Krishnaraja Krishnaraja (r. c. 550-575) is the earliest known Kalachuri ruler, and probably established the dynasty with its capital at Mahishmati. The political situation in the region around 550 CE likely favoured him: the death of
Yashodharman left a political vacuum in
Malwa, the
Vakataka rule had ended in
Maharashtra, and the
Maitraka power was declining in
Gujarat.
Coins of Krishnaraja Krishnaraja's coins have been found at several places from Rajasthan in north to
Satara district in the south, and from
Mumbai (
Salsette) in the west to
Amaravati district in the east. These coins seem to have remained in circulation for nearly 150 years after his death, as evident from the 710-711 CE (Kalachuri year 461)
Anjaneri copper plate inscription of Bhogashakti, which calls them "Krishnaraja-rupaka". Therefore, it is not certain if Krishnaraja's rule extended over this entire territory, or if these coins traveled to distant places after his death. Krishnaraja's extant coins are all of silver, round in shape, and 29
grains in weight. They imitate the design of the coins issued by the earlier dynasties including the
Western Kshatrapas, the
Traikutakas, and the
Guptas. The obverse features a bust of the king facing right, and the reverse features a figure of
Nandi, the bull
vahana of the Hindu god
Shiva. The Nandi design is based on the coins issued by the Gupta king
Skandagupta. A
Brahmi script legend describing the king as a devotee of Shiva (
Parama-maheshvara) surrounds the Nandi figure on his coins. An inscription of his son Shankaragana also describes him as a devotee of Pashupati (an aspect of Shiva) since his birth. Historical evidence suggests that he may have commissioned the Shaivite monuments at the
Elephanta Caves and the earliest of the
Brahmanical caves at
Ellora, where his coins have been discovered.
Shankaragana Krishnaraja's son Shankaragana ruled during c. 575–600 CE. He is the earliest ruler of the dynasty to be attested by inscriptions from his own reign, which were issued from Ujjain and Nirgundipadraka. He is thought to have warred against the king
Mahasenagupta who ruled Malwa after having been ridden of the rest of his empire in Magadha by the king of Kannauj. Shankaragana's 597 CE (Kalachuri Era 347) inscription, found at
Abhona and issued from his camp at Ujjayini (present-day Ujjain), is the earliest epigraphic record of the Kalachuri dynasty. It records his grant of a land in Bhoga-vardhana (present-day
Bhokardan) to a
Brahmin from Kallivana (in present-day
Nashik district). This suggests that Shankaragana invaded the Malwa kingdom of the
Later Gupta king Mahasenagupta, who likely moved to
Vidisha during this period. The Abhona inscription describes Shankaragana as the lord of a vast territory extending from the
western ocean to
eastern ocean. Another inscription, found at
Sankhera and issued by Shankaragana's military officer Shantilla from his "victorious camp" at Nirgundipadraka (in present-day central
Gujarat). This confirms that Gujarat on the western coast was part of his territory. He adopted the titles of the
Gupta emperor
Skandagupta, which suggests that he conquered western
Malwa, which was formerly under the Gupta authority. Abhona is in present-day Maharashtra, which suggests that his empire extended from
Malwa in the north to northern
Maharashtra in the south. Like his father, Shankaragana described himself as a
Parama-Maheshvara (devotee of Shiva). According to
K. P. Jayaswal, king Gana-shankara mentioned in the 8th century text
Arya-manju-shri-mula-kalpa, may be identified with the Kalachuri king Shankara-gana.
Buddharaja Buddharaja succeeded his father Shankaragana around 600 CE, and is the last known ruler of the early Kalachuri dynasty. During Buddharaja's reign, the
Chalukya king
Mangalesha attacked the Kalachuri kingdom from the south. Mangalesha's
Mahakuta and
Nerur inscriptions record his victory over the Kalachuris. The invasion did not result in a complete conquest, as evident by Buddharaja's 609-610 CE (360
KE)
Vadner and 610-611 CE (361 KE)
Sarsavani grants, described as having been issued from his "victorious" camps at
Vidisha and
Anandapura respectively. The Vadner-Vidisha inscription records the grant of a village situated in the Vata-nagara (modern Vadner) subdivision, while the Sarsavani-Anandapura inscription records the grant of a village in the present-day
Bharuch area. The inscriptions, issued around two and a half month apart, indicate that the Buddharaja controlled the territory between Anandapura in the east to Vidisha in the west, and that the king had to march from Vidisha to Anandapura during this period. This suggests that Budharaja had taken control over Malwa in 608 that had earlier been under the rule of the
Later Gupta king
Devagupta who was defeated by
Rajyavardhana of Kannauj. According to one theory, Mangalesha could not consolidate his gains against the Kalachuris because of rebellions, first by his subordinate Svamiraja and then by Pulakeshin II. Buddharaja probably lost his sovereignty during a second Chalukya invasion, by Mangalesha, or by his nephew
Pulakeshin II. According to one theory, Mangalesha was the Chalukya ruler responsible for ending the Kalachuri power as his inscriptions mention his victory over the Kalachuris, while no inscriptions credit Pulakeshin with this achievement. According to another theory, Pulakeshin's
Aihole inscription alludes to his victory over Buddharaja: the inscription states that Pulakeshin conquered
Konkana and the "three Maharashtras", which probably refers to the territories of the Kalachuris and their feudatories. The unnamed adversary referred to in this inscription may have been Buddharaja. By 630 CE, the
Nashik area - formerly part of the Kalachuri kingdom - was under Chalukya control, as Pulakeshin's inscription records his village grants in this region. This suggests that the Buddharaja's reign ended sometime before 630 CE. The Chinese traveler
Xuanzang, who visited India during c. 639–645 CE, describes a king named
Shiladitya as the ruler of the
Malwa region in central India. Based on this, some scholars have theorized that the
Maitraka king
Shiladitya I alias Dharmaditya conquered Malwa from Buddharaja. However, a large numbers of scholars dispute this theory in absence of concrete evidence. Like his father and grandfather, Buddharaja described himself as a
Parama-Maheshvara (devotee of Shiva). His queen Ananta-Mahayi belonged to the
Pashupata sect.
Descendants No concrete information is available about the successors of Buddharaja, but it is possible that the Kalachuris continued to rule at Mahishmati. A 687 CE inscription of the Chalukya king
Vinayaditya suggests that the Kalachuris had become Chalukya feudatories by this time. The Chalukya inscriptions suggest that the two dynasties may have established matrimonial relations in the later years. An inscription issued by a prince named Taralasvamin was found at Sankheda (where one of Shankaragana's grants was also found). This inscription describes Taralasvamin as a devotee of Shiva, and his father
Maharaja Nanna as a member of the "Katachchuri" family. The inscription is dated to the year 346 of an unspecified era. Assuming the era as Kalachuri era, Taralasvamin would have been a contemporary of Shankaragana. However, Taralasvamin and Nanna are not mentioned in other Kalachuri records. Also, unlike other Kalachuri inscriptions, the date in this inscription is mentioned in decimal numbers. Moreover, some expressions in the inscription appear to have been borrowed from the 7th century Sendraka inscriptions. Because of these evidences,
V. V. Mirashi considered Taralasvamin's inscription as a spurious one. V. V. Mirashi connected the
Kalachuris of Tripuri to the early Kalachuri dynasty. He theorizes that the early Kalachuris moved their capital from Mahishmati to
Kalanjara, and from there to Tripuri. == Cultural contributions ==