Eternal India Encyclopedia

E t e r n a l I n d i a e n c y c l o p e d i a

LURE - THRU THE AGES

THE PRATIHARAS 9th c. A.D. the famous Bhandi clan hard to overcome by reason of the rampart made of their infuriated elephants.” Nagabhatta II (805-839) is credited with having extended his influence from Sind in the north to Andhra in the south, and Anartta on the Kathiawar to the border of East Bengal. His achievement was the defeat of Dharmapala, king of Bengal and the expulsion of his protege Chakrayudha from Kanauj. He himself sustained defeats at the hands of the Rashtrakutas. Ranabhadra (839-842), was a weak ruler and his short rule was full of trouble with his enemies. He ruled only for three years. The eastern parts of Ranabhadra’s empire and Monghyr were disturbed by the. haughty and cruel commanders of Devapala of Bengal. Bhoja I, the grandson of Nagabhata II, extended his power northwards, to the Punjab and southwards as far as the Vindhyas, but his further progress was stopped by Sankar- avarman of Kashmir and Dhruva Dharava- rsha, a Rashtrakuta chieftain of Broach. Mihirbhoja (836-885), the glorious chap- ter of Pratiharas, began with his reign. Within a few years he was able to consolidate his position and his suzerainty was acknowl- edged upto the foot of the Himalayas. King Bhoja decided to measure swords with Devapala of Bengal, it is alleged that De- vapala “brought low the arrogance of the lord of the Gurjaras.” After sometime King Bhoja was able to gain success even against De- vapala. The fact remains that King Bhoja got the upper hand after the death of Devapala in 850 A.D. Senas 1184 The kingdom had its base in Bengal. It was founded by Vijaya Sena, who came from Kamataka in the Deccan. Samantha Sena: He retained contact with his southern compatriots. After him came Hemantha Sena. Vijaya Sena: Son of Hemantha Sena, he allied him- self with the illustrious family of Senas and founded the independent sovereignty of his own dynasty. He laid the foundation of the city of Vijayapura in West Bengal. Ballala Sena : Son of Vijaya Sena, he was the founder of Kulinism, a system of nobility. He was the author of two works Danasagara and the Adbhuta Sagara. Lakshmana sena (1184) : He was a conquerer and patron of learning. The most famous poet in his court was Jaya Deva, the author of the Gita Govinda.

Overview After Harsha, the Gurjara-Pratiharas were the foremost Hindu power in North India, be- fore the Muslim conquest. Their empire at its height extended from the Punjab to Central India and from Kathiawad to Bengal. They defended North India against the Arabs. Su- laiman, visited Bhoja's court and praised his cavalry and his administration.They fought with the Palas and the Rashtrakutas for the control of Kanauj. The Pratihara dynasty was established in the city of Mahodaya (Kanauj) at the end of the 9th century.

Mahendrapala I (885-910), son of Bhoja, maintained his father’s empire and extended it towards the east. His court was adorned by the poet Rajasekhara. Mahendra was followed by his sons Mahipala, Bhoja II and Vinayakapala. Mahipala maintained his hold on Saurashtra as late as 914 A.D. His power was threatened by Indra III, the Rashtrakuta king of the Deccan, who in- flicted a severe defeat on him and took Kanauj. Mahipala, was ruling during the first quarter of 11th c. A.D.; is referred to as the overlord of Gauda in a record of 1026 A.D. parts of Bengal had fallen into the hands of the local dynasties. Decline The tripartite struggle weakened the Pra- tiharas, the Palas and the Rashtrakutas. The feudatories of the Pratiharas viz the Chandel- las and Chedis became independent but their most formidable enemy who weakened them, most was Mahmud of Ghazni. 1085-1194 After the fall of Pratiharas, the Gahadavalas came to power in Kanauj, sometimes between 1080-85 A.D. They were connected with tfie Rashtrakutas or Rathors. The founder of this dynasty was Chan- dradeva. Chandradeva (1085-1100) : Founder of the dy- nasty. He defeated the Chandella general Kirtivar- man. He was also responsible for checking the aggres- sion of Vijayasena of Bengal. Govindachandra (1114-1154): He was the grand- son of Chandradeva. He also annexed some parts of Magadha under the Pala monarchy. His minister La- kshmidhara was the author of a book on law known as Kritya Kalpataru. Jayachandra (1170-1194) : He was the grandson of Govindachandra. He was defeated and killed by Muhammad Ghori. Gahadavalas

Chronology *

778-805 805-839 836-885

A.D. A.D.

Vatsaraja

Nagabhatta II Mihirbhoja Ranabhadra Mahendrapala I

* * * * *

A.D. 839-842 A.D. 885-910 A.D. 911-944 A.D.

Mahipala

Nagabhatta I was the founder of the Pratihara dynasty in the middle of the eight century A.D. He did much to rehabilitate the power of the Gurjaras which was threatened by Arabs, Chalukyas and Rashtrakutas from Sind, and Deccan. Extended the territories upto Bengal, but he was driven back by the Rashtrakuta king Dhruva of Deccan. Vatsaraja (778-805) was an ambitious king; his ambition was to become overlord of the whole of North India. He forced Indhrayudh, ruler of Kanaju, into submission and accept his overlordship. Vatsaraja “forcibly wrested the empire in battle from The Ghorids 1163-1206 They were originally Turkis and founded the Turkish empire in India. The Ghorid em- pire reached its zenith under two brothers Ghiyas-ud-din Muhammad (1163-1203) and Shihab-ud-din, also known as Muiz-ud-din Muhammad Bin Sam or popularly called Muhammedof Ghor seized Multan (1175), conquered Uch (1178) seized Peshawar (1179), Debal (1182), occupied the strategic fort of Sialkot; Multan, Lahore and Sind became the part of Ghorid empire; fought the battle of Tarrain with Prithviraj (1190) but was de- feated; again invaded and the Rajputs were routed; the victory of Tarrain marked the beginning of Turkish rule in India; Moham- mad of Ghor died in 1206.