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{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2019}}
{{Short description|Chalukya Emperor from 643 to 645}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name = Adityavarma
| title = [[Prithvi-vallabha (title)|Shri-prithvi-vallabha]], [[Maharajadhiraja]], Parameshvara
| succession = [[Chalukya king]]
| reign = {{circa|643|645}}
| predecessor = [[Pulakeshin II]]
| successor = possibly [[Abhinavaditya]]
| house = [[Chalukyas of Vatapi]]
| house-type = Dynasty
| father = Pulakeshin II
| issue = Abhinavaditya
}}
{{Chalukyas|Vatapi}}
'''Adityavarma''' (r. c. 643–645 CE) was a king of the [[Chalukya dynasty]] of [[Vatapi]] in southern India. He was a son of [[Pulakeshin II]], who was defeated and probably killed when the [[Pallava dynasty|Pallavas]] invaded and captured the Chalukya capital Vatapi. The immediate history of the dynasty after Pulakeshin's death is not clear, but inscriptions of Adityavarma and his son suggest that Adityavarma ruled a weakened Chalukya kingdom for a short period, before his younger brother [[Vikramaditya I]] defeated the Pallavas and restored the Chalukya power.

== Background ==

Adityavarman was one of the sons of the Chalukya emperor [[Pulakeshin II]].{{sfn|Durga Prasad Dikshit|1980|p=114}} In 642–643 CE, the [[Pallava dynasty|Pallavas]], who were the southern neighbours of the Chalukyas, [[Battle of Vatapi|invaded and captured]] the Chalukya capital Vatapi. Pulakeshin was probably killed in this conflict.{{sfn|Durga Prasad Dikshit|1980|p=99}}

The history of the Chalukya dynasty over the next decade, when Pulakeshin's other son [[Vikramaditya I]] ascended the throne in c. 655, is not clear. It cannot be said with certainty if the Chalukya empire was divided among the various sons of Pulakeshin, or if his successor(s) ruled from other headquarter(s) while the Pallavas occupied Vatapi.{{sfn|Durga Prasad Dikshit|1980|p=113}} Despite this uncertainty, Adityavarman's existence and his rule as the Chalukya king is attested by his [[Kurnool]] (Karnul) grant inscription, his son's Nelakunda grant inscription, [[Someshvara III]]'s ''Vikramankabhyudaya'', and Sarvajnatma's ''Samkshepa-Shariraka''.{{sfn|Durga Prasad Dikshit|1980|p=114}}

The Kurnool inscription does not mention Adityavarman's order of birth among Pulakeshin's sons, and does not mention Vikramaditya.{{sfn|T. V. Mahalingam|1977|p=74}}

The 1009 CE Kantheru grant inscription of the later [[Chalukyas of Kalyani]], who claimed descent from the Chalukyas of Badami, names Adityavarman as a son of Nedamari and a grandson of Pulakeshin II. However, this late account contains several inaccuracies, and cannot be considered as reliable.{{sfn|T. V. Mahalingam|1977|p=74}}

== Reign ==

''Vikramankabhyudaya'' of the 12th century king [[Someshvara III]], whose dynasty claimed descent from the Chalukyas of Vatapi, states that Adityavarman succeeded his father Pulakeshin.{{sfn|Durga Prasad Dikshit|1980|p=114}}

According to the Kurnool and Nelakunda inscriptions, Adityavarman bore the regnal titles ''[[Prithvi-vallabha (title)|Shri-prithvi-vallabha]]'', ''[[Maharajadhiraja]]'', and ''Parameshvara'' ("Supreme Lord").{{sfn|Durga Prasad Dikshit|1980|p=114}}

The Kurnool inscription boasts that he possessed the "supreme rule over the whole circuit of earth which had been overcome by the strength of his arm and prowess".{{sfn|T. V. Mahalingam|1977|p=74}}

The Kurnool grant inscription is dated to Adityavarman's first regnal year: historian D. P. Dikshit assumes that he may have ruled during c. 643–645 CE, spending most of his time trying to regain the former Chalukya territory from the Pallavas and other enemies.{{sfn|Durga Prasad Dikshit|1980|pp=115-116}} Historian [[D. C. Sircar]] theorized that Vikramaditya I and Adityavarman ruled different parts of the Pulakeshin's former empire simultaneously.{{sfn|Durga Prasad Dikshit|1980|p=115}}

== Identification as Vikramditya I ==

Historian [[T. V. Mahalingam]] theorized that Adityavarman was simply a former name of Vikramaditya I. His theory is based on the following arguments:{{sfn|T. V. Mahalingam|1977|pp=75-76}}

* Adityavarman's Kurnool inscription and Vikramaditya's Gadval inscription feature similar phraseology.{{sfn|T. V. Mahalingam|1977|p=75}}
* Adityavarman's Kurnool inscription states that he made the grant for "the merit of his mother and father and himself". Such a statement is found in Vikramaditya's Kurnool inscriptions as well, but is uncommon in the inscriptions of other Chalukya kings. The Navsari inscription of Vikramaditya's younger brother [[Chalukyas of Navasarika#Dharashraya Jayasimhavarman|Jayasimha]] also mentions that Vikramaditya "meditated on the feet of his mother and father": such an expression is not found in other Chalukya records.{{sfn|T. V. Mahalingam|1977|p=75}}
* The Chalukya inscriptions issued after the restoration of the Chalukya power mention that Vikramaditya acquired the title ''Parameshvara'' ("Supreme Lord") by subjugating the hostile kings.{{sfn|T. V. Mahalingam|1977|p=75}} Adityavarman also bore the title ''Parameshvara''.{{sfn|T. V. Mahalingam|1977|p=76}}

Historian D. P. Dikshit disputes this identification based on the following arguments:{{sfn|Durga Prasad Dikshit|1980|pp=114-115}}

* The similarity between the inscriptions of the succeeding kings can be explained by the fact that such records were drafted by state officials on the lines of the previous records.{{sfn|Durga Prasad Dikshit|1980|p=114}}
* The grant inscriptions only furnish a genealogy of the king, not a chronology of succession. This explains why Adityavarman's records do not mention Vikramaditya, and vice versa.{{sfn|Durga Prasad Dikshit|1980|p=115}}
* The records of the later Chalukyas of Kalyani, although unreliable, mention Adityavarman. Had Adityavarman not been a distinct, sovereign king, he would have been forgotten by the time of the later Chalukyas.{{sfn|Durga Prasad Dikshit|1980|pp=115-116}}
* The Nelakunda inscription of Adityavarman's son [[Abhinavaditya]] suggests that both men were sovereign rulers, and that Abhinavadiya succeeded Adityavarman.{{sfn|Durga Prasad Dikshit|1980|p=116}}

== Successor ==

The Nelakunda inscription of Adityavarman's son [[Abhinavaditya]] gives both men the imperial title ''Parameshvara'', which suggests that Abhinavaditya succeeded his father as the Chalukya sovereign.{{sfn|Durga Prasad Dikshit|1980|p=116}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

=== Bibliography ===

{{ref begin}}
* {{cite book |author=Durga Prasad Dikshit |title=Political History of the Chālukyas of Badami |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lEB11tKmCgcC&pg=PA152 |year=1980 |publisher=Abhinav |oclc=8313041 }}
* {{cite book |author=T. V. Mahalingam |chapter=Aditya and Vikramaditya |title=Readings in South Indian History |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qJeFswEACAAJ |year=1977 |publisher=Indian Society for Prehistoric and Quaternary Studies / B.R. }}
{{ref end}}

[[Category:Early Chalukyas]]
[[Category:Chalukya kings]]

Adityavarman (Chalukya dynasty) - Revision history

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