The Rashtrakuta Dynasty Detailed History

The Rashtrakuta Dynasty Detailed History-In this article we published the detailed history of The Rahtrakuta Dynasty, which ruled in India, and we have also published the most important Points from the Rashtrakuta empire, which have been asked most time in competitive exams, so please read every paragraph carefully.

The Rashtrakutas

In the words of Dr AS Altekar, The period of Rashtrakuta ascendancy in the Deccan from about AD 753 to AD 975 constitutes perhaps the most brilliant chapter in the history of India till the rise of the Marathas as an imperial power in the 18th Century.

• Literally, the term, Rashtrakuta means designated officer-in-charge of territorial division called Rashtra. The Rashtrakutas Originally belonged to Lattalura, (Modern Latur of Maharashtra). They were of Kannada origin and Kannada was their mother tongue. Initially they were the feudatories under Chalukyas of Badami.
• The Rashtrakuta Dynasty was founded in the early 8th Century by Dantidurga, also known as Dantivarman, who after defeating the Chalukya ruler Kirtivarman II established his control over the greater portion of the Deccan and laid the foundation of a lasting empire. The Rashtrakutas belonged to the Yadu clan to which Lord Krishna belonged-inscriptions of the Rashtrakuta kings.

Different Theories on the Origin of the Rashtrakutas

The Rashtrakutas belonged to the Dravidians of Andhra Pradesh	Burnell
The Rashtrakutas were connected with the Rathors of the North	Fleet
The Rashtrakutas belonged to Maharashtra	Dr Pathak
The Rashtrakutas originally belonged to Bidar district and Kannada-speaking people	Dr AS Altekar
The Rashtrakutas were branch of the Kshatriyas	RG Bhandarkar

Rashtrakuta’s Contribution in Art, Culture and Literature

They were tolerant in religious matters and patronised not only Saivism and Vaishnavism, but Jainism as well. In the Rashtrakuta Empire, the worship of Shiva and Vishnu was prevalent and epigraphs contain frequent references to these deities.

• Temples were constructed for purposes of worship. 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 Dravida type temple dedicated to Jaina worship built at Pattadakal is especially notable. However, the Rashtrakuta genius for Dravida type temple construction found its expression in the Kailasa temple at Ellora, unparalleled anywhere else.
• Rashtrakuta seals show either Shiva or Garuda (vahana Vishnu), seated in a posture of yoga. Brahmanical sacrifices were performed quite often.
• Buddhism had declined during this period. Jainism, though not exactly flourishing, had its adherents; Amoghavarsha I, Indra IV, Krishna II and III were the patrons of the Jaina faith. Actually, the Jainas claim that Amogha was one of the most ardent followers of the faith. The Rashtrakuta rulers were even tolerant f Islam. They permitted the Muslim merchants to settle, build their mosques and of 1 preach their religion in the Rashtrakuta dominions. Their tolerant policies gave great impetus to trade and commerce.

Kannada was the language of the Rashtrakutas, their inscriptions were mostly engraved in this language. Sanskrit literature, however, was widely patronised. State records were generally written in Sanskrit. In the field of literature also their tolerant spirit is visible. They equally patronised Prakrit and Apabhramsa, a forerunner of many modern Indian languages. The great Apabhramsha poet Svayambhu and his son probably lived at the Rashtrakuta Court.

• There were many scholars in the Rashtrakuta courts. Trivikrama, the author of the Nalachampu, flourished in the early 10th Century. The Kavirahasya of Halayudha was composed in the reign of Krishna III.
• As the Rashtrakutas were patrons of Jainism, it is natural that Jaina literature should have made considerable progress. Akalanka and Vidyananda wrote Ashtasati and Ashtasahasri, two commentaries on the Aptamimansa.

The Senas of Bengal

The Sena family ruled Bengal after the Palas. Samantasena is the first historical figure of the dynasty. He called himself as Brahma-Kshatriya and is regarded as the founder of the dynasty. The title Brahma- Kshatriya shows that Samantasena was a Brahmin but his successors called themselves Kshatriyas.

Vijayasena (AD 1096-1159)

He was the real founder and the greatest ruler of the Sena Dynasty. His victories over Nayva (King of Nepal and Mithila), Vira, Gauda, Kamrupa and Kalinga have. been described in the Deopara inscription composed by the poet Umapatidhara. He had two capitals, Vijayapuri in West Bengal Vikaramapura in East Bengal. and svide to He was a devout of Shiva. The famous poet Sriharsha composed Vijayapra sasti in memory of Vijayasena. He was succeeded by his son Ballalasena.

Ballalasena (AD 1159-1179)

His reign was generally peaceful and he maintained intact the dominion inherited from his father. He was a great scholar. He wrote four works of which two are extant, the Danasagara (a work on Smriti) and the Adbhutasagara (a work on astronomy). The work Adbhutasagara was finally completed by his son Lakshmanasena.

Lakshmanasena (AD 1179-1206)

He could not offer any resistance to the Mohammad-bin Bakhtiyar Khilji and escaped for his life (AD 1194) to Vikaramapura in East Turkish invader Bengal. The Turkish invaders thus easily occupied the Sena capital at Nadia (Renamed Lakhnauti). However, his son’s Vishvarupasena and Kesavasena continued to rule in East Bengal. He was a devout of Vaishnava and adopted the title Parambhagavata, which is mentioned in his inscriptions Shriharidasa was his court poet.

Some of his court’s scholars were Jayadeva (the author of Geet Govinda; Dhoyi (the poet of Pravanaduta); Halayudha; Govardhana (the author of Arya – Saptasati) Geet Govinda is considered to be the first book that popularised Krishna Radha Bhakti in Bengal.

Reference of Lakshmanasena in Minhaj Siraj’s Tabakat-i-Nasiri. Where he calls him a great king of Bengal and says that the descendents of Lakshmanasena ruled part of Bengal for sometimes.

Important Points

• The Rashtrakuta dynasty was founded by Dantidurga in 752 AD.
• Dantidurg made his capital Manyakhet (Malkhand).
• Dantidurga donated Hiranyagarbha to Ujjayini did.
• Dantidurga had assumed the titles of Maharajadhiraja, Parameshwara, Parambhattaraka.
• Danti was succeeded by Krishna I.
• Krishna I ended the existence of the Chalukyas of Badami and captured Manyapur, the capital of the Ganges.
• The famous Kailash temple of Ellora was built by Krishna I.
• Dhruva (Rashtrakuta ruler) defeated Vatsaraj and Dharmapala to take control of Kannauj.
• Dhruva was also known as Dharavarsha. Dhruv’s son and successor was Govind III.
• Govind III defeated Chakrayuddha and his patron Dharmapala and Pratihara king Nagabhatta II and occupied Kannauj.
• Govind III defeated the combined confederacy of Pallavas, Pandyas, Kerala and Ganges standing against him.
• Amoghavarsha (in 814 AD) sat on the throne after Govind III.
• Amoghavarsha was a follower of Jainism.
• He composed the Kaviraja Marga in Kannada.
• In the court of Jinsen, the author of the Adipuran, Mahaviracharya, the author of the Ganthasara collection, and Saktayana Amoghavarsha, the author of Amoghavritti Use to live.
• Amoghavarsha ended his life by taking water samadhi in Tungabhadra river.
• Alamsudi came to India during the time of Indra III.
• Alamsudi called Indra III the best ruler of the then India.
• Krishna III defeated the Cholas and captured Kanchi and Thanjavur.
• Krishna I built the Victory Pillar at Thanjavur.
• The Ellora caves were first described by Vinnet (French traveller) in the 17th century.
• The most famous of the Buddhist caves is Vishwakarma cave number-10).
• In Ellora Cave 15, Vishnu is depicted as Narasimha i.e. male lion.
• Construction of Ellora and Elephanta cave temples It happened during the time of Rashtrakutas.
• Rashtrakutas were worshipers of Shaivism, Vaishnavism, Shakta sects as well as Jainism.
• Rastrakuto had approved the settlement of Muslim traders in their states and the propagation of Islam.
• Siyak Parmar attacked Manyata, the capital of the Rashtrakutas and completely destroyed it.