The Rashtrakutas and their Times c10.s1.15

c10.s1.15

The identity of king Vallabha, the enemy of the Gujrat line, presents some difficulty. The Gurjara-Pratīhāra ruler, Bhoja I, was at this time engaged in subduing Central India, Northern Gujrat, and Kathiawar; and one is tempted to conclude that the long-drawn war of the Gujrat house may have been with him. But the name of the enemy-king is stated to be Vallabha, and Bhoja is not known to have been known by that title. This title, Vallabha, makes it clear, that the opponent of the Gujrat branch was a Rāṣṭrakūṭa ruler. There were several Rāṣṭrakūṭa feudatories under the Malkhed house who had to be subdued by Amoghavarsha before he could regain the throne. Was this king Vallabha who was fighting with the Gujrat house for about twenty-five years (c. 838–c. 863) a Rāṣṭrakūṭa feudatory of Amoghavarsha, or was he Amoghavarsha himself?