Krishna III

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Krishna III or Kannara (939 – 967 C.E.) was the last great warrior and able monarch of the Rashtrakuta dynasty. 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 held titles like Akalavarsha and Shrivallabha. He patronised the Kannada poet Gajankusha, also known as Narayana.

1 Southern invasion
2 Northern expedition
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Southern invasion

He killed the Western Ganga ruler Rajamalla II, made Butuga II the king, invaded the territory of Gurjara Prathihara, and captured Chitrakuta and Kalinjara from the Chedi kingdom. He defeated the Chedi of Tripuri. Later he invaded southern Deccan and captured back Kolar, Dharmapuri. By 944 Tondaimandalam was secured. He defeated the Cholas and captured Kanchi and Tanjore, according to the Siddalingamadam plates of 944. In 949 he defeated the Cholas decisively in a battle in Takkolam, North Arcot district. Krishna III was helped by his Western Ganga feudatory Buthuga II. Rajaditya Chola was killed while seated on his elephant with a well-aimed arrow. He later defeated the Pandyas and rulers of Kerela region and obtained the submission of the king of Ceylon, and erected a pillar of victory at Ramesvaram. However, from inscriptions it is clear that Krishna III had full control only up to Tondaimandalam (northern Tamil Nadu), according to Prof. Sathianath Ayer. He proclaimed himself "Conqueror of Kacci and Tanjai" (Kanchi and Tanjore). He exerted his influence on the Vengi by helping Badapa secure the throne against his competitor Amma II. Later, Danarnava of Vengi became his feudatory.

[edit] Northern expedition

While Krishna III focussed on southern Deccan, the Chandelas had captured Chitrakuta and Kalinjar. This prompted Krishna III to send his Ganga feudatory Marasimha, son of Butuga II, to retrieve the lost areas. Marasimha defeated the Gurjara Prathihara and the Paramara ruler Harsha Siyaka of Malwa. The northernmost Kannada inscription of the Rashtrakutas, dated about 964 C.E., is the Jura record (near Jabalpur) in present-day Madhya Pradesh.

At his peak, Krishna III ruled an empire that stretched from Narmada in the north to large parts of present-day northern Tamilnadu in the south. The Prathihara, Paramara and the northern Kalachuri were all his feudatories by now.

His enmity towards the end of his rule with the northern Kalachuri of Tripuri would later prove fatal to the empire. Krishna III was also perhaps reckless in giving large fiefs (land grants) to his commanders. He gave the province of Tardavadi 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.

[edit] References

Dr. Suryanath U. Kamat, Concise History of Karnataka, 2001, MCC, Bangalore (reprinted 2002)
Nilakanta Sastri, K.A. (1955). A History of South India, OUP, New Delhi (reprinted 2002)