They boast that their ancestors ruled at Ayodhya

History of the Deccan

The Vakataka power was followed by that of the Chalukyas of Badami who played an important role in the history of the Deccan and south India for about two centuries till A.D, 757, when they were overthrown by their feudatories, the Rashtrakutas. The Chalukyas claimed their descent either from Brahman or Manu or Moon They boast that their ancestors ruled at Ayodhya, but all this was done to claim legitimacy and respectability’ Really they seem to have been a local Kanarese people, who were improvised into the ruling varna under brahmanical influence.

The Chalukyas set up their kingdom towards the beginning of the sixth century A.D. in the western Deccan. They established their capital at Vatapi, modern Badami, in the district of. Bijapur which forms a part of Karnataka. Later they branched off into several independent ruling houses, but the mam branch continued to rule at Vatapi for two centuries in this period no other power in the Deccan was as important as the Chalukyas of Badami until we come to Vijayanagar in late medieval times.

On the Tipns of the Sdtavahana power in the eastern part of the peninsula there arose the Ikshvakus m the KrishnaGuntur region. They seem to have been a local tribe who adopted the exalted name of the Ikshvakus in order to demonstrate the antiquity of their lineage. They have left behind many monuments at Nagarjunakonda and Dharanikota They started the practice of land grants in the Krishna Guntur region, where several of their copperplate charters have been discovered The Ikshvakus were supplanted by the Pal lavas. The term pal lava means creeper, and is a Sanskrit version of the Tamil word today, which also carries the same meaning.

Toridainadu or the land

The Pallavas were possibly a local tribe who established their authority m the Toridainadu or the land of creepers. But it took them some time to be completely civilized because in Tamil the Word pal lava is also a synonym of robber. The authority of the Pallavas extended over both southern Andhra and northern Tamil Nadu. They set up their capital at Kanchi, identical with modem Kanchipuram which became a town of temples and Vedio learning under them, the early Pallavas came into conflict with the Kadambas, who had founded their rule in northern Karnataka in the fourth century A D They claim to be brahmanas, and they rewarded their fellow caste men generously.

The Kadamba kingdom was founded by Mayurasarman It is said that he came to receive education at Kanchi, but he was driven out unceremoniously. Smarting under this insult the Kadamba chief set up his camp in a forest, and defeated the Pallavas possibly with the help of the forest tribes.