New Empires And Kingdoms
The Pallavas, Chalukyas and Pulakeshin’s prashasti
During this period, the Pallavas and Chalukyas were the most important ruling dynasties in south India. The kingdom of the Pallavas spread from the region around their capital, Kanchipuram, to the Kaveri delta, while that of the Chalukyas was centred around the Raichur Doab, between the rivers Krishna and Tungabhadra.
Aihole, the capital of the Chalukyas, was an important trading centre. It developed as a religious centre, with a number of temples. Pulakeshin II was the best-known Chalukya ruler. His prashasti was composed by his court poet Ravikirti, which talks about his ancestors, who are traced back through four generations from father to son.
According to Ravikirti, he led expeditions along both the west and the east coasts. Besides, he checked the advance of Harsha. There is an interesting play of words in the poem. Harsha means happiness. The poet says that after this defeat, Harsha was no longer Harsha!
How were these kingdoms administered?
Land revenue remained important and the village remained the basic unit of administration. But, new developments were also introduced. Kings adopted a number of steps to win the support of men who were powerful, either economically, or socially, or because of their political and military strength. For instance:
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Some important administrative posts were hereditary.
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Sometimes, one person held many offices.
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Besides, important men probably had a say in local administration.
A new kind of army
Kings maintained a well-organised army, with elephants, chariots, cavalry and foot soldiers. Military leaders provided kings with troops whenever he needed them but they were not paid regular salaries. Instead, of salary, some of them received grants of land. They collected revenue from the land and used this to maintain soldiers and horses, and provide equipment for warfare. These men were known as samantas.
Assemblies in the southern kingdoms
The inscriptions of the Pallavas mentioned a number of local assemblies, which included the sabha, an assembly of brahmin landowners. This assembly functioned through subcommittees, which looked after irrigation, agricultural operations, making roads, local temples, etc. There was a village assembly found in areas where the landowners were not brahmins. And the nagaram was an organisation of merchants.
Ordinary people in the kingdoms
Kalidasa was known for his plays depicting life in the king’s court. An interesting feature about these plays is that the king and most brahmins are shown as speaking Sanskrit, while women and men other than the king and brahmins use Prakrit. His most famous play, Abhijnana Shakuntalam, is the story of the love between a king named Dushyanta and a young woman named Shakuntala.