Kangavarma () or Kangavarman was the second ruler of the

Kadamba dynasty The Kadamba dynasty were an ancient royal family from modern Karnataka, India, that ruled northern Karnataka and the Konkan from Banavasi in present-day Uttara Kannada, Uttara Kannada district in India. The kingdom was founded by Mayurash ...

South India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...

. His name is sometimes also read as Skandavarman. Kangavarma succeeded his father

Mayurasharma Mayurasharma or Mayuravarma (reigned 345–365 CE), a native of Talagunda (in modern Shimoga district), was the founder of the Kadamba kingdom of Banavasi, the earliest native kingdom to rule over what is today the modern state of Karnatak ...

, the founder of the Kadamba kingdom. The

Talagunda pillar inscription The Tālagunda pillar inscription of Kakusthavarman is an epigraphic record in Sanskrit found in the ruined Pranavalingeshwara temple northwest of village Talagunda, Karnataka, India. It is engraved on hard grey granite and dated to between 455 ...

indicates that Kangavarma's reign was a turbulent one with many bitter wars. Although we lack details of the wars which Kangavarma had to face, it is likely that the

Vakatakas 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 ...

were among his foremost enemies. In particular, Kangavarman's contemporary to the north was the Vakataka king Vindhyasena of Vatsagulma, who is credited with a victory against the Kadambas. While some scholars agree that Kangavarma suffered defeat at the hands of the Vakatakas, other scholars believe that Kangavarma was mostly successful in resisting the Vakataka invasion and preserving the independence of the Kadamba kingdom. Kangavarma assumed the title ''Dharmamahārājadhirāja'', which continued to be used by his successors. Similar titles were used by other dynasties of South India including the

Pallavas The Pallava dynasty existed from 275 CE to 897 CE, ruling a significant portion of the Deccan, also known as Tondaimandalam. The Pallavas played a crucial role in shaping in particular southern Indian history and heritage. The dynasty ros ...

and the later

Chalukyas of Badami The Chalukya dynasty () was a Classical Indian dynasty that ruled large parts of southern and central India between the 6th and the 12th centuries. During this period, they ruled as three related yet individual dynasties. The earliest dynast ...

, as well as by the Vakataka rivals of the Kadambas.Singh (2016), pp. 481-482 Kangavarma also used the surname of '' varma'' (which was historically associated with the

Kshatriya Kshatriya () (from Sanskrit ''kṣatra'', "rule, authority"; also called Rajanya) is one of the four varnas (social orders) of Hindu society and is associated with the warrior aristocracy. The Sanskrit term ''kṣatriyaḥ'' is used in the con ...

caste) instead of ''sharma'', a convention which many later Kadamba kings followed. Kangavarma was succeeded on the Kadamba throne by his son Bhageerath.

References

{{reflist Kadamba kings 4th-century Indian monarchs