Tripartite Struggle

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Kannauj Triangle War
The Pratihar Empire, The Pala Empire, and The Rastrakuta Empire in their respective peaks[1]
Date 785–865 Location Northern India Result Pratihara victory[2]
Belligerents
Pratihara dynasty	Rashtrakuta dynasty	Pala dynasty
Commanders and leaders
Vatsaraja Nagabhata II Indrayudha	Dhruva Dharavarsha Govinda III	Dharmapala Chakrayudha

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]{{rp|53–55} Rashtrakuta King Dhruva(c780-793CE) defeated Both Vatsaraja and Dharmapala, but after his departure, Dharmapala occupied Kannauj and installed Chakrayudhaas his vassal. Nagabhatta II(c795-833), sond of Vatsaraja, 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 andPalas, 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, However, Nagabhata 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.

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Prehistoric Madrasian culture Soanian, c. 500,000 BCE Neolithic, c. 7600 – c. 1000 BCE Bhirrana 7570 – 6200 BCE Jhusi 7106 BCE Lahuradewa 7000 BCE Mehrgarh 7000 – 2600 BCE South Indian Neolithic 3000 – 1000 BCE
Ancient Indus Valley Civilization, c. 3300 – c. 1700 BCE Post Indus Valley Period (Cemetery H Culture), c. 1700 – c. 1500 BCE Vedic civilization, c. 1500 – c. 500 BCE Kuru kingdom, c. 1200 – c. 500 BCE Early Vedic period Rise of Śramaṇa movement Later Vedic Period Spread of Jainism – Parshvanatha Spread of Jainism – Mahavira Rise of Buddhism Kingdom of Magadha Brihadratha Dynasty 1700 – 682 BCE Haryanka Dynasty 544 – 413 BCE Shaishunaga Dynasty 413 – 345 BCE Nanda Dynasty, 345 – 322 BCE Mahajanapadas, c. 600 – 345 BCE
Classical Kingdom of Magadha Maurya Dynasty, 322 – 185 BCE Shunga Dynasty, 185 – 73 BCE Kanva Dynasty, 73 – 28 BCE Sangam period Kushan Dynasty, c. 30 – c. 375 CE Satavahana Dynasty, c. 228 BCE – c. 224 CE Gupta Dynasty, c. 240 – c. 550 CE
Early medieval Chalukya Dynasty, 543 – 753 CE Harsha's Dynasty, c. 606 CE – c. 647 CE Karakota Dynasty, c. 724 – c. 760 CE Arab Invasion, c. 738 CE Tripartite Struggle, c. 760 – c. 973 CE Pratihara dynasty Rastrakuta Dynasty Pala Dynasty Chola Dynasty, c. 848 – c. 1251 CE 2nd Chalukya Dynasty, c. 973 – c. 1187 CE
Late medieval Delhi Sultanate, 1206 – 1526 CE Mamluk Dynasty Khalji Dynasty Tugluq Dynasty Sayyid Dynasty Lodhi Dynasty Pandyan Empire, 1251 – 1618 CE Vijayanagara, 1336 – 1646 CE Bengal Sultanate, 1342 – 1576 CE
Early modern Mughal Dynasty, 1526 – 1540 CE Suri Dynasty, 1538/40 – 1556 CE Mughal Dynasty, 1556 – 1857 CE Bengal Subah, c. 1576 – c. 1757 CE Maratha Empire, c. 1674 – c. 1818 CE Company Raj, c. 1757 – c. 1858 CE Kingdom of Mysore, c. 1760 – c. 1799 CE Sikh Empire, c. 1799 – c. 1849 CE
Modern The Great Rebellion, 1857 – 1858 CE British Raj, 1858 – 1947 CE Independence Movement Independent India, 1947 CE – present Dominion of India, 1947 – 1950 CE Republic of India, 1950 CE – present
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By the eighth century, the Kingdom of Kannauj which had controlled much of northern India under Harshavardhana in the seventh century had greatly diminished in power under a succession of weak kings, and was replaced by two new great powers in North India — the Kingdom of Gurjara to the west and the Kingdom of Bengal to the east. In southern India, the Rashtrakuta royal family reigned, whose king Dhruva too had imperial ambitions to rule northern India.

The throne of Kannauj was equivalent to having imperial status over all of northern India and thus, the king of the Gurjaras, Vatsaraja, the king of Bengal (Gauda), Dharmapala and the king of the South, Dhruva all sought to control it. The incumbents of the Kannauj throne at that time, the Ayudha dynasty were weak rulers and the accession of Indrayudha triggered the first great war.

The king of Gurjara, Vatsaraja, the grand-nephew of Nagabhata I,^[11] expanded the small principality founded by his ancestor into a powerful kingdom in northwestern India. Vatsaraja, soon after the ascension of Indrayudha as King of Kannauj, invaded and defeated him, conquering Kannauj. The weak king accepted the overlordship of Vatsaraja. The Gurjara King then marched east and defeated Dharmapala in a battle fought near Prayag.^{[4]: 53–55} However, this victory would prove fruitless, as the ambitious king of the South, Dhruva (of the Rashtrakuta royal family) invaded the Doab and defeated Vatsaraja, and the latter was thus forced to flee and hide in the deserts of Maru. Following this, Dhruva also defeated Dharmapala in the Doab. Dhruva however, probably did not aim to permanently occupy Kannauj and withdrew to his kingdom.

Dharmapala defeated Indrayudha, installed his brother Charkayudha as his own vassal. He then held an imperial court at Kannauj, which was attended by the rulers of Bhoja (possibly Vidarbha), Matsya (Jaipur and north-east Rajasthan), Madra (East Punjab), Kuru (Haryana-Delhi-Western UP region), Yadu (possibly Mathura, Dwarka or Siṁhapura in the Punjab), Yavana, Avanti, Gandhara and Kira (Kangra Valley).^[7][12] These kings accepted the installation of Chakrayudha on the Kannauj throne, while "bowing down respectfully with their diadems trembling".^[13] Some historians have speculated that all these kingdoms might have been the vassal states of the Pala empire but maintained their autonomy.^[14]: 39 Dharmapala became the most powerful ruler in North India, and declared himself as Uttarapathasvamin ("Lord of Northern India").^[15]

Vatsaraja was succeeded by his son Nagabhata II, who strived to rebuild the fallen empire of his father. The Rashtrakutas power was weakened by a war of succession after Dhruva's death in 793 CE. Nagabhata II invaded the Doab, and defeated king Chakrayudha and proclaimed himself the King of Kannauj, establishing Kannauj as the Pratiharan capital,^[16][17][18] and assumed imperial titles - Paramabhattaraka, Maharajadhiraja, and Paramesvara after conquest of Kannauj.^[19][20] and ended of Ayudha control over the throne of Kannauj. Nagabhata, along with his vassals — Kakka of the Jodhpur Pratihara family, Vahukadhavala, the Chalukya chief of southern Kathiawar and the Guhilot Sankaragana, then marched east against Dharmapala, and in a battle near Munger in Bihar, Nagabhata's forces soundly defeated those of Dharmapala.^[21] Nagabhata II did not invade Bengal as he had to march west to face the armies of Govinda III, was defeated decisively and had to retreat to deserts of Maru.^{[4]: 53–55} Govinda III occupied Kannauj, and was acknowledged as overlord by both Chakrayudha and Dharmapala.^[22]

Govinda III conquered the Lata (southern and central Gujarat) from the Pratihara dynasty and made his brother Indra the ruler of the territory, which in effect became a branch of the Rashtrakuta Empire.^[23]: 66 Malwa was also occupied, the Paramara dynasty became vassals of the Rashtrakutas in 800 CE,^[24] and the regions between Vindhyas and Malwa was incorporated in the Rashtrakuta domain.

After the departure of Govinda III, Dharamapala re established his authority over North India and remained the dominant ruler in North India till the end of his life,^{[7]: 43–45} his son Devapala, and grandsons Mahendrapala and Shurapala I also maintained Pala dominance over North India and Kannauj until c865 CE.^{[25][26][3][7]: 20}

Prathihara king Mihir Bhoja, grandson son of Nagabhata II, whose initial attempt to conquer Kannauj was defeated by Devapala, later defeated the Pala empire during the reign of Narayanapala,^[3]: 21 and made Kannauj the Prathihara capital. During the rule of King Mahendrapala I, son of Mihir Bhoja, the Pratihara empire reached its zenith, however the empire then slowly began to weaken from its constant struggle against the Arabs to the west, the Palas to the east and Rashtrakutas to the south of their domain.^{[27]: 19–20} Rhastrakuta King Indra III occupied Kannauj from 914 – 916 CE^[3]: 21 Mahmud of Ghazni sacked the city in 1018 CE, however, Kannauj remained under Pratihara dynasty control until the death of King Yashpala in 1036 CE.^[28][29]

• Majumdar, Ramesh Chandra (1977) [1952], Ancient India (Reprinted ed.), Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 9788120804364