Tripartite Struggle

Kannauj Triangle War
	; The Pratihar Empire, The Pala Empire, and The Rastrakuta Empire in their respective peaks
Date	785–865
Location	Northern India
Result	Pratihara victory
Belligerents
Commanders and leaders

The Tripartite Struggle (785–816), also called the Kannauj Triangle Wars, were a series of wars in northern India fought over the control of the throne of the Kingdom of Kannauj. It involved the three powerful royal houses of the era – the Pratiharas, the Palas and the Rashtrakutas.^[3]^: 20 Pratihara King Vatsaraja(c780-793CE) captured Kannauj from the local king Indrayudha, then defeated Pala ruler Dharmapala(c.770-810CE).^[4]^: 53–55 Rashtrakuta King Dhruva(c780-793CE) then defeated Both Vatsaraja and Dharmapala, but after his departure, Dharmapala occupied Kannauj and installed Chakrayudhaas his vassal. Nagabhatta II(c795-833), son of Vatsaraja, next captured Kannauj then defeated Dharmapala, but was forced to flee after his defeat at the hands of Rashtrakuta King Govinda III(c793-814CE). Dharmapala and Chakrayudha became temporary Rashtrakuta vassals, however, after Govinda departed North India, Dharmapala assumed independence, and Kannauj remained under Pala dominion until 865CE.^[5]^[6]^[3]^[7]^: 20 With the weakening of the power of the Rastrakutas and Palas, Mihir Bhoja (c836-885CE) grandson of Nagabhata II became the most powerful ruler of northern India and established his new capital at Kannauj, which remained under Gurjara control until 1036CE.

Epigraphist Dineschandra Sircar however, added a different perspective to this struggle. According to Sircar, the struggle between the Pratihara and the Rashtrakuta had begun earlier than the struggle over the Kingdom of Kannauj. These two powers shared a common frontier in the Gujarat and Malwa regions. The frontier was a shifting one and far from permanent, causing enmity between the two powers. Even before the struggle over Kannauj started, Dantidurga, the founder of the Rashtrakuta Empire, had defeated Nagabhata I of the Pratihara dynasty, as evident from the Dashavatara Temple inscription of Dantidurga at Ellora and the Sanjan inscription of Amoghavarsha I, both belonging to the Rashtrakuta dynasty which states that Dantidurga (r. 735–756) performed a religious ceremony at Ujjayani, and the king of Gurjara-desha (Gurjara country) acted as his door-keeper (pratihara),^[8]^[9] suggesting that the Rashtrakuta king had subdued the Pratihara king who was ruling Avanti at that time.^[10]

On the other hand, the conflict between the Palas of the Bengal Empire and the Ayudhas of the Kingdom of Kannauj was the continuation of an old power struggle that had started between Harshavardhana of the Kingdom of Kannauj and Sasanka of Gauda in the seventh century and would continue till the twelfth century. These regional struggles were escalated to a greater pitch over the issue of succession of the Ayudha dynasty. Also, the involvement of the four powers, i.e. the Pratihara Empire, the Pala Empire, the Rashtrakuta Empire, and the Kingdom of Kannauj meant that it was actually a four-power. After the attempts of conquering Kannauj by Vatsaraja and Nagabhata II were foiled by Rashtrakuta Kings Dhruva and Govinda III, leaving the city under Pala control, Mihir Bhoja succeeded in finally capturing the city of Kannauj, and the city remained the capital of his descendents until the fall of the dynasty in 1036.

^ Keay, John (2000). India: A History. Grove Publication. p. 198. ISBN 0802137970.
^ Vanina, Eugenia (2003). Indian history. Allied Publishers. pp. B-7. ISBN 9788184245684.
^ ^a ^b Sen, S.N. (2013). A Textbook of Medieval Indian History. Delhi: Primus Books. ISBN 9789380607344.
^ Ronald M. Davidsonl (2004). Indian Esoteric Buddhism: Social History of the Tantric Movement. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. ISBN 978-81-208-1991-7.
^ Bhattacharya, Suresh Chandra, Pāla Kings in the Badal Praśasti — A Stock-Taking, Journal of Ancient Indian History, University of Calcutta, Vol. XXIV, 2007-08, pp. 73-82.
^ Badal Pillar Inscription, verse 5, Epigraphia Indica, II p 160.
^ Cite error: The named reference Nitish2011 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ V. B. Mishra 1966, p. 18.
^ Baij Nath Puri 1957, pp. 10–11.
^ Rama Shankar Tripathi 1959, p. 226-227.

[1] Keay, John (2000). India: A History. Grove Publication. p. 198. ISBN 0802137970.

[2] Vanina, Eugenia (2003). Indian history. Allied Publishers. pp. B-7. ISBN 9788184245684.

[Sen-3] Sen, S.N. (2013). A Textbook of Medieval Indian History. Delhi: Primus Books. ISBN 9789380607344.

[auto-4] Ronald M. Davidsonl (2004). Indian Esoteric Buddhism: Social History of the Tantric Movement. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. ISBN 978-81-208-1991-7.

[5] Bhattacharya, Suresh Chandra, Pāla Kings in the Badal Praśasti — A Stock-Taking, Journal of Ancient Indian History, University of Calcutta, Vol. XXIV, 2007-08, pp. 73-82.

[6] Badal Pillar Inscription, verse 5, Epigraphia Indica, II p 160.

[Nitish2011-7] Cite error: The named reference Nitish2011 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[FOOTNOTEV._B._Mishra196618-8] V. B. Mishra 1966, p. 18.

[FOOTNOTEBaij_Nath_Puri195710–11-9] Baij Nath Puri 1957, pp. 10–11.

[FOOTNOTERama_Shankar_Tripathi1959226-227-10] Rama Shankar Tripathi 1959, p. 226-227.

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