Salunkhe

Salunkhe or Chalukya (साळुंखे), is the surname of a prominent Maratha clan mostly from Maharashtra and neighbouring states.

Titles associated with the Salunkhe group include Patil, Raje, Sardar, Sarkar, and Deshmukh. Their major centre is Majalgaon (Beed District). They have scattered through regions of Maratha dominance such as Beed, Akola, Buldana, Parbhani, Jalna, Aurangabad, Chalisgaon, Jalgaon, Solapur, Latur, Nagpur, Amravati, Baroda, Gwalior, Satara, and Kolhapur and some other parts of India.

Surname in this clan include Patankar, Gharge, Dubal, Chalke, Salunke, Pandhare, Patole, Shevale, Babar, Padwal, Magar, Randheer, Ranpise, Sonvane, Gunjal, Lahane, Ingole/Ingale, Vyawahare, Navale.

History
The Salunkhe or Salunke is the vernacular form of the word Chalukya.

In the western India, people pronounces "Cha" as "Sa". When the Chalukya Kings migrated to western regions (Chalukyas of Lata (Gujarat), Western (Kalyani) Chalukyas), the name Chalukya was pronounced in local language "Salukya, Salukhya, Saluki", and later got changed to Salunke. There are many maratha families in Maharasthra which still have their title as "Salunkhe or Salunke". In the inscription, which were written in Sanskrit, it was spelled Saluki, Saluke, Salukki, "Chalukya" in inscriptions, but in local language it got variations. Salunkhe is the surname of a prominent Maratha clan. The Salunkhe clan belongs to the Kshatriya varna. They have Manavya gotra. The descendants of the Chalukya dynasty of the 5th century CE came to be known by the surname Salunkhe in Maharashtra and Karnataka. Salukya/Salunkhe are the corrupt forms of Chalukya surname. The Pattadakal temples are built in Chalukya architecture. The Salunkhe dynastic clan is regarded as the largest of the 96 Maratha clans.

Titles associated with the Maratha group include Patil, Raje, Sardar, Naik, Sarkar, Deshmukh, and Patil. Surnames included in this royal clan are Salunkhe, Salunke, Chalke, Pandhare, Masaram, Patankar, Patole, Shevale, Babar, Padwal, Magar, Randheer, Ranpise, Sonawane, Gunjal, Lahane, Vyavhare, Navale.

Notables

 * Shrimant Sundarrao Solankhe – Maratha leader and former Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra
 * Pandurang Narayan Salunkhe – Freedom fighter from Satara district