Kadamba Dynasty (345–540 CE)

The Kadamba dynasty was an ancient Indian dynasty that ruled over parts of South India, particularly the present-day Karnataka region, from the 4th to the 6th centuries CE. This article traces the origins, political history, administration, economy, religion, and architecture of the Kadambas of Banavasi, an important regional power of early South Indian history for UPSC History Optional aspirants.

Overview and Rise to Power

History Optional Notes {PDF}

Complete Notes Package (Paper I & II) | 4500+ Pages | Instant Download

Discounted Price | Buy Now @ ₹1,180 →

• The decline of Satavahana power in the Deccan was followed by the rule of several lesser dynasties — the Chutus, Abhiras, and Ikshvakus — during the 3rd century CE.
  • The Karnataka region, however, emerged from this political confusion in the following century, when the Kadambas of Banavasi rose to prominence.
• The Kadambas (345–540 CE) ruled northern Karnataka and the Konkan from Vaijayanti, or Banavasi, in present-day Uttara Kannada district.
  • The kingdom was founded by Mayurasharma around 345 CE; his ancestors are said to have migrated from the foothills of the Himalayas.
  • The Talagunda inscription also establishes Mayurasharma as the kingdom’s founder.
• The Kadamba dynasty was the first indigenous dynasty to use Kannada at an administrative level.
  • The Kadambas were contemporaries of the Western Ganga dynasty, and together they formed the earliest native kingdoms to rule the region with autonomy.

Origin of the Kadambas

• There are two theories regarding the origin of the Kadamba dynasty: a Kannadiga origin and a North Indian origin.
  • The North Indian origin theory is found only in the later records of an offshoot descendant dynasty and is considered legendary.
  • The family name is commonly said to derive from the Kadamba tree, well known in the South Indian region associated with this dynasty.
• Historians, drawing on the Talagunda inscription, claim the family belonged to the Brahmin caste, though others suggest a tribal origin, referring to them as Kadambu.
  • It is also claimed that the Kadambas were of Kanarese (Kannada) descent.
  • The Naga descent of the Kadambas is stated in early inscriptions of King Krishna Varma I, which also confirm the family’s Karnataka origins.
• The Kadambas showed the potential to develop into imperial proportions, as indicated by the titles and epithets assumed by their rulers and their matrimonial relations with other kingdoms and empires, such as the Vakatakas and Guptas of northern India — relations that point to the sovereign nature of this kingdom.
  • Mayurasharma defeated the armies of the Pallavas of Kanchi, possibly with the help of native tribes, and claimed sovereignty.

Rulers of the Kadamba Dynasty

Kangavarma

• Kangavarma, successor of Mayurasharma, was defeated by the Vakataka king Prithvisena, but managed to maintain his freedom.
  • His son Raghu died fighting the Pallavas and was succeeded by his brother Kakusthavarma, who became the most powerful ruler of the kingdom.

Kakusthavarma

• Kadamba power reached its peak during the rule of Kakusthavarma.
  • He maintained marital relations even with the imperial Guptas of the north, according to the Talagunda inscription — one of his daughters married Kumaragupta’s son Skandagupta, while another married the Vakataka king Narendrasena.
  • The great poet Kalidasa is said to have visited his court.

Ravivarma

• After Kakusthavarma, only Ravivarma, who ascended the throne in 485 CE, was able to further build up the kingdom.
  • His rule was marked by a series of clashes within the family, as well as against the Pallavas and the Gangas.
  • He is also credited with a victory against the Vakatakas, which extended his kingdom as far north as the river Narmada.
• At its height, the kingdom comprised most of Karnataka, Goa, and the southern areas of present-day Maharashtra.
  • After Ravivarma’s death, the kingdom went into decline due to family feuds.
• From the mid-6th century, the dynasty continued to rule as a vassal of the larger Kannada empires — the Chalukyas and the Rashtrakutas — for over five hundred years, during which time it branched into minor dynasties such as the Kadambas of Goa, the Kadambas of Halasi, the Kadambas of Chandavar, and the Kadambas of Hangal.

Administration

• The title dharma-maharaja was adopted by the Vakataka, Pallava, Kadamba, and Western Ganga kings alike.
• Historian Dr. Moraes has identified various cabinet and other administrative positions from inscriptions, including:
  • the Prime Minister (Pradhana);
  • the Steward (Manevergade);
  • the Secretary of Council (Tantrapala or Sabhakarya Sachiva);
  • scholarly elders (Vidyavriddhas);
  • the physician (Deshamatya);
  • the private secretary (Rahasyadhikritha);
  • the chief secretary (Sarvakaryakarta);
  • the chief justice (Dharmadhyaksha); and
  • other officials (Bhojaka and Ayukta).

Army

• The Kadamba army consisted of officers such as the Jagadala, Dandanayaka, and Senapathi.

Territorial Divisions

• The kingdom was divided into Mandalas (provinces), or Desha.
  • Under a Mandala were Vishayas (districts) — a total of nine Vishayas have been identified.
  • Under a Vishaya were Mahagramas (taluks) and Dashagramas (hoblis), with a Mahagrama containing more villages than a Dashagrama.

Economy

• Inscriptions and literature are the major sources of knowledge on the Kadamba economy and the factors shaping it.
  • Mixed farming — a combination of grazing and agriculture, dominated by the affluent Gavunda peasantry (today’s Gowdas) — appears to have been the norm, since both the amount of grain produced and the number of cattle defined prosperity.
  • Several accounts record the granting of both grazing and cultivable land, in units of kolagas or khandugas, to people who battled livestock thieves, or to their relatives.
• The state levied a tax of one-sixth of land output, along with several other levies:
  • Perjunka (load tax);
  • Vaddaravula (a royal family social security tax);
  • Bilkoda (sales tax);
  • Kirukula (land tax);
  • Pannaya (betel tax); and
  • other professional charges levied on traders.

Coins

• The Talagunda, Gundanur, Chandravalli, Halasi, and Halmidi inscriptions — in Sanskrit and Kannada — are among the important inscriptions that throw light on the Kadamba dynasty.
• The Kadambas minted a large number of coins bearing Nagari, Kannada, and Grantha legends, the majority being gold coins, with some in copper.
  • Most coins were produced using the punching method, with the main design punched at the centre — often so deeply that the coin takes on the shape of a concave saucer or cup.
• Kadamba coins are generally known as padmatankas (“lotus coins”), as the central symbol on the obverse of most of them is the lotus; the obverse of some coins instead features a lion.

Language and Inscriptions

• Prakrit held the status of official language under the early Kadamba rulers, but by the time of Kakusthavarma, Sanskrit came to be increasingly adopted.
  • Kannada, too, was assuming greater importance by the 5th century CE, as evidenced by the Halmidi inscription.

Talagunda Inscription

• The Talagunda inscription narrates in detail how Mayurasharma proceeded to Kanchi, along with his guru Virasarma, to receive Vedic education, but was unceremoniously driven out by the Pallavas.
  • Smarting under this insult, the Kadamba chief set up camp in a forest and defeated the Pallavas, possibly with the help of forest tribes; the Pallavas eventually avenged their defeat but recognised Kadamba authority by formally investing Mayurasharma with royal insignia.
  • The inscription also states that Mayurasharma was a native of Talagunda (in present-day Shimoga district), and that his family took its name from the Kadamba tree that grew near his home.
• The Halmidi inscription of 450 CE provides evidence that the Kadambas were the first rulers to use Kannada as an additional official administrative language.
  • Three Kannada inscriptions from their early rule at Banavasi have been discovered, along with several early Kadamba coins bearing the Kannada inscriptions Vira and Skandha.
  • A gold coin of King Bhagiratha (390–415 CE) bears the old Kannada legend Sri and Bhagi.
  • The recent discovery of a 5th-century Kadamba copper coin at Banavasi, inscribed in Kannada script with “Srimanaragi,” further proves the use of Kannada at the administrative level.
• The recently discovered Gudnapur inscription states that Mayurasharma’s grandfather and preceptor was Virasarma.

Religion and Society

• The Kadamba dynasty were followers of Vedic Hinduism.
  • The founder, Mayurasharma, was a Brahmin by birth, though his successors later changed their surname to Varma to indicate their Kshatriya status.
• Mayurasharma is said to have performed eighteen ashvamedhas and granted numerous villages to Brahmanas; Kadamba king Krishna Varma is also recorded as having performed an Ashvamedha.
  • Ashvamedha sacrifices legitimised the rulers’ position, enhanced their prestige, and enormously increased the income of the priestly class.
  • The Brahmanas thus emerged as an important class at the expense of the peasantry, from whom they collected dues directly, besides receiving as gifts a substantial share of the taxes collected by the king from his subjects.
• A 6th-century inscription of the Kadambas who ruled over the Goa area granted a Brahmana donee the right to engage labourers to clear forested land for cultivation; it also mentions the reclamation of a tract of coastal land and its conversion into rice fields by damming up seawater.
  • A Kadamba queen named Divabbarasi is known to have ruled until her minor son attained majority, and she too made land grants.
• The Talagunda inscription opens with an invocation of Lord Shiva, while the Halmidi and Banavasi inscriptions open with an invocation of Lord Vishnu.
  • The Madhukesvara temple, built by the Kadambas, is considered their family deity.
  • Records such as the Kudalur and Sirsi inscriptions speak of grants made by the Kadambas to scholarly Brahmins, as well as to Buddhist viharas.
• The Kadambas also patronised Jainism, with their inscriptions referring to various Jaina sects such as the Nirgranthas, Shvetapatas, Yapaniyas, and Kurchakas.
  • Several later Kadamba kings adopted Jainism and built numerous Jain Basadis (temples), scattered across Banavasi, Belgaum, Mangalore, and Goa.
  • The Halsi grant of King Kakutsthavarman begins with an invocation to Jinendra (“lord of the jinas“), suggesting the presence of a Jaina temple at the site.
  • Several grants in favour of Jaina establishments were also made by King Mrigeshavarman.
    • The Banavasi inscription of this king records a grant of land in favour of a Jaina shrine, to fund the sweeping of the temple, anointing the image with ghee, worship and repairs, and decorating the image with flowers.
    • Another Banavasi grant of this king records a grant in favour of three beneficiaries: a temple of Jinendra at Paramapushkala, the sangha of the Shvetapata-mahashramanas, and the Nirgrantha-mahashramanas — the Jinendra temple seeming to have been the joint property of the Digambaras and Shvetambaras.
  • An inscription from Ravivarma’s reign mentions that part of a grant was meant to meet the expenses of an eight-day festival of the lord Jina at Palashika, in which the king himself participated.
  • The Kadambas made grants to the Jainas as well, though they favoured the Brahmanas more.
• Kadamba kings and queens supported literature, the arts, and liberal grants to temples and educational institutions; the poet Adikavi Pampa spoke highly of this kingdom in his writings.
  • Kings of the Kadamba dynasty were also devotees of Kartikeya.

Architecture

• The Kadamba style can be distinctly identified, though it shares certain features with the Chalukyan and Pallava styles, as well as some architectural traditions of the Satavahanas.
• The most prominent feature of Kadamba architecture is their shikhara, known as the Kadamba Shikhara.
  • The shikhara is pyramid-shaped, rising in steps without decoration, topped by a stupika or kalasha.
  • This style of shikhara was used several centuries later in the Doddagaddavalli Hoysala temple and the Mahakuta temples at Hampi.
• Kadamba temples used perforated screen windows, a feature notable in both architecture and sculpture, which the Kadambas contributed to the foundation of the later Chalukya-Hoysala style.
• The Madhukeshwara temple (dedicated to Shiva) at Banavasi was built by the Kadambas in the 10th century, and features a stone cot with remarkable carvings.
  • The Doddagaddavalli Hoysala temple, the Mahakuta temples at Hampi, and the Madhukeshwara temple at Banavasi remain noteworthy examples of this architectural legacy.

Decline of the Kadamba Dynasty

• According to the Sangolli inscription, Ravivarma was succeeded by his peaceful son Harivarma after his death in 519 CE.
• According to the Bannahalli plates, Harivarma was murdered around 530 CE, when a resurgent Krishnavarma II (son of Simhavarma) of the Triparvata branch attacked Banavasi, unifying the two branches of the kingdom.
• The Chalukyas, who were vassals of the Kadambas ruling from Badami, seized the whole kingdom in 540 CE; the Kadambas subsequently became vassals of the Badami Chalukyas.
  • The dynasty later split into various subsidiary branches, ruling from Goa, Halasi, Hangal, Vainad, Belur, Bankapura, Bandalike, Chandavar, and Jayantipura.

Conclusion

The Kadambas of Banavasi stand out as one of the earliest indigenous ruling powers of the Deccan to combine political sovereignty with genuine cultural autonomy — most notably as pioneers in adopting Kannada as an administrative language. Through their matrimonial ties with the Guptas and Vakatakas, their patronage of Vedic, Buddhist, and Jaina institutions, and their distinctive contributions to temple architecture, the Kadambas laid important foundations for the later Chalukya and Hoysala traditions of Karnataka, making them a significant regional dynasty for UPSC History Optional preparation.