The Deccan states of Ancient India (300-750 AD)

The Deccan states of Ancient India (300-750 AD)

After the fall of Kushanas in the North and Satvahana in the south, several minor powers emerged, as shown in the following map:

Features of this age:

• The Guptas emerged and dominated the political affairs in the north of Narmada till the 5^th century CE, followed by the Pushyabhutis till the 7^th century.
• Several small powers emerged in the south in quick succession. The Ikshavakus and Abhiras rose on the power vacuum left after the fall of Satvahanas. However, their rule quickly fell, and in its place, a powerful Chalukyan dynasty emerged.
• The Sangam age dynasties – Cholas, Pandyas and Cheras, were losing their control, and in their place, eventually, Pallavas rose.

Local powers in the 3^rd Century Deccan India

1.   The Kalabhra Reign

• After the decline of Chola, Chera and Pandya in the third century A.D., very little is known about what ensued in the Tamil land.
• The Kalabhra revolt is the only significant event in the third to sixth century CE. Kalabhras are called evil rulers in the Sangam literature who overthrew many kings and set up their rule on the Tamil land.
• Revolt directed against Brahmans:
  • It seems that the revolt was directed against the prevalent social and political structure in south India.
  • They put an end to the brahmdeya rights granted to the Brahmanas. However, they patronised Buddhist monasteries.
• Their reign lasted for two centuries, fading in the 6^th century after the overwhelming rise of the Pallava and Chalukya kingdoms.

2.   The Ikshavakus

• The Ikshavakus of Vijayapuri (Nagarjunakonda) rose on the ruins of Satavahana power in the Krishna-Guntur region of the Indian Peninsula.
• They could have been a local tribe that adopted the name of Ikshavakus to demonstrate their lineage’s antiquity.
• They started the practice of granting lands in the Krishna Guntur region, where several of their copper plate inscriptions have been found.
• The Ikshvakus were followers of the Brahmanical tradition, while at the same time, the women of the royal household came from prominent families patronising the Buddhist religion.
• The Ikshvakus themselves promoted Buddhist centres on account of the continuous trading and commercial activities in the Andhra region till about the 4th-5th centuries CE.
• Archaeological evidence from Nagarjunakonda shows both Buddhist and Brahmanical monuments (Astabhujasvamin and Puspabhadrasvamin temples), apart from Roman coins (of Hadrian).
• The Ikshvakus were supplanted by Pallavas.

The Rise of Vakatakas (4^th – 5^th century CE)

• In northern Maharashtra and Vidarbha, the Satvahanas were succeeded by the Vakatakas from the fourth to the sixth century CE, who were directly influenced by the changing political configuration in north India under the Guptas.
• Origins:
  • Vakatakas are mentioned as Vindhyakas in Puranas, as they initially expanded in the Vindhya region.
  • Vindhyashakti (250-270 CE) is considered its founder. He is described as a Dvija and a Brahman in a 5^th-century inscription in the Ajanta Cave XIV by the Vakataka king Harisena’s minister Varahadeva.
  • He and his son Rudrasena proved to be a formidable power. However, Samudragupta’s aggression forced them to the south of Narmada.

• Relations with Guptas Initially:
  • The Vakataka were initially crucial rivals of the Guptas in North India. The Vakataka formed a matrimonial alliance with their rival Nagas, and the Guptas formed a matrimonial alliance with Licchavis, probably to counter each other.
  • Samudragupta, however, supplanted Vakatakas from North India along with 12 rulers of Aryavrata, according to Prayag Prashasti, and took control of Vidisha.
• Vakataka expansion in the South of Narmada:
  • After Samudragupta’s assault, Vakatakas escaped south and established their hold there.
  • In the south, they were divided into two branches. Their core branch had its capital at Nagardhan or Nandivardhana (near Nagpur). Another branch had its capital at Vastugulma (near Ajanta).
• Relation with Chandragupta II:
  • Chandragupta II married her daughter Prabhavatigupta to Vakataka king Rudrasena and got their support in his fights against Shaka Kshatrapa. This alliance also secured their territory against the Gupta aggression.
  • They not only had close political ties with the Guptas but also, for the first time, introduced Gupta political structures in peninsular India.
  • After the death of Rudrasena, Prabhavati acted as the Queen regent, bringing the Vakataka realm under the effective control of her father, Chandragupta II.
• Prabhavati’s son Prithvisena extended Vakataka rule from the southern edges of Gujarat and Malwa in the north to the river Tungabhadra in the south and from the Arabian Sea in the west to the edges of Chhattisgarh in the east.
  • He also declared independence from the Gupta alliance.

• Vakataka ruled till 510CE, reaching the peak of their territorial extent in around 480CE when they could briefly control the Krishna-Godavari delta region too. However, their decline is still a mystery and is open to debate by historians.
• The Religious attitude of Vakatakas:
  • Brahmadeya Rights: Vakataka were Brahmanas and known for many copper-plate land grants to the Brahmanas.
  • Culturally, the Vakatakas became a channel for transmitting Vedic ideas and social institutions to the south.
  • However, Buddhism also flourished, andseveral chaityas and Viharas in Ajanta caves were built under Vakatakas.

Local powers 5^th Century CE onwards

1.   The Kadambas

• They established their capital at Vaijayanti or Banavasi in the North Kanara district in Karnataka.
• Mayursharman(345-365 CE) founded the Kadmaba dynasty after defeating the Pallavas with the help of forest tribes in northern Karnataka and Konkan in the 4^th century. 
• However, eventually, Pallava gained control but recognised the authority of Mayursharman.
• He is said to have performed eighteen Ashvamedha yajna and granted numerous villages to Brahmanas.
• Their power reached its peak in the 5^th century.

2.   The Gangas

• They established their rule in southern Karnataka around the 4th century. Their kingdom lay between Kadambas on the western side and the Pallavas on the eastern side. Most of the time, they were Pallava’s feudatories.
• They are called western Ganga or the Gangas of the Mysore to demarcate them from Eastern Gangas who ruled in Kalinga, starting in the fifth century.
• Their earliest capital was situated at Kolar, which may have helped the dynasty’s rise because of the gold mines.
• They made land grants mainly to Jainas.

3.   The Pandyas

• The Sangam Pandyas, or early Pandyas, declined with the rise of Kalabhras in the third century. But ultimately, the Pandyas were successful in acquiring the region’s political hold.
• Kadungon established the “first Pandyan Empire” after defeating the Kalabhras in the 6th century CE. This is known as the first Pandyan Empire to distinguish it from the 13^th-century Pandyan empire, which was founded by Maravarman Sundara Pandyan.
• The Pandyas ruled in the southernmost regions of Tamilnadu, and the Vagai river basin was the Heartland of the kingdom. River Kaveri acted as the border between the Pallavas and the Pandyas.