Kakusthavarma () or Kakusthavarman was a ruler of the Kadamba dynasty in

South India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the States and union territories of India, Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and T ...

. He succeeded his brother

Raghu Raghu () is a ruler of the Suryavamsha dynasty in Hinduism. According to the '' Raghuvamsha'', he is the son of King Dilīpa and Queen Sudakshina. His successors styled themselves as belonging to the eponymous Raghuvamsha dynasty, or the ' ...

as king. Under Kakusthavarma's rule the Kadamba kingdom attained the height of its power and influence, and the Kadambas enjoyed close diplomatic relations with the great royal houses of India. The Talagunda and

Halmidi inscription The Halmidi inscription is the oldest known Kannada language inscription in the Kadamba script. While estimates vary slightly, the inscription is often dated to between 450 CE - 500 CE. The inscription was discovered in 1936 by Dr. M. H. Kris ...

s praise Kakusthavarma as a formidable Kadamba warrior.

Early life

Kakusthavarma was born to King Bhageerath, the third ruler of the Kadamba dynasty. Upon his father's death, Kakusthavarma's elder brother Raghu assumed the throne of the Kadamba kingdom, with Kakusthavarma as ''Yuvaraja'' or

Crown Prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wife ...

. Kakusthavarma held court as the heir apparent, perhaps at Palashika (present-day

Halasi Halasi (Kannada: ಹಲಸಿ, also Halsi or Halshi, in earlier times also called Halasige or Palasige) is a town in Khanapur Taluk, Belgaum District in Karnataka, India. It is 14 km from Khanapur and about 25 km from Kittur. As know ...

) from where he is known to have issued land grants. In due course, he succeeded his brother on the Kadamba throne.

Reign

Kakusthavarma's reign is notable for the marriage alliances that he contracted with other powerful dynasties. Most importantly, Kakusthavarma married one of his daughters into the imperial

Gupta Gupta () is a common surname or last name of Indian origin. It is based on the Sanskrit word गोप्तृ ''goptṛ'', which means 'guardian' or 'protector'. According to historian R. C. Majumdar, the surname ''Gupta'' was adopted by se ...

family. It is also likely that Kakusthavarma married another one of his daughters to the

Vakataka The Vakataka dynasty () was an ancient Indian dynasty that originated from the Deccan in the mid-3rd century CE. Their state is believed to have extended from the southern edges of Malwa and Gujarat in the north to the Tungabhadra River in th ...

prince

Narendrasena Narendrasena () was a ruler of the Nandivardhana-Pravarapura branch of the Vakataka dynasty. He succeeded his father Pravarasena II as Maharaja. Early life Narendrasena was possibly born to Ajnakabhattarika, who may have been the chief queen ...

, as the Vakataka records describe Narendrasena's wife Ajjhitabhattarika as a princess of the

Kuntala country The Kuntala country is an ancient Indian political region that probably included the western Deccan and some parts of central and south Karnataka (erstwhile north Mysore). Kuntala coins are available since estimated 600-450 BCE.> Kuntala formed ...

which probably corresponds to the Kadamba kingdom. Kakusthavarma appears to have been a great builder and avid patron of secular architecture as well as of religious causes. He is described as possessing numerous palaces adorned with ''

gopura A ''gopuram'' or ''gopura'' ( Tamil: கோபுரம், Malayalam: ഗോപുരം, Kannada: ಗೋಪುರ, Telugu: గోపురం) is a monumental entrance tower, usually ornate, at the entrance of a Hindu temple, in the Sout ...

s''. Kakusthavarma's son and successor, Santivarma, records in his Talagunda pillar inscription that his father had constructed a great water tank near a

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hin ...

temple at which

Satakarni Satakarni (also called Sātakarnī I, Brahmi script: 𑀲𑀸𑀢𑀓𑀡𑀺, ''Sātakaṇi'') was the third of the Satavahana kings, who ruled the Deccan region of India. His reign is generally dated to 70-60 BCE, although some authors have c ...

and other kings of the past had worshipped. Kakusthavarma himself appears to have had

Jain Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...

religious tendencies, as in his grant at Halasi he begins with an invocation to Jinendra, the lord of the Jinas, and likely patronized a Jain temple at this place.

Successors

Upon Kakusthavarma's death, the Kadamba kingdom appears to have been divided between his progeny. One of Kakusthavarma's sons, Santivarma, succeeded his father at

Banavasi Banavasi is an ancient temple town located near Sirsi in Karnataka. Banavasi was the ancient capital of the Kannada empire Kadamba that ruled all of modern-day Karnataka state. They were the first native empire to bring Kannada and Karnataka ...

and ruled over the northern part of the Kadamba realm. Another one of Kakusthavarma's sons, Krishnavarma, seems to have founded a

cadet branch In history and heraldry, a cadet branch consists of the male-line descendants of a monarch's or patriarch's younger sons ( cadets). In the ruling dynasties and noble families of much of Europe and Asia, the family's major assets—realm, ti ...

of the Kadamba dynasty at Triparvatha, in the southern part of the Kadamba realm.Sastri (1997), pp. 272–273

References

{{reflist Kadambas 5th-century Indian monarchs