The Rashtrakutas and their Times c11.44

c11.44

Kṛṣṇa II was not an able and gifted ruler like his grand-father. His only military achievement was the defeat and destruction of the Gujrat branch, which certainly was not a very great exploit, considering how petty that kingdom was. He could just maintain his own against Bhoja I and Mahendrapāla, and he was worsted by Chālukya Bhīma of Vengi. Gangavadi, which had seceded from the Rāshṭrakūṭa empire during the weak rule of his father, could not be reconquered by him. (32) He was just able to maintain a status quo and that too with the assistance of his father-in-law and brother-in-law. Like his father he was a Jain; Guṇabhadra, the famous Jain author of the last five chapters of Ādipurāṇa was his preceptor. (33) There is no sufficient evidence to investigate into the question as to how far the adhesion to Jainism of Amoghavarsha I and his son Kṛshṇa II was responsible for the military and political decline of the Rāshṭrakūṭa empire during their rule. It may, however, be pointed out that a number of fervent followers of Jainism like Baṅkeya, Chālukya Nārasimha, Srīvijaya, and Noḷambāntaka Nārasimha were very able and fiery military leaders. [See also, supra, Chapter XIII, section C, in this connection.]