Their core territory included the historical Chedi region (also known as Dahala-mandala), and their capital was located at Tripuri (present-day Tewar near Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh).

In the 1030s, the Kalachuri king Gangeyadeva assumed the title of Maharajadhiraja after achieving military successes at his eastern and northern frontiers.

In the later half of the 13th century, the former Kalachuri territories came under the control of Malwa and Bundelkhand, and ultimately under the Delhi Sultanate.

According to this theory, after facing setbacks against the Chalukyas in the south, the Kalachuris expanded their power in the north; amid the political chaos after the decline of Harsha's empire, Buddharaja's successor Vamaraja established himself at Kalanjara in the late 7th century, and finally moved to Tripuri.

The eldest son was presumably Shankaragana II, whom modern scholars identify with the person mentioned by the names "Prasiddha-dhavala", "Mugdha-tunga", and "Rana-vigraha" in various sources.

[12] Valleka appears to have been the last (or one of the last) Kalachuri governor of the area around Gyaraspur, which subsequently became a part of the Chandela territory.

[15] Based on Valleka's inscription, epigraphist Richard G. Salomon theorizes that Kokalla I was a subordinate of Bhoja, and played an important role in expanding the south-eastern borders of the Pratihara empire.

[17] After the decline of the Rashtrakuta and Pratihara empires, the Kalachuris assumed independence, probably during the reign of Yuvaraja-deva I (915-945 CE).

[10] Shankaragana III, who ascended the Kalachuri throne around 970 CE, adopted an aggressive expansion policy.

[19] The Malwa king Munja, who was an enemy of Tailapa, invaded the Kalachuri kingdom and raided their capital Tripuri.

The triple alliance of Bhoja, Gangeyadeva and Rajendra Chola engaged the Chalukya king Jayasimha II at multiple frontiers.

[25] In the 1030s, Gangeyadeva achieved military successes at his eastern and northern frontiers, and assumed the titles of a sovereign emperor.

[28] He suffered a defeat against the Chandela king Vijayapala,[29] but ultimately extended his control over the sacred cities of Varanasi and Prayaga.

Lakshmikarna seized the Malwa kingdom, prompting Bhima to launch an expedition to recover his share of the war spoils.

[32] Within a short time, Lakshmikarna lost the control of Malwa to Bhoja's successor Jayasimha, who received help from the Kalyani Chalukya prince Vikramaditya VI[32] Subsequently, Karna allied with Vikramaditya's rival and brother Someshvara II, and again invaded Malwa.

[32] He seems to have retained control of a large part of the Chandela territory for over a decade, before being ousted by Devavarman's successor Kirttivarman in the 1070s CE.

[32] Lakshmikarna's son Yashahkarna (r. c. 1073-1123 CE) raided some neighbouring territories, but lost the northern parts of his kingdom, including Varanasi, to the Gahadavalas.

[38] Yashahkarna's son Gayakarna married a granddaughter of the Malwa king Udayaditya, which led to peace between the two kingdoms.

[40] During the reign of Jayasimha's successor Vijayasimha, a northern feudatory named Sallakshana unsuccessfully tried to overthrow the Kalachuri suzerainty.

[43] Several Shaiva leaders (acharya) served as royal preceptors (rajaguru) to Kalachuri kings; these included Purusha-shiva (to Yashahkarna), Shakti-shiva (to Gayakarna), Kirti-shiva (to Narasimha), and Vimala-shiva (to Jayasimha).

[44] Gangeyadeva installed a Shivalinga at Piawan,[31] and his son Lakshmikarna built the Karna-meru temple at Varanasi, which was probably dedicated to Shiva.

[37] The patronage of Gayakarna's queen Alhanadevi led to the rise of Pashupata Shaivite religious leaders in the Kalachuri kingdom.

[38] The Gyaraspur inscription of Kokalla I's son Valleka, which records the foundation of a Jain temple by the prince, prominently features Shaivite imagery and wording, with Vaishnavite overtones.