Review: Lords of the Deccan : Southern India from the Chalukyas to the Cholas

Lords of the Deccan : Southern India from the Chalukyas to the Cholas by Anirudh Kanisetti
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Hooter: Game of Thrones set in the Deccan Plateau

Our history; both in school and in public discourse; has long been painted in black and white, perhaps to avoid confronting its complexity. Most Indians are familiar with the mighty Gupta Empire and later the Mughals in the North. In recent years, the Cholas have finally received some attention in the national consciousness, an attempt to balance the scales. Yet even calling this the tip of the iceberg feels like an understatement.

What Anirudh Kanisetti achieves in Lords of the Deccan is akin to peeling back just a few layers of an onion that has many more to reveal. His focus on the Deccan uncovers empires so rich and powerful they built some of the most iconic wonders of medieval India- structures that still stand today, even as their creators have largely vanished from our history textbooks. Through the Chalukyas, Rashtrakutas, Pallavas, and ending with the Cholas, the book spans over 500 years of history that shaped the India we know- from the birth of Telugu and Kannada as living languages, to early forms of feudalism and self-governance, to rich religious literature and monumental architecture.

From Pulakeshin II (6th century CE) of the Chalukyas of Badami, to Amoghavarsha I (8th century CE) of the Rashtrakutas, to Rajadhiraja Chola, these rulers were the architects of much of India's cultural foundation. The book reminds us that human history is, in many ways, a never-ending soap opera; empires rise, fall, and are reborn; yet each leaves an indelible mark on the course of civilization.

Kanisetti also teases the fascinating but often overlooked naval expansion of the Cholas into Southeast Asia, a chapter of history that rarely gets the spotlight it deserves. To provide global context: as Pulakeshin II was establishing the Chalukya dynasty, Prophet Muhammad was laying the foundations of the Islamic Caliphate in the Middle East. When Amoghavarsha I was celebrated as one of the four great kings of the world, his contemporaries included Emperor Tang Wenzong of the Tang Dynasty, Caliph Al-Ma'mun of the Abbasid Caliphate, and Emperor Theophilos of the Byzantine Empire. Even the Vikings were active during the height of the Chola Empire.

This is a thoroughly researched book that not only tells the stories of great men- but also the women who helped shape Deccan's destiny. History has not forgotten Lokamahadevi of the Chalukyas, who ruled in her own right; Trailokyamalla, wife of Amoghavarsha I, who signed joint edicts and was active in religious patronage; and Akkadevi, a warrior queen and administrator in her own right. Many others, as consorts, regents, or patrons, played pivotal roles in shaping the region’s legacy.

Despite the fragmentary and sometimes scarce historical material, Anirudh paints a vivid, articulate, and ambitious tapestry of the Deccan- before it fades completely into the sands of time. His work is a bold effort to give this complex, layered history the voice it has long deserved.

View all my reviews