The Rashtrakutas and their Times c12.s2.16

c12.s2.16

The decisive battle in the war was fought at Takkolam in North Arcot district in 949 A.D. The Chola army was led into the battle by the crown-prince²² Rājāditya, while the Rāṣṭrakūṭa forces were strengthened by a contingent under the Ganga ruler Būtuga II. The Cholas fought stubbornly, and the Atkur record (23) admits that for a time the Rāṣṭrakūṭa forces were overwhelmed; none dared to counter-attack. But Maṇalera and Būtuga succeeded in making a rally; the latter dashed against the crown-prince, killed the elephant he was riding, got into the howdah and killed him there. The earlier view that Būtuga killed Rājāditya treacherously, while embracing him or taking a walk with him, was based partly upon a wrong meaning ascribed to the term 'bisugeye' and partly upon the mistake of reading 'Kaḷḷa-age for Kaḷān-age.(24) The death of Rājāditya in the battle of Takkolam is confirmed by the Chola records themselves; the large Leyden grant (25) states that Rājāditya died during the battle with Kṛṣṇa, while seated on the back of an elephant. It will be noticed that this record also supports the view that treachery played no part in the death of the crown-prince.