had lost its last ruler Veera Ballala III who died fighting the Sultan of Madurai, and the vacuum so created facilitated Harihara I to emerge as a sovereign power. The entire Hoysala territories came under his rule directly