Page 88 - SST Class 06

The Chalukyas once again rose to prominence F ind Outind Out
with Vikramaditya I , the son of Pulakeshin II. He
was a strong ruler and defeated the Pallavas in When Hiuen Tsang visited Kanchi who was the king
655 AD in order to avenge the defeat of his father. at the time?
However, the Chalukyas were finally routed by
the Rashtrakutas in 757 AD during the rule of PALLAVAS
Kirtivarman , the last Chalukya ruler.
The Pallavas were the vassals of the Satavahanas,
Trade and Commerce but with the decline of the latter, they built a
strong kingdom of their own with the capital at
The Chalukyas encouraged trade relations with
other countries. They had trade relations with Kanchi (near Chennai). The Pallavas had to be at
war constantly with the Chalukyas, and also with
several kingdoms in South-East Asia, Iran and
Arabia. Pulakeshin II exchanged ambassadors with the Cheras, the Cholas and the Pandyas.
king Khusrau of Iran. You have already read that Pulakeshin II defeated
the Pallava king, Mahendravarman . However, a
Religious Tolerance
few years later, Narsimhavarman, the son of
The Chalukyas were Hindus, but they practised Mahendravarman, defeated Pulakeshin II and
tolerance towards all other faiths. It was during destroyed Vatapi.
their rule that the followers of Zoroaster fled
Persia in large numbers in the fear of Muslim The continuous wars with several dynasties
invaders. They came and settled along the west weakened the Pallavas considerably, and they
were finally defeated by the Cholas in the ninth
coast in the Deccan. As they came from Persia,
they are called Parsees . They were allowed to century AD.
follow their religion and build their places of Hiuen-Tsang visited Kanchi and wrote about the
worship called the fire temples . This is a living Pallavas. He has showered praised upon the
example of religious tolerance under the people and the kings.
Chalukyas.
Religion
Art and Architecture
The Pallava kings were Hindus, but they were
The Chalukyas were great builders also. They tolerant towards other faiths. Mahendravarman
were Hindus by faith, so they built a large number was a Jain in the beginning, but he started to
of temples in honour of different Hindu deities, worship Shiva later.
like Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu. Some of their
Art and Sculpture
masterpieces are the Vishnu Temple at Badami
and Aihole and the Shiva Temple at Pattadakal The Pallava kings patronised art and sculpture.
which have excellent architectural designs and They built beautiful temples. Narsimhavarman
sculptures. They are decorated with scenery from founded the town of Mahabalipuram (near
the Hindu mythology. Most of the Ajanta and
Ellora frescoes were made during this period
under the patronage of the Chalukyas.

Info Bits
Info Bits

Some other dynasties that ruled the Deccan for
some time included the Vakatakas, Rashtrakutas,
Palas and Pratiharas.

Ratha temples in Mahabalipuram
Contemporary Social Science-6
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