The Rashtrakutas and their Times c16.2

c16.2

As shown already in Chapter VII, the Rāṣṭrakūṭa empire was divided into several provinces or rāṣṭras which were approximately of the same size as the modern division consisting of about 5 or 6 districts. The number of the rāṣṭras included in the empire is not known, but to judge from its extent, it could not have been less than about 20 or 25. Some of the governors of these provinces were royal princes, as we have seen already; (1) others were appointed in recognition of their distinguished military services as shown, for instance, by the appointment of Bankeya to the viceroyalty of Banavasi 12,000 under Amoghavarsha I. The provincial governors had their own courts at their capitals which were replicas of the imperial court on a smaller scale. They were usually of the status of the Mahāsāmanta or the Mahāmaṇḍaleśvara and often bore the title of king (Rāja in Sanskrit or Rasa in Canarese). Thus the governor of Banavasi under Dhruva was called Mārakka-rasa and the one under Govinda III, Rājāditya-rāja-parameśvara.(2) Bankeya and his descendants, who were ruling the same province from about 850 A.D., were hereditary Mahāsāmantas. It will be soon shown that the feudatory status was enjoyed even by lower officers like vishayapatis. The reason why these district and provincial governors were allowed to use the feudatory titles seems to be that some of them were the descendants of the local kings who were once independent, but were subsequently conquered by the imperial power, and continued in the government of their patrimony as its own officers or governors. This practice, recommened by Manu,(3) was followed in practice on many occasions in Ancient India.