The Rashtrakutas and their Times c11.s1.7

c11.s1.7

Indra was probably a man of 35 at the time of his accession and he ruled for about five years only. His career, if short, was a brilliant one. Before his formal coronation in February 915, he had sacked Meru and conquered a king named Upendra who had annexed or relieved Govardhana. (39) The historical information conveyed by the second quarter of this verse is still a mystery. Kielhorn thinks that Meru may be Kanauj. (40) Dr. D. R. Bhandarkar suggests that Upendra may have been another name of Mahīpāla, the Gurjara-Pratīhāra emperor; (41) both these suggestions, besides being based upon pure assumption, ignore the significant fact that the feats, referred to in the verse in question, were performed by Indra before his coronation. It is almost inconceivable that Indra would have carried out his expedition against Kanauj during the short interval between his father's death and his own formal coronation. Upendra, conquered by him, seems to be the Paramāra chief Kṛṣṇarāja, who, according to the Udaipur Praśasti, was also known as Upendrarāja. Vākpati alias Muñja, who was a contemporary of Tailapa, ( c. 980 A.D. ) was Upendra's great grandson. The known dates of Siyaka, grandson of Upendra, range from 949 to 973 A.D. Upendra's rule, therefore, must have been between c. 900–925 A.D. Paramāras were in the beginning very probably feudatories of the Gurjara-Pratīhāras; at their instigation Upendra seems to have attacked Govardhan in Nasik district at the beginning of Indra's reign. Indra defeated him, compelling the Paramāras to transfer their allegiance to his own house. The Harsola grant attests to the fact that the Paramāras were professing allegiance to the Rāṣṭrakūṭas subsequent to Indra's conquests.⁴²