Kirtivarman II also known as Rahappa (reigned 746 – 753 CE) was the last ruler in the Badami

Chalukya dynasty The Chalukya dynasty () was a Classical Indian dynasty that ruled large parts of southern and central India between the 6th and the 12th centuries. During this period, they ruled as three related yet individual dynasties. The earliest dynas ...

. He succeeded his father

Vikramaditya II Vikramaditya II (reigned 733 – 744 CE) was the son of King Vijayaditya and ascended the Badami Chalukya throne following the death of his father. This information comes from the Lakshmeshwar inscriptions in Kannada dated 13 January 735 A.D ...

. His reign was continuously troubled by the growing power of the

Rashtrakutas Rashtrakuta ( IAST: ') (r. 753-982 CE) was a royal Indian dynasty ruling large parts of the Indian subcontinent between the sixth and 10th centuries. The earliest known Rashtrakuta inscription is a 7th-century copper plate grant detailing the ...

and Pandyas and finally succumbed to them.

Conflict with the Pandyas

Kirtivarman and his

Ganga The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...

feudatory Sripurusha came into conflict with the Pandya ruler Maravarman Rajasimha I who was extending the Pandya empire on to the Kongu country which was adjacent to the Ganga kingdom. Rajasimha crossed the

Kaveri The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery, the anglicized name) is one of the major Indian rivers flowing through the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The Kaveri river rises at Talakaveri in the Brahmagiri range in the Western Ghats, Kodagu d ...

and engaged Kirtivarman and Sripurusha in a big battle at Venbai on the banks of the river Kaveri. The Chalukya king was defeated.

Diminishing power

Kirtivarman was steadily undermined by the activities of

Rashtrakuta Rashtrakuta ( IAST: ') (r. 753-982 CE) was a royal Indian dynasty ruling large parts of the Indian subcontinent between the sixth and 10th centuries. The earliest known Rashtrakuta inscription is a 7th-century copper plate grant detailing the ...

Dantidurga Dantidurga (reigned 735–756 CE), also known as Dantivarman II was the founder of the Rashtrakuta Empire of Manyakheta. Reu (1933), p54 His capital was based in Gulbarga region of Karnataka. His successor was his uncle Krishna I who extended his ...

who was establishing the Rashtrakuta Empire. Dantidurga was a feudatory of the Chalukyas and was beginning to establish an independent kingdom around

Ellora Ellora is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in the Aurangabad district of Maharashtra, India. It is one of the largest rock-cut Hindu temple cave complexes in the world, with artwork dating from the period 600–1000 CE., Quote: "These 34 ...

. Dantidurga managed to wrest control of the northern provinces of the Chalukyan kingdom, he also completely surrounded the Chalukya in the east and the south by conquering the Telugu provinces,

Kalinga Kalinga may refer to: Geography, linguistics and/or ethnology * Kalinga (historical region), a historical region of India ** Kalinga (Mahabharata), an apocryphal kingdom mentioned in classical Indian literature ** Kalinga script, an ancient writin ...

and

Kosala The Kingdom of Kosala (Sanskrit: ) was an ancient Indian kingdom with a rich culture, corresponding to the area within the region of Awadh in present-day Uttar Pradesh to Western Odisha. It emerged as a small state during the late Vedic peri ...

kingdoms. Dantidurga also went into an alliance with the

Pallava The Pallava dynasty existed from 275 CE to 897 CE, ruling a significant portion of the Deccan, also known as Tondaimandalam. The dynasty rose to prominence after the downfall of the Satavahana dynasty, with whom they had formerly served as f ...

Nandivarman II. Thus isolated, Kirtivarman could not turn to any direction for help. The final assault on Kirtivarman came in 752 and completely overwhelmed the Chalukyan kingdom. Kirtivarman II was the last king of the

Badami Badami, formerly known as Vatapi, is a town and headquarters of a taluk by the same name, in the Bagalkot district of Karnataka, India. It was the regal capital of the Badami Chalukyas from CE 540 to 757. It is famous for its rock cut monuments ...

dynasty. There was a period of 220 years in which the western branch of the Chalukyas were in eclipse. Tailapa II revived the dynasty in 973.

References

* Nilakanta Sastri, K.A. (1955). A History of South India, OUP, New Delhi (Reprinted 2002). * Dr. Suryanath U. Kamat (2001). Concise History of Karnataka, MCC, Bangalore (Reprinted 2002). {{DEFAULTSORT:Kirtivarman 02 750s deaths Early Chalukyas 8th-century Indian monarchs