This is Part 1 of a three part series focused on the Rashtrakuta empire. Part 2 of the series will focus on how the empire grew from strength to strength and what caused its eventual downfall; Part 3 will focus on the achievements in the field of art and architecture and reading/reference materials.
Etymology – Rashtrakuts
The word Rashtrakuts means ‘officers in charge of territory’. This title indicates that the Rashtrakutas were originally officers in charge of specific provinces under the Chalukyas. As it always happens in history, the vassals of big kings end up overpowering their erstwhile overlords and become the new masters.
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Did you Know: In medieval periods, a king would allocate parts of the empire to a vassal who would pledge obedience to the king and would be responsible for the affairs of that area. Vassals would keep a standing army ready to help the king in times of war. This arrangement was beneficial for the kingdom as it helped in decentralised governance. In many cases though, when the primary kingdom became weak, a strong vassal would move in to take over. |
The Origins
History is pleasurable when seen as a complex series of stories rather than as a sordid set of dates and events. Nothing happens in isolation and the beauty of history is that it gives you time to sit back and analyze, in detail, the if’s and but’s of past events and their impact. How could the ‘officers managing provinces’ under the mighty Chalukya empire stand up to their masters, wrest control from them and create their own kingdom? To know that, we need to go back in time to the Arab invasion into India.
Umayyad Caliphate and the Chalukyas
The Umayyad caliphate was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of prophet Muhammad. The caliphate spread its wings from its base in Mecca into the lands east of the Sindhu (Indus) river. Sindh fell to the invading Arabs and the Arabs (referred to as Tajika in Indian literature) tasted many successes over a hundred years (636 AD onwards).
It would be 250 more years before the next wave of Islamic invasion, under the Ghaznavid rule Mahmud of Ghazni, would hit the country.
Standing between the marauding Arabs and the Deccan and the south was the powerful Chalukya empire. The mighty Chalukya king Vikramaditya II was ruling from Vatapi (present day Badami in Karnataka) and the Chalukyas had just defeated their arch rival, the Pallavas, yet again. Navasari (in current day Gujarat), in the north-western fringes of the empire was under the control of the Chalukya vassal Avanijanashraya Pulakeshin, and there they lay in wait for the Arabs to arrive.
Battle ensued in 739 AD and the Chalukyas decisively defeated the Umayyad army. Not only had the Chalukyas saved the Deccan and the south of the country from the invasion, this victory gave impetus to other Indian resistance to the Arabs resulting in them being forced to flee back across the Indus to Sindh. It would be 250 more years before the next wave of Islamic invasion, under the Ghaznavid rule Mahmud of Ghazni, would hit the country.
So how is this related to the Rashtrakutas, you may ask – well, helping the Chalukyas repulse the invasion was a Rashtrakuta prince Dantidurga. Ingrained and well trained in the affairs of running a large empire and now battle hardened, the seeds were sown for Dantidurga to challenge his imperial masters and form an empire of his own.
Fall of the Chalukyas of Badami
The stars for Dantidurga’s ascension to power arose during the period of Vikramaditya II’s successor, Kritivarman II. Kirtivarman led a campaign against the Pandya’s who crossed the Kaveri and defeated the Chalukyas and his ally, the Gangas. All along this time, Kirtivarman was troubled by the Rashtrakutas under Dantidurga slowly nibbling away at the northern portion of his empire. Dantidurga entered into an alliance with the Pallava king Nandivarman II (Dantidurga’s daughter was married to Nandivarman) and in no time, the Chalukya kingdom was surrounded on all sides. Finally, in 752-753 AD, the Chalukya capital fell to the Rashtrakutas and a new era dawned on the Deccan and the south – a dynasty that would last over 200 years and make a mark on art and architecture in the region like no other.
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Did you Know: The Pallava king Nandivarman was from Kambodja-desha, present day Cambodia. Story goes that when the Chalukyas defeated and occupied Kanchi, a few Pallava ministers and generals set sail around the empire to find a new king who could defeat the Chalukyas. They landed in present day Cambodia which was being ruled by descendants of the Pallavas. There they met a royal prince – 12 year old Pallavamalla – who agreed to accompany them back to Kanchi and eventually lead them against the Chalukyas. How many 12 year old do you know who would be so courageous? |
Neighboring Kingdoms
At the time the Rashtrakutas came to power, the kingdoms around it were:
- Pallavas, ruling from Kanchi
- Pandyas, Cheras, Cholas – in one form or the other, with the Pandyas being more powerful than the rest (the Cholas will have to wait until Rajaraja and Rajendra Chola about 500 years later)
- Eastern Chalukyas (Chalukyas of Vengi)
- Palas of Bengal
- Gurjara Pratiharas, ruling from Kannauj
- Ganga dynasty, ruling from Talakadu (the same dynasty who later built the Gomateshwara statue)
Consolidation
Dantidurga’s successor was his uncle, Krishna I. Krishna set the stage for consolidating the hold on the periphery of the empire and amassing more wealth. Towards this, he defeated the Eastern Chalukyas (based out of Vengi in present day Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh) and the Ganga dynasty of Talakad. The Ganga dynasty, in particular, would prove to be troublesome to overpower and in some form or other would keep challenging the power of the Rashtrakuta kings.
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Trivia: Transfer of power in Indian kingdoms were usually a benign affair, with the Yuvraj (prince heir) already selected by the King and made known throughout the kingdom. The Yuvraj was usually the eldest born son of the King, but there was no such rule and in some cases the ablest son of the King or his nearest able relative was handed over the reign. |
The curious case of Kannauj
Kannauj had been the epicentre of power in Northern India during the time of Harshavardhana. Kannauj was Harsha’s capital and from here he ruled a vast swathe of land from (present day) Assam to the Narmada in the south. The Narmada ended up as the dividing line between North and South India, and was formalized as such after Harsha lost to the Chalukya emperor Pulakeshin II.
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Did you Know: The Palas of Bengal derived their name from their first king, Gopala. Unlike other empires and kingdoms, Gopala was elected by a group of chieftains – in essence he was the first ever elected king, something that would be totally unheard off in the 8th century CE |
Post Harsha’s death and the tumultuous transfer of power in the kingdom, the Gurjara Pratiharas became overlords of the north and Kannauj came under them. The Palas of Bengal were growing in statute in the East and they too had their eyes on Kannauj. This tussle for Kannauj was turned into a tripartite struggle when the lure of occupying the centre of power in the North drove the Rashtrakuta king Krishna I to attack Kannauj. It was more a raid-and-return expedition and Krishna defeated the Palas and the Gurjara Pratiharas and returned back with vast treasures and fame. No territory was annexed.
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