Kakusthavarma

Kakusthavarma (r. c. 425 – 450 CE[1]) or Kakusthavarman was a ruler of the Kadamba dynasty in South India. He succeeded his brother Raghu as king. Under Kakusthavarma's rule the Kadamba kingdom attained the height of its power and influence, and the Kadambas enjoyed close diplomatic relations with the great royal houses of India.[2] The Talagunda and Halmidi inscriptions praise Kakusthavarma as a formidable Kadamba warrior.[3]

Kakusthavarma
Dharmamahārājadhirāja
Reignc. 425 – 450 CE
PredecessorRaghu
Successor
  • Santivarma (at Banavasi)
  • Krishnavarma (at Triparvatha)
HouseKadamba
FatherBhageerath
Kadamba dynasty

Early life

Kakusthavarma was born to King Bhageerath, the third ruler of the Kadamba dynasty. Upon his father's death, Kakusthavarma's elder brother Raghu assumed the throne of the Kadamba kingdom, with Kakusthavarma as Yuvaraja or Crown Prince. Kakusthavarma held court as the heir apparent, perhaps at Palashika (present-day Halasi) from where he is known to have issued land grants.[4] In due course, he succeeded his brother on the Kadamba throne.

Reign

Kakusthavarma's reign is notable for the marriage alliances that he contracted with other powerful dynasties. Most importantly, Kakusthavarma married one of his daughters into the imperial Gupta family.[5] It is also likely that Kakusthavarma married another one of his daughters to the Vakataka prince Narendrasena, as the Vakataka records describe Narendrasena's wife Ajjhitabhattarika as a princess of the Kuntala country which probably corresponds to the Kadamba kingdom.[6][7][8]

Kakusthavarma appears to have been a great builder and avid patron of secular architecture as well as of religious causes. He is described as possessing numerous palaces adorned with gopuras.[4] Kakusthavarma's son and successor, Santivarma, records in his Talagunda pillar inscription that his father had constructed a great water tank near a Shiva temple at which Satakarni and other kings of the past had worshipped.[9] Kakusthavarma himself appears to have had Jain religious tendencies, as in his grant at Halasi he begins with an invocation to Jinendra, the lord of the Jinas, and likely patronized a Jain temple at this place.[10]

Successors

Upon Kakusthavarma's death, the Kadamba kingdom appears to have been divided between his progeny. One of Kakusthavarma's sons, Santivarma, succeeded his father at Banavasi and ruled over the northern part of the Kadamba realm. Another one of Kakusthavarma's sons, Krishnavarma, seems to have founded a cadet branch of the Kadamba dynasty at Triparvatha, in the southern part of the Kadamba realm.[11]

References
  1. Karashima, Noboru, ed. (2014). A Concise History of South India. New Delhi, India: Oxford University Press. p. 369. ISBN 9780198099772.
  2. Moraes, George (1931). The Kadamba Kula. Bombay: B.X. Furtado & Sons. pp. 25–26.
  3. "Bouncing off to Banavasi". Deccan Herald. Archived from the original on 13 February 2007. Retrieved 13 April 2007.
  4. K.A. Nilakanta Sastri (2007). Majumdar, R.C.; Altekar, A.S. (eds.). The Vakataka-Gupta Age. Motilal Banarsi Dass. p. 220. ISBN 9788120800434.
  5. Sastri, K.A. Nilakanta (1961). A History of South India from Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar (Third ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 111.
  6. D.C. Sircar (1997). Majumdar, R.C. (ed.). The Classical Age (Fifth ed.). Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. p. 184.
  7. Sastri (1961), p. 109
  8. A.S. Altekar (2007). Majumdar, R.C.; Altekar, A.S. (eds.). The Vakataka-Gupta Age. Motilal Banarsi Dass. p. 106. ISBN 9788120800434.
  9. Kielhorn, F. (1905–1906). "Talagunda pillar inscription of Kakusthavarman". Epigraphia Indica. VIII: 28.
  10. Singh, Upinder (2016). A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India From the Stone Age to the 12th Century. Pearson India Education Services. p. 526. ISBN 9788131716779.
  11. Sastri (1997), pp. 272–273
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