Pulakeshin II wins the throne from Mangalesha

01The quarrel

Ravikirti’s Aihole inscription tells the story from Pulakeshin’s side. Mangalesha had ruled as guardian for his brother Kirtivarman’s young son. When the boy grew up, Mangalesha grew jealous of him. Pulakeshin went into exile, built up his power through counsel and energy, and Mangalesha, encircled, gave up both his effort to secure the kingdom for his son and his life. The inscription says the kingdom was then surrounded by the darkness of enemies.

02The Bhimarathi

Two chiefs, Appayika and Govinda, took the moment to attack from the north with elephant forces. Pulakeshin met them on the Bhimarathi, the river Bhima. Appayika fled; Govinda chose to submit and was rewarded. With his kingdom secure, Pulakeshin went on to the conquests that made him the master of the Deccan: Banavasi, the Konkan, Lata, Malwa, and the stand against Harsha. Ravikirti, the poet of the Aihole inscription, compares himself in its last verse to Kalidasa and Bharavi, and the record is still the best account of these years.

Place · Fortified 543 CE by Pulakeshin I; cave temples 6th century, Cave 3 dated 578 CEBadami (Vatapi)Vatapi, capital of the Chalukyas, set in red sandstone cliffs around the Agastya lake. Its four cave temples hold some of the earliest dated Hindu sculpture in the Deccan.Read →