Tripurī
The dynasty established itself near modern Jabalpur in the ninth century, styling its territory Chedi after the ancient mahājanapada and dating its records in the era of 248 CE inherited from the earlier Kalachuris. Its position on the Narmada gave it a share in the traffic between north and south and put it at odds with every neighbour.
Gāṅgeyadeva, in the early eleventh century, took the title of universal sovereign and struck a gold coinage showing a seated goddess that was widely imitated across northern India for two centuries afterwards.
Lakṣmīkarṇa
His son Lakṣmīkarṇa, usually called Karṇa, campaigned in every direction — against the Paramāras, the Chandelas, the Chaulukyas, the Pālas and the Cholas — and for a time held a dominant position in central and eastern India. He performed the tulāpuruṣa ceremony, weighing himself against gold for distribution, and built the temple at Karanbel.
The ascendancy did not outlast him. A coalition of Chaulukya and Chandela forces broke Kalachuri power, and the dynasty resumed a regional existence.
The Kalachuris of Tripurī ended in the early thirteenth century, and their territory passed to the Baghelas of Rewa. Two related branches ruled at Ratnapura in Chhattisgarh and, briefly and importantly, at Kalyāṇi in the Deccan.
Further reading
- Kulke, Hermann. A History of India. Routledge, 2004
- Gordon, Stewart. The Marathas 1600-1818. Cambridge University Press, 1993
- Hawley, John Stratton. A Storm of Songs: India and the Idea of the Bhakti Movement. Harvard University Press, 2015
- Jackson, Peter. The Delhi Sultanate: A Political and Military History. Cambridge University Press, 1999
- Nilakanta Sastri, K. A. The Colas. University of Madras, 1955
See also
This entry was last revised on 1 August 2026.