CAUSES OF TRIPARTITE STRUGGLE
Causes for Tripartite Struggle between the
Pratiharas, Palas and Rashtrakutas are as follows:
1. To acquire supremacy over Kanauj, as
symbol of prestige.
2. Te get control over the rich resources of
the Gangetic valley.
3. To get control over Gujarat and Malwa
whose nearness to the coast was very
important for forging trade.
4. Lust for war booty, and important
source for maintaining a huge army.
5. Desire to impress the smaller kingdoms
with the sense of their power and
demand respect.
The Rashtrakutas were tolerant in religious
matters and patronised not only Saivism as will.
The Rashtrakuta rulers were even tolerant of
Islam. They permitted Muslim merchants to
settle, build their mosques and preach their
religion in the Rashtrakuta dominions. Their
tolerant policies gave a great impetus to trade
and commerce.
In the field of literature also, their tolerant
spirit is visible. They equally patronised Sanskrit,
Prakrit, Apaghransa, a forerunner of many
modern India languages, and Kannada They
patronised the arts liberally. The rock-cut cave
temples at Ellora-Brahmanical. Buddhist and jain
are the symbols of their religious toleration and
are one of the splendours of Indian art. The
Kailash Temple, built by the Rashtrakut king
Drishna I, is an unrivalled and stupendous piece
of art. The ancient Indian rock-cut architecture
reached its zenith under the Rashtrakutas.
The last great Chalukya ruler was
Vikramakitya VI (1076-1126) who, on his
coronation, withdrew the Saka era and introduced
the Chalukya-Vikram era. Vikramaditya VI
was a great patron of writers. Bilhana, the author
of the Vikramankadevacharita and
Vijananeshvara, the commentator of the
Mitakshara commentator on the Smritis,
adorned his court. In 1085, he invaded Kanchi
and annexed some Chola territories in Andhra.
He fought numerous wars against the Hoysalas
of Dwarasamudra, the Kakatiyas of Warangal.
The Yadavas of Devagiri and the Kadambas of
Goa, who were all the feudatories of the
Chalukyas. Despite defeating them he could not
suppress their power and within three decades
of this death. Most of the leading Khalukyan
feudatories asserted their imdependence once
again, by the middle of the twelfth century, The
Chalukyan kingdom of Kalyan, had become
almost extinct and their place was taken by the
kaktiyas of Warangal, the Hoysalas of
Dwarasamudra and the Yadavas of Devigiri.
THE PRATIHARAS
(8TH TO 10TH CENTURY)
The Pratihars were also called Gurjar-
Pratihars probably because they originated from
Gurjarat or Southwest Rajasthan. It is believed
that originally they were a branch of the
Gurjaras, which was one of the nomadic central
Asian tribes that poured into India along with
the Hunas following the disintegration of the
Gupat Empire. As rulers, the Pratiharas came
into prominence in the middle of the eight
century when their king, Nagabhatta I, defended
western India form the Arab incursions form
Sindh into Rajasthan. He was able to leave to
his successors a powerful principality comprising
Malwa and parts of Rajputana and Gujarat.
After the Nagabhatta I regin, the Pratiharas
suffered a series of defeats mostly at the hands
of the Rashtrakutas. The Pratihara power
regained its lost glory only after only after the
succession of Mihirbhomja, popularly known as
Bhoja. He had a long reign of 46 years and his
evenful career drew the attention of the Arab
traveler, Sulaiman. He reestablidhed the
supremacy of his family in Bundelkhand and
subjugated Jodhpur. The Daulatpura copper
plate of Bhoja shows that the pratihara king had
succeeded in reasserting his authority over
central and eastern Rajputana. Mihirbhoja was
succeeded by his son Mahendrapala I whose
most notable achievement was the conquest of
Magadha and northern Bengal. Mahendrapala
I was a Liberal patron of literature. The most
brilliant writer in his court was Rajasekhara who
has to his credit a number of literary works-
Karpuramanjari, Bala Ramayana, Bala and
Bharta, Kavyamimamsa.
Mahendrapala’s death was followed by a
scramble for the possession of the throne. Bhoja
II seized the throne, but half brother, Mahipala
soon usurped the throne. The Rashtrkutas again
challenged the strength of the Pratihara empire
and its ruler, Indra III, completely devastated the
city of Kanauj. However, the withdrawal of
Indra III to the Deccan enabled Mahipala to
recover form the fatal blow. Mahendrapala II,
son and successor of mahipala, was able to keep
his empire intact. But it received a shattering
blow during the reign of Devapala, when the
Chandelas become virtually independent. The process of decline of the Pratihara empire which
had begun with Devapal accelerated during the
reign of Vijayapala.
Thus, we find that the Pratiharas emerged
as one of the most powerful empires of the early
medieval period. The Arab traveler Al-Masudi,
who visited India in the year 915-16, also refers
to the power and resouces of the king of Kanauj
whose kingdom extended up to Sind in the west
and touched the Rashtrakuta kingdom in the
south.
