Pulkesin II (Reigned 610-642), Greatest of The Chalukyas of Badami

Pulakesin II court  / Image Credit

Son of Kirtivarman, Pulkesin II is the greatest ruler of the Chalukya dynasty of Badami. Since Pulkesin II was too young to ascend the throne at the time of Kirtivarman’s death in 597-98, Mangalesa, brother of Kirtivarman, became the regent of the empire. However, when Pulkesin II came of age, Mangalesa refused to surrender the throne and tried to secure the throne for his own son. So there ensued a battle between Mangalesa and Pulkesin II who killed the former and proclaimed himself king in 609-10. 

Aihole Prasasti (Inscription), composed by Pulkesin II‘s court poet Ravikirti, gives a detailed account of his victories. He was a contemporary of North Indian emperor Harsha (Vardhana dynasty) whom he had defeated on the banks of the Narmada river in 618 AD- the only check in the northern ruler’s otherwise victorious career. Pulkesin II subjugated the Latas (Gujarat), Malavas and Gurjaras.  

Pulkesin II considerably extended the bounds of his realm. Leaving his younger brother Kubja Vishnuvardhana in charge of the capital he embarked on an extensive campaign of conquest of Southern Kosala, Kalinga in the eastern Deccan. (Vishnuvardhana was the founder of a separate dynasty known as Eastern Chalukya, also known as the Chalukyas of Vengi.) 

Pulkesin II subjugated Kadamabas by overthrowing their capital Banavasi and compelled Alupas of Southern Karnataka and the Gangas of Mysore to acknowledge his suzerainty. Mauryas of northern Konkan were also compelled to submission when he successfully attacked their capital Puri (on the island of Elephanta). 

During his reign the Battle of Pullalur was fought with the Pallava king Mahendravarman I who was defeated. The battle took place at Pullalur (now in the Kanchipuram district in Tamil Nadu) in about 618–19. This was the beginning of the long-drawn-out struggle between the Pallavas and their sworn enemies the Chalukyas. In 640 AD the battle of Maanimangala was fought between Pallava ruler Narasimhavarman I and Pulakesin II who suffered defeat. The Battle of Vatapi took place in 642 AD between Narasimhavarman I and Pulakesin II near Vatapi.  After the battle which resulted in the defeat and death of Pulakeshin II, Narasimhavarman I took the title of Vatapikonda (Conqueror of Vatapi).

These were the days of crisis for Chalukyan kingdom. The feudatories began to declare independence and the matter was made worse by the dissensions among the sons of the Pulkeshin II. 

 

Ahmad Sirhindi: Sufi Saint of the Naqashbandi order

Tomb of Ahmad Sirhindi, Sirhind / Image Credit.jpg

Ahmad Sirhindi was a religious teacher who disapproved of religious syncretism of Mughal emperor Akbar. Known for his orthodoxy and anti-Shia views, he was opposed to the Akbar’s religious views. He had hailed the assassination of Guru Arjan Dev, the fifth Sikh Guru, who was executed by orders of fourth Mughal Emperor Jahangir, who ruled from 1605 to 1627. Guru Arjan Dev was charged with treason because he had given shelter to Prince Khusrau at Tarn Taran, who had rebelled against his father Jahangir for the Mughal throne. 

Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindi was born in the 16th century at Sirhind (currently in the Patiala district of the Punjab).  

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, the first education minister of free India, eulogised Sirhindi as the defender of Islam  and criticised Akbar’s religious policy.

Sirhindi  was sent by Jahangir to the fort of Gwalior for a brief period of imprisonment.

Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi was the most prominent saint of Naqshbandi Sufi order. Also known as Mujaddid Alif, Shaikh Ahmed Sirhindi died in 1624 at Sarhind in Punjab.

Yashovarman of Kannauj

Coins of Yashovarman

Nothing much is known about the events in Kanyakubja from the death of emperor Harshavardhana in 647 AD up to the rise of the Yashovarman who in the eighth century had established an empire at Kanyakubja which for a while controlled much of the North India. After Harsha's death there was a great confusion due to the absence of his heirs. 

After Harsha's death Kanyakubja came for a short period under the hands of an usurper, Arunasva who attacked Wang Hstian-tse who had come to the court of Harsha as ambassador of the Chinese emperor Tai-tsung. However, Wang Hstian-tse, with the help of an army from Tibet, Nepal and Assam, succeeded in capturing Arunasva who was taken back to China to spend his days in attendance on the Tang Emperor. 

The city of Kanyakubja, modern Kannauj, was the largest and most prosperous city of Northern India and its cultural centre till the coming of the Muslims.

The exploits of Yashovarman have been documented in the Prakrit poem Gaudavaho (Slaying of the king of Gauda) written by Vakpati who was his court poet. In this work the poet has described the slaying of the king of Bengal by Yashovarman. While Jaina texts Prabhavakacarita, written by Prabhācandra, Prabandha Kosha (written by Rajashekhara Suri) and Bappabhattisuricarita have referred to Yashovarman in glowing terms,  the Kashmiri poet Kalhana,  in his magnum opus Rajatarangini, has described as a ruler who was among those defeated by Lalitaditya Muktapida (724-760) of the Karkota dynasty in Kashmir. 

British archaeologist Alexander Cunningham  believed Yashovarman to be connected to the Maukharis who rose to prominence in the 6th century AD and first gave importance to the city of Kanyakubja. 

According to V A Smith, extended the dominions of his empire. However he had to play subservient to Lalitaditya Muktapida.   

According to the Nalanda stone inscription, Yasovarman is referred to as the Lokpala, guardian of the world. It describes Yasovarman as the one "who has risen after placing his foot on the heads of all the kings and has completely removed the terrific darkness in the form of all his foes by the diffusion of the rays of his sword and who shines as the refulgent sun in all quarters for awakening the lotus representing the whole earth."

Yasovarman had established relations with China. He had sent Buddhist monk Buddhasena to the Chinese court.  

The rapid rise of Yashovarman was accompanied by the rapid decline of his empire. 

Birthplace of Gautam Buddha

Ashokan Pillar Lumbini / Image Credit 

Lumbini in the Rupandehi District in Nepal is the spiritual centre of Buddhism. It was at the royal grove at Lumbini that the Buddha was born in 563 B. C. on the Vaihsakha Purnima day.

Lumbini is one of the four main sacred sites of the Buddhist religion. Other three main holy places are Bodh Gaya (Tree of Wisdom at Gaya where Buddha gained enlightenment), Sarnath near Varanasi where he preached his first sermon and Kushinagar where he died- all located in India. 

These four sacred places have attracted pilgrim for centuries. Lumbini has long been sanctified as the birthplace of Lord Buddha. According to the Lumbini Pillar Edict (also known as Rummindei Pillar Inscription) in Lumbini, Mauryan Emperor Ashoka travelled to Lumbini in 249 BC and constructed four stupas and erected a stone pillar with a figure of a horse on top.

Lumbini is one of the four main sacred sites of the Buddhist religion. Other three holy places are Bodh Gaya (Tree of Wisdom at Gaya where Buddha gained enlightenment), Sarnath near Varanasi where he preached his first sermon and Kushinagar where he died- all located in India. 

Maya Devi Temple 

Maya Devi Temple in Lumbini marks the exact spot where queen Maya Devi gave birth to Siddhartha Gautama, who later came to be known as the Buddha after he attained enlightenment. 

 

Classical Language Status For Prakrit And Pali

Popular in ancient India, Pali and Prakrit are among the five languages which were recently accorded the status of Classical Languages. Marathi, Bengali and Assamese are the other languages that have been accorded similar status.,

Prakrit (natural) is a blanket term for the peoples’ languages that were used by the common masses in ancient Indian subcontinent. Parkrit, unlike Sanskrit, was people's language, the natural speech of the people because the Prakrit language was simple and easy than Sanskrit both in sound and grammar. 

Each region of the subcontinent had its own particular variety of Prakrit. A large number of Ashokan edicts are in Prakrit. 

Famous works written in Prakrit are the poems “The Building of the Causeway” (Setubandha or Ravanavaho), “The Slaying of the King of Gauda (Bengal)”  (Gaudavaho) and a drama named Karpuramanjari. While Setubandha was written by Vakataka king Pravarasena II (r. c. 420 – 455 CE), Gaudavaho has been ascribed to 8th century poet Vakpati, detailing the exploits of Yashovarman who had established an empire at Kanyakubj which for a while controlled much of the North India. Vakpati was the court poet of Yasovarman. 

Another Vakataka ruler was Sarvasena (c. 330 – 355 CE) who is credited with the authorship of Harivijaya describing the story of bringing the parijata tree from heaven by Krishna. Many of the verses of Sarvasena were incorporated into Gathasaptashati,  the most important literary work in Prakrit, ascribed to Satavahana king Hāla who ruled in the Deccan in the 1st century AD. Gathasaptashati was revised by later scribes.

Named after its heroine, Karpuramanjari was written by 10th century dramatist Rajsekhara.

When Jainism came into being in the 6th century BC, the Hindu religious texts were all in Sanskrit while those of Buddhism were in Pali which is still the religious language of the Buddhists in Sri Lanka, Myanmar and South-east Asia.

The Jainas, however, opted for Prakrit, though at different places texts were written in local languages as well.  Mahavira, the founder of Jainism, himself preached in Ardha Magadhi (Half Magdhi), the sacred language of the Jains, A large literature of Jainism was written in Ardha Magadhi. Maghdhi was official language of the Mauryan court, and Ashokan edicts were composed in this language.  

Shauraseni 

Shauraseni is another important Prakrit. Originally used in the western part of modern Uttar Pradesh, this Prakrit was used in drama for the speech of women and respectable people from the lower strata of society. 

Maharastri

Maharastri (Maharashtri ) was another notable  Prakrit.   Official language of the Satavahana dynasty Maharashtri , it was a literary language popular for lyric song. Works like Karpūramañjarī and Gatha Saptashati (150 BCE) were written in Maharashtri Prakrit, commonly used in western and southern India. Hemachandra,  the court poet of the Chalukyas of Anhilwara, was the grammarian of Maharashtri Prakrit. 

Pali, one of the early Prakrit languages, became the language of the Sthaviravadin Buddhists. Today, it is the religious language of the Buddhist in Sri Lanka, Burma and South-East Asia. 

Efficient Drainage System Of Indus Valley Civilization

 

Drainage System at Lothal / Image Credit

One of the most striking features of Harappan civilization, also known as Indus valley civilization, is its elaborate drainage system which was a product of careful thought and planning. Furnished with sophisticated sewage system, the main streets of the cities of the Indus valley civilization had sewers below them. The bathrooms of the houses flowed into sewers leading to the soak pits. The drains were covered with large slabs of bricks and stones. However, one defect of the drains during the period was that they were located near the wells.

This unique drainage system of the Indus people indicates the existence of a highly organized municipal organization without which it would not have been possible to maintain such an efficient system of drains.

It can be safely said that no other ancient civilization can come close to the Harappan culture when it comes to drainage system.

The efficient sewage system characteristic feature of the Indus Valley Civilisation site of Lothal in Gujarat underscores the importance of cleanliness accorded by the Harappan people. 

Gol Gumbaz: piece de resistance of Bijapur

Gol Gumbaz in Bijapur (Karnataka) / Image Credit

 

The most famous monument in Karnataka’s Bijapur, Gol Gumbaz (Round Dome) is the tomb of Mohammed Adil Shah (1627 -56), the seventh ruler of Adil Shahi Dynasty, one of the five succession states that came into existence after disintegration of the Bahmani Sultanate of Deccan. Bijapur was established in the 10th–11th centuries during the reign of Kalyani Chalukyas (Western Chalukyas) and was known as Vijayapura (city of victory). 

Built by the ruler himself in his lifetime, this gigantic mausoleum is an engineering marvel known for perfect stereophonic acoustics. Its huge round dome is world’s second largest in size only to the dome of St Peter's Basalica in Rome. The external diameter of this hemispherical dome is about 44 metres.  

Every sound in the central chamber of the monument is echoed seven times. Another feature of this ambitious monument of the Adil Shahi Dynasty is the whispering gallery, where even the minute sounds can be heard clearly 37 meters away. The external diameter of this hemispherical dome is about 44 metres.  

Gol Gumbaz complex contains a mosque, a dargah, a Naqqar Khana (a hall for the trumpeters), and a dharmashala.

In 1636-37 Bijapur was compelled to accept the Mughal suzerainty and pay annual tribute. Muhamamd Adil Shah was able to extend the territories of Bijapur by capturing those of Ahmadnagar and Vijayanagar, and helped the Mughals in annexing the former in 1636. He received the title of Shah from Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in 1648, the only ruler of Bijapur to receive such recognition from the Mughals.