Southern India

George Michell

Description

This comprehensive guide to Southern India’s varied heritage covers all the major Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim and European historical monuments and sites in Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The descriptions vary from forts and palaces, and temple architecture, sculpture and painting, to mosques and tombs, and churches and civic buildings. The guide is divided into travel-friendly itineraries, accompanied by useful location maps. Some of the special features of this travel guide are: (1) The most comprehensive coverage of the region's cities and monuments, museums, and archaeological sites. (2) Includes all the major sites – the great port cities of Mumbai, Chennai and Kochi; the citadels of Golconda, Vijaynagara and Gingee; the rock-cut sanctuaries at Ajanta and Ellora; the temples at Badami, Halebid and Thanjuvar; the mosques of Hyderabad and Bijapur; and the cathedrals at Goa – and hundreds of less well-known places. (3) Detailed up-to-date practical information, with maps and archival photographs.

Sujets

• Monuments
• Ellora
• Ajant?
• South Asia
• Ajantha
• Bijapur
• Ellora Caves
• Heritage
• Travel
• Golconda
• Asia
• Palace
• India
• Ajantâ

Informations

• Publié par: Roli Books
• Date de parution: 10 août 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9788174369031
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 3 Mo

Extrait

PHOTO CREDITS
American Institute of India Studies: 37, 42-43, 70, 78, 91, 106, 113, 168, 188, 223, 238, 298, 332, 343, 357, 359, 371, 410, 414, 433, 465, 488, 510-511,540
Corbis: 54 (From 100 Wonders of India, Roli Books) Dinodia: 2 (From 100 Wonders of India, Roli Books) George Michell: 385, 388-89
India Picture: 10-11, 131, 179, 289, 481, 524
Iramuthusamy/ Wikimedia Commons: 160-161
Roli Collection: 194-195, 281
Sanjay Acharya/ Wikimedia Commons: 98
Toby Sinclair: 304-305 (From Forts & Palaces of India, Roli Books) Vijayshankar Munoli/ Wikimedia Commons: 139
Lotus Collection
© George Michell, 2013

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission of the publisher.

The Lotus Collection An imprint of Roli Books Pvt. Ltd. M-75, G.K. II Market, New Delhi 110 048 Phone: ++91 (011) 4068 2000. Fax: ++91 (011) 2921 7185 E-mail: [e-mail]; Website: rolibooks.com Also at Bengaluru, Chennai, & Mumbai

Frontispiece : Gommateshvara Monolith, Sravana Belgola, Karnataka. Cover design: Bonita Vaz-Shimray Layout: Sanjeev Mathpal Production: Shaji Sahadevan & Jyoti De

ISBN: 978-81-7436-920-8


Contents
Foreword
Maps
Introduction
History
Architecture
Art
Maharashtra
1. Mumbai
2. Around Mumbai
3. Pune
4. Nasik
5. Aurangabad
6. Ahmadnagar
7. Mahabaleshwar
8. Kolhapur
9. Sholapur
10. Nagpur
Goa
11. Central Goa
12. North Goa
13. South Goa
Karnataka
14. Bengaluru
15. Mysore
16. Kodugu
17. Mangalore
18. Chikmagalur
19. Shimoga
20. Hampi
21. Hubli
22. Badami
23. Bijapur
24. Gulbarga
25. Bidar
Andhra Pradesh
26. Hyderabad
27. Around Hyderabad
28. Warangal
29. Vijayawada
30. Rajahmundry
31. Visakhapatnam
32. Kurnool
33. Anantapur
34. Cuddapah
35. Tirupati
Tamil Nadu
36. Chennai
37. Around Chennai
38. Vellore
39. Puducherry
40. Thanjavur
41. Tiruchirapalli
42. Salem
43. Coimbatore
44. Madurai
45. Tirunelveli
Kerala
46. Thiruvananthapuram
47. Kochi
48. Kozhikode
Glossary
Index

Foreword
I n recent years Southern India has attracted ever growing numbers of travellers, scholars, students and pilgrims from other parts of India, as well as from abroad. Yet until now there has been no comprehensive, handy reference to the region’s major historical monuments and sites and principal museum collections. Hence the present volume, which is conceived as a series of itineraries based in and around a city or town where visitors may expect to find adequate accommodation and other essential facilities. The itineraries cover more than 500 monuments and sites, far more than visitors could expect to reach in a single tour, no matter how extended. These places are all included here in the hope that visitors will consider returning to Southern India on more than one occasion so as to explore a region that is unusually richly endowed with ancient buildings, remains, and objects and artefacts spanning more than 2,000 year of history.
In preparing this volume, I have benefitted from inputs offered by friends and colleagues. They include Andrew Bauer, Henry Brownrigg, John Copland, Anna L. Dallapiccola, John M. Fritz, Sandhya Harendra, Helen Philon, Klaus Rötzer and Bob Simkin. Priya Kapoor, together with her team at Roli Books in Delhi, has offered encouragement and editorial and design skills. To all these individuals I offer my sincere thanks.
George Michell
Goa, January 2013


Southern India, Physical.


Southern India, Political.


INTRODUCTION


History
T he dense array of monuments and sites that forms the subject of this volume is a testament to the historical complexity of Southern India over more than 2,000 years. Never during this long period was the region unified into a single state.

T HE F IRST K INGDOMS
While the presence of Ashokan edicts at Brahmagiri [20L] and Maski [20M] in Karnataka indicate that this part of Southern India formed part of the Maurya empire of Northern India in the 3rd century BCE, it is not until the following century that the region emerges as a historical entity, under the Satavahanas of Paithan [5L] in southern Maharashtra. From this centre the Satavahanas spread their influence throughout the region, and even beyond, into central India, conquering a vast territory that encompassed much of the peninsula. The Satavahanas were responsible for inaugurating Buddhist architecture in Southern India: the rock-cut sanctuaries at Ajanta [5F] and Pandu Lena [4B], as well as the free-standing complexes at Amaravati [29K] and Guntupalle [30B], are among the many monuments assigned to their reign. Some sites, like Ter [9D], are rich in coins, terracottas and ivories.
Though the Satavahanas were challenged on their western flank by the Shakas of Middle Eastern origin in the 1 st century CE, they retained their independence until the end of the 2 nd century, when they were supplanted by the Ikshvakus. Though this line of rulers was not so long-lived, they managed to wrest control of much of Andhra Pradesh in the 3 rd - 4 th centuries, selecting Nagarjunakonda [27H] on the Krishna River as their capital. At about the same time, the Tamil country came under the sway of the Pallavas of Kanchipuram [37E], but only fragmentary evidence is available for the first kings of this dynasty.
The Vakatakas of central India held an important place in politics and culture in the 4 th -5 th centuries, and their influence extended into Maharashtra. Nandivardhana [10B] served as one of their capitals, and vestiges of their presence are still seen on nearby Ramtek Hill [10B]. It is, however, for their patronage of rock-cut Buddhist shrines and monasteries at Ajanta and Aurangabad [5B] that these rulers and their subordinates are best known. Harishena (460-78) is the outstanding personality of the era; the painted depiction of a king receiving gifts from a foreign delegation in Cave 1 at Ajanta is sometimes thought to be his portrait.
E ARLY H INDU D YNASTIES
The next phase of Southern Indian history is marked by the growth of simultaneous lines of kings who sponsored Hindu monuments. The Mauryas and Kalachuris, who were active in Maharashtra in the 6 th century, derived their wealth from the trade routes that led from the Arabian Sea Coast, known as the Konkan, to the Deccan plateau of the interior peninsula. Their cave-temples at Elephanta [2A] and Ellora (Caves 21 and 29) [5E] are the most elaborate of the era. These rulers were to some extent displaced by the Early Chalukyas of Badami [22A], who controlled most of Karnataka as well as parts of Andhra Pradesh. It was under these kings that structural architecture first appears in the region, as can be seen at Badami and nearby Pattadakal [22D] and Aihole [22E]. As they expanded southwards, the Early Chalukyas came into conflict with their rivals further south, the Pallavas. Pulakeshin (609-54), one of the prominent Early Chalukya kings, attained renown by defeating Harsha of Kanauj, the most powerful ruler of Northern India at the time, and executing raids on the Pallava capital of Kanchipuram. The Pallavas retaliated, and in 654 occupied Badami. Struggles between the two kingdoms continued into the 8 th century, but the career of the Early Chalukyas came to an end in 753 with the invasion of their domains by the Rashtrakutas. These rulers brought a large part of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh under their sway. An idea of their considerable resources may be had from the colossal monolithic temple known as the Kailasa (Cave 16) at Ellora, begun by Krishna I (756-73).
The Pallavas established themselves as the leading power part in the northern part of Tamil Nadu during the 7 th -9 th centuries. Their earliest monuments are rock-cut or monolithic, as at Mamallapuram [37A] and Mandagapattu [39E], but later developments at their capital, Kanchipuram, and Panamalai [39G] demonstrate a shift towards structural building techniques. The Pallavas were restrained on their southern flank by their contemporaries, the Pandyas of Madurai [44A], masters of the southern part of Tamil Nadu, who also extended their influence into neighbouring Kerala.
In the 10 th -13 th centuries, central Karnataka and southern Andhra Pradesh came under the sway of the Nolambas and Gangas, who ruled from Hemavati [33G] and Talkad [15E] respectively. The latter kings were the first patrons of Sravana Belgola [15F], the preeminent Jain site in Southern India. At this time northern Karnataka and parts of Andhra Pradesh were dominated by the Late Chalukyas of Basavakalyan [25D], so-called to distinguish them from their predecessors of the same name, to whom they were only vaguely related. The Late Chalukya temples at Ittagi [20G] and Dambal [21D] give an idea of the remarkable architectural achievements of the era. Meanwhile, the remainder of Andhra Pradesh was controlled by another line of the Badami family, known for convenience as the Eastern Chalukyas. These kings built extensively throughout the Bay of Bengal provinces, as at Bikkavolu [30E] and Samalkot [30H].
The rise of the Cholas signals a new period in the history of Southern India. These kings first established their supremacy in the Tamil zone in the 9 th -10 th century, before invading tracts of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, absorbing the Nolamba and Ganga territories, and progressing up the eastern coast as far as Orissa. Chola naval campaigns even reached Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia. Under forceful personalities like Rajaraja (985-1016) and Rajendra I (1012-44), the Chola state took on the dimensions and apparatus of a grand empire. Thanjavur [40A] served as their principal capital, supplanted for a time by Gangaikondacholapuram [40J]. Magnificent temples at both these sites testify to the impressive ambitions of the Cholas in the 11 th century, a situation that continued into