Alupas

The Alupas kings ( _kn. ಆಲೂಪರು)(450 - 1400 C.E.) were a minor dynasty who ruled parts of coastal Karnataka. They ruled independently the Alvakheda region in the beginning (200 B.C.E to 450C.E). Later with the dominance of Kadambas in Banavasi, they became feudatory to them. With the changing political scenario, soon they became the feudatories to Chalukyas, Hoysalas and Vijayanagara Rayas. Their influence over coastal Karnataka lasted for about 1000 years.

Origin

The origin of Alupas prior to the Kadambas is unclear as there are no epigraphical evidences. The rule of other Chutu dynasty was restricted only to Banavasi (whole of Uttara Kannada), and the rule of Sadakanas were confined to Chandravalli region (around 30Km radius). The region of North Karnataka was more under so-called Elephant, Lion, Horse and Bull Maharatis. Again, later Satavahana branch and Later Kuras moved southward to eastablish only in Banavasi. The region of Dakshina Kannada (modern Udupi and Mangalore district) was free from any such an external influence and appears to have been under the strict control of Alupa kings in the ancient times.

In south India Kerala, Karnataka and Tamilnadu), only three of the local dynasties are known to the history, namely the Sangam-age Cholas, Cheras and the Pandyas. Alupas is the fourth such an unrecorded group that migrated to the coastal region of Mangalore as early as 300 B.C.E and took control of the coastal land stretching from Southern Kasaragod till modern Udupi with Mangalore as the epicenter. The Asoka edict mentions about Satiyaputra, and it is assumed that Alupas are the one who are referred as Satiyaputra. The region of South Canara (Dakshnina Kannada) prior to this dynastic rule is still tagged to the same ruling house though the ruling was more informal and in the evolving stage.

The rule of Uttara Kannada, the Banavasi was under the ruling house of Chutus followed by the Satavahana branch which governed for Siri, Siva, Pulumavi and Yajna Satakarnis, prior to the Kadambas. With the Kadambas rule from Banavasi, Karnataka saw developments in the field of art and culture. Land of Karnataka saw more and more epigraphs that recorded the activities of the past, mostly erected in the temple premises. The first clear mention of Alupas comes from the Halmidi inscription of 450 C.E. where their possible early ruler Pashupathi of Alapa (Alupa) gana is mentioned. Pashupathi was the contemporary of the Kadambas. Hence for historical record, we can safely assume that the dynastic formation of Alupas took place around 5th century C.E. Their royal emblem was the double fish and they claimed to belong to the "Pandyavamsha" and "Soma Kula" (lunar).Kamath (2001), p94] Their coins carried the dynastic title "Sri Pandya Dhananjaya" which means "Arjuna among the Pandyas".

Land

Although Alupas controlled part of Uttara Kannada and Shimoga of Karnataka and northern part of Kerala during the zenith, the core region consisted of the modern Tulunadu which comprises Mangalore and Udupi district (earlier it used to be a single district Dakshina Kannada, also knows as South Canara. In the ancient times, the region was referred as "Alvakheda" and during the later part of the reign, the region was referred as "Tulunadu". The term Tulunadu is still practised today while referring to the region.

1. Alvakheda
The term Alvakheda could be seen in several of ancient inscriptions of the Alupas. The region of Alvakheda encompassed the modern Tulunadu and part of Uttara Kannada up to Ankola on the coastal north and Banavasi on the interior west of Uttara Kannada District. Also, the region of Humcha in the Shimoga district, and the land of Kasaragod in Kerala up to the Payasvini river was the boundary in the south. The term Alvakheda is not seen in the inscriptions during the Vijayanagara period, when the region of Barakuru and Mangalore were two separate provinces under the administration of Governors who started controlling the territory without interfering in the autonomy of the Alupas.

2. Tulunadu
The region stretches from Baindoor in the north all the way to Mangalore in the south. On the west is the Arabian sea and on the east is the Western Ghat that fences the land like a fort that formed a heaven for the ruler. More than it, number of rivers that criss crossed near Mangalore, Udyavara and Barkur made this land fertile. The western ghats, the thick forests and the towns along the shoreline of Arabian sea established several sea ports for trade with the Romans and Arabs. Trade routes from with the Romans were well established as early as the 2nd century C.E and with the Arabs around 7th century C.E. The Netravati in Mangalore and Seethanadi in Barakur are the main rivers that run in the captal citiies of Alupas. Other rivers such as Suvarnanadi, Shambhavi in Karkala and Mulki, Gurupura river, Pavanje, Nandini and numerous streams all running from east to west. The region of Puttur, Sullia, Belthangady and Puttur, Karkala are the Malnad region and supported as an agricultural backbones of the kingdom and the region of Mangalore, Udupi and Kundapur are the coastal regions that supported more of marine activties though agriculture is the other occupation.

Political History

The history of clan emerges from obscurity during the rise of Badami Chalukya in the Aihole and Mahakuta inscriptions which claims the Alupas had accepted Chalukya overlordship and become their feudatory. They ruled initially from Mangalore and other times from Udyavara in Udupi and later Barkur. Their first regular full length inscription is the "Vaddarase" inscription in Kannada is dated to early 7th century. They maintained marital relations with their overlords over the centuries.Kamath (2001), p97]

Alupas rule confined to the modern districts of Udupi, Mangalore and parts of Shimoga and Uttara Kannada districts in the state of Karanataka and part of northern Kerala (Kasaragod district) up to Payashvini river. In the history of India, no other single dynasty has ever ruled for over thousands years. The record that breaks this exception goes to the Alupas who ruled their territory for nearly thousand years. Alupas though originated as a ruler to the coastal region of Karnataka around beginning of the christian era, it is only around 5th century they made their debut as a dynasty as witnessed in the epigraph of Halmidi. The last ruler's name that we see in the epigraph of Venupura (Moodubidre), belong to the 14th century AD. There are over two hundred stone epigraphs left behind this dynasty and only about one hundred and twenty epigraphs have been read and deciphered so far. The finest record of the early Kannada script is seen in the 7th century AD Copper plate of Belmannu. There is yet another copper plate set of 5 individual plates have surfaced in the beginning of 2007, but no information is known about the ruler, provenance within the district of Udupi or its content.

Alupas put coins into circulation in 8th century AD and continued the tradition till 14th century AD. Their coins carried the dynastic emblem of "Two fishes over a spread Lotus flower, below a royal umbrella". Nearly 180 unique coins have been known so far, of which around 175 coins are published in the book written by Prabhu and Pai. The detailed history, with a proper reference pointers are also seen in the same book.

All their inscriptions are in Kannada and Sanskrit. The earliest known copper plate inscription in Kannada language is attributed to Aluvarasa II , called the Belamannu plates and is dated early 8th century, according to Dr. Gururaj Bhat.. This full-length Kannada copper plates in Old Kannada script (early eighth century CE) belongs to the Alupa King Aluvarasa II from Belmannu, Karkala Taluk, Udupi District, and displays the double crested fish, the royal emblem of Alupa kings. The records also refers king with the title Alupendra.

The first known epigraph that talks about the possession of Banavasi Mandala (Banavasi kingdom of Uttara Kannada District) by the Alupas, belongs to the reign of Western Chalukya king Vinayaditya.Journal of the Institute of Indian Studies, 1978 May Vol#1] . Te epigraph comes from Jambani of Sagar Taluk, discovered by Dr Gururaj Bhat, mentions about Chitravahana Alupendra in possession of Kadamba mandala. This is in fact the first stone epigraph that points the ruler as a subordinate to WEstern Chalukya King (8th Century C.E).

Some of the Alupa inscriptions are available in the following URL:http://www.whatisindia.com/inscriptions/south_indian_inscriptions/volume_9/alupas.html

Chronology

People

There were these four distinct community played major role in the land of Alvakheda, during the Alupa rule. It does not mean that there were no other communities worth mentioning, but these four communities have distinct features and attributes when it comes to Alvakheda.

1. MOGAVEERAS

These are the Tulu speaking fishermen scattered all around the coastal land of Dakshina Kannada. The religious headquarters of these people are in Bennekudru near Sitanadi (Barakuru). They practised patriarchal law of inheritance, and worshipped Bhutas. Nema and Kolas are constantly celebrated in Dakshina Kannada and the origin of Bobbarya Stahana (temple) is attributed to Mogaveeras.

2. BILLAVAS

These are the native pople who were hunters during early civilization. Billava stands for Bow Man. The land is full of coconut planataion and the cultivation is basically the gift of these people. Pujari (priests) of Bhutas (spirits) are from this community, who gets possessed by the Bhutas during the worship and aradhana (Nema and Kola).Thanks for anti Billava dose.

3. NADAVAS

These are the people of Nadu (town). The term basically indicates that these the stake holders of the land of Alvakheda or Tulunadu. Having a good physique, they were the soldiers of the ancient kingdom. One of the community namely Aluva (surname) perhaps belong to the royal family of Alupa. The community is commonly called as Bantas in Kannada or Bunts in English (soldiers).

4. BRAHMINS

Brahmins form one of the major four communities that lived in Alvakheda. Brahmins were said to have been encouraged to settle in Alvakheda from Talagunda and Kuppatturu, both are in Shimoga district. Talagunda agrahara was in existence as early as 3rd century C.E. Mayuravarma may have influenced Ahicchatra Brahmins to migrate to Talagunda and Kuppatturu. Later when Alupas became the feudatory of Chalukyas and the overlord of Banavasi Mandala, the Brahmins from Banavasi Mandala were given various Agraharas in Alvakheda. They formed another holy place Shivalli in Dakshina Kannada which gave birth to various temples in this land. Sivalli was considered a holyplace next to distant Varanasi. Tradition tells us that there were at least 360 Brahmin families spread all over Tulunadu taking care of 360 temples.
These Brahmins are referred by the place or Agraharas they belonged to.

The other communities of the region are narrated below

5. JAINAS

6. KONKANIS

7. ...

Art and architecture

The Alupas built some fine temples in their area of rule. The Panchalingeshwara temple at Barkur, Brahmalingeshwara temple at Brahamavar, Koteshwara temple at Kotinatha and the Sadashiva temple at Suratkal are attributed to them. It is widely believed that they used sculptural styles from their various overlords over the centuries. The latest research reveals that the Elephant-Back architecture is the gift of Alupas to the world of architecture. Sri Panchalingeshwara temple in Vittla, Sri Anantheshwara Temple in Udupi, Sri Anantheshwara Temple in Madhur of Kasaragod, Kota Mahatobhara temple, Haradi temple are the few classic examples of this architectural style. Other than these temples, only Durga temple built by the Chalukyas (contemporary) is seen in Aihole which follows similar architecural style. Further study is needed to understand this unique style of Architecture of Alupas. The local legend (Sthala Purana) says that there are five Siva temples of South Canara that follows this style of architecture were basically built by the Pandavas.

1. Sri Rajarajeshwari Temple, Polali

In modern Mangalore District, Polali is one of the oldest temple that has the earliest inscription of the Alupa dynasty, written in 8th century Kannada. The temple is dedicated to Sri Rajarashewari, and Alupa kings enriched this temple during throughout their rule. For more details on Rajarajeswari temple, Please visit the URL:http://www.ourkarnataka.com/temples/polalitemple.htm

2. Sri Manjunatheshwara Temple, Kadri

In modern Mangalore district, Kadri has the other important and old temple that belonged to the era of Alupas. The temple has several finest bronze statues installed by the King Kundavarma, which bears inscriptions of him dated 968 C.E. In the inscription of Lokeshwara statue, king Kundavarma is compared to Arjuna in bravery. For more details on the temple and its history, you may visit the URL:http://www.ourkarnataka.com/states/mangalore/kadrimanjunatheshwara.htm

3. Sri Mahishamardini Temple, Neelavara
In times, Alupas changed their capital from Mangalore to Udyavara, Udyavara to Mangalore and then again to Barkur depending on the political situation and demand. To be in centre to their ruling place, they even shifted their capital to Barakur from where they could look after the vast territory which spread up to Ankola in the North Kanara (Uttara Kannada District). During this period, they patronaged several temples in the surrounding areas of Barakuru (which was their captiral). Neelavara Kshetra is one such a holy place where Mahishasuramardini temple has several Alupa inscriptions of later period. For details, please you may visit the following URL:http://www.shreekshethraneelavara.net

4. Sri Panchalingeshwara Temple, Vittla
This temple is one of the oldest temple of Alupa territory, built during 7th century AD. The architecture of the temple is inline with that of Sri Ananteshwara temple which is the oldest temple built by the Alupas. The architecture is unique and is an innovation of 7th century. The Brahmins of Sivahalli of Uttara Kannada were attracted during 7th century C.E. by the Alupas and were given Agraharas for imparting Vedic knowledge to the people of Alvakheda. The Alupas built many temples and allowed these Brahmins to take care of it. The legend says that there were hundreds of temples that every day there is a festival in one or other temple of the region. The temple of Vittla Panchalingeshwara is one of the oldest structures which was renovated by the later local dynasties such as Heggades. The latest renovation is being held now, which in fact is a pity to the world of history, which would not want see antiquity to be destroyed to replace with new structure.For details on the temple, one may visit : http://www.vittalpanchalinga.info/index1.html

5. Sri Anantheshwara Temple, Udupi
Diagonally opposite to the main entrance of the Sri Krishna Mutt, and adjacent to the Chandramouleeshwara Temple, stands one of the oldest Alupa temple namely "Sri Anantheswara Temple". A old belief is that lighting a lamp at the ancient Anantheshwara Temple takes away evil and sins. It is one of the biggest temple in Udupi. The main idol is Linga, whose adorn­ment makes it to look like a Face of Lord Siva. From a small window on the left, the site where Madhvacharya dis­appeared is seen. An aerial view from wikimapia shows the Elephant-Back architecture of this temple. Location : http://wikimapia.org/192830

Both Sri Vittla Panchalingeshwara and Sri Udupi Anantheshwara Temple have Elephant-back type curvilinear structure. Another temple of similar architecture is also seen in Aihole Durga temple, appears to be a structure of 7th century C.E. (Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

Coinage

The Alupas as a feudatory of the Western Chalukyas in coastal Karnataka issued coins with Kannada and Nagari inscriptions on them. Coins with Kannada legends seem to have minted in Mangalore and those with Nagari legend at the Udupi mint. Kannada was their language of administration. The Pagodas and Fanams were the common coinage of all the Alupa kings. The obverse of the coins carried the royal emblem "Two Fishes" and the reverse had the legend "Sri Pandya Dhanamjaya" either in Nagari or old (Hale) Kannada.

This paragraph is about the inscription found at Neelavara temple of Udupi district. This is all about the grant in "Gadyana" denomination. The Alupas while ruling from Barakuru showed great interest in the development of temple. This record is of the Alupa ruler Veerapandyadeva, dated 1258 A.D. mentions about his instruction to “neeruvara munnuru” i.e. Neeruvara-300, the modern Neelavara village Assembly. It states that after paying 100 gadyanas (coins)to the palace and 30 gadyanas to Adhikari, remaining 30 gadyanas, should be used by the village assembly for its expense. Yet another inscription of Veerapandyadeva's queen Ballamahadevi, the next ruler is also seen here. The record mentions that when ballamahadevi was ruling her kingdom with the help of samastapradanas, Deshi purushas, Bahattara niyogis and Rishi purohita, she gave a grant to niruvara Bhagavati, out of 100 honnus that is paid to the palace. This inscription was written by keshava senabhova as mentioned in the epigraph.

Interestingly the Alupas were one of the three dynasties that issued gold coins as early as 8th century C.E. The gold that used to mint coins came from trade with the Romans, Arabs and from the adjacent kingdom of Gangas. No other ancient dynasties of the south have issued that many varieties of gold coins as Alupas and Gangas did. The coins of both Gangas and Alupas have inscriptions that helps in dating the period of issue. Unfortunately these coins have not drawn much attention compared to that of Chalukyas or Hoysals. But for sure, they have inspired later dynsties as a prototype or basis to issue coins. Shown below is the hand-drawing of some of the Pandya Gadyanas (Alupa coins) obverse image.

Notes

References

* Dr. Suryanath U. Kamath , A Concise history of Karnataka from pre-historic times to the present, Jupiter books, 2001, MCC, Bangalore (Reprinted 2002)
* Govindraya Prabhu S, Nithyananda Pai M, "The Alupas, Coinage and history", 2006, ISBN 81-7525-560-9 (Paperback), ISBN 81-7525-561-7 (Hardbound), Manipal Printers, Published by SG Prabhu, Sanoor, 2006, 500 copies. For contents of the book, please use the URL: http://prabhu.50g.com/alupas_book/alupas_book.html

External links

* [http://prabhu.50g.com/southind/alupa/south_alupacat.html Coins of the Alupas]
* [http://www.udupipages.com/home/postal/jprakash3.html Coins of the Alupas]
* [http://prabhu.50g.com/southind/alupa/south_alupa.html History of the Alupas, a glimpse]
* [http://www.udupipages.com/home/postal/jprakash1.html Copper plate of Aluvarasa-II]