Rashtrakuta Dynasty

♦♦Origin

The Rashtrakutas called themselves descendants of one named Satyaki. But there is difference of opinion about their origin among the historians. According to some they were originally of Dravidian peasant extraction. From some of the inscriptions of the Chalukya kings it is known that the Rashtrakutas were feudatories of the Chalukyas. Perhaps their original home was Karnataka and their mother tongue was Kanarese.



♦♦Founder

The founder of the Rashtrakuta power was Dantivarman or Dantidurga. The Rashtrakuta King Dantivarman or Dantidurga was contemporary of Chalukya King Pulakesin II.
Dantidurga occupied all territories between the Godavari and Vima. Dantidurga is said to have conquered Kalinga, Kosala, Kanchi, Srisril, Malava, Lata etc. He annexed Maharashtra to his kingdom by defeating Chalukya King Kirtivarma.



♦Krishna I

Dantidurga was succeeded by his uncle Krishna I. He conquered the territories that were still under the Chalukyas and thereby competed conquest of the Chalukya territories. He also occupied Konkan. It is not known for certain the name of the country over which Rahappa used to rule. Vishnuvardhana of Vengi and the Ganga king of Mysore were defeated at the hands of the Rashtrakuta King Krishna I.

The Kailash Temple at Ellora was built by the Rashtrakuta King Krishna I. He was a great patron of art and architecture.




♦Govinda II

Krishnaraja’s eventful career came to an end within a very short time and he was succeeded by his son Govindaraj who ruled for some time as Govinda II. His worthlessness as a ruler and his lack of interest in administration led to his deposition by his brother Dhruva who ascended the throne himself.



♦Dhruva

Dhruva was by far the best ruler of the Rashtrakuta dynasty. He ruled for a short span of time but within this short time he entered into struggle with the Gurjara-Pratihara King Vatsyaraja and defeated him signally. He also like wise defeated the Pallavas of Kanchi and the Pala King Dharmapala of Bengal.



♦Govinda III

Dhruva was succeeded by Govinda III his son and with almost equal vigor as of his father. He succeeded in keeping the Gurjara power sufficiently under control. He defeated the great Gurjara King Nagabhatta II. It is said that the Pala King Dharmapala and his protégé Charayudh sought the help of Govinda III. Govinda III made the Rashtrakutas dynasty one of the most powerful dynasties of contemporary India. His kingdom spread up to the Vindhyas and Malava in the north and the river Tungabhadra to the south.



Amoghavarsha I

The greatest king of the Rashtrakuta dynasty was Amoghavarsha I. As a warrior he was, however, no match with his father Govinda III, but he succeeded in defeating the East-Chalukya kings.

Amoghavarsha I set up a new capital at Manyakheta (now Malkhed in Karnataka State) and during his reign Broach became the best port of his kingdom.

Amoghavarsha I was a great patron of education and literature. From the evidence of the Jaina works it is known that Amoghavarsha was converted into Jainism by Jinasena, a Jaina monk. Amoghavarsha spent the accumulated wealth of his predecessors to beautify his kingdom.

Suleman, an Arab merchant, in his account called Amoghavarsha I as one of the four greatest kings of the world, the other three being the Caliph of Bagdad, the king of Constantinople and the emperor of China.



Krishna II

Amoghavarsha ruled for 63 years and he was succeeded by his son Krishna II who in his turn was succeeded by Indra III.



Indra III

Indra III was a powerful king. He defeated and deposed Mahipala.

The Rashtrakuta Kings Amoghavarsha II, Govinda IV and Amoghavarsha III were weak kings.



Krishna III

The last powerful and efficient king of the Rashtrakutas was Krishna III. He had a prolonged struggle with Mahipala, the Gurjara king. He also succeeded in conquering Tanjore and Kanchi. In the middle of the tenth century for a time he succeeded in defeating the Tamil kings of Chola kingdom. But towards the end of the same century the Rashtrakuta King Kaka was defeated and deposed by Taila or Tailapa, the Chalukya king of Kalyani. With Kaka’s defeat the Rashtrakuta power came to an end.





♦♦History of Rashtrakuta Dynasty, Art and Architecture

The Rashtrakutas rose to power between 6th and 10th centuries among the dynasties of south India. According to popular belief they were of Kannada origin. Their capital was Malkhed near Sholapur. The geographical position of Rashtrakutas led to their being involved in alliances as well as wars with both their northern and southern neighbouring kingdoms. It has been recorded that the earlier rulers of Rashtrakuta dynasty were Hindus but later rulers were Jains


♦♦Society and Economy of Rashtrakutas:

Vaishnavism and shaivism both were prominent religions in the Rashtrakuta reign. While one third of the population was following Jainism. There were many properous Buddhist settlements in Kanheri, Sholapur and Dharwar.

The centres of learning also flourished at places in under Rashtrakutas. A college at Salatogi in Bijapur district was run by income from endowments made by rich people  and  villagers on occasion of functions and festivals.

The trade and commerce between Deccan and Arabs. The Rashtrakutas maintained good relations with Arab traders.



♦♦Art and Culture during  Rashtrakutas :

They patronized Sanskrit literature. Under the Rashtrakutas, Trivikrama wrote ‘Nalachampu’, Halayudha wrote ‘Kavirahasya’ under the reign of Krishna II.

Amoghavarsha patronized Jaina scholars. His teacher Jinasena wrote ‘Parsharvabhudaya’ containing verses about Parsharvanath. Under his patronage, the kannada literature began to develop. Infact, Amoghavarsha’s Kavirajamarga is the forst poetic work in Kannada.

Under the Rashtrakutas, Gunabhadra wrote ‘Adipurana’, based on life of Jain saints. Sakatayana wrote grammar ‘Amogavritti’. Viracharya, the mathematician wrote ‘Ganitsaram’.

Two great poets of Kannada language during the Rashtrakuta regime were Pampa and Pnna. Pampa wrote ‘Vikramasenavijaya’. Ponna wrote ‘Santipurana’.



♦♦Architecture under Rashtrakuta dynasty:

The Rashtrakuta architecture is exemplified by Ellora and Elephanta.

The cave architecture reached its excellence in the Kailashnath temple at Ellora.

It was built under Krishna I. This temple is carved out a massive block of rock that is 200 feet long and hundred feet width and height. It has four parts in all- the main shrine, entrance gateway, intermediate shrine for Nandi and a mandapa surrounding the courtyard. The height od the Kailash Temple at Ellora is 25 feet, endowed with elephant and lion figures. The three-tiered Shikhara resembles Shikara of Mammalapuram Rathas. The most significant part of the temple is its scultures which make this Kailash Temple an architectural marvel. It has sculpture of Durga slaying buffalo demon. Another sculpture has Ravana attempting to lift Mount Kailash. There are scenes from Ramayan carved out on the walls of the temple. This temple is considered a piece of Dravidian style of Architecture.



♦♦ The Elephanta Caves of Rashtrakutas:

Elephanta caves situated at an island near Mumbai, were originally known as Sripuri. The Portuguese later named it  so due to the large Elephant sculture it had. There is a close similarity between the Ellora temple and Elephanta caves depicting continuity of craftsmen. The entrance of the elephanta caves has huge figures of dwra-palakas at the entrance. The wall surrounding the prakara around the Sanctum has sculptures of – Nataraja, Gangadhara, Ardhanareeshvara, Somaskanda and Trimurthi(six metre in height, representing the three aspects of Shiva- creator, preserver, destroyer).


♦♦Conclusion :

The Rashtrakuta kings maintained a friendly relation with the Arabs of Sind. When the Gurjara-Pratihara was engaged in fierce struggle against the Arabs, the Rashtrakutas were profiting by carrying on trade with the Arabs. By way of this business relation a large number of Arab merchants came to the Rashtrakuta kingdom. Suleiman was the Arab merchant and was the most celebrated of them.