Tripartite struggle

Also called: Struggle for Kannauj · Topic: Early Medieval North India: Harsha to the Rajputs · NCERT: Class 7, Ch 3 "Empires and Kingdoms: 6th to 10th Centuries"; Class 9, Ch 5 "State and Society up to 1000 CE"

Meaning

The Tripartite Struggle (also called the Struggle for Kannauj) was the long, three-sided war of the 8th and 9th centuries CE between the Gurjara-Pratiharas (west), the Palas (east) and the Rashtrakutas (Deccan) to control Kannauj. Kannauj was the city that stood for power over north India after Harsha.

It matters because no side won for good. North India stayed divided into strong regional kingdoms, and all three powers wore each other out before the Ghaznavid raids of the early 11th century.

Explanation

Background: why Kannauj was the prize

• Harsha died in 647 CE. His empire broke up, and Kannauj was left without a strong ruler.
• Kannauj lay in the Gangetic plains. This is the flat, very fertile land along the Ganga.
• Whoever held it controlled a rich farming belt.
• That meant tax money, food and soldiers.

• It also brought prestige. A king in Kannauj could claim to be the top ruler of north India.

• Tripartite simply means "three-sided". Three big powers rose at about the same time, in the mid-8th century, and each wanted the city.

The three contestants

Power	Base and capital	Key rulers	Known for
Palas	Eastern India (Bihar, Bengal)	Gopala (founder, 750 CE), Dharmapala	Mahayana Buddhism, Vikramashila, sea trade with Southeast Asia
Gurjara-Pratiharas	West. First capital Bhillamala (Bhinmal), later Ujjayini (Ujjain)	Nagabhata I, Mihira Bhoja	Stopping the Arabs, strong cavalry
Rashtrakutas	Deccan. Capital Manyakheta (Malkheda)	Dantidurga, Krishna I, Amoghavarsha I	Raids on the north, Kailasanatha temple at Ellora

• Palas. An inscription says Gopala was chosen by the people. This was unusual, because most kings of the time got the throne by birth or by war. Dharmapala, the strongest Pala king, pushed west into the fight for Kannauj.
• Pratiharas. Nagabhata I (mid-8th century) built up their power. They pushed back the Arab armies coming from Sindh. Mihira Bhoja (9th century) took the title 'Adi Varaha', which means the first boar: Vishnu in his boar form, who lifted the earth. His power stretched from Punjab and Kathiawar to Kannauj.
• Rashtrakutas. Dantidurga (mid-8th century) overthrew the Chalukyas. Later Rashtrakuta kings raided far into the north and briefly took Kannauj.

How the struggle unfolded

• 647 CE: Harsha dies, and Kannauj has no strong master.
• Mid-8th century: Nagabhata I builds up the Pratiharas, and Dantidurga founds Rashtrakuta rule in the Deccan.
• 750 CE: Gopala founds the Pala dynasty in the east.
• Late 8th century: Dharmapala pushes the Palas west towards Kannauj. Under Krishna I (c. 756–773 CE) the Rashtrakutas grow strong enough to begin the Kailasanatha temple [3].
• 9th century: Mihira Bhoja takes the Pratiharas to their peak, with Kannauj inside his lands. In the Deccan, Amoghavarsha I rules for 64 years.
• Throughout: Kannauj changes hands again and again.
• Early 11th century: the weakened Pratiharas are finished off by the Ghaznavids.

Results: a war no one won

• The struggle was indecisive. No side won for good.
• The Rashtrakutas could take Kannauj, but Manyakheta was too far away for them to rule it.
• The Palas and Pratiharas kept cancelling each other out.

• All three drained their own strength.

• North India stayed split. Each regional kingdom built its own capital, temples and army.

• The shield against the Arabs grew weak. The Pratiharas had blocked the Arabs, but they were worn down and fell to the Ghaznavids in the early 11th century.
• Culture still flourished. Kings spent their wealth on temples and monasteries to show they were the greater ruler. Examples are the Kailasanatha temple at Ellora [3] and Vikramashila [2].

Time, place and evidence

• Period: mainly the 8th and 9th centuries CE, inside the wider early medieval age (c. 600–1200 CE).
• Region: the fight was over Kannauj in the Gangetic plains. The rivals were based in Bengal–Bihar (Palas), Rajasthan–Malwa (Pratiharas: Bhinmal, then Ujjain) and the Deccan (Rashtrakutas: Manyakheta).
• Key people: Gopala and Dharmapala (Pala); Nagabhata I and Mihira Bhoja (Pratihara); Dantidurga, Krishna I and Amoghavarsha I 'Nripatunga' (Rashtrakuta).
• How we know:
• Inscriptions. For example, the Pala inscription saying Gopala was chosen by the people. Another inscription records that the Kailasanatha temple was built by Krishnaraja at Elapura, the old name of Ellora [3].
• Foreign accounts. Arab traders and writers visited these kingdoms:
  • Sulaiman called the Pratihara cavalry the finest in India.
  • al-Masudi praised a Rashtrakuta ruler for protecting Muslims.
  • These outside witnesses support what Indian inscriptions say about army strength and religious tolerance.
• Monuments and archaeology:
  • Kailasanatha temple, Cave 16, Ellora (Maharashtra). It was carved downwards from a basalt cliff. Around 150,000–200,000 tons of rock was removed. It is about 50 m long, 33 m wide and 30 m high [3]. Ellora became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 [3].
  • Vikramashila, at Antichak in Bhagalpur district, Bihar. It was dug by Patna University (1960–69) and then the ASI (1972–82). The dig found a square monastery with 208 cells, plus a Tibetan temple and a Hindu temple nearby [2].

Don't confuse with

• Mihira Bhoja (Pratihara) vs Raja Bhoja (Paramara): Mihira Bhoja was the 9th-century Pratihara king titled 'Adi Varaha'. Raja Bhoja was a later Paramara king of Malwa and played no part in the Tripartite Struggle.
• Kailasanatha, Ellora vs Kailasanatha, Kanchipuram: the Ellora temple is a rock-cut Rashtrakuta temple begun under Krishna I [3]. The Kanchipuram temple is a structural temple built by the Pallavas, and it was built up stone by stone.
• Vikramashila vs Nalanda: Dharmapala founded Vikramashila [2]. Nalanda was older, and the Palas only gave it money and land.
• Bhillamala/Ujjayini vs Kannauj: Bhillamala and Ujjayini were the Pratiharas' own capitals. Kannauj was the prize they fought for.

Prelims Hooks

• The three sides were the Palas (east), Gurjara-Pratiharas (west) and Rashtrakutas (Deccan), all fighting for Kannauj. The contest was indecisive.
• Gopala founded the Pala dynasty in 750 CE, and an inscription says he was chosen by the people.
• Ruler–title pairs:
• Mihira Bhoja = 'Adi Varaha' (Pratihara)

• Amoghavarsha I = 'Nripatunga' (Rashtrakuta; ruled 64 years; had Jain leanings; was a poet)

• Capitals:

• Pratihara: Bhillamala (Bhinmal) → Ujjayini
• Rashtrakuta: Manyakheta (Malkheda)

• Trap: Kannauj was the prize, not any of these powers' original capital.

• Kailasanatha, Ellora = Cave 16, begun under Krishna I (c. 756–773 CE) [3]. Vikramashila was founded by Dharmapala and lies at Antichak, Bhagalpur district, Bihar [2].

• Foreign writers:
• Sulaiman praised the Pratihara cavalry.
• al-Masudi praised a Rashtrakuta ruler for protecting Muslims.
• Trap: these pairs are often swapped in questions.

Mains Points

• Political drain, cultural boom. The struggle exhausted all three powers. North India had no single strong empire when the Ghaznavid raids came in the early 11th century, and the Pratiharas, who had blocked the Arabs, were the first to fall. But the same rivalry produced Kailasanatha at Ellora [3] and Vikramashila [2]. Kings used art and learning to show their power, so a time of political division was not a time of cultural decline.
• Regional kingdoms and links across Asia. The struggle shows a shift from one large empire, as under Harsha, to several balanced regional powers. Each had its own capital, temples and army.
• The Palas spread ideas abroad. Vikramashila had links with Tibet, and a Tibetan temple was found in the dig [2].
• The Palas also ran sea trade with Southeast Asia.

• This is useful for answers on India's cultural links with the rest of Asia.

• Foreign accounts as evidence. Sulaiman on Pratihara cavalry and al-Masudi on Rashtrakuta tolerance are outside witnesses. They support the view that early medieval India was open, traded widely and was seen as strong. This challenges the idea that the period was only one of decline and division.

Related concepts

• Matsyanyaya
• Gopala
• Pala dynasty
• Dharmapala
• Devapala
• Vikramashila
• Odantapuri
• Somapura Mahavihara
• Atisha Dipankara
• Pala school of art

Read more

• The Tripartite Struggle for Kannauj