The Tripartite Struggle: Age of the Three Empires (800–1000 AD)

 

Following the fall of Harsha's kingdom in the seventh century, a number of powerful kingdoms emerged in north India, the Deccan, and south India. Unlike the Gupta and Harsha empires in north India, no other kingdom in north India was able to rule the whole Ganga valley. Between AD 750 and 1000, large states formed in north India and the Deccan. The Pala empire dominated eastern India until the middle of the ninth century; the Pratihara empire dominated western India and the upper Gangetic valley until the middle of the tenth century; and the Rashtrakuta empire dominated the Deccan and controlled territories in north and south India at different times.

The Tripartite Struggle

Between 750 AD and 1000 AD, many empires emerged in North and South India. Among these, three were prominent – ​​the Pala dynasty which ruled eastern India till the middle of the 9th century, the Pratihara Empire which ruled western India and the upper Gangetic valley till the middle of the 10th century, and the Rashtrakuta Empire which ruled the region of the Deccan. During the 8th century, there was a struggle for control over Kanauj between these three major kingdoms of India. This struggle for control over Kanauj between these three dynasties is known in Indian history as the tripartite struggle.

 Causes of Tripartite Struggle:  

• During the early medieval period, Kannauj was seen as a sign of status and authority.
• Kannauj was the former capital of Harshvardhana's empire and control of it represented the political domination over northern India.
• Control of Kannauj also meant control of the Central Gangetic valley, which was rich in resources and hence strategically and commercially significant.
• Kannauj located in the central Gangetic valley was a very important center for trade and commerce because it was connected to the silk road.
• Between the end of the eighth century and the first quarter of the ninth century, three kings ruled over Kannauj: Indrayudha, Vijrayudha, and Chakrayudha.
• These kings were very weak and could be easily defeated.
• The desire to plunder through warfare attracted the Rashtrakutas to Kannauj.

Phases Of Struggle :

Phase I

• The struggle started with the invasion of Kannauj by Pratihara ruler Vatsaraja. The rule of Kannauj, the Indra Yudh was defeated and accepted the suzerainty of his Vatsaraj. Struggle began around 790 AD with a clash between Dharmapala and Vatsaraja. 
• The battle between Dharmapala and the Pratihara king Vatsaraja at Prayag resulted in the defeat of Dharmapala. After some time Vatsaraja was defeated by Rashtrakuta king Dhruva. 
• Dharmapala took control of Kannauj after Vatsaraja's fall, but he was again defeated by Dhruva.
• Dhruva, on the other hand, was unable to consolidate his victory because he needed to return to the south to save his own kingdom.
• Dharmapala took advantage of the situation and recovered Kannauj, putting Chakrayudha on the throne. Dharmapala, via a series of successful expeditions, established himself as the lord of virtually all of Northern India.
  

Phase II

 

• Pratihara ruler Nagabhatta II, the successor of Vatsaraja, invaded Kanauj and defeated Dharmapala in a battle near Munger.
• His victory was short-lived, as he was soon overthrown by Govinda III (Rashtrakuta king), the successor of Dhruva. Govinda III left for the Deccan soon after this victory.
• By the end of the 9th century, the Rastrakutas' power had begun to wane alongside that of the Palas.
• The Pratiharas emerged victoriously and established themselves as the rulers of central India by the end of the tripartite struggle.

Consequences of tripartite struggle:

• The tripartite struggle weakened the position of the three superpowers so that they could not establish a large empire and enabled the Turks to oust them from power. 
• Tripartite struggle rendered all three dynasties feeble. This led to the country's political breakdown, which aided the Middle Eastern Islamic invaders.
• The power of the three superpowers was almost the same, which was mainly based on huge organized armies, but taking advantage of the struggle of Kanauj, the feudatories declared themselves independent, which destroyed the unity.

Three Empires

Pala dynasty of Bengal : 

• The Pal dynasty was probably established in Bengal (Gaur) around 750 AD. 
• After the death of Shashanka, people there elected Gopal to rule, who established this dynasty. Gopal had built a Buddhist Vihara at Nalanda.
• After his death in 770 AD, his son Dharmapala (c. 770 – 810 CE) became the king. For some time, he had established his authority over Kanauj and he assumed the title of 'Uttarpathaswamin’. Dharmapala founded the viharas of Vikramshila and Sompur and donated 200 villages to the Nalanda Mahavihara. Dharmapala was an Buddhist, in his writings he has been called Paramsaugat and Haribhadra, a famous Buddhist scholar, resided in his court.
• Dharmapala was succeeded by his son Devapala (810 to 850 AD) as the next ruler. He also continued the policy of expansion of the empire. He made Munger his capital, and dominated a part of modern Nepal and maintained its cultural and trade links with Tibet and the Shailendra kingdom of Southeast Asia (Sumatra).  
• Devapala's successor Vigrahapala (850-854 AD) left the throne in favor of his son Narayanpal and took sannyasa.
• His successor Narayan Pal had to suffer defeat at the hands of Pratihara ruler Mihirbhoj and Mahendrapala and he also lost the territory of Magadha to them. Narayan Pal got a thousand temples built in the honor of Shiva.
•  His successor Rajapala, by establishing matrimonial relations with the Rashtrakutas, reclaimed the lost territory.
• The revival of the Pala dynasty was done by Mahipala (977 – 1027 CE), but due to the invasion of Chola rule Rajendra I (1022-23), the state suffered economic and social damage.
• Mahipala's successor was Naipal, who initially fought with the Kalachuris, but later married the Kalachuri princess.
• After the death of Naipal, chaos spread, which was ended by Rampal (1072 – 1126 CE). He re-established control over Bengal, Assam, Orissa but lost East Bengal and Mithila (in the hands of Karnato) to the Sen rulers. He is the protagonist of Sandhyakar Nandi's Ramcharit.
• The last ruler of the Pala dynasty was Govind Pal. It was probably ruling Bengal at the time of Bakhtiar Khilji's invasion, though it was a nominal rule and the Pal state of Bengal passed under the control of the Sena dynasty at the end of the 12th century.
• In the middle of the ninth century, Suleiman the traveler called the Pala kingdom 'Ruhama'.

Gurjara - Pratihara dynasty

• Pratiharas ruled from 8th century to 11th century in Gujarat or South-West Rajasthan. 
• The founder of this dynasty is considered to be Harichandra.
• During the reign of Nagabhatta I (730 – 760 CE) , the power of the Pratiharas became stronger. He stopped the invasion of Arabs and in Gwalior Prasit he has been described as 'destroyer of Palchho'.
• The fourth ruler of this dynasty, Vatsaraja (730 – 760 CE), tried to convert the Pratihara kingdom into an empire. It was at this time that the tripartite struggle began, in which it participated, but the Palas and the Rashtrakutas curbed its ambition.
• The real founder of the Pratihara kingdom and the greatest ruler of this dynasty was MihirBhoja (836 – 885 CE). He captured Kanauj around 836 AD and Kannauj remained the capital of the Pratihara kingdom for almost a century. Bhoja imported horses from Central Asia and Arabia,Pala rule After the death of Devapala, Bhoja expanded his empire to the east as well. Bhoja was a devotee of Vishnu and he wore the opposite of 'Adivaraha'. 
• Bhoja probably died around 885 AD. After that his son Mahendrapal (885 – 910 CE) became the first king. He conquered Magadha and North Bengal and protected the former empire expansion. Mahendrapala assumed titles like Parambhattaraka, Maharajadhiraja, Parameshwara, in its court resided the famous scholar Rajashekhar, who was its Rajguru. Rajasekhara composed famous Jain texts like Karpoormanjari, Kavyamimansa, Vidhasalabhanjika, Balbharat, Balaramayana, Bhuvankosh and Harvilas.
• Between 915 AD to 918 AD, Rashtrakuta ruler Indra III attacked Kannauj and destroyed the city. This weakened the Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty. In 963 AD, Krishna III (Rashtrakuta king) defeated the Pratihara rule by invading North India. After this the Pratihara Empire collapsed.

Rashtrakuta Dynasty 

• This kingdom was founded by Dantidurga (735-755 AD). Who made Manyakhet or Malkhed his capital near modern Sholapur. Dantidurga expanded the empire in areas like Kanchi, Kalinga, Malwa etc. The Rashtrakutas were feudatories of the Chalukyas of Badami.
• His successor Krishna I (756 - 772) expanded the empire. He was an art lover, he built the famous Kailash temple at Ellora. 
• The arrival of the Rashtrakuta dynasty in the tripartite struggle took place during the reign of Dhuva (780-93). He defeated both Vatsaraja and Dharmapala.
• Govind III (793 AD - 793 AD) was the great ruler of the Rashtrakuta period. It is known from an inscription that Govinda III terrified the Kerala, Pandya and Chola kings.
• Amoghavarsha (814 AD - 878 AD) was more interested in religion and literature. He himself was a Kannada writer and is credited with writing Kannada's first work on politics named 'Kavirajamarga'
• The last majestic king of this dynasty was Krishna III (from 934 AD to 967 AD). He had to fight with the rulers of Malwa (Parmar) and Vengi (Chalukya, Eastern). It also led a military campaign against the Chola rule of Tanjore. Krishna III built temples named Krishnaeshwara and Gandamartandaditya at Rameshwaram. The Kannada language poet Ponna resided in his court, who composed the Shanti Purana.
• After the death of Krishna III, all the opposing regimes united against his successor and in 972AD by conquering Manyakhet, the capital of the Rashtrakutas. 
• In 974-75, the Chalukya king Tailap II defeated Karka II, the last ruler of the Rashtrakuta dynasty, and occupied the Rashtrakuta kingdom.