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History of India Page 1 of 15 HISTORY Subject : History Paper No. : Paper - II History of India Topic No. & Title : Topic - 3 Political developments of the Early Medieval India Lecture No. & Title : Lecture - 1 Political Developments of the Early Medieval India (For under graduate student) Political Developments: Nature of Regional politics with special reference Rashtrakutas, to Cholas the and Palas, other Pratiharas, Contemporary Dynasties. Introduction The political history of the subcontinent in the early medieval period is featured by multiplicity of powers which were rooted to their respective regions. Political situations became more complex with the disintegration of the Gupta empire in the north and the passing away of the Vakatakas in the Deccan. A number of ruling houses originally vassals under the Guptas, History of India Page 2 of 15 became independent over different areas of north India. The Deccan and the far south too witnessed a multiplicity of powers. There was contestation over prize areas among those who thought of themselves as significant powers. At the turn of the seventh century north India did not have a power to match the prowess of the Gupta empire. While Magadha and also possibly Malwa came under the possession of the Later Guptas, in the Ganga Yamuna doab the Maukharis became important. In the upper Ganga valley the Pushyabhutis came into prominence. The Maitrakas made their presence felt in western India including Gujarat and western Malwa. In eastern India Bengal emerged as a power to reckon with under Sasanka of Gauda. The Varmans were ruling in the upper Brahmaputra valley. The major pattern of political activities lies in the shift of the political citadel of north India from Pataliputra to Kanauj in the doab. It is interesting to note that there were major power formations. Political alliances resulted in the formation of two rival groups: the Pushyabhutis and the Maukhari combinations versus the Gauda-Malava alliance. Harshavardhan of the Pushyabhuti dynasty finally emerged as an important power of north India. The Vakatakas in the western Deccan gave way to Chalukya power with a base in Badami. For three hundred years after History of India Page 3 of 15 the mid sixth century three major kingdoms were in conflict. These were the Chalukyas of Badami, the Pallavas of Kanchipuram and the Pandyas of Madurai, all seeking to control the fertile tracts. The Chalukya-Pallava struggle set a pattern in the political history of trans-Vindhyan India: hostilities between the powers to the north and to the south of the Tungabhadra became a permanent feature of political activities and aggressive designs. Powers situated both in the Ganga-Yamuna doab and the Deccan showed unmistakable interests in occupying and controlling Malwa, for the region stood as a corridor linking north India and the Deccan and also provided passages to the Gujarat coast. Major Political Powers of Northern and Southern India (c.700-1300CE) With this prelude it will be in order to study the activities of the major powers. As mentioned earlier during this period the focus in the Ganges plain shifted from Pataliputra to Kanauj. The importance of Kanauj lay in the fact that it was closer to north-west and was linked to routes going eastwards as well as to those going south. The city was already established as a symbol of power by Harsha. It had strong agrarian concentration in and around that area and so huge number of land grants were issued. Thus contestation for the control of Kanauj was inevitable. The three important powers of the History of India Page 4 of 15 eighth century-the Pratiharas, Rashtrakutas and the Palas vied with each other for the control of the area and thus directed their military activities towards its conquest from the eighth to the tenth centuries. This struggle has been designated the ‘Tripartite Struggle’ in Indian history. Before delving deep into the political activities of these three powers attention may be drawn to other regional powers of northern India. One of the new powers that came to limelight was Kashmir in the far north. Kashmir had come into prominence with Lalitaditya of the Karkota dynasty in the eighth century and through gradual expansion it began to control part of north-western India and the Punjab. His widespread conquests into the Ganga-Yamuna doab and also against the Gauda king are mentioned by Kalhana though a permanent acquisition of conquered areas did not necessarily materialize. In the subsequent centuries the kings of Kashmir consolidated their positions in the mountainous areas and upper Jhelum valley, leaving the Punjab to fend for themselves. The Karkota dynasty came to an end in 855-56CE. It was followed by the Utpala dynasty, founded by Avantivarman. The history of this region also reveals a tradition of powerful queens. The best known is Didda, who dominated Kashmir politics in the second half of the 10th century. The contemporary western region of the subcontinent was marked by the Arab conquest of Sind in the early part of the 8th century. Some aspects of History of India Page 5 of 15 the Arab conquest of Sind were described in the Chachnama. Sind and lower Punjab was held in the name of the Caliph through Governors traditional appointed historiography the by Arab him. Though invasion of in the Sind is generally perceived as an advent of political troubles, this hardly had an impact in the overall political fabric of the subcontinent. The Kabul valley and Gandhara were ruled by a Turkish family, the Shahiyas in the early ninth century. The state became a buffer between northern India and Afghanistan. A later Hindu Shahi ruler, Jayapala, consolidated the kingdom and made himself the master of the Punjab plain. In Orissa in the late sixth century we find the Shailodbhavas who established theselves in Kongada (modern Puri and Ganjam districts). The decline of the Shailodbhavas in the 8th century was paralleled by the rise of the Gangas. In north Orissa, the Bhauma-Karas exercised power from the 8th to 10th centuries. There were several new dynasties and the Somavamshis of Dakshin Kosala expanded their dominion to include large parts of northern and central Orissa. The Gangas finally unified north and south Orissa. Further east Kamrupa in the Brahmaputra valley, under the Varman rulers became important and Bhaskarvarman formed alliance with Harshavardhan of Kanauj. The Varman dynasty was followed by the Salastambha dynasty and the Palas of Assam. History of India Page 6 of 15 It will be in order now to revert to the heartland of north Indian politics, the Ganga valley. The Gurjara Pratiharas, also known as Pratiharas were one of the mightiest of political powers of early medieval north India. Several houses of the Gurjaras generally thought to have a non-indigenous origin but gradually absorbed into the Indian society, were known in the western part of north India around the seventh century. By the early 8th century, one of the Gurjara branches became powerful enough to establish their seat of power at Ujjayini and from there they expanded their authority to Kanauj in the Ganga-Yamuna doab. As mentioned earlier, the second half of the 8th century ushered in two more formidable powers in the political scene, viz. the Palas with their base in Bihar and major areas of Bengal and the Rashtrakutas in the Deccan. In the opinion of Romila Thapar, since these powers were equally matched, it became a war of attrition which was to exhaust all three. The Rashtrakutas are known to have wrested away Ujjayini from the Gurjaras, performed the Hiranyagarbha sacrifice and reduced the Gurjara king to a doorkeeper (pratihara). Dantidurga was a tributary of the Chalukyas and declared independence in the 8th century and took full imperial titles. Important rulers were Dhruva and Govinda III. Amoghavarsha in the 9th century and Krishna III in the 10th stabilized the kingdom despite internal problems and the additional ambition of capturing Kanauj. The History of India Page 7 of 15 Rashtrakuta-Pratihara rivalry had its roots in the contention over occupation of Malwa. When the Gurjaras occupied Kanauj, the Rashtrakutas lost no time in extending their hostilities into the north Indian plains. For the first time, the Rashtrakutas with their power base in Deccan became involved in north Indian politics. The Pala ruler Dharmapala wanted to make the Pala kingdom a force in north Indian politics. Dharmapala and later on his son Devapapala consolidated the Pala kingdom. Considering the importance of Kanauj Dharmapala too aimed at aggressive designs in the doab. Thus began the celebrated tripartite struggle. The first round of confrontation took place among Pratihara Vatsaraja (778-94), Dharmapala (775-805) of the Pala dynasty and Dhruva (780-93) Rashtrakutas of proved the Rashtrakuta militarily superior kingdom. to both The the adversaries and Vatsaraja perished. Towards the late 8 th century Dharmapala led a successful campaign against Kanauj, resulting in the removal of the reigning king, Indrayudha,a protégé of the Pratiharas, with Dharmapala claiming suzerainty. He held an extravagant assembly at Knanauj to proclaim himself as the master. This resulted in a confrontation between the Pratihara ruler NagabhataII and Dharmapala, resulting in the defeat of Dharmapala. But the Pratihara success was cut short by the greatest of the Rashtrakuta kings Govinda III (793-814) who also defeated History of India Page 8 of 15 the Pala adversary. But the Rashtrkuas again left for the Deccan keeping the Palas in a better position. The next ruler Devapala (810-847) claims to have defeated the Gurjaras under Ramabhadra (833-836). Devapala’s son Mahendrapala contained the Pala kingdom. Meanwhile the Pratiharas had consolidated their position and Mihira Bhoja captured Kanauj and the other two powers were driven back. After this the Palas withdrew from the race of capturing Kanauj. The Arab menace was also tackled by Bhoja who was the most renowned of the Pratiharas. It has been suggested by D.C.Sircar that this struggle should not be called tripartite as the Ayudhas, the local rulers of Kanauj was also involved in the conflict. Moreover the struggle between the Palas and Pratiharas could be an extension of the earlier GaudaKanyakubja struggle known since the second half of the 6th century and continued later in the 12th century between the Senas of Bengal and Gahadvalas of Kanauj. The Rastrakutas struck for the last time in 916CE and attacked Kanauj. Their rivalry was self destructive. A Turkish army attacked Kanauj in 1018, which virtually ended Pratihara rule. The feudatory chiefs and provincial governors of the Gurjara Pratiharas gradually started asserting their independence. The empire disintegrated and was reduced to the area around Kanauj. Their powerful successor states in central and western India included the Chahamanas of Rajasthan, Chaulukyas of History of India Page 9 of 15 Gujarat and Parmaras in Malwa. The Pala realm over greater parts of Bihar and Bengal was not threatened by Ghaznavid invasions. They were affected with internal problems. The Senas, who succeeded the Palas as a major regional power in eastern India, ultimately ended the Pala rule in 1161. In the western Deccan, the Rashtrakutas had been supplanted by the Kalyani Chalukyas or Western Chalukyas. The fall of the Rashtrakutas, who really stole the lime light in the politics of the Deccan and south India, seems to have shifted the balance to far south. The political history of the south was then dominated by the Pallavas, Pandyas, Cholas and Cheras. The greatest power from the late tenth century onwards was definitely the Cholas with its principal stronghold in Cholamandalam, the area around Tanjavur in the Kaveri delta up to the eastern coast, the Coromandal of present times. The Pallavas were associated with Tondaimandalam, the land between the north Penner and north Vellar rivers. The strong hold of the Pandyas of Madurai was the Tamraparni and the Vaigai valleys. The Cheras ruled in the present Kerela region. The history of the Cholas will be discussed in details. In AD 907 the first important ruler of the dynasty, Parantaka I came to power and ruled for almost half a century. He secured the southern frontier of the kingdom by campaigning History of India Page 10 of 15 against the Pandyas and capturing their capital Madurai. This brought him into contact with Sri Lanka with which the Pandyas had had close relations. The later part of his reign was not very successful and Parantaka was inflicted a crushing defeat by the Rashtrakutas. It took nearly four decades for the Cholas to recover their position with the beginning of the reign of Rajaraja I (985-1014). An aggressive design was followed by Rajaraja I against the Pandyas and the Cheras in Kerela who were subjugated. This was perhaps with an aim to break the monopoly of trade held by these kingdoms with West Asia. The conflict over the rich province of Vengi continued with the Eastern Chalukyas. The Cholas led a campaign in Sri Lanka and devastated the capital Anuradhapura and moved to Pollannaruva. The Chola aggressive attitudes and designs became more pronounced during the time of its most powerful ruler Rajendra I, son of RajarajaI. He ascended the throne in 1014 AD. The policy of expansion continued with the annexation of the southern provinces of the Chalukyas, the rich Raichur doab and Vengi. The attempt of the Cholas to expand their superiority and influence contiguous over Vengi Kalinga. was countered Rajendra I’s by the intervention rulers into of the succession problems in Vengi spilled over the area in eastern Deccan. Challenges from the neibouring Sakkarakottam, Masunidesa, Oddavisaya led to the military penetration of the History of India Page 11 of 15 Cholas into Kalinga. Emboldened by success the Chola army proceeded further north till Tandabhuti (Danton area in eastern Midnapore , West Bengal), the southern and northern portions of Ladha or Radha (areas in Bengal to the west of Bhagirathi) and finally to Vangaladesa (south-eastern Bengal).No territorial annexation followed and the object of the raid according to Chola inscriptions, was to bring the sacred water of the Ganges to the Chola capital. Bringing back water through conquest symbolized ascendancy over the north. He took the epithet Gangaikonda. The Chola navy became irrepressible during Rajendra’s time when the entire island of Sri Lanka (Ilam) was conquered and Ilam was incorporated as a mandalam (province) in the Chola realm. More ambitious was the overseas campaign, involving both the army and navy against the kingdom of Srivijaya in Southeast Asia. Known as the Kadaram campaign, twelve areas in Southeast Asia were conquered by the Chola navy. Though the conquered areas were not annexed to the Chola empire, the campaign certainly speaks of the power of the Chola navy. It has been suggested that this major undertaking arose from a desire of an overseas empire and according to another opinion is a result of the politics of plunder. But the campaign has not been followed by colonization and therefore the cause of the war was most likely a desire to protect Indian commercial interests. We History of India Page 12 of 15 know that by the tenth century merchants in China and south India had trading relationships. The successors of Rajendra-I was more busy with conflicts within the peninsula, primarily with the Chalukyas reviving the competition to control the province of Vengi. The old pattern of lightning raids into each other’s territory was repeated. Rivalry was less intense during the time of Kulottunga I (1070-1118), perhaps because of kinship links between the royal families. Originally an eastern Chalukya king under the name of Rajendra II, he ascended the Chola throne under the new name of Kulottunga by virtue of his being connected with the Cholas by marriage alliances and at a time when the Cholas suffered from internal troubles, including succession problems. Kulottunga made conscious attempts to legitimize his accession by various means including the use of religion and existing sacred centers in the Chola heartland. His reign doubtless paved the way for the amalgamation of Vengi with the Chola realm for the first time. The integration of Vengi with the Chola territory was however short lived. Soon after the end of the reign of Kulottunga I, the contemporary Western Chalukya king Vikramaditya VI conquered and captured Vengi and a long drawn dream was fulfilled. History of India Page 13 of 15 The Cholas maintained their political presence in the far south but were now seriously challenged by the rise of the Pandyas in Madurai who dominated the political scene of the far south from the middle of the thirteenth century onwards. By the latter part of the 12th century Chola ascendancy was waning. Neighbours were annexing territories at the fringes of the kingdom. The power of the subordinate rulers in the Deccan increased as central control weakened. Frequent campaigns had exhausted Chola resources. The eventual breaking of the Chalukya power by the Cholas led to the set up of independent kingdoms by the tributary rulers of the Chalukyas. The most powerful tributary rulers of the Chalukyas were the Yadavas, the Hoysalas and the Kakatiyas. The Yadavas of Devagiri were confined to the Deccan and did not play any significant role in the final disintegration of the Cholas. The Kakatiyas were ruling in eastern Deccan. The Hoysalas and the Kakatiyas became active from the twelfth century onwards. The main attack on the Cholas from the west came from the Hoysalas. The Pandya kings saw this as an ideal opportunity to rvive the hostility. Thus the Cholas had to take care of two fronts, the western and the southern. Finally in the thirteenth century Chola power weakened. The Yadavas and the Hoysalas were in power till the fourteenth History of India Page 14 of 15 century, when new arrivals in the politics of northern India, the Turkish and Afghan sultans of Delhi, intervened in the affairs of the Deccan. The Pandyas had superseded the Cholas as a dominant power of the Tamil country. It is interesting to note that the dynasties of both early medieval north and south India crafted origin myths for themselves. This tendency gained further ground in the later part of the period. These myths were rooted in the epicopuranic tradition of the Suryavamsha and Chandravamsha. Thus we have the Gurjara Pratiharas claiming their descent from Suryavamsha. The Senas were known as Brahma Kshatriyas. Claim to Kshatriya status is reflected in epithets e.g. Rajaraja’s title of Kshatriya Shikhamani, crest jewel of the Kshatriyas. Kings also legitimized their power through different kinds of sacrifices The Vedic sacrifices were again brought into the forefront. Different kinds of donations or gifts were given which included land donations and performances of rituals in order to gain legitimation for the royalty. Inscriptions abound in grandiose claims of political success made by kings of one dynasty along with counter claims by other. A case in point is the claims made by the Gurjaras and the Rastrakutas relating to the use of the epithet ‘Pratihara’ by the Gurjaras. These powers were essentially rooted to the region and there was no great effort for any kind of History of India Page 15 of 15 annexation. There was merely occupation of certain territories by the rulers which were sometimes regained by the original power. It appears that some powers lived for long whereas other kingdoms were short lived and had limited territorial control. Questions: 1. What was the political scenario of India at the turn of the seventh century? 2. Why did the focus of attention in the Ganges plain shift from Pataliputra to Kanauj? 3. Which were the three major powers involved in the struggle for control of Kanauj? Write a brief note on the struggle. 4. Why did Rajendra Chola send his army till Bengal? Was it an expression of political ascendancy? 5. How did the powers in early medieval India seek legitimation of their rule?