The history of Kalachuri dynasty has, in the past, attracted attention of scholars interested in the study of the history of Northern and Central India during the early mediaeval period. Studies made till now have, however, suffered in one respect in that none of the scholars made an intensive study of the social, economic and cultural conditions existing within the dominion of the Kalachuris. Till now, no comprehensive work has been published which may project a complete picture of cultural contributions of the rulers of the dynasty, along with their political achievements. The need for such a work was, therefore, genuinely felt by the scholarly world and the present work attempts to fulfil that gap. The first five chapters of the work deal with the political history of the story of their rise and growth, attainment of their supremacy in India and their final fall. The story is long, covering a period of more than 1200 years, from about the middle of the 6th century A.D. to about the middle of the 18th Century A.D. The cultural contributions of the dynasty has better tale to tell. Nine Chapter have, therefore, been devote in this work to portray as complete a picture as possible of the various phases of the cultural contributions of this dynasty. Besides supplying a complete list of the inscriptions of the Kalachuris, the volume includes a Bibliography, and Index, plates and map which can be utilized for all future work in the area.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR R.K. Sharma
Dr. R.K. Sharma, (born 1932) Professor and Head of the Department of Ancient Indian History Culture and Archaeology and Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Jabalpur retired in 1992. Subsequently he was Visiting Professor in the University of Sagar for one academic session and Senior Research Fellow of the Indian Council of Historical Research for three years. Dr. Sharma’s contributions to the cause of Indian Archaeology in general and Archaeology of Madhya Pradesh in particular are widely acclaimed. On account of this he was felicitated by a Volume (in two parts) entitled “Heritage of Indian-Past and Present†which was brought out in his honour and presented to him in 1994. The credit of directing the archaeological excavations of Gilaulikhera, Kakrehta and Patan goes to him. A large number of research papers have been published by him in journals of national and international repute. His prestigious publications include : Madhya Pradesh Ke Puratattva Ka Sandarbha Granth (Bhopal, 1974), The Temple of Chaunsatha Yogini at Bheraghat (Delhi, 1978), Art of the Paramaras of Malwa (Ed.) (Delhi, 1979), The Kalachuris and Their Times (Delhi, 1980), Indian Archaeology-New Perspectives (Ed.) (Delhi, 1982), Archaeology of Bhopal Region (Delhi, 1980), Rock-Art of India (Ed.) (Delhi, 1983), Vajapeya – Essays on Evolution of Indian Art and Culture (Prof. K.D. Bajpai Fel. Vol.) (Ed.) (Delhi, 1987), Studies in Shell Script (Ed.) (Delhi, 1990), Art of the Kalachuris (Ed.) (Bhopal, 1991), Excavations at Kakrehta (Delhi, 1992), Krsna Smrti (Prof. K.D. Bajpai Comm. Vol.) (Ed.) (Delhi, 1995), and Prehistoric Art in India (Dr. S.K. Pandey Fel. Vol.) (Ed.) (Delhi, 1996). A series of other publications are in process.
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