Tripartite Struggle
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The Tripartite Struggle (785–816) were a series of wars in
northern India North India is a geographical region, loosely defined as a cultural region comprising the northern part of India (or historically, the Indian subcontinent) wherein Indo-Aryans (speaking Indo-Aryan languages) form the prominent majority populati ...
fought over the control of the throne of Kannauj, which during that time was equivalent to having imperial status over all of Aryavarta. It involved the three powerful dynasties of the era – the Pratiharas of Gurjaradesa, the Palas of Gauda (Bengal) and the Rashtrakutas of Manyakheta. The war ultimately resulted in
Nagabhata II Nagabhata II (reign 795–833) was an Indian Emperor from Pratihara dynasty. He ascended the throne of Pratihara dynasty after his father Vatsraja. His mother was queen Sundari-Devi. He was designated with imperial titles - ''Paramabhattaraka ...
, King of the Gurjaras, winning the crown of Kannauj in 816, and proclaiming himself King of Kannauj. In the eighth century, the two major powers of Aryavarta (northern India) were the
Pratiharas The Pratihara dynasty, also called the Gurjara-Pratiharas, the Pratiharas of Kannauj or the Imperial Pratiharas, was a prominent medieval Indian dynasty which ruled over the Kingdom of Kannauj. It initially ruled the Gurjaradesa until its vict ...
who ruled the Gurjara Kingdom and the
Palas A ''palas'' () is a German term for the imposing or prestigious building of a medieval '' Pfalz'' or castle that contained the great hall. Such buildings appeared during the Romanesque period (11th to 13th century) and, according to Thompson ...
who ruled the Kingdom of Gauda (Bengal). While the Pratiharas gradually expanded their domain towards the east, the Palas expanded their domains towards the west. In
southern India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...
and the Deccan, the Rashtrakutas of Manyakheta reigned, who also sought to expand their domains north and control Aryavarta. This led to the formation of the Kannauj triangle, a region which lead to decades of conflict.


Background

According to the Epigraphist Dineschandra Sircar, the struggle between the Pratihara and the Rashtrakuta had begun earlier than the struggle over the Kingdom of Kannauj. These two powers shared a common frontier in the
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 ...
and
Malwa Malwa () is a historical region, historical list of regions in India, region of west-central India occupying a plateau of volcanic origin. Geologically, the Malwa Plateau generally refers to the volcanic plateau, volcanic upland north of the ...
regions. The frontier was a shifting one and far from permanent, causing enmity between the two powers. Even before the struggle over Kannauj started, Dantidurga, the founder of the Rashtrakuta Empire, had defeated
Nagabhata I Nagabhata I (r. c. 730 – 760 CE) was the founder of the imperial Pratihara dynasty in northern India. He ruled the Avanti (or Malava) region in present-day Madhya Pradesh, from his capital at Ujjain. He may have extended his control over ...
of the Pratihara dynasty, as evident from the Dashavatara Temple inscription of Dantidurga at Ellora and the Sanjan inscription of Amoghavarsha I, both belonging to the Rashtrakuta dynasty which states that Dantidurga (r. 735–756) performed a religious ceremony at Ujjayani, and the king of Gurjara-desha (Gurjara country) acted as his door-keeper (''pratihara''), suggesting that the Rashtrakuta king had subdued the Pratihara king who was ruling Avanti at that time. On the other hand, the conflict between the Palas of Gauda/
Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...
and the Ayudhas of Kannauj was the continuation of an old power struggle that had started between
Harshavardhana Harshavardhana (Sanskrit: हर्षवर्धन; 4 June 590 – 647) was an emperor of Kannauj from April 606 until his death in 647. He was the king of Thanesar who had defeated the Alchon Huns, and the younger brother of Rajya ...
of Kannauj and Sasanka of Gauda in the 7th century and would continue till the 12th century. These regional struggles were escalated to a greater pitch over the issue of succession of the Ayudha dynasty. Also, the involvement of the four powers, i.e. the Pratihara Empire, the Pala Empire, the Rashtrakuta Empire, and the Kingdom of Kannauj meant that it was actually a four-power struggle.


Prelude

By the eighth century, the Kingdom of Kannauj which had controlled much of
northern India North India is a geographical region, loosely defined as a cultural region comprising the northern part of India (or historically, the Indian subcontinent) wherein Indo-Aryans (speaking Indo-Aryan languages) form the prominent majority populati ...
under
Harshavardhana Harshavardhana (Sanskrit: हर्षवर्धन; 4 June 590 – 647) was an emperor of Kannauj from April 606 until his death in 647. He was the king of Thanesar who had defeated the Alchon Huns, and the younger brother of Rajya ...
in the seventh century had greatly diminished in power under a succession of weak kings, and was replaced by two new great powers in North India — the Kingdom of Gurjara to the west and the Kingdom of Bengal to the east. In southern India, the Rashtrakuta royal family reigned, whose king Dhruva too had imperial ambitions to rule northern India. The king of the Gurjaras,
Vatsaraja Vatsaraja (780–800) or Vatsraja was an Emperor of the Pratihara dynasty in Northern India. He was grand-nephew of Nagabhata I and his mother was queen Bhuyikadevi. He was the first ruler of Rajasthan to win victories over the distant regions ...
, the grand-nephew of
Nagabhata I Nagabhata I (r. c. 730 – 760 CE) was the founder of the imperial Pratihara dynasty in northern India. He ruled the Avanti (or Malava) region in present-day Madhya Pradesh, from his capital at Ujjain. He may have extended his control over ...
, expanded the small principality founded by his ancestor into a powerful kingdom in northwestern India. His ambitions matched those of
Dharmapala A ''dharmapāla'' is a type of wrathful god in Buddhism. The name means "''dharma'' protector" in Sanskrit, and the ''dharmapālas'' are also known as the Defenders of the Justice (Dharma), or the Guardians of the Law. There are two kinds of ...
, the king of Bengal who too wanted glory for himself and wanted to extend his power beyond his ancestral domain in eastern India. The throne of
Kannauj Kannauj (Hindustani language, Hindustani pronunciation: ) is an ancient city, administrative headquarters and a municipal board or Nagar palika, Nagar Palika Parishad in Kannauj district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Ut ...
was equivalent to having imperial status over all of northern India and thus,
Vatsaraja Vatsaraja (780–800) or Vatsraja was an Emperor of the Pratihara dynasty in Northern India. He was grand-nephew of Nagabhata I and his mother was queen Bhuyikadevi. He was the first ruler of Rajasthan to win victories over the distant regions ...
,
Dharmapala A ''dharmapāla'' is a type of wrathful god in Buddhism. The name means "''dharma'' protector" in Sanskrit, and the ''dharmapālas'' are also known as the Defenders of the Justice (Dharma), or the Guardians of the Law. There are two kinds of ...
, and Dhruva, all sought to control it. The incumbents of the Kannauj throne at that time, the Ayudha dynasty were weak rulers and the accession of Indrayudha triggered the first great war.


First Tripartite War (AD 785–790)

The first move was made by
Vatsaraja Vatsaraja (780–800) or Vatsraja was an Emperor of the Pratihara dynasty in Northern India. He was grand-nephew of Nagabhata I and his mother was queen Bhuyikadevi. He was the first ruler of Rajasthan to win victories over the distant regions ...
, soon after the ascension of the new king of Kannauj, Indrayudha. He swiftly invaded Kannauj and defeated the king. The weak king accepted the overlordship of Vatsaraja. Following this success, Vatsaraja proceeded to invade Bengal. His vassal, Durlabharaja I, the king of Sambhar pursued the forces of the king of Gauda and defeated
Dharmapala A ''dharmapāla'' is a type of wrathful god in Buddhism. The name means "''dharma'' protector" in Sanskrit, and the ''dharmapālas'' are also known as the Defenders of the Justice (Dharma), or the Guardians of the Law. There are two kinds of ...
. His men looted the royal treasury, and Vatsaraja set back on his way to his kingdom. Vatsaraja adopted the title ''Ranahastin'' following this victory. However, the ambitious king of the South, Dhruva (of the Rashtrakuta royal family) decided to intervene in the ongoing conflict of the northern kingdoms. While
Vatsaraja Vatsaraja (780–800) or Vatsraja was an Emperor of the Pratihara dynasty in Northern India. He was grand-nephew of Nagabhata I and his mother was queen Bhuyikadevi. He was the first ruler of Rajasthan to win victories over the distant regions ...
was on his return journey with the spoils of war, he was defeated by Dhruva's forces, and was thus forced to flee and hide in the deserts of Maru. Following this, Dhruva met and defeated Dharmapala in the Doab. Dhruva however, had no intentions for any permanent territorial conquests and only intended to raid the invaded regions. He thus returned to the South in 790.


Dharmapala's invasion of Kannauj (AD 791)

Following the departure of Dhruva,
Dharmapala A ''dharmapāla'' is a type of wrathful god in Buddhism. The name means "''dharma'' protector" in Sanskrit, and the ''dharmapālas'' are also known as the Defenders of the Justice (Dharma), or the Guardians of the Law. There are two kinds of ...
grabbed the opportunity and invading the kingdom of Kannauj around 791, defeated Indrayudha and installed his brother Chakrayudha as his vassal, clearly avoiding annexation. He then held an imperial court at Kannauj to crown Chakrayudha, which was attended by the rulers of Bhoja,
Matsya Matsya () is the fish avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu. Often described as the first of Vishnu's Dashavatara, ten primary avatars, Matsya is described to have rescued the first man, Manu (Hinduism), Manu, from a great deluge. Matsya may be dep ...
, Madra, Kuru,
Yadu This is a list of ancient Indo-Aryan peoples and tribes that are mentioned in the literature of Indian religions. From the second or first millennium BCE, ancient Indo-Aryan peoples and tribes turned into most of the population in the north ...
, Yavana, Avanti,
Gandhara Gandhara () was an ancient Indo-Aryan people, Indo-Aryan civilization in present-day northwest Pakistan and northeast Afghanistan. The core of the region of Gandhara was the Peshawar valley, Peshawar (Pushkalawati) and Swat valleys extending ...
and Kira. These kings accepted the installation of Chakrayudha on the Kannauj throne, while "bowing down respectfully with their diadems trembling". Some historians have speculated that all these kingdoms might have been the vassal states of the Pala empire but maintained their autonomy.


Govinda III's northern campaign (AD 798–800)

Vatsaraja Vatsaraja (780–800) or Vatsraja was an Emperor of the Pratihara dynasty in Northern India. He was grand-nephew of Nagabhata I and his mother was queen Bhuyikadevi. He was the first ruler of Rajasthan to win victories over the distant regions ...
was succeeded by his son
Nagabhata II Nagabhata II (reign 795–833) was an Indian Emperor from Pratihara dynasty. He ascended the throne of Pratihara dynasty after his father Vatsraja. His mother was queen Sundari-Devi. He was designated with imperial titles - ''Paramabhattaraka ...
(), who strived to rebuild the fallen empire of his father. In the Deccan, Dhruva was succeeded by his son Govinda III (). Wary of the rising might of Nagabhata, he decided to crush Nagabhata's power before he became too powerful. After securing the Vindhya passes under his loyal brother Indra, he invaded the Gurjara kingdom though Bhopal and Jhansi and defeated Nagabhata near Gwalior. Govinda conquered
Malwa Malwa () is a historical region, historical list of regions in India, region of west-central India occupying a plateau of volcanic origin. Geologically, the Malwa Plateau generally refers to the volcanic plateau, volcanic upland north of the ...
, Lata and Mahakoshal from the Gurjaras. Chakrayudha made an unconditional surrender to Govinda, and thus, Govinda made no effort to conquer the Doab. Dharmapala also submitted.


Gurjara–Gauda War (AD 816)

With Govinda's death in 814, the Rashtrakuta threat finally lapsed. Nagabhata was careful not to waste any time at all. In 816, Nagabhata II invaded the Doab, and defeated king Chakrayudha and proclaimed himself the King of Kannauj, establishing Kannauj as the Pratiharan capital, and marking the end of Ayudha control over the throne of Kannauj.
Dharmapala A ''dharmapāla'' is a type of wrathful god in Buddhism. The name means "''dharma'' protector" in Sanskrit, and the ''dharmapālas'' are also known as the Defenders of the Justice (Dharma), or the Guardians of the Law. There are two kinds of ...
prepared for the inevitable and Nagabhata, along with his vassals — Kakka of the Jodhpur Pratihara family, Vahukadhavala, the Chalukya chief of southern Kathiawar and the Guhilot Sankaragana, began the final invasion of Bengal. In the Battle of Monghyr, Nagabhata's forces soundly defeated those of Dharmapala, finally resulting in a Pratiharan victory, and marking the end of the decades-long tripartite struggle. Nagabhata also assumed the title ''Paramabhattaraka'' (All-Powerful) after his victory.


Notes


References


Citations


Bibliography

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Further reading

*{{citation , title=Ancient India , first=Ramesh Chandra , last=Majumdar , author-link=R. C. Majumdar , edition=Reprinted , publisher=Motilal Banarsidass , year=1977 , orig-year=1952 , isbn=9788120804364 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XNxiN5tzKOgC&pg=PA282 Military history of India 8th-century conflicts Natural resource conflicts 9th-century conflicts Conflicts in India Wars involving the Pala Empire Wars involving the Pratihara Empire Battles involving the Rajputs Wars involving the Rashtrakuta Empire History of Kannauj