Krishna II (r. 878–914 CE) ascended the
Rashtrakuta throne after the demise of his illustrious father
Amoghavarsha I Nrupatunga. His
Kannada
Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...
name was Kannara.
Reu
Reu or Ragau (; ), according to Genesis in the Hebrew Bible, was the son of Peleg and the father of Serug, thus being Abraham's great-great-grandfather and the ancestor of the Israelites and Ishmaelites.
In scriptures
According to the apo ...
(1933), p75 His queen was a Haihaya princess of
Chedi called Mahadevi. From the chronology of inscriptions that mention the name of this emperor, it seems Krishna II may have started to rule even during the lifetime of his father. The fact that Amoghavarsha in his last years renounced the affairs of the state in
dharmic pursuits supports this claim.
[Reu (1933), p76] The reign of emperor Krishna II saw significant advances in literature, although in the affairs of expansion of the empire, his reign was mixed.
[Sen, S.N. (2013), p30, A Textbook of Medieval Indian History, Delhi: Primus Books, ] During his reign he cultivated matrimonial alliance with Chedis to form military gain.
Vengi affairs
His reign was one of mixed fortunes. He suffered some reversals against the
Eastern Chalukyas ruled by King Gunaga Vijayaditya III whose commander pursued Krishna II to central India. After the death of Vijayaditya III, Krishna II continued hostilities against Chalukya Bhima I in 892 and succeeded in defeating him and taking him prisoner. However, Bhima I later freed himself and pushed back the Rashtrakutas from
Vengi and crowned himself king. A few years later, Krishna II suffered two more defeats at the hands of the Vengi Chalukyas at Niravadyapura and Peruvanguru.
[Sastri (1955), p160] However other sources claim Krishna II conquered
Andhra
Andhra Pradesh (ISO: , , AP) is a state on the east coast of southern India. It is the seventh-largest state and the tenth-most populous in the country. Telugu is the most widely spoken language in the state, as well as its official lang ...
.
Deccan and northern affairs
Krishna II defeated the Gurjara Bhoja I of
Prathihara dynasty of
Gujarat
Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...
, merging the
Lata
Latha (Hindi: लता, Kannada: ಲತಾ) is a Hindu Indian female given name, which means "creeper" and "Durga". Latha may refer to:
Notable people named Lata
*Lata Mangeshkar (1929–2022), Indian singer.
*Lata Bhatt (born 1954), Indian sin ...
line (Gujarat) of Rashtrakutas to bring it under his direct rule from
Manyakheta.
[Kamath (2001), p80] He defeated the kingdoms of Banga, Kalinga, Magadha. It is claimed his kingdom extended from the
Ganges
The Ganges ( ; in India: Ganga, ; in Bangladesh: Padma, ). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary rive ...
river in the north to
Cape Comorin
Kanyakumari (Tamil; / kəɳjɑkʊmɑɾiː/; referring to Devi Kanya Kumari, officially known as Kanniyakumari, formerly known as Cape Comorin) is a town and a municipality in Kanyakumari district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is the ...
in the south.
He held titles such as ''Akalavarsha'' and ''Shubatunga''.
Tamil politics
His daughter had married the
Chola
The Chola Empire, which is often referred to as the Imperial Cholas, was a medieval thalassocratic empire based in southern India that was ruled by the Chola dynasty, and comprised overseas dominions, protectorates and spheres of influence ...
king
Aditya I. With this the emperor had hoped to achieve influence in the
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
People, culture and language
* Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka
** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...
country. After the death of Aditya I, instead of his Rashtrakuta lineage son Kannara-devan ascending the throne,
Parantaka I became the Chola monarch. Krishna II then invaded the Chola realm with the help of his feudatories, the
Banas and the Vaidumbas rulers, hoping to force the issue. He failed to consolidate his influence on the Cholas. The Rashtrakutas suffered a defeat in the battle of Vallala at the hands of Cholas under Parantaka in 916.
[Sastri (1955), pp160-161]
Notes
References
*
*
*
External links
History of Karnataka, Mr. Arthikaje
{{DEFAULTSORT:Krishna 02
914 deaths
Hindu monarchs
10th-century Indian monarchs
Rashtrakuta emperors
9th-century Indian monarchs