Kuntala country

The Kuntala country is an ancient Indian political region that probably included the western Deccan and some parts of central and south Karnataka (erstwhile north Mysore). Kuntala coins are available since estimated 600-450 BCE.[1] Kuntala formed one of the divisions of Southern India as late as 10th-12th centuries A.D. (other regions were: Chola, Chera, Pandya Telingana and Andhra). Each developed its own culture and administration. The Talagunda inscriptions mention Balligavi and nearby regions as parts of Kuntala. Inscriptions in Kubaturu near Anavatti mention Kubaturu as the Kuntalanagara. Kuntala is revered as one of the three great countries of Chalukya period in inscriptions.

Kuntala coinage 400-300 BCE

Scriptural references

Kannada Mahabharata mentions the visit of Krishna and Arjuna to Kuntala during Ashwamedha when Chandrahasa was the king of Kuntala who sends two of his children along with Arjuna for the further campaigns.

Copperplates issued by the Yadavas of Devagiri mention the Nāgas as its oldest known rulers.[2] Rashtrakutas, Satavahanas, Vakatakas, Chalukyas, Chutus, Vishnukundina have ruled Kuntala, as suggested by stone inscriptions and copperplates.[3] Kuntala is identified with Raṭṭapāḍi which is translated as settlements of the Raṭṭas.[4] Copperplates of Pulakeshin II speak of him as the king of three Mahārāṣṭrakas, Kuntala being one of the Maharashtrakas (other two being Vidarbha, and Konkan region of 99,000 villages.

Kalidasa mentions as Kuntala and the lord of Kuntala (as Kuntalānāmadhīśa,Kuntalādhipati,Kuntalādhīśa) in his works.[5]

Devsena, the heroine in the director S. S. Rajamouli's film Bahubali 2: The Conclusion was the princess of Kuntala Kingdom.

Citations
  1. Kuntala Coins>
  2. Moraes, George Mark (1931). The Kadamba Kula: A History of Ancient and Mediaeval Karnataka (AES reprint,illustrated ed.). Asian Educational Services. pp. 1–7. ISBN 9788120605954.
  3. Encyclopaedia of Ancient Indian Geography, Volume 2 (Edited by Subodh Kapoor ed.). Genesis Publishing Pvt Ltd. 2002. pp. 403–404. ISBN 9788177552997.
  4. Karnataka State Gazetteer: Belgaum. Director of Print, Stationery and Publications at the Government Press. 1987.
  5. Satara district (Revised edition). "Maharashtra state gazetteers" (PDF). Government of Maharashtra. Retrieved 4 October 2014.


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