Ravikirti

Ravikirti, also spelled Ravikirti, was a 7th-century Sanskrit poet who served as the court poet of the Chalukya king Pulakeshin II. He is primarily known from his literary commissions rather than from other biographical details, and his name appears in inscriptions attributed to him.

His most famous work is the Ravikirti inscription, often called the Aihole inscription, dated to around 635 CE. It is inscribed on a pillar in the Durga temple at Aihole in present-day Karnataka. The text is in Sanskrit and extols Pulakeshin II, recounting the king’s genealogy, his military achievements, and the geographic extent of the Chalukya realm. The inscription is valued as a key historical source for early Deccan history and for illustrating royal ideology, imperial administration, and the linguistic culture of the period.

Ravikirti’s life outside of this inscription remains poorly documented. The inscription itself is the principal source about him, and scholars generally regard him as a prominent court poet who celebrated Pulakeshin II and the Chalukya dynasty. Details such as his exact birth and death dates are not known with certainty, and there is limited corroborating evidence about his other works or life beyond the Aihole text.

Legacy: The Ravikirti inscription is considered an important primary source for historians, epigraphists, and literary scholars studying the Chalukya dynasty and early Sanskrit court poetry in southern India. It provides insight into the political geography, patronage, and cultural milieu of 7th-century Pallava- and Chalukya-era India.