Malkheda

Malkhedaoriginally known asManyakheta(IAST:Mānyakheṭa,Prakrit:"Mannakheḍa"), and also known asMalkhed,is a town inKarnataka,India. It is located on the banks of Kagina river inSedam TalukofKalaburagi district,around 40 km fromKalaburagi.

Malkheda Manyakheta
Malkheda Location in Karnataka, India Malkheda Malkheda (India)
Coordinates:17°11′42″N77°9′39″E
Country	India
State	Karnataka
District	Kalaburagi district
Taluk	Sedam
Lok Sabha Constituency	Kalaburagi
Established	9th Century CE
Government
• Type	Gram
• Body	Panchayat of Malkheda
Population (2001)
• Total	11,180
Languages
• Official	Kannada
Time zone	UTC+5:30(IST)
PIN CODE	585 317
Vehicle registration	KA 32

The city reached the peak of its prosperity during the 9th and 10th centuries, serving as the Imperial capital of theRashtrakutas.At Manyakheta, there is ahistorical fortwhose restoration is in progress based on a proposal submitted by HKADB (Hyderabad Karnataka Area Development Board).

Demographics

As of 2001Indiacensus,Malkheda had a population of 11,180 with 5,679 males and 5,501 females and 2,180 households.

History

Illustration of theRashtrakuta Empireand its territories, along with thePala Empireand theGurjara-Pratihara Empireduring the 9th and 10th centuries.

Manyakheta rose to prominence when the capital ofRashtrakutaswas moved fromMayurkhandiin present-dayBidar districtto Mānyakheṭa during the reign ofAmoghavarsha I.He is said to have built the imperial capital city to "match that of Lord Indra". The capital city was planned to include elaborately designed buildings for the royalty using the finest of workmanship. After the fall of the Rāṣṭrakūṭas, it remained the capital of their successors, the KalyaniChalukyasorWestern Chalukyasuntil about 1050 CE. According to Dhanapāla'sPāiyalacchi,the city was sacked by the Paramāra kingHarṣa Sīyakain CE 972-73, the year he completed that work.

Manyakheta is home to two ancient institutions.

• TheUttaradi Mathaof theDwaitaSchool of philosophy ofMadhvacharya.The remains of one of its most prominent saints, SriJayatirtha's Brindavana is here. He wrote many commentaries on Madhvacharya's works but was well known for the commentary on celebrated work "Anuvyakhyana"ofMadhvacharyawhich itself is a commentary upon the "Brahma Sutras".For this commentary called Nyaya Sudha, he is popularly known as Teekacharya.

• The JainBhattarakaMath.The temple of Neminath (9th century CE). The pillars and walls of the temple date back to between the 9th and 11th centuries. The idols includetirthankaras,choubisi (24 tirthankaras), Nandishwar dvipa and idols of yakshi. There is a famous panchdhatu shrine with 96 images. In the same temple, there are other historical images. The last bhaṭṭāraka of the Malkheda seat who reigned during the year 1950–61, was Bhaṭṭāraka Devendrakīrti.

The famous Mahapurana (Adipurana and Uttarapurana) was composed here by AcharyaJinasenaand his pupil Gunabhadra in the 9th century. The mathematics text Ganita Saara Sangraha was written here byMahaviracharya.

The renownedApabhramshapoet Pushapadanta lived here.

From 814 CE to 968 CE Manyakheta rose to prominence when the capital ofRashtrakuta Empirewas moved fromMayurkhandiin present-dayBidar districtto Mānyakheṭa during the reign ofAmoghavarsha I(Nrupatunga Amoghavarsha), who ruled for 64 years and wroteKavirajamargathe first classical Kannada work.Amoghavarsha Iand the scholarsmathematician Mahaveeracharya,and intellectuals Ajitasenacharya, Gunabhadracharya and Jinasenacharya, he helped to spreadJainism.According to Dhanapāla'sPāiyalacchi,the city was sacked by the Paramāra kingHarṣa Sīyakain 972–73 CE, the year he completed that work.In the year 1007 CE, Rajendra Chola destroyed the capitalas per inscription in Tanjore Big Temple. After the fall of the Rāṣṭrakūṭas, it remained the capital of their successors, the KalyaniChalukyasorWestern Chalukyasuntil about 1050 CE. It was later ruled by the IndicKalyani Chalukyas,Southern Kalachuris,Cholas,Yadavas,Kakatiyasand theTurko-PersianDelhi Sultanate,Bahmani Sultanate,Bidar Sultanate,Bijapur Sultanate,Mughal EmpireandNizam of Hyderabadby 1948.

Economy

Malkheda railway station

Malkheda is the home to one of the biggest cement factories by name Rajashree Cements owned by the Aditya Birla Group. The village is now developing into a business centre for food grains, dairy and livestock trading. Malkheda has got the biggest livestock trading centre in the entire region. The main crops grown here are mostly rainfed crops like different varieties of pulsespigeonpea, greengram, blackgram.Though water is plenty, it is rarely utilised for agriculture. The masonry here in Malkheda is basically stone masonry and the thatching of the roofs are done by square blocks of stone which are placed in a slanting way so that the rain water gets easily drained off.

Transport

Malkheda is well connected by road and rail. Malkheda lies onState Highway10. Malkaheda is 40 km southeast to the District HeadquartersKalaburagi districtand 12 km west to the Taluk HeadquartersSedam.There is also a railway station near the village, Malkhaid Road.

See also

• Udagi
• Kalaburagi district
• Shorapur
• Basava Kalyana
• Bidar

References

• Dr. Suryanath U. Kamath (2001).A Concise History of Karnataka from pre-historic times to the present,Jupiter books, MCC, Bangalore (Reprinted 2002) OCLC: 7796041

External links

• http://Gulbarga.nic.in/

{{Settlements inKalaburagi district}}