The Penguin History of Early India

by Romila Thapar

  The freestanding temples at Aihole, Badami and Pattadakal in the Deccan, and at Kanchipuram and Mahabalipuram in the Tamil country, provided spaces for sculpture. The Deccan style in sculpture showed a close affinity to the Gupta. Pallava sculpture owed more to the Buddhist tradition especially of the Amaravati school, and on the whole remained both more monumental and linear in form, avoiding the tendency to ornamentation which occurred quite early in Deccan sculpture. Yet the sculpture and architecture of the Deccan and Tamil-nadu were not mere offshoots of the northern tradition. They were distinctly recognizable as different, with a character of their own: the basic form was taken from the older tradition, but the end result unmistakably reflected its local inspiration.

  The Pallava royal temples carried assertions of royal authority in various ways. These could take the form of lengthy inscriptions narrating the history of the king, or could be sculptured panels such as the ones depicting the king’s biography, especially his consecration, in the Vaikuntha Perumal temples. These statements captured the counterpoint of the power of ritual and of political power, but did not indicate a separation of ritual and political sovereignty.

  Other themes drew on the mythology of the deities and legends familiar from the Puranas, the Mahabharata and Ramayana. To some extent, they compare with the bâs-relief medallions and friezes at earlier Buddhist sites, carrying visual narrations of the life of the Buddha and of Jataka stories. Where the mythology was taken from a folk-cult and incorporated into the specific myth of a deity, its representation, even in a faintly recognizable form, on the walls of a royal temple would be an indication of its having been assimilated into the Puranic tradition. Depicting narratives from the epics on temple walls would have familiarized visitors with the mythology, which would then be recited by the professional reciters and story-tellers, the pauranikas and the kathakaras. The most impressive sculptures at Mahabalipuram were the large friezes, particularly one in deep relief showing a collection of numerous creatures in a scene variously ascribed either to the descent of the Ganges or to narratives from the epics. Apart from the placement of animals and their relative sizes, some of the scenes were imbued with a quiet sense of humour, such as the cat in the pose of an ascetic with an eye on the mice near by. Not only did the frieze illustrate myths, but there was also an attempt to contemporize the figures from mythology.

  The nuclei of regional articulation were taking shape gradually, despite the overlay of a Sanskritic culture strongly supported by the elite. This became a recurring pattern in the evolution of regional cultures. Patterns of change, although not identical, were beginning to suggest some similarities, such as the grants of land, the diffusion of ideas, or popular teaching. Religious diversities were being expressed in variant ways. At one level there were debates among brahmans, and between brahmans and Shramans, frequently of a philosophical kind. At another level the Bhakti teachings were challenging Vedic Brahmanism, and focusing on a religious activity where the relationship of worshipper and deity could be kept discrete, but which evolved into icons, temples, sacred places and pilgrimages. Such changes were closely related to the more tangible changes of the time and were given expression in the reordering of social groups. This created a vibrant cultural activity.

  11

  The Peninsula: Establishing Authorities and Structures

  C. AD 900-1300

  The Politics of the Peninsula

  The late first millennium AD saw a changed situation in the Indian subcontinent. Regional states, earlier seeking recognition, were now taking shape and the imprint of their identities was becoming clearer. Dynasties would change but successor kingdoms retained a relatively consistent core area. The trends that continued included some degree of political decentralization, an emphasis on extending agriculture, the induction of erstwhile marginal groups as castes, the interface between Vedic Brahmanism and the Puranic and Shamanic religions, and new cultural articulations drawing on these tendencies. Despite the appearance of similar patterns, each region retained its own strong identity. That this is not a contradiction lies in the nature of these regional forms.

  The scene in the peninsula was dominated by the Tamil identity, forged under the Cholas. This period of south Indian history with its impressive corpus of inscriptions has been widely discussed in recent years. There have been diverse theories and many new interpretations about the nature of the Chola state. These enable one to speak of it as yet another classical period, should one choose to use the label. The classicism of the Chola period drew less on political authority and more on the institutions established at this time, together with the articulation of cultural forms. In many spheres of cultural life, whether of social institutions, religion, or the fine arts, the standards established during this period came to dominate the pattern of living in the south, and to partially influence the patterns existing elsewhere in the peninsula. There was also an active intervention in south-east Asia to a greater degree than before, in the commerce of the region and in its cultural forms.

  In the ninth century the Pallavas succumbed to a combined attack from their southern neighbours, the Pandyas, and those tributary to them such as the Cholas. An agrarian foundation to kingdoms in Tamil-nadu had begun more systematically with Pallava land grants to brahmans. The subsequent expansion of newly cultivated areas encompassed pastoral regions and forests. Brahman settlements established Vedic Brahmanism, sometimes parallel to and sometimes intersecting with the religion of the Vaishnava and Shaiva sects.

  The Cholas emerged as the dominant power in the south. The core region of their control – Cholamandalam – was the area around Tanjavur up to the eastern coast, the Coromandal of later times. Their early conflict was with the declining Rashtrakutas, whose place was then taken by a revived branch of the Chalukyas, now known as the Later Chalukyas, rising to power in the western Deccan. During this period the Deccan was divided into smaller kingdoms of similar status, with some of which the Cholas were occasionally at war. Political relations involved not only the Later Chalukyas, but also the Yadavas of Devagiri (northern Deccan in the region of Aurangabad) and the Kakatiyas of Warangal (in Andhra Pradesh). Further south there was competition with the Gangas (south Karnataka) and later the Hoysalas of Dorasamudra (in Karnataka), as well as with the Pandyas of Madurai and the Cheras in Kerala. In their last years the Cholas were weakened by the continued incursions of the Hoysalas and the Pandyas into Chola territory.

  Mention of Chola chiefdoms goes back to the turn of the Christian era in the Shangam poems. Towards the middle of the ninth century, a chief claiming Chola ancestry conquered the region of Tanjavur, the heart of Tamilaham. He declared himself the ruler of an independent state, and sought to establish his status by claiming descent from the Suryavamsha or solar lineage. In AD 907 the first important ruler of the Chola dynasty, Parantaka I, came to power and ruled for almost half a century. He secured the southern frontier of the kingdom by campaigning against the Pandyas and capturing their capital, Madurai. This brought him into contact with Sri Lanka with which the Pandyas had had close relations. The ensuing hostilities lasted several decades. The later part of Parantaka’s reign saw Chola defeat at the hands of the Rashtrakutas, who occupied some of the recently acquired northern districts of the Chola kingdom. There followed a period of thirty years in which a succession of weak kings brought about a decline in the power of the Cholas. However, this situation was eventually reversed. The Rashtrakutas in the Deccan were being harassed by the Chalukyas, who had once been subordinate to them and were to be their future overlords. In the confusion, Chola territory earlier lost to the Rashtrakutas was gradually recovered. Chola power was firmly established with the accession of Rajaraja I (985-1014) and of his son and successor, Rajendra, which allowed about half a century for the Chola kingdom to be consolidated and stabilized.

  The reigns of both father and son were filled with extensive campaigns in almost every direction. Rajaraja began by attacking the alliance between the Cheras in Kerala
, Sri Lanka, and the Pandyas, in order to break the monopoly of trade held by these kingdoms with west Asia. The Arabs had established themselves as traders on the west coast of India, and some had been integrated into local society in Malabar and the Konkan. The Cholas would have been aware of potential Arab competition in the south-east Asian trade, and they tried to strike at the root of this competition by bringing Malabar under their control. At a later date, Rajaraja conducted a naval attack on the Maldive Islands, a staging-point in the Arab trade. The Cholas, although unable to strike directly at the Arab trade, led a campaign in Sri Lanka devastating the existing capital, Anuradhapura, and moved to Pollonnaruva. At the same time campaigns against the rulers of the Deccan states continued apace. Echoes of the old Pallava-Chalukya conflict over the rich province of Vengi were heard now in wars between the Cholas and the Later Chalukyas over the same area.

  Rajendra I ruled jointly with his father for two years, succeeding him in 1014. The policy of expansion continued with the annexation of the southern provinces of the Chalukyas, the rich Raichur doab and Vengi. Campaigns against Sri Lanka and Kerala were also renewed. But Rajendra’s ambitions had turned northwards. An expedition set out, marching through Orissa to reach the banks of the Ganges. From there, it is said, holy water from the river was carried back to the Chola capital. Bringing back the water through conquest symbolized ascendancy over the north. But Rajendra did not hold the northern regions for long, a situation parallel to that of Samudra Gupta’s campaign in the south almost 700 years earlier.

  Even more ambitious was Rajendra’s overseas campaign, involving both the army and navy against the kingdom of Shrivijaya in south-east Asia. It has been suggested that this major undertaking arose from a desire for an overseas empire. Had this been so, however, the campaign would have been followed by Indian colonization of the coastal areas and an attempt to conquer the hinterland. Since this did not happen, the cause of the war was more likely a desire to protect Indian commercial interests. By the tenth century merchants in China and south India had trading relationships. Ships passed through the seas held by the kingdom of Shrivijaya (the southern Malay peninsula and Sumatra) which controlled the Malacca and Sunda Straits. The rulers of Shrivijaya realized that it would be more lucrative for local traders if the China-India trade had to terminate in Shrivijaya, with local middlemen taking the goods to their eventual destinations. But when Indian merchants in Shrivijaya territory were threatened this raised the wrath of the Chola, who may have had his own investment in this trade, and the result was an attack on Shrivijaya. From the viewpoint of its own mercantile interests, Shrivijaya’s interference in the China-India trade was justified, but in this case military power decided the issue. The campaign was successful in that a number of strategic places along the Straits of Malacca came under Chola control, and, for a while at least, Indian shipping and commerce were safe in their passage through Shrivijaya territory.

  The successors of Rajendra I turned their attention to conflicts within the peninsula, primarily with the Chalukyas, reviving the competition to control the province of Vengi. The old pattern of lightning raids into each other’s territory was repeated. A Chola raid into the heart of Chalukya territory saw the sacking of the capital at Kalyani. This was avenged in 1050 by the Chalukya king. Rivalry was less intense during the reign of the Chola King Kulottunga I (1070-1118), perhaps because of kinship links between the royal families, and this introduced a new element into the relationship. The old enemies of the far south, the Pandyas, Cheras and Sri Lanka, meanwhile remained hostile, but Shrivijaya was peaceful, although still smarting under its defeat by Rajendra. This permitted a steady improvement in the commerce of south India and better communications with the Chinese, to whom Kulottunga sent an embassy of seventy-two merchants in 1077.

  Rajaraja I and Rajendra believed that their political status was higher than that of Amoghavarsha the Rashtrakuta ruler or Vishnuvardhana the Hoysala. The unobtrusive titles used by the early Chola kings were replaced with high-sounding ones, such as chakravartigal (emperor, the equivalent of the northern chakravartin). The cult of the god-king was encouraged through the worship of images of the deceased rulers, together with the building of temples as monuments to dead kings. This carries echoes of Kushana practices. The royal household was run on an elaborate scale and royal patronage was lavish. The political role of the purohita (priest) as known to northern Indian politics underwent a modification in the Chola system. The raja-guru (priest of the royal family) of the Cholas became a confidant and adviser in all matters temporal and sacred. In their support for Shaivism, the temple at Chidambaram was an important location, the Shiva-nataraja (Shiva as the lord of the cosmic dance) was the icon and the Periya Puranam was the revered text.

  By the latter part of the twelfth century Chola ascendancy was waning. Neighbours were annexing territories at the fringes of the kingdom. The power of the subordinate rulers in the Deccan increased as central control weakened. Frequent campaigns had exhausted Chola resources and, although they finally succeeded in establishing their supremacy, it was at the cost of their own stability. Furthermore, the eventual breaking of Chalukya power by the Cholas was to recoil on the Cholas themselves since it removed the controlling authority of the Chalukyas over their tributary rulers. The latter then set up independent kingdoms and made preparations to gnaw at the Chola kingdom, prior to more substantial attacks.

  Among these the most powerful were the Yadavas, the Hoysalas and the Kakatiyas. The Yadavas kept mainly to the Deccan, and their contribution to the final disintegration of the Cholas was less significant. The Hoysalas and the Kakatiyas became active from the twelfth century onwards. The latter, having won their independence from the Chalukyas, retired to enjoy it, except for the periods when they were in action against the Cholas. Kakatiya power became visible when the Kakatiyas moved from the fortress of Hanamkonda to the plains in its vicinity, establishing their capital at Warangal. The city and the power that it encapsulated was largely the work of the thirteenth-century King Ganapatideva and his daughter, Rudrammadevi, who succeeded him. The city was enclosed in a series of circular fortifications. Its core, where the roads going in cardinal directions intersected, seems to have been the location of the palace and the royal temple. This would have conformed to the theoretical plan of a capital city. The Kakatiyas wished to annex Vengi, which would have given them a substantial seaboard, for they were well aware of the profits from the ports in the area.

  The main attack on the Cholas from the west came from the Hoysalas, whom the Cholas were able to resist. But their older enemy, the Pandya kings of Madurai, saw this as an ideal opportunity to revive hostilities. The Chola strength therefore had to be diverted to two fronts, the western and the southern. The rise of the Hoysalas is in many ways representative of some dynasties of the Deccan from this period. The family began as hill chiefs whose main source of revenue was brigandage, an unfailing source in the higher regions of the plateau. Owing to the political confusion during changes of dynasty, the hill people were eager to gain protectors. Their support to the early Hoysalas enabled the latter to move down into the plains, from where an even more reliable source of revenue – tribute – was given by the people of the plains to buy off the attacks from the hill chiefs. The regular payment of tribute established the legitimacy and authority of the receivers. Tribute sometimes led to political loyalty, and the former hill chiefs gradually found themselves the possessors of small kingdoms, on the basis of which they established a dynasty. Not all such dynasties survived, the older kingdoms annexing the territories of some.

  It was Vishnuvardhana who established a kingdom for the Hoysala family. He ruled during the first half of the twelfth century, when the Hoysalas were still in principle subject to the Chalukyas. The core of the kingdom was at Dorasamudra, near modern Mysore, and Vishnuvardhana prepared the way for political independence by consolidating his strength around his capital. Vishnuvardhana is also remembered for his interest in the teachings
of the Vaishnava philosopher, Ramanuja, said to have persuaded the king to forsake Jainism for Vaishnavism. The consolidation of the Hoysala kingdom was continued by Ballala II, the grandson of Vishnuvardhana, and resulted in the domination of the southern Deccan by the Hoysalas.

  Chola power weakened in the thirteenth century. A Hoysala king claimed to have rescued the Chola king who had been captured by his tributary raja. This raja had attacked the kingdom and destroyed the temples to Shiva and places sacred to Vishnu. According to another inscription, the Hoysala army attacked villages, cut down the forest, burnt the ports along the sea and seized the women. To the north, however, the Hoysalas met with opposition from the Yadavas of Devagiri, who had also expanded their kingdom at the expense of Chalukya territory. By the thirteenth century the Yadavas had laid claim to Gujarat, but they could not hold this for long. The Yadavas and the Hoysalas were to last until the fourteenth century, when new arrivals in the politics of northern India, the Turkish and Afghan sultans of Delhi, intervened in the affairs of the Deccan. The intervention led to other dynasties and different political alignments. Further south, the Pandyas had superseded the Cholas as the dominant power in the Tamil country, and might have maintained this position in the subsequent century had it not been for attacks from the rulers of the Deccan. The Pandyas remained local rulers and subject to the changing politics of the region. Marco Polo claimed to have visited the Pandyan kingdom in 1288 and 1293, and has left a vivid description of the richness of the land and the prosperity of its trade.