A History of India, Third Edition

THE REGIONAL KINGDOMS OF EARLY MEDIEVAL INDIA

to an end. Thus, later Chalukya rulers praised the victory of their
predecessor, Pulakeshin II, as a victory over the ‘Lord of the Entire North’
(sakala-uttara-patheshvara). The Deccan (derived from dakshina,
originally meaning ‘south’) had become of equal importance to the North
(see Map 7).
But Pulakeshin II was by no means the lord of the entire South. In
Kanchipuram near Madras the Pallavas had established their capital and
had emerged at the end of the sixth century AD as a great regional power
in Tamil Nadu. The Pallava kings, Mahendravarman (c. 600–630) and
Narasimhavarman (630–668), were engaged in constant warfare with
Pulakeshin II. But neither side was able to gain supremacy over the entire
South. Initially Pulakeshin seemed to be getting the upper hand by fighting
the Pallavas in alliance with their reluctant tributaries, the Pandyas and the
Cholas. After defeating Harsha, Pulakeshin also annexed the Krishna-
Godaveri delta region in present-day eastern Andhra Pradesh and installed
his brother as viceroy at Vengi. This brother was the ancestor of the
dynasty which later became known as the ‘Eastern Chalukyas’, whereas
the main branch of this dynasty is often referred to as ‘Western Chalukyas’.
Pulakeshin’s hegemony over the South seemed to be an established fact,
but suddenly Narasimhavarman attacked Badami and Pulakeshin died
while defending his capital which succumbed to the Pallava assault. For
twelve years the Chalukyas seem to have disappeared from the political
scene until Pulakeshin’s son, Vikramaditya I, restored their fortunes and
sacked Kanchipuram, the Pallava capital, in revenge for the Pallava
assault.

The rise of regional centres

The contours of regional centres of power which clearly emerged in the
seventh century AD remained of importance for Indian history in
subsequent centuries. The triangular contest of Harsha, Shashanka and
Pulakeshin in North, East and Central India and the rivalry of Pulakeshin’s
dynasty, the Chalukyas and the Pallavas in the South were repeated in
similar patterns over and over again.
When Harsha selected the holy city of Kanauj as his capital, he shifted
the centre of North Indian hegemony from the east farther to the west.
Patna (Pataliputra) had been an important centre of both the Maurya and
the Gupta empires: the lower Gangetic plains could be controlled from
there. Kanauj was in the middle of the Ganges-Yamuna Doab (‘Land of
Two Rivers’).
Harsha’s empire collapsed soon after his death but one century later
Kanauj became once more the capital of a great conqueror, Yashovarman.
His realm was soon destroyed by an even greater conqueror, Lalitaditya of
Kashmir, whose far-flung empire also collapsed after his death. Lalitaditya