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Summary

Ancient India Class 10

## Last class revision (5:08 PM)

## Chalukyas (5:34 PM)

- There are 3 branches of Chalukya- Chalukyas of Badami/Vatapi, Chalukyas of Vengi(Eastern Chalukyas), and Chalukyas of Kalyan/Western Chalukyas.
- All of these branches were related to each other.
- ***Badami Chalukya:***
- The earliest known ruler of Badami Chalukyas was Jaysimha.
- The other rulers were Pulakeshin-I, Kritivarman, and Mangalesh.
- The greatest ruler of the dynasty was Pulakeshin-II(contemporary to Harshavardhan).
- ***Pulakeshin-II:***
- Information about Pulakeshin-II mainly comes from the Aihole inscription written by the court poet of Pulakeshin-II Ravikriti.
- Chalukya's kingdom reached its zenith during his reign.
- He is most famous for stopping Harshvardhan on the banks of river Narmada.
- Later he defeated Pallava king Mahendravarman, however, he was defeated by Narasimhavarman.
- Son of Pulakeshin-II,  Vikramaditya-I attacked Kanchi and this led to the decline of the power of Pallavas.
- This victory was however shortlived, the last Chalukya ruler Kritivarman-II was defeated by Dantidurga(founder of the Rashtrakuta empire).
- ***Significance of Badami Chalukyas:***
- Chalukya rulers patronized Hinduism but remained tolerant of Buddhism and Jainism.
- Along with Sanskrit, Kannada and Telugu literature also prospered.
- They were the great builders of temples, for example, the Vesara style of architecture which is a combination of Nagara and Dravida styles flourished during this period.
- The temples of Pattadakal are part of the UNESCO world heritage sites.

## Tripartite struggle/ Kannauj Triangle (6:03 PM)

- A Series of wars occurred among 3 kingdoms where the city of Kannauj was popularly known as the Tripartite struggle/ Kannauj Triangle.
- These 3 kingdoms were Rashtrakutas, Palas, and Pratiharas.
- At the end of the struggle, Pratiharas emerged victorious, however, Pratihara's kingdom gradually declined.

## MCQ discussion related to Previous classes (6:07 PM)

## Rashtrakutas empire (8th-10th century) (7:06 PM)

- They claimed themself to be descendent of Satyaki.
- Their mother tongue was Kannada and initially, they were feudatories of Chalukyas.
- The empire was founded by Danditdurga in 735 AD.
- Krishna-I started the construction of the Kailash temple at Ellora.
- Some other important kings were Govind-I, Govind-II, Govind-III, and Druv.
- The greatest king of the dynasty was Amoghavarsha.
- ***Amoghavarsha(814-878 AD):***
- He is often called Ashoka of the south because of his focus on peace and prosperity.
- He set up a new capital atManyakheta.
- He converted to Jainism under a Jain monk Jinasena.
- An Arab merchant Suleiman called him one of the 4 greatest kings of the world along with the kings of Baghdad, China, and Constantinople.
- ***Significance of Rashtrakutas:***
- They patronized both Kannada and Sanskrit languages.
- Amoghavarsha himself was a great poet who wrote Kavirajamarga in Kannada.
- The greatest poet of Kannada literature Pampa lived during this period.
- Pampa is most famous for his work Vikramarjuna Vijaya.
- In architecture, both Ellora and Elephanta cave architecture were constructed during this time.
- They also maintained trade relationships with Arab merchants.

## Palas (8-10th century) (7:22 PM)

- There was anarchy in Bengal after the death of Harshavardhan.
- In 750 AD Gopal founded the Pala dynasty.
- This period is often called the golden age of Bengali literature.
- Some of the notable rulers were, Dharmapala, who founded Vikramshila university at Bhagalpur, Bihar.
- Devpala is considered one of the greatest kings who defeated Rastrakutas, he was a Buddhist who build many monasteries and temples in Magadha.
- The king of Java, Balputradev sent an ambassador to his court.
- The last powerful king was Rampala.
- Snadhyakar Nandin wrote Ramcharitra which is written in Shlesha and significances one statement with more than one meaning, this book tells the story of lord Ram and Pala king Rampala.
- ***Significance of the Pala Dynasty:***
- They patronized Nalanda and Vikramshila university.
- They started miniature painting in India.
- They are considered the last patron of Buddhism in India.

## Pratiharas (7:38 PM)

- The term Pratihara means doorkeeper.
- The ruler considered the epic hero Laxman as their hero.
- It was founded by Nagbhatta in about 730 AD.
- He was able to resist attacks from Arabs.
- Some notable rulers were Vatsaraj and Nagbhatta-II.
- Mihir Bhoja(836-885 AD) is considered the greater ruler of the dynasty.
- Initially, he was defeated by Rashtrakutas and Palas, but later he was very successful and emerged victorious in Kannauj.
- He was an ardent follower of Vaishnavism and took the title of Adivaraha.
- He was called king Baura by an Arab traveller Al-Masudi.
- By the 11th century the might of Pratihara declined and later because of attacks by Mahmud of Ghazni, the dynasty came to end.

## The Ancient syllabus is over.