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Indian Express
a day ago
- Indian Express
A road trip takes these friends back in time, to the medieval empires across the Deccan peninsula
A long-held desire to visit Hampi finally fructified in the guise of an all-girls road trip through Karnataka in March. It was an indelible adventure, one that, on the face of it, began in Goa and ended in Bangalore, but in fact wove five history enthusiasts through the vestiges of three dynamic empires spread across the Deccan peninsula and 10 medieval centuries. It is no coincidence that their once-thriving capitals are located near river systems. Waterways have long played a critical role in the development of civilizations, empires and societies, not least economies. In the case of the Chalukya and Vijayanagara empires, says historian Anirudh Kanisetti, the river valleys they arose in also held geopolitical and strategic importance. 'The Malaprabha river cuts through sandstone cliffs which provide an easily fortifiable area where you can raise crops, dredge various minerals, get sandstone to construct temples and post lookouts all over the cliffs — essentially the ideal heartland for a militaristic kingdom'. For an arid region that once produced nothing but millets, the Malaprabha river's rocky valley ultimately made amends by spawning an empire so powerful that it reigned supreme over the Deccan variously between the 6th and 12th centuries CE. Its pastoral founders reportedly borrowed their moniker from the chalke (crowbar), an essential implement for cultivators, and it went on to become synonymous with the empire's free-standing rock-cut temple architecture. The early examples can be found strewn across Aihole and Badami, the respective commercial and political power centres of the Chalukyan Empire. The finest of these temples are to be seen in the cluster at Pattadakal, their one-time cultural seat, located on a bend of the Malaprabha, a village so somnolent that it belies its past as the scenic setting of many a Chalukyan coronation. While taking a breather under a leafy tree near the stunning Lokeshwara Temple (now Virupaksha Temple), we imagine Queen Lokamahadevi — on whose behest it was built — sailing up the Malaprabha with her entourage, alighting on its bank, and walking through the large riverside gateway to supplicate before Shiva in the richly sculpted sanctum. One imagines this is also how the Ramalingeshwar complex in Aihole, best visited during the annual ratha utsav (chariot festival), would have been accessed. In its vicinity, on the ridge above a lone Jain cave temple, rock paintings and as many as 42 dolmens, are indicative of the valley's pre-historic antecedents. Alongside temples, we find the ingenious Chalukyas employing the Malaprabha's rugged terrain to their military advantage. They built the Badami citadel atop a gigantic, impossible-to-breach, sandstone promontory. While not much remains of the fortifications, the view from the top is breathtaking in every sense of the word — the climb up is neither for the unfit nor the fainthearted. After posing beside the stone chariot inside Hampi's musical-pillared Vithala Temple, our Rs 50 currency notes dutifully held aloft, we gave ourselves some downtime near the glittering and — warned a sign — crocodile-infested waters of the Tungabhadra. A two kilometre-guided walk along its rock-strewn bank, replete with shrines and monuments, would have brought us to Virupaksha Temple, the top attraction in Hampi, but the heat dissuaded us. Instead, we sat watching coracles ferry locals to and from the opposite bank. There, hidden from view by boulders and a verdant copse, was Anegundi, a prominent fortified town that predates Vijayanagara. Also where our first taste of authentic local cuisine, a lunch curated by the Kishkinda Trust, waited. We took in the calming blue as it gorged through the granite landscape. Kanisetti explains, 'The city's site, on the banks of the Tungabhadra, was strategically positioned to control the Raichur Doab, an important frontier between the Deccan Sultanates and the territories of Vijayanagara. The part of the Tungabhadra that the eponymous empire ruled over was much rockier, easy to fortify, but less suitable for populations. Vijaynagara solved this with extraordinary feats of hydraulic engineering.' By constructing dams, reservoirs, and rainwater collection systems, the Tungabhadra empire managed to transform the relatively inhospitable landscape into the seat of one of the largest cities of its time in the world. Many of these feats, the drawing of water for agriculture, drinking, and bathing, from the Tungabhadra, are still in evidence in Hampi. Most riverside temples are equipped with large step-wells (pushkarni or kalyani) to cater to the shrine's requirements. Canals built by Vijayanagara rulers continue to irrigate not just the farmlands flanking the river but even those further afield. Rainwater was harvested in several reservoirs that visibly encircle Hampi even today, like the expansive Kamalapura Lake. Another integral feature of Vijayanagara's extensive water supply system was the aqueduct. These raised water channels, as seen beside the step-well near Mahanavami Dibba, ensured the royal enclosure stayed well and truly hydrated. It is no empty boast then that Hampi once housed a whopping 400,000 inhabitants! The Yagachi Rivers in southern Karnataka are less rocky than their northern counterparts and the Hoysalas (sandwiched between the Krishna and Kaveri rivers) found them better suited for irrigation purposes. For other requirements, the rulers constructed a number of reservoirs. In fact, Dwarasamudra (Halebidu), the capital city they founded in the 11th century, stands on the shores of one such artificial lake. Those soothing waters can be seen beyond the well-tended grounds of the star-shaped and exquisitely carved 12th century Hoysaleshwar Temple. We had to ultimately steal ourselves away from Halebidu's intricate soapstone friezes and sculpted figures to head to Belur, their later capital, banked on the Yagachi. There, an equally magnificent Chennakeshava Temple held us in rapt thrall. When we finally left, we did so with the evening aarti reverberating in our ears. Could one have asked for a better send-off?
Indian Express
28-05-2025
- General
- Indian Express
Writer's Corner: Anirudh Kanisetti's latest sheds light on how Chola empire's women and village assemblies shaped history
Around the turn of the previous millennium, in the wake of the decline of the Pallavas and the collapse of the Rashtrakutas, a new power had arisen in the lands watered by the Kaveri. The Cholas would go from strength to strength, their influence felt far up the eastern coasts and across the seas in Southeast Asia. As the Cholas declined in their latter days, new social and cultural trends arose amid the political changes. It is this diverse history that historian Anirudh Kanisetti tackles in his latest book, Lords of Earth and Sea: A History of the Chola Empire. Kanisetti first explored the history of the Cholas as part of his previous work, Lords of the Deccan, before devoting an entire book to the dynasty's history. Speaking to The Indian Express, he said, 'I became aware that my perspective was a very Deccan perspective. That's not all they were… They were an empire of the crossroads. They ruled over a large chunk of the East Coast, were connected to Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia. They were also well-connected to South Karnataka. I wanted to supplement this with the latest scholarship.' He added, 'While a lot of actors and politicians have been speaking of the Cholas of late, I wanted to present a history extensively steeped in the primary source. The Cholas were remarkable for their extensive inscriptions on temple walls. Simply absorbing that immense mass of material was quite a challenge. Across medieval Tamil Nadu, for all donors, there was a tendency to make inscriptions when a gift was made. This allows us to read deeply into the social history of this region… How temple donation practices and socioeconomic systems changed over centuries.' Apart from the help rendered by existing translations of Chola inscriptions and the latest research on them, Kanisetti's fieldwork also involved visiting Chola temple sites in Tamil Nadu and South Karnataka. The border region in South Karnataka, known as Gangavadi, was ruled by the Cholas after being captured by Raja Raja Chola. Recent archaeological discoveries were also of value. Kanisetti recalled, 'There have been very interesting findings at the Chola Palace in Gangaikonda Cholapuram (the Chola capital built by Emperor Rajendra I) besides the presence in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia. To understand the Cholas, you must not look just at literary claims but also the hard evidence. Archaeologists working in Anuradhapura (in Sri Lanka) and Sumatra have really transformed our understanding of how the Chola world operated. On the Chola footprint in South Karnataka, he noted that it had manifested in multilingualism by way of the presence of the Tamil language, such as in temple inscriptions. Their presence was also felt in architecture, such as at the Kolaramma Temple where Chola officials and rulers had made proclamations. He added that the Begur Temple also had a shivalingam known as the 'Choleswara', possibly after a Chola general. An interesting topic covered in the book is that of Chola queens such as Sembiyan Mahadevi as well as those women who did not have similar means. Kanisetti said, 'The popular understanding does not do justice. They were primarily seen as pious women. Quite a lot of scholarship and inscriptions shows that these women also had very intelligent political minds and were sophisticated patrons of art and architecture. It was evident while looking at the history of temple bronzes and patronage that, in a lot of ways, women were the pioneers.' Kanisetti also noted that space in history ought to be given to those women smaller in stature than the queens, such as temple donors and politicians of various social classes, and those who did not leave as deep a mark on the historical record. He added that it was an eye-opener as to how often people who might be considered less important had influenced Tamil devotional culture. 'Many of the famous gopurams (towers) that you see across temples were actually commissioned as the empire was declining. They were commissioned by generals and aristocrats who were attempting to break away from Chola authority. Their wives and children made gifts to these sites. The way that Tamil temples developed into sprawling compounds was really a development of the late Chola period.' In his book, Kanisetti also highlights the role that village assemblies played, noting that often even Chola kings and princes took efforts to stay in their good graces. He noted that assemblies of cultivators such as the 'Shining Plough' would often take their own decisions on taxation without consulting royal officers. He said, 'The voices of the smaller people insisted on being heard and leaving a mark on the historical record… It really opened my eyes to the fact that medieval India was vast and politically diverse. These were intelligent people capable of holding their rulers to account and taking their own decisions. In a way, it makes you appreciate how deep India's democratic roots go.'
