WaldoOakes4: refined content for clarity and improved wording

2026-02-20T05:42:46Z

refined content for clarity and improved wording

>Pied Hornbill: Undid revision 1032039894 by 2401:4900:4993:E47:0:0:E25:4B4D (talk)

2021-07-05T14:44:42Z

Undid revision 1032039894 by 2401:4900:4993:E47:0:0:E25:4B4D (talk)

New page

{{use dmy dates|date=October 2016}}
{{Use Indian English|date=October 2016}}
{{Infobox royalty
| reign = 939-967 CE
| predecessor = [[Amoghavarsha III]]
| successor = [[Khottiga]]
}}
{{Rashtrakuta Manyakheta Kings Infobox}}
{{Short description|Monarch in 10th century India}}[[File:Old Kannada inscription dated Shaka 868 (c.944-45 AD) of Rashtrakuta empire King Krishna III.JPG|thumb|upright|Old Kannada inscription dated c. 944-45 AD of Rashtrakuta empire King Krishna III]]
'''Krishna III''' whose [[Kannada]] name was '''Kannara''' (r. 939 – 967 C.E.) was the last great warrior and able monarch of the [[Rashtrakuta dynasty]] of Manyakheta. He was a shrewd administrator and skillful military campaigner. He waged many wars to bring back the glory of the Rashtrakutas and played an important role in rebuilding the Rashtrakuta empire. He patronised the famous [[Kannada]] poets [[Sri Ponna]], who wrote ''Shanti purana'', Gajankusha, also known as Narayana, who wrote on erotics, and the [[Apabhramsha]] poet Pushpadanta who wrote ''Mahapurana'' and other works.<ref name="poet">Kamath (2001), p84, p90</ref><ref name="poet1">Sastri (1955), p356</ref><ref name="ubhaya">[[Bisheshwar Nath Reu|Reu]] (1933), p86</ref> His queen was a [[Kalachuris of Tripuri|Chedi]] princess and his daughter Bijjabbe was married to a [[Gangas|Western Ganga]] prince. During his rule he held titles such as ''Akalavarsha'', ''Maharajadhiraja'', ''Parameshvara'', ''Paramamaheshvara'', ''Shri Prithvivallabha'' etc.<ref name="title">Reu (1933), p82</ref> At his peak, he ruled a vast empire stretching from the [[Narmada River|Narmada]] river in the north to the [[Kaveri]] river delta in the south. A copper grant of 993 issued by the Shilahara king of Thana claims the Rashtrakuta control extended from the Himalayas in the north to Ceylon in the south and from the eastern sea to the western seas. The grant states that when King Krishna III mobilised his armies, the kings of Chola, Bengal, Kannauj, Andhra and Pandya regions used to quiver.<ref name="hold">Reu (1933), p43</ref>

==Southern invasion==
He killed the [[Western Ganga Dynasty|Western Ganga]] ruler Rachamalla II and made his brother-in-law [[Butuga II]] the king of the [[Mysore state|Gangavadi]] territory. He invaded the territory of Gurjara [[Prathihara]] and captured Chitrakuta and Kalinjara regions. He even defeated his own family relations, the [[Kalachuris of Tripuri]] (Chedi) who had turned against the Rashtrakutas.<ref name="tripuri">Kamath (2001), p82</ref> Later he invaded the southern [[Deccan Plateau|Deccan]] and recaptured [[Kolar]] and [[Dharmapuri]] from the [[Bana Kingdom|Banas]] and Vaidumbas who had given shelter to [[Govinda IV]] due to his matrimonial relations with the [[Cholas]]. Though he initially may have experienced setbacks, Tondaimandalam (northern Tamil regions) was secured by 944. He defeated the [[Cholas]] and captured [[Kanchi]] and [[Tanjore]], according to the Siddalingamadam plates of 944.<ref name="sidda">Kamath (2001), p83</ref>

In c. 949, he defeated the Cholas decisively in a [[battle of Takkolam]] in the [[North Arcot]] district.<ref name="arcot">From the Karhad record of 949 (Kamath 2001, p83)</ref> Krishna III was helped by his Western Ganga feudatory Butuga II in these campaign. Chola prince [[Rajaditya]] Chola was killed "while seated on his elephant with a well-aimed arrow". From the famous [[Atakur inscription]] it is known that Krishna III gave Buthuga II extensive Ratta territories near [[Banavasi]] in return for this victory.<ref name="title" /><ref name="ratta">From the [[Atakur inscription]] (Kamath 2001, p83)</ref><ref name="sarma">Sarma (1992), p20, p28, p133</ref><ref name="adi">Adiga (2006), p120, p307</ref> With the fall of the Cholas, he was able to extract tribute from the [[Pandyas]] and the Chera ruler of [[Kerala]].<ref name=":0">Narayanan, M. G. S. ''Perumāḷs of Kerala: Brahmin Oligarchy and Ritual Monarchy: Political and Social Conditions of Kerala Under the Cēra Perumāḷs of Makōtai (c. AD 800 - AD 1124).'' Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 2013. 100-101.</ref> He also obtained the submission of the King of Ceylon, extracted tributes from the Manadlika rulers, and erected a pillar of victory at Ramesvaram.<ref name="arcot" /><ref name="arcot1">From the Sholapur copper plate inscriptions of 958 (Reu 1933, p84, p85)</ref> This victory is narrated in Somadeva's writing ''Yashatilaka Champu'' of 959 as well.<ref name="pandya">Krishna III is described as the conqueror of Chola, Chera, Pandya and Simhala ([[Ceylon]]) (Reu 1933, p86)</ref>

However, from location of the inscriptions it is argued that Krishna III had full control only of Tondaimandalam (northern [[Tamil Nadu]]) as his inscriptions are not found further south in modern [[Tamil Nadu]].<ref name="control">Sathianath Ayer in Kamath 2001, p83</ref> After these victories he proclaimed himself "Conqueror of Kacci and Tanjai" (Kanchi and Tanjore).<ref name="tanjore">from the Tirukkalukkunram and Lakshmeshvara inscriptions (Reu 1933, p83, p85)</ref> He exerted influence on [[Vengi]] (modern [[Andhra Pradesh]]) by helping Badapa secure the throne against his competitor Amma II. Later, Danarnava of Vengi became his feudatory.

==Northern expedition==
While Krishna III focussed on southern [[Deccan Plateau|Deccan]], the [[Chandela]]s had captured Chitrakuta and Kalinjar. This prompted Krishna III to send his Western Ganga feudatory Marasimha, son of Buthuga II, to retrieve the lost areas. Marasimha defeated the Gurjara Prathiharas. The northernmost [[Kannada]] inscription of the Rashtrakutas, dated about 964 is the Jura record (near [[Jabalpur]]) in present-day [[Madhya Pradesh]]. The details of these victories are inscribed in this inscription.<ref name="sidda"/> Two inscriptions of Marasimha, dated 965 CE and 968 CE, state that his forces destroyed [[Ujjayani]] (which lies in the [[Paramara]] territory of [[Malwa]]). Based on this, some historians such as [[Anant Sadashiv Altekar|A. S. Altekar]] conclude that the Paramara king [[Siyaka]] must have rebelled against the Rashtrakuta suzerainty, resulting in a military campaign against him. Thus, Marasimha must have also defeated the Paramaras. However, K. N. Sethi believes that Krishna III only targeted the Gurjara-Pratiharas: there is no evidence to show that Siyaka rebelled against Krishna III or faced a battle against his forces.{{sfn|Seth|1978|pp=80-81}}

At his peak, Krishna III ruled an empire that extended from [[Narmada River|Narmada]] river in the north and stretched south covering large parts of present-day northern [[Tamil Nadu]] in the south. The [[Prathihara]], the [[Paramara]], the [[Seuna]] (ruled by Vaddiga) and the [[Kalachuris of Tripuri|northern Kalachuris]] were his feudatories in the northern Deccan and central India.<ref name="extent">However the Deoli inscriptions claim the Rashtrakuta control extended from the Himalayas in the north to Ceylon in the south and from the eastern sea to the western sea (Reu 1933, p83, p84)</ref>

This enmity with the northern Kalachuris of Tripuri proved fatal to the empire towards the end of his rule. Krishna III was also perhaps reckless in giving large ''fiefs'' (land grants) to his commanders. He gave the province of Tardavadi (present day [[Bijapur district, Karnataka|Bijapur district]]) sometime before 965 to [[Tailapa II]] his Chalukya feudatory right in the heart of his empire. This later turned out to be to the Rashtrakutas' undoing.

==Notes==
{{reflist|2}}

==References==
*{{cite book |last= Sastri|first= Nilakanta K.A.|title= A history of South India from prehistoric times to the fall of Vijayanagar|orig-year=1955|year=2002|publisher= Indian Branch, Oxford University Press|location= New Delhi|isbn= 0-19-560686-8}}
*{{cite book |last= Kamath|first= Suryanath U.|title= A concise history of Karnataka : from pre-historic times to the present|orig-year=1980|year= 2001|publisher= Jupiter books|location= Bangalore|oclc= 7796041 |lccn= 80905179}}
*{{cite book |last= Narasimhacharya|first= R|title= History of Kannada Literature|url= https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.489059|orig-year=1988|year=1988|publisher= Asian Educational Services|location= New Delhi, Madras|isbn= 81-206-0303-6}}
*{{cite book |last=Reu|first= Pandit Bisheshwar Nath |title=History of The Rashtrakutas (Rathodas)|orig-year=1933|year=1997|publisher= Publication scheme|location= Jaipur|isbn= 81-86782-12-5}}
* {{cite book |last= Adiga|first= Malini|title= The Making of Southern Karnataka: Society, Polity and Culture in the early medieval period, AD 400–1030|orig-year=2006|year= 2006|publisher= Orient Longman|location= Chennai|isbn= 81-250-2912-5}}
* {{cite book |last= Sarma|first= I.K. |author-link=I. K. Sarma |title= Temples of the Gangas of Karnataka|orig-year=1992|year=1992|publisher= Archaeological Survey of India|location= New Delhi|isbn= 0-19-560686-8}}
* {{cite book |first=Krishna Narain |last=Seth |title=The Growth of the Paramara Power in Malwa |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-Q4dAAAAMAAJ |publisher=Progress |year=1978 }}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20061104095148/http://www.ourkarnataka.com/history.htm  History of Karnataka, Mr. Arthikaje]

{{s-start}}
{{succession box |
before= [[Amoghavarsha III]] |
title= King of the<br>[[Rashtrakuta]] dynasty |
years= 939–967 |
after= [[Khottiga Amoghavarsha]]
}}
{{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Krishna 03}}
[[Category:967 deaths]]
[[Category:Hindu monarchs]]
[[Category:10th-century rulers in Asia]]
[[Category:Rashtrakuta dynasty]]

Krishna III - Revision history

WaldoOakes4: refined content for clarity and improved wording

>Pied Hornbill: Undid revision 1032039894 by 2401:4900:4993:E47:0:0:E25:4B4D (talk)