The Rashtrakutas and their Times c12.s4.4

c12.s4.4

The fall of the mighty Rāṣṭrakūṭa empire was indeed dramatic. In December 967 Kṛṣṇa III was the master of practically all the territories to the south of the Narmadā; in December 973 his nephew was overthrown and the Rāṣṭrakūṭa empire remained only in memory. The causes of this dramatic downfall are not far to seek. The forward and aggressive policy of Kṛṣṇa III must have caused a severe drain on the treasury, and alienated the sympathies of his feudatories and neighbours. His commitments in the south left him no time to control the north. To permit the Paramāras to rise to power was a great tactical blunder. A still greater one was the war with the Chedies, who were so closely connected with the Rāṣṭrakūṭas and seem to have helped the accession of Amoghavarsha III. The sympathies of the Chedies were alienated; Taila II was a nephew i. e. sister's son of Yuvarāja II, the reigning Chedi monarch, (47) and therefore the Chedi court probably must have actively helped Taila against the Rāṣṭrakūṭas. The cession of the Banavāsi 12,000, Belvola 300, Purigeri 300, Kinsukad 70 and Bagenad 70 to the Gangas must have seriously impoverished the Imperial treasury, as the Ganga ruler thus obtained control over most of the territories to the south of the Kṛṣṇa. (48) The territories under the direct Imperial administration further diminished in extent by the rise to semi-independence of the Silāhāras of Konkana, the Raṭṭas of Saundatti and the Yādavas of Seuṇadeśa. (49) These were young, growing and ambitious states, only awaiting an opportunity to throw off the imperial yoke.