Saundatti and Belgaum
The Rattas held territory in the Belgaum district as feudatories of the Rāṣṭrakūṭas and then the Western Chalukyas, ruling first from Saundatti and moving to Belgaum in the twelfth century. The name Ratta is a Prakrit form of Rāṣṭrakūṭa, and the family claimed the imperial descent that implies.
The Kamala Basadi within Belgaum fort, a Jain temple of the early thirteenth century with a lotus carved on its ceiling, is their finest surviving building.
End
The Rattas asserted independence as the Chalukyas fell and were destroyed by the Seunas of Devagiri around 1250. Belgaum passed subsequently to Vijayanagara, the Bahmanis and Bijapur.
The hill shrine of Yellamma at Saundatti, one of the major goddess sites of the Deccan, lies in their old territory and its importance long predates and outlasts them.
Further reading
- Kulke, Hermann. A History of India. Routledge, 2004
- Fritz, John M. Hampi Vijayanagara. Jaico, 2003
- Hawley, John Stratton. A Storm of Songs: India and the Idea of the Bhakti Movement. Harvard University Press, 2015
- Nilakanta Sastri, K. A. The Colas. University of Madras, 1955
- Sastri, K. A. Nilakanta. A History of South India. Oxford University Press, 1955
See also
This entry was last revised on 1 August 2026.