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{{short description|Early history of Indian dynasty}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2015}}
{{Use Indian English|date=December 2015}}
The '''Origin of the [[Rashtrakuta dynasty]]''' has been a controversial topic and has been debated over the past decades by historians. The differing opinions mostly revolve around issues such as the home of the earliest ancestors of the medieval Rashtrakutas, a possible southern migration during the early part of the first millennium and the relationship between the several Rashtrakuta dynasties that ruled small kingdoms in northern and central India and the Deccan in the 6th century - 7th century. Further, the relationship of these medieval Rashtrakutas to the most important and famous dynasty, the Rashtrakutas of [[Manyakheta]] of the 8th century - 10th century time period has also been debated.

While the history of the early Rashtrakutas has caused much debate, the history of the Rashtrakutas of [[Manyakheta]] (in present-day [[Gulbarga]]) of the 8th–10th centuries can be accurately constructed because numerous contemporaneous inscriptions and texts refer to them. The crux of the Manyakheta empire extended from the [[Kaveri river]] in the south to the [[Narmada River|Narmada]] in the north. At their peak they were the only south Indian empire that conquered regions in far northern India ([[Kannauj]]) as well as the extreme south ([[Ancient Tamil country|Tamilakam]]). The Lata branch of the empire (in present-day [[Gujarat]]) was an important dynasty belonging to the Manyakheta family line which later merged with the Manyakheta kingdom during the 9th century.

==Research==

===Sources===
The study of the history of the early Rashtrakutas and the Rashtrakutas of Manyakheta has been made possible by the availability of numerous inscriptions spread all over the Deccan, ancient literature in [[Pali]],<ref name="pali">[[Bisheshwar Nath Reu|Reu]] 1933 p1</ref> contemporaneous Kannada literature such as ''[[Kavirajamarga]]'' (850) and ''[[Vikramarjuna Vijaya]]'' (941), Sanskrit writings by Somadeva, Rajashekara, Gunabhadra, Jinasena and others and the notes of Arab travellers of those times such as Suleiman, Ibn Haukal, Al Masudi, Al Istakhri and others.<ref name="improbable1">Kamath (2001), p72</ref> Scholars have left no topic unstudied in an effort to accurately propose the history of the Rashtrakutas. Theories about their lineage (''Surya Vamsa'' or ''Chandra Vamsa''), native region and ancestral home have been proposed using clues from inscriptions, royal emblems, ancient clan names such as "Rashtrika", epithets such as ''Ratta'', ''Rashtrakuta'', ''Lattalura Puravaradhiswara'', names of royalty, coins and contemporaneous literature.<ref name="study">Reu (1933) pp1-15</ref><ref name="study1">Kamath (2001), p72-74</ref>

===Epithets===

The appearance of the terms ''Rathika'', ''Ristika'' (''Rashtrika'') or ''Lathika'' in conjunction with the terms ''Kambhoja'' and ''Gandhara'' in some Ashokan inscriptions of the 2nd century BCE from Mansera and Shahbazgarhi in North Western Frontier Province (present day Pakistan), Girnar ([[Saurashtra (region)|Saurashtra]]) and Dhavali ([[Orissa, India|Kalinga]]) and the use of the epithet "Ratta" in many later inscriptions had prompted a claim by Reu that the earliest Rashtrakutas were descendants of the ''Arattas'', natives of the Punjab region mentioned in the text of [[Mahabharata]] who later migrated south and set up kingdoms there,<ref name="arattas">Hultzsch in Reu 1933, p2</ref> while another theory of J.H. Fleet points more generally to north western regions of India.<ref name="nw">J.H.Fleet in (Reu 1933, p6)</ref> Based on this theory, the Arattas may have become natives of the Deccan having arrived there during the early centuries of the first millennium.<ref name="natives">Reu (1933), p7</ref>

This is counter to the argument by other scholars that the term ''Rishtika'' used together with ''Petenika'' in the Ashokan inscriptions implied they were hereditary ruling clans from modern Maharashtra region<ref name="petenika">D.R.Bhandarkar in Reu 1933, p1, p7</ref> and the term "Ratta" implied ''Maharatta'' ruling families from modern Maharashtra region.<ref name="maharatta">C.V.Vaidya in Reu 1933, p1, p7</ref> But this has been rejected on the basis that from ancient books such as ''Dipavamsha'' and ''Mahavamsha'' in Pali language it is known the term ''Maharatta'' and not ''Rashtrika'' has been used to signify inhabitants from modern Maharashtra region and the terms ''Rashtrika'' and ''Petenika'' appear to be two different displaced ruling tribes.<ref name="pali1">B.N. Reu claims Dr C.V. Vaidya has made an assumption that the Rashtrakutas have lived in the Maharashtra region from the time of King Ashoka simply based on availability of Ashokan inscriptions from that region while inscriptions from other parts of the empire such as Saurashtra, Kalinga and North West also use such clan names. He has further argued that ''Rashtrika'' and ''Petenika'' are not one term but two separate terms in (Reu 1933, p1, p7)</ref> Some scholars argue that the attempt to link the Rashtakutas to [[Maratha clan system|Mahrattas]] or [[Marathi people|Marathis]] was driven by a need to project modern political identities onto a much more complex past as these groups wouldn't exist till many centuries later.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Anirudh Kanisetti|date=30 January 2022|title=Lords of the Deccan: Southern India from the Chalukyas to the Cholas |isbn=978-93-91165-0-55|url=|location=India|publisher=Juggernaut |page=193|quote=Some historians have attempted to prove, based on flimsy evidence, that they were Marathas or at least Marathis. Some even claim that they were Rajputs – though neither of these groups or categories would exist for centuries after. These anachronistic claims are driven by a need to project modern political identities onto a much more complex past.}}</ref>

It is noted by another scholar that ruling clans called ''Rathis'' and ''Maharathis'' were in power in parts of present-day Karnataka as well in the early centuries of the Christian era, which is known inscriptions from the region and further proven by the discovery of lead coins from the middle of 3rd century bearing ''Sadakana Kalalaya Maharathi'' in the heart of modern Karnataka region near [[Chitradurga]]. In the face of these facts it is claimed it can no longer be maintained that the ''Rathi'' and ''Maharathi'' families were confined only to present day Maharashtra.<ref name="rathi">Altekar (1934), pp20-21</ref> It is claimed there is sufficient inscriptional evidence that several ''Maharathi'' families were related to [[Kannadiga]] families by marriage and they were [[Snake|naga]] worshippers, a form of worship very popular in the [[Mysore]] region (modern Karnataka).<ref name="rathi"/> The terms ''Rathi'', ''Maharathi'', ''Rathika'', ''Rashtriya'', ''Rasthrapathi'' and ''Rasthtrakuta'' were of political and administrative significance and not used to denote any tribes or ethnicity.<ref>Altekar (1934), pp24-25</ref> Also, no evidence to confirm that these families were either Aryan or non-Aryan is available.<ref name="aryan">Altekar (1934), p25</ref> [[Chintaman Vinayak Vaidya|C. V. Vaidya]] claimed that Rashtrakutas were ancestors of modern Marathas. This was rejected by historian [[Anant Sadashiv Altekar|A. S. Altekar]] who showed that they were of the 'Canarese' stock and that their mother tongue was [[Kannada]].<ref>Altekar (1934), p18</ref> According to E. P. Rice the northern limits of the Kannada spoken region was pushed back by Maratha raids and conquests in more modern times.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Edward Peter Rice|date=1921|title=A history of Kanarese literature|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jhsiAAAAMAAJ&q=Northern+limits+|publisher=Calcutta, Association Press; London, New York Oxford University Press |page=12|oclc=586200332|quote=In the Kavirajamarga (A.D. 850) the Kanarese country is described as extending from the Kaveri to the Godavari; which shows that the linguistic area at that time extended further north than at present. Inscriptions, manuscripts, local names and other evidence prove that Kolhapur, where the chief language now is Marathi, was once in the Kanarese area. Also in Sholapur town and district there are many Kanarese inscriptions. The northern limits of Kanarese were probably pushed back by the Maratha raids and conquests.}}</ref>

The epithet ''Ratta'', it is also claimed is a Kannada word from which the word ''Rashtrakuta'' has been derived. The use of the word ''Rattagudlu'' (meaning an office) has been found in inscriptions from present day Andhra Pradesh dated prior to the 8th century indicating it was a South Indian word. From the Deoli plates and Karhad records it is argued there was a prince called Ratta and his son was called Rashtrakuta. Hence it has been argued the Rashtrakutas were of Kannada origin.<ref name="rattagudlu">A.S. Altekar in Kamath 2001, p73</ref> It is also said the term ''Rashtrakuta'' means "state headman" where ''Rashtra'' means province and ''Kuta'' means chieftain or ''Rashtra'' means "kingdom" and ''Kuta'' means "lofty".<ref name="kuta">Reu (1933), p4</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=Anirudh Kanisetti|date=30 January 2022|title=Lords of the Deccan: Southern India from the Chalukyas to the Cholas |isbn=978-93-91165-0-55|url=|location=India|publisher=Juggernaut |page=193|quote=the Rashtrakutas (literally ‘state headman’)...}}</ref>

Another epithet used in inscriptions of [[Amoghavarsha I]] was ''Lattalura Puravaradhiswara''. It is proposed that it refers to their original home ''Lattalur'', modern day Latur in Maharashtra state, bordering Karnataka.<ref name="Fleet">J.H. Fleet in Kamath 2001, p72</ref> This area it is claimed was predominantly Kannada speaking based on surviving vestiges of place names, inscriptions and cultural relics. It is explained that ''Latta'' is a Prakrit variation of ''Ratta'' and hence Rattana-ur became Lattana-ur and finally Lattalur.<ref name="fleet2">Altekar (1934), p23-24</ref> An alternative theory is that Latalurapura is modern day Ratnapur in Bilaspur district of central India.<ref name="bilas">According to Rajvade in Reu 1933, p7</ref> However it is most likely that they were Kannada military aristocrats settled in Maharashtra by their overlords for administrative purpose.<ref name="Kanisetti">{{cite book |author1=Anirudh Kanisetti|date=2022|title=Lords of the Deccan: Southern India from the Chalukyas to the Cholas |url=|location=India|publisher=Juggernaut |page=193|isbn=978-93-91165-0-55|quote=It is most likely that they were Kannada-speaking military aristocrats settled at a strategic point in modern-day Maharasthra by the Chalukyas or some other powerful group, perhaps to keep an eye on trade routes and various tribal peoples.}}</ref>

===Royal names and signatures===
In linking possible connections between the medieval Rashtrakuta families to the imperial family of Manyakheta it has been pointed out that only the family members ruling from Elichpur ([[Berar Sultanate|Berar]] or modern [[Amravati district]], modern Maharashtra) had names that were very similar to the names of Kings of the Manyakheta dynasty. From the Tivarkhed and Multhai inscriptions it is clear that the kings of this family were Durgaraja, Govindaraja, Svamikaraja and Nannaraja. These names closely resemble the names of Manyakheta kings or their extended family, the name Govindaraja appearing multiple times among the Manyakheta line. These names also appear in the Gujarat line of Rashtrakutas whose family ties with the Manyakheta family is well known.<ref name="names">Altekar (1934), p8</ref>

It has been noted that princes and princesses of the Rashtrakuta family used pure Kannada names such as [[Kambarasa]], Asagavve, Revakka and Abbalabbe as their personal names indicating that they were native [[Kannadigas]]. It has been pointed out that princesses of family lineage belonging to Gujarat signed their royal edicts in Kannada even in their Sanskrit inscriptions. Some examples of this are the Navsari and Baroda plates of Karka I and the Baroda plates of his son Dhruva II. It has been attested by a scholar that the Gujarat Rashtrakuta princes signed their inscriptions in the language of their native home and the race they belonged to.<ref name="sign">D.R. Bhandarkar in Kamath 2001, p73</ref> It is well known that the Gujarat line of Rashtrakutas were from the same family as the Manyakheta line. It is argued that if the Rashtrakutas were originally a Marathi speaking family, then the Gujarat Rashtrakutas would not have signed their inscriptions in Kannada language and that too in far away Gujarat.<ref name="guj">Altekar (1934), p21</ref> The theory that under the rule of the [[Badami]] [[Chalukyas]] of Kannada country, Kannada speaking dynasties were established in the far corners of the Chalukya empire (the vassal Chalukyas of Navasarika) in Gujarat, Andhra and [[Berar Sultanate|Berar]] (present day [[Vidharba]] region in modern Maharashtra) and hence the ancestors of King [[Dantidurga]], the founder of the Manyakheta empire were Kannadigas. It is further claimed there is proof that in the locality where Dantidurga lived Kannada was the spoken language.<ref name="home">Just as the later Maratha ruling families of Baroda, Indore, and Gwallior used their native language Marathi and script in their personal matters, so did the medieval Rashtrakutas preserve their native language Kannada when ruling from Berar- A.S. Altekar (1934), p22, p24</ref>

===Emblems===
Several Rashtrakuta families ruled India during the 6th century - 7th century period. Scholars have tried to understand their relationship with the Rashtrakutas of Manyakheta by a comparative study of the emblems.

The only Rashtrakuta family whose royal emblem is similar to that of the rulers of Manyakheta, the golden eagle or [[Garuda]] ''lanchhana'' (emblem) is that of the family that ruled from Amravathi district of modern [[Maharashtra]].{{Cn|date=April 2026}} It has been theorised that this line may possibly have been ancestors of the Manyakheta kings. Their inscriptions (Tivarkhed and Multhai) were issued from Achalapura (modern Elichpur) which may have been their capital. Another Rashtrakuta family ruling from Manapura with its founder King Abhimanyu had the emblem of a lion. This makes it improbable that they were the ancestors of the Manyakheta family.<ref name="improbable1" /><ref name="improbable">Altekar (1934), p6</ref> The location of Manapura is uncertain. [[John Faithfull Fleet]] proposed its identification with [[Manpur, Indore|Manpur in Malwa]], and then with [[Manpur, Umaria|Manpur near Bandhavgarh]], but later rejected both these theories himself.<ref>Epigraphia Indica (Volume 37, Part 1 - Page 12)</ref> Bhagawanlal Indraji identified it with Manyakheta (Malkhed) itself. [[Vasudev Vishnu Mirashi]] identified it with [[Maan, Maharashtra|Man, Satara]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sueiThBrP4gC&q=manapura&pg=PA32 |title=Kālidāsa; Date, Life, and Works |author1=Vasudev Vishnu Mirashi |author2=Narayan Raghunath Navlekar |name-list-style=amp |publisher=Popular |year=1969 |isbn=9788171544684 }}</ref>

===Vamsha (genealogy)===
With regards to their ''vamsha'' (whether they belonged to ''Surya Vamsha'' (solar lineage) or ''Chandra Vamsha'' (lunar lineage), Rashtrakuta inscriptions remained silent on the issue, until about 860. Scholars have traced the lineage claims of Rashtrakutas from [[Satyaki]] branch of Yadu Vamsa.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hjYaAAAAIAAJ&q=rashtrakuta+satyaki|title=Social and economic conditions under the Imperial Rāshṛakūṭas, circa A.D. 750-973|last=Mishra|first=Jayashri|date=1992-01-01|publisher=Commonwealth Publishers|isbn=9788171691715|language=en}}</ref> Over 75 inscriptions have been found thereafter in the Deccan and Gujarat which speak about their ''vamsha''. Of these, 8 lay a direct claim that they belonged to the Yadava line descended from the Vrishni hero [[Satyaki]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H3lUIIYxWkEC&q=rashtrakuta+satyaki&pg=PA555|title=A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century|last=Singh|first=Upinder|date=2008|publisher=Pearson Education India|isbn=9788131711200|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kXtDAAAAYAAJ&q=rashtrakuta+satyaki|title=A Comprehensive History of India: pt. 1. A.D. 300-985|date=1981|publisher=Orient Longmans|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rwpuAAAAMAAJ&q=rashtrakuta+satyaki|title=Nagas, the Ancient Rulers of India: Their Origin and History|last=Viyogi|first=Naval|date=2002-01-01|publisher=Originals|isbn=9788175362871|language=en}}</ref> Rashtrakutas claim Vrishni Yadava lineage throughout their records.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cG1DAAAAYAAJ&q=rashtrakuta+satyaki|title=Epigraphia Indica|date=1963|publisher=Manager of Publications|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CGs8AAAAMAAJ&q=rashtrakuta+satyaki|title=Ancient India|last=Mahajan|first=Vidya Dhar|date=1962|publisher=S. Chand|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2J0fAAAAIAAJ&q=rashtrakuta+satyaki|title=The History and Culture of the Indian People: The classical age|date=1962|publisher=Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8nlqDwAAQBAJ&q=rashtrakuta+satyaki&pg=PA49|title=Native Officialdom in Western India: Understanding the role of Maratha Hereditary-Officers|last=Sirdesai|first=Abhijit|date=2018-01-01|publisher=Author|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FdTqAAAAMAAJ&q=rashtrakuta+satyaki|title=A History of Indian Painting: The mural tradition|last=Chaitanya|first=Krishna|date=1976|publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn=9788170173106|language=en}}</ref> One inscription of 860 clearly states that King [[Dantidurga]] was born to the ''Yadava Satyaki'', 1800 coins of King Krishna I (772). An inscription of King [[Govinda III]] (808) mentions "by the birth of this virtuous king, the Rashtrakuta dynasty became invincible just as the Yadava dynasty by the birth of Lord Krishna".<ref name="percent1">Houben(1996), p215</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LnoREHdzxt8C&q=rashtrakuta+satyaki&pg=PA54|title=Antiquities of India: An Account of the History and Culture of Ancient Hindustan|last=Barnett|first=Lionel D.|date=1999-04-30|publisher=Atlantic Publishers & Dist|isbn=9788171564422|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1SBBAAAAMAAJ&q=rashtrakuta+satyaki|title=Early History of the Dekkan: Down to the Mahomedan Conquest|last=Bhandarkar|first=Sir Ramkrishna Gopal|date=1928|publisher=Chuckervertty, Chatterjee & Company, Limited|language=en}}</ref>

===Language===
While the linguistic leanings of the early Rashtrakutas (pre-8th century) has caused considerable debate, the history and language of the imperial Rashtrakutas of [[Manyakheta]] has been free of such confusion. It is clear from inscriptions, coinage and prolific contemporaneous literature that the court of these Rashtrakutas was multi-lingual, and used [[Sanskrit]] and [[Kannada]] as their administrative languages<ref name="percent">Pollock (2006), p332</ref><ref name="percent1" /> and encouraged literature in Sanskrit and Kannada.<ref name="dal1">Dalby (1998), p300</ref><ref name="Karnatabala">Kamath (2001), p73</ref> Rashtrakuta inscriptions outside Karnataka are mostly in Sanskrit<ref name="mas">Masica (1991), p45-46</ref><ref name="ravi">Rashtrakutas were Kannadigas from Lattaluru who encouraged Kannada language (Chopra, Ravindran, Subrahmanian 2003, p87)</ref> However this period was the very end of the classical era of literary Sanskrit and Prakrit.<ref name="end">Kamath (2001), p89</ref> As such, from the Kavirajamarga of the 9th century, it is known that Kannada was popular from Kaveri river up to the Godavari river, an area covering large territory in modern Maharashtra.<ref name="kavi1">Sastri (1955), p355</ref><ref name="god1">Rice, E.P. (1921), p12</ref><ref name="god2">Rice, B.L. (1897), p497</ref>

The Rashtrakuta inscriptions call them the vanquishers of the ''Karnatabala'', a sobriquet used to refer to the near invincibility of the Chalukyas of Badami. This however it is claimed should not be construed to mean that the Rashtrakutas themselves were not Kannadigas. Their patronage and love of the Kannada language is apparent in that most of their inscriptions within modern Karnataka are in Kannada, while their inscriptions outside of modern Karnataka tended to be in Sanskrit.<ref name="Karnatabala">Kamath (2001), p73</ref> An inscription in classical Kannada of King [[Krishna III]] has also been found as far away as [[Jabalpur]] in modern [[Madhya Pradesh]] which further supports the view of their affinity to the language.<ref name="Karnatabala"/>

[[Adikavi Pampa]], [[Sri Ponna]], [[Shivakotiacharya]] and King [[Amoghavarsha I]] were among the noteworthy scholars in Kannada,<ref name="kan">Kamath (2001), p. 90</ref> the [[Apabhramsha]] poet [[Pushpadanta]] wrote several works and famous Sanskrit scholars such as [[Jinasena]] and [[Virasena]] (both of whom were theologians), mathematician [[Mahavira (mathematician)|Mahaviracharya]] and poets such as Trivikrama and Gunabhadra adorned their courts.<ref name="san">Kamath (2001), pp88-89</ref> The earliest [[Extant literature|extant]] Kannada literature belongs to this time.<ref name="kavi1" /><ref name="kavi">Narasimhacharya (1988), p. 2, 12, 18</ref> These Rashtrakuta kings married princess from Northern and Southern India and several Rashtrakuta branches emerged in Northern India during their imperialistic expansion in the 9th century.

The argument that the Rashtrakutas were either Marathi speaking Marathas or Telugu speaking Reddies in origin has been rejected. [[Reddy]]s in that time period had not come into martial prominence even in the Telugu speaking regions of Andhra, being largely an agrarian society of cultivators who only much later (in the 14th century - 15th century) came to control regions in the Krishna - Rajamundry districts. It is also not possible to change ‘Rashtra’ into ‘Ratta’ or ‘Reddy’ in [[Telugu language|Telugu]].<ref name="rajmundry">Altekar (1943), p18</ref> The Rashtrakuta period did not produce any Marathi inscriptions or literature.<ref name="prak">Altekar (1934), p412</ref> In addition very few literary works in Prakrit language are available from this period. Hence Marathi as the language of the Rashtrakutas, it is claimed, is not an acceptable argument.<ref name="unsustain">Altekar (1934), p413</ref>

==Notes==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==References==
{{refbegin}}
{{div col|colwidth=48em}}
*{{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= 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= Thapar|first= Romila|title= Penguin History of Early India: From origins to AD 1300|orig-year=2003|year=2003|publisher= Penguin|location= New Delhi|isbn= 0-14-302989-4}}
*{{cite book |last= Altekar|first= Anant Sadashiv |title= The Rashtrakutas And Their Times; being a political, administrative, religious, social, economic and literary history of the Deccan during C. 750 A.D. to C. 1000 A.D|url= https://archive.org/details/dli.csl.8147|orig-year=1934|year=1934|publisher= Oriental Book Agency|location= Poona|oclc=3793499}}
*{{cite book |last= Rice|first= E.P.|title= Kannada Literature|orig-year=1921|year=1982|publisher= Asian Educational Services|location=New Delhi |isbn= 81-206-0063-0}}
*{{cite book |last= Rice|first= B.L.|title= Mysore Gazetteer Compiled for Government-Vol 1|orig-year=1897|year=2001|publisher= Asian Educational Services|location= New Delhi, Madras|isbn= 81-206-0977-8}}
*{{cite book |last= Pollock|first= Sheldon |title= The Language of the Gods in the World of Men: Sanskrit, Culture, and Power in Premodern India|orig-year=2006|year=2006 |publisher=University of California Press|location= Berkeley|isbn= 0-520-24500-8}}
* {{cite web |last=Sastri & Rao|first=Shama & Lakshminarayan|url=http://www.whatisindia.com/inscriptions/south_indian_inscriptions/volume_9/rashtrakutas.html|title=South Indian Inscriptions-Miscellaneous Inscriptions in Kannada|accessdate=2007-02-03|work=Rashtrakutas}}
*{{cite book|last=Narasimhacharya|first=R|title=History of Kannada Literature|orig-year=1988|year=1988|publisher=Asian Educational Services|location=New Delhi|isbn=81-206-0303-6|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/historyofkannada0000nara}}
*{{cite web|author=Arthikaje|title=The Rashtrakutas|url=http://www.ourkarnataka.com/states/history/historyofkarnataka18.htm |publisher=OurKarnataka.Com|work=History of karnataka|accessdate=2006-12-31}}
*{{cite book |last= Vaidya|first= C.V.|title= History of Mediaeval Hindu India (Being a History of India from 600 to 1200 A.D.)|year=1924|publisher= Oriental Book Supply Agency|location= Poona|isbn= }}
*{{cite book |last=Dalby |first= Andrew |title= Dictionary of Languages: The Definitive Reference to More Than 400 Languages |orig-year=1998|year=2004|publisher=Columbia University Press |location=New York |isbn = 0-231-11569-5}}
*{{cite book |last=Masica |first= Colin P.|title=The Indo-Aryan Languages |orig-year=1991|year=1991|publisher= Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge |isbn=0-521-29944-6 }}
*{{cite book |last= Chopra, Ravindran, Subrahmanian |first= P.N., T.K., N. |title= History of South India (Ancient, Medieval and Modern)|orig-year=2003|year=2003|publisher= Chand publications |location= New Delhi|isbn = 81-219-0153-7}}
*{{cite book |last= Houben|first= Jan E.M.|title= Ideology and Status of Sanskrit: Contributions to the History of the Sanskrit language |orig-year=1996|year= 1996|publisher= Brill|location= |isbn= 90-04-10613-8}}
*{{cite book |author1=Anirudh Kanisetti|year=2022|title=Lords of the Deccan: Southern India from the Chalukyas to the Cholas|isbn=978-93-91165-0-55|url=|location=India|publisher=Juggernaut}}
{{div col end}}
{{refend}}

[[Category:Rashtrakuta dynasty]]
[[Category:Origin hypotheses of ethnic groups|Rashtrakuta]]

Origin of the Rashtrakuta dynasty - Revision history

MarianaCone66: added basic data more to come - done